Friday, September 16, 2016

Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy

At the end of the prologue to Clear and Present Danger, Clancy writes, "And so began something that had not quite begun and would not soon end, with many people in many places moving off in directions and on missions which they all mistakenly thought they understood. That was just as well. The future was too fearful for contemplation, and beyond the expected, illusory finish lines were things fated by the decisions made this morning--and, once decided, best unseen." In Clear and Present Danger nothing is as clear as it may seem.
The president, unsatisfied with the success of his "war on drugs," decides that he wants some immediate success. But after John Clark's covert strike team is deployed to Colombia for Operation Showboat, the drug lords strike back taking several civilian casualties. The chief executive's polls plummet. He orders Ritter to terminate their unofficial plan and leave no traces. Jack Ryan, who has just been named CIA deputy director of intelligence is enraged when he discovers that has been left out of the loop of Colombian operations. Several of America's most highly trained soldiers are stranded in an unfinished mission that, according to all records, never existed. Ryan decides to get the men out.
Ultimately, Clear and Present Danger is about good conscience, law, and politics, with Jack Ryan and CIA agent John Clark as its dual heroes. Ryan relentlessly pursues what he knows is right and legal, even if it means confronting the president of the United States. Clark is the perfect soldier, but a man who finally holds his men higher than the orders of any careless commander.
Along with the usual, stunning array of military hardware and the latest techno-gadgets, Clear and Present Danger further develops the relationships and characters that Clancy fans have grown to love. Admiral James Greer passes the CIA torch to his pupil, Ryan. Mr. Clark and Chavez meet for the first time. Other recurring characters like Robert Ritter and "the President" add continuity to Clancy's believable, alternate reality. This is Clancy at his best.

10 comments:

  1. I believe that this is the fourth of fifth novel by Tom Clancy that I have read. I love how most of his stories could possibly happen. This book is going greatly just like the others that I read.

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    1. What is going greatly? The plot? The characters? The author's word choice?

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  2. The reading is still going strong. I really enjoy the writing of Clancy, compared to other mystery type stores. He is always able to keep my attention throughout the book. I am almost halfway through the book so this will be the fastest I have ever consumed one of his books.

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    1. WHY?!! What is making you consume (love that choice of words) this book? How does he keep your attention? What tricks does Clancy use to make you devour his work?

      Is Clancy "just" mystery or is it a more specialized sub-genre of the suspense category?

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  3. What was your favorite part of the book and would you recommend this book to anyone at school?

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  4. One of the reasons that I enjoy reading this book so much is because the book is constantly changing point of view. You may think that this would make it more confusing, well in some cases it is, but I like it because it makes me think about whats going on to that person at that point in time. Which makes me engage my brain more often.

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  5. I am very close to the finish of this book. Yet again another one of my favorite books by Clancy. Along with Night Moves and the Sum of All Fears.

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  6. I have finished this book a little while a go. If you have read any of the books i mentioned in the last post, or are interested in good realistic fiction military based stories, i would definitely recommend this book.

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  7. Whats your favorite part of the book.

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  8. I have finished this book a little while a go. If you have read any of the books i mentioned in the last post, or are interested in good realistic fiction military based stories, i would definitely recommend this book.

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