Dead or Alive

Don't Miss the Original Series Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Starring John Krasinski!\n\nTom Clancy delivers a #1 New York Times bestselling Jack Ryan novel that will remind readers why he is the acknowledged master of international intrigue and nonstop military action.\n\nIt is The Campus. Secretly created under the administration of President Jack Ryan, its sole purpose is to eliminate terrorists and those who protect them. Officially, it has no connection to the American government--a necessity in a time when those in power consider themselves above such arcane ideals as loyalty, justice, and right or wrong. \n\nNow covert intelligence expert Jack Ryan Jr. and his compatriots at The Campus--joined by black ops warriors John Clark and "Ding" Chavez--have come up against their greatest foe: a sadistic killer known as the Emir. Mastermind of countless horrific attacks, the Emir has eluded capture by every law enforcement agency in the world. But his greatest devastation is yet to be unleashed as he plans a monumental strike at the heart of America. \n\nOn the trail of the Emir, Jack Ryan Jr. will find himself following in his legendary father's footsteps on a manhunt that will take him and his allies across the globe, into the shadowy arenas of political gamesmanship, and back onto U.S. soil in a race to prevent the possible fall of the West....\n\nEditorial Reviews\n\nPraise for Dead or Alive\n\n"Heart-stopping action...entertaining and eminently topical."--The Washington Post \n\n"The best characters from all of Clancy's previous novels are on the case....For fans of the genre, Dead or Alive is likely to provide a long weekend's pleasure."--Los Angeles Times \n\n"Clancy is back at the top of his game...In-depth research, continuous suspense, and scores of fascinating characters."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)\n\nMore Praise for Tom Clancy\n\n"He constantly taps the current world situation for its imminent dangers and spins them into an engrossing tale."--The New York Times Book Review\n\n"A brilliant describer of events."--The Washington Post\n\n"No one can equal his talent for making military electronics and engineering intelligible and exciting...He remains the best!"--Houston Chronicle\n- From the Publisher\n\nStarred Review. \n\nAfter stumbling with The Teeth of the Tiger (2003), bestseller Clancy is back at the top of his game, aided by Blackwood (An Echo of War), with this update on the Jack Ryan story, both father and son. While the senior Ryan is sitting at home quietly penning his memoirs, the real action is taking place at "The Campus," the independent secret intelligence agency he set up when he was commander in chief. Jack Ryan Jr., who works for The Campus as a researcher, has, unbeknownst to his father, begun involving himself in field operations. Uppermost in the sights of The Campus is the deadly Emir (read Osama bin Laden), who has set in motion a new round of attacks. Jack Sr. is furious at current President Edward Kealty, whose liberal administration is stripping the CIA and other intelligence agencies of funding and manpower. In-depth research, continuous suspense, and scores of fascinating characters prove again why Clancy, the man who virtually invented this genre, reigns supreme in the crowded thriller field. \n(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.\n- Publishers Weekly\n\nMay I cut to the chase? DEAD OR ALIVE is the book that Tom Clancy fans have been waiting for. With the strong and capable contribution of Grant Blackwood, who brings Clancy's major characters together, it is a magnum opus long enough for three books, yet reads and moves like a great short story. I kept waiting for one of those moments where things drag a bit. It occurs even in short novels, where you can almost feel the author take a breather, but that never happens here. The dialogue, setups, descriptions and characterizations are just as interesting and well-told as the life-or-death passages where all hell breaks loose.\n\nDEAD OR ALIVE is a step-by-step game of cat-and-mouse. The cat, in this case, is the Campus, an organization created under the presidential administration of Jack Ryan to carry out its mission of identifying, hunting down and eliminating terrorists, and to do so without outside oversight or supervision. The Campus is a small but capable group that includes two generations of black ops, John Clark and "Ding" Gomez, as well as brothers Dominic and Brian Caruso. The mouse is a thinly disguised Osama bin Laden caricature known as the Emir, a terrorist who is the most wanted man on earth and who, in an admittedly brilliant stroke, is hiding in plain sight under the nose of the nation he regards as the Great Satan.\n\nThe Campus, being an off-the-books organization that officially does not exist on the American intelligence grid, wants to locate the Emir in the worst possible way. The Carusos' cousin, Jack Ryan, Jr., has decided that he wants a piece of the action as well. Having had a taste of field work more by accident than by design in THE TEETH OF THE TIGER, Ryan is hungry for more, but isn't especially keen on letting his famous father know about his newfound avocation. The senior Ryan is faced with a major decision and a momentous opportunity provided in part by the current presidential administration, which is frequently wrong but never in doubt. When a number of seemingly disparate occurrences appear to indicate that the Emir is planning a major attack, the Campus begins a race against time to determine the exact details in order to head it off.\n\nOne of the major enjoyments of DEAD OR ALIVE is that Clancy and Blackwood aren't quick at all to reveal precisely what the Emir has planned. Instead, they drop clues from multiple scenarios around the world, from Russia to Paris, from Sweden to the Hindu Kush, and from sources as varied as airplane mechanics to...Santa. I'm serious. You'll look at the world, and the people who risk their lives on our behalf --- the rough men of whom George Orwell wrote, who stand ready in the night to do violence against those who would harm us --- in an entirely new light. You'll also find that this is one of those rare giant books that, after close to a thousand pages, will leave you wanting even more.\n\nWhile one could be forgiven for initially believing that DEAD OR ALIVE would be Clancy's finis to his universe, it is quite clear after reading it that things are just getting warmed up. That does not mean that every single character we have come to know and love make it to the end of the finish line; not all of them do. I was surprised by who did not and how strongly it affected me. Clancy has always been a real-world guy, however, and in the real world the good guys take some hits.\n\nBlackwood's contribution to DEAD OR ALIVE --- equal parts experience, hard work, writing skill and storytelling craft --- cannot be overstated. If Clancy has been searching for his heir apparent, he has found him. I'm looking forward to more from both of them, individually and collaboratively, in the future.\n\n--(Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub)\n\n- Bookreporter.com\n\n"Clancy fans may regard "Dead or Alive" as rather like one of those NBA "dream teams" they throw together for the Olympics; win, lose or draw -- it's fun to see them all on the court. This time, the best characters from all Clancy's previous novels are on the case, including Jack Ryan and his son, Jack Ryan Jr.; the deadly John Clark (Jack senior's darker half); the Caruso brothers, Dominic and Brian; the ace intelligence analyst Mary Pat Foley; and even Clark's protégé, Ding Chavez. Their quarry is the "Emir," a Bin Laden-like terrorist in hiding after a series of horrific attacks on the United States by his Al Qaeda-like network...For fans of the genre, "Dead or Alive" is likely to provide a long weekend's pleasure..."--(Rutten, Tim)\n- Los Angeles Times\n\nAfter years of waiting by eager fans, Clancy's sequel to Teeth of the Tiger begins where that title left off and features the ensemble characters from previous novels, including John Clark, "Ding" Chavez, and a thoroughly aggravated former president, Jack Ryan Sr. The United States is threatened by the Emir, a shadowy Osama Bin Laden-type terrorist leader who has planned a series of devastating attacks on America and her allies. Internally, a corrupt and inept John Kealty, an old nemesis of Ryan's, is now president, and his actions threaten the country as much as the Emir's, causing Ryan to consider another presidential bid.Verdict At a whopping 900-plus pages, it would be awful if this thriller wasn't good. Fortunately, it is good, although the complex plot and the large number of characters can be confusing. Still, it is a surprisingly fast read for a Clancy novel and is, as usual, timely and controversial. Better, there is plenty of room for future installments. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/10.]--Robert Conroy, Warren, MI\n- Library Journal\n\nTom Clancy's first book in seven years brings together an all-star cast of his greatest characters, including Jack Ryan and ex-CIA agent John Clark, in a joint showdown with the world's most wanted terrorist. In a fast-paced, intense performance, actor Lou Diamond Phillips masterfully commands the pronunciation of names and locations and captures the accents of a myriad of characters. Jack Ryan joins his cousins at the "Campus"-a highly effective counterterrorism organization that operates outside the Washington hierarchy. While the first half is long on character development and conservative political musings, Clancy fans and those who enjoy military thrillers will be more than satisfied. B.C.E. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine\n- JANUARY 2011 - AudioFile