Dead or Alive

Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy

It's been a long time since a real Tom Clancy novel came out. His name has been associated with plenty of books that have been written in the last decade or so, but none of them were written by him. In Dead or Alive, maybe as an apology to his fans for the long delay, he includes an all-star cast of his characters: Jack Ryan, John Clark, Ding Chavez, the Caruso brothers, Mary Pat Foley, and Jack Ryan Jr..

Before leaving the Oval Office, President Jack Ryan created an extremely covert organization that answers to no politician or government agency. It's self-funded and only he and the handful of people who work for it know that it exists. It's called The Campus and its sole purpose is to find and eliminate those trying to destroy the U.S.. This time their target is the man behind numerous terrorist attacks who has managed to elude capture for years. He's known as the Emir and his next planned attack will leave the U.S. crippled for decades.

Once again Clancy does what he does best. He uses his incomparable knowledge of military operations and capabilities and  incorporates them into a quick-moving story that more often than not kept me reading long past the time I had planned to stop and do something else. Dead or Alive would be a great introductory book for those who have never read a Clancy book before. He includes enough of the characters' back stories to get readers caught up without bogging down the story.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆