Dead or Alive (novel)
Author | Tom Clancy, with Grant Blackwood |
---|---|
Language | English |
Series | Jack Ryan series |
Genre | Techno-thriller |
Published | December 7, 2010 Putnam Adult |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print Hardback |
Pages | 950 (First Edition) |
ISBN | 978-0-399-15723-3 |
Preceded by | The Teeth of the Tiger |
Followed by | Locked On |
Dead or Alive is a political thriller novel by Tom Clancy and co-authored by Grant Blackwood, featuring Jack Ryan. It was published on December 7, 2010, alongside the unabridged audio book version, read by Lou Diamond Phillips.[citation needed]
It unites characters from Clancy’s fictional world, including Jack Ryan (the former CIA analyst and president), his son Jack Ryan, Jr., the latter's cousins Dominic and Brian Caruso and former clandestine operatives John Clark and Ding Chavez of the novel Rainbow Six. It follows the characters on a mission to capture a Middle Eastern terrorist, Saif Rahman Yasin (known as "The Emir"), a character heavily based on Osama bin Laden, and responsible for the 9/11 attacks in the universe's storyline.[1]
Summary
When John Clark and Domingo "Ding" Chavez are forcibly retired from both the CIA and Rainbow, they join Jack Ryan, Jr. at "The Campus", a privately run intelligence organization carrying 100 blank presidential pardons (signed by Jack Ryan, Sr. before he left office) for any actions they may choose to take based on the information they collect. John and Ding take the responsibility to train Jack Jr. for field work while they try to crack a plot by a group of Islamic extremists to assemble and initiate a nuclear device in a nuclear waste storage facility in order to poison the water table for the western United States. Meanwhile, Jack Ryan, Sr. decides that he's had enough of the way his successor, President Ed Kealty, is running the country, and subsequently announces his candidacy for President of the United States.
Factual errors
In chapter 6 on page 45, the Special Air Service (SAS) headquarters in Hereford is said to be in Wales, when in fact the town of Hereford is in England.[citation needed]
Reception
Publishers Weekly lauded the book, saying "Clancy is back at the top of his game." [2] The Los Angeles Times was slightly less generous, calling it "sprawling but propulsive." [3]
References