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Jack Ryan Universe #45
Tom Clancy Pressure Depth
Some secrets are best left at the bottom of the ocean. But since that's not in Jack Ryan, Jr.'s nature, he'll battle all of China to stop them from finding a weapon of immense destructive power in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.
Jack Ryan Jr. is on Guam to work on a project for Hendley Associates. It's a perfectly ordinary insurance matter, but trouble finds the Ryans wherever they go. So, it's no surprise when Jack's involvement with a US Navy dive team working off the coast uncovers a threat to international security.
For years, rumors persisted that the Soviets had placed a device for tracking American submarines on the sea floor. By now, the technology should be outdated. But the Americans are still interested in recovering it. It's a seemingly routine mission until they make a shocking the defensive network they thought they were looking for is actually a weapon unlike anything they've ever seen.
That explains the arrival of a Chinese special operations team who seem determined to get their hands on the aging tech, even if they have to kill to do it. They're sure they can handle the Americans. But they don't know Jack.
Jack Ryan Jr. is on Guam to work on a project for Hendley Associates. It's a perfectly ordinary insurance matter, but trouble finds the Ryans wherever they go. So, it's no surprise when Jack's involvement with a US Navy dive team working off the coast uncovers a threat to international security.
For years, rumors persisted that the Soviets had placed a device for tracking American submarines on the sea floor. By now, the technology should be outdated. But the Americans are still interested in recovering it. It's a seemingly routine mission until they make a shocking the defensive network they thought they were looking for is actually a weapon unlike anything they've ever seen.
That explains the arrival of a Chinese special operations team who seem determined to get their hands on the aging tech, even if they have to kill to do it. They're sure they can handle the Americans. But they don't know Jack.
Audible Audio
First published September 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
September 7, 2026
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pressure Depth
Pressure Depth is another gripping, action-packed addition to the Jack Ryan Jr. series. These books have a way of pulling me in from the very beginning, and this one was no exception. The story opens with a historical shipwreck before moving into the present day, and I was immediately curious about how the two would connect.
The discovery of a mysterious structure deep beneath the ocean takes the story into the fascinating world of deep-sea diving. I especially enjoyed learning about the challenges involved in diving at extreme depths—the decompression procedures, the stops divers must make as they ascend, and even the umbilicals that connect them to the surface and provide necessities such as breathing gas and warm water. I learned quite a bit, which was an unexpected bonus.
As is often the case with books in the Tom Clancy universe, there is a great deal of technical information. Some of it went beyond my personal level of interest, and I occasionally found my attention wandering during the more detailed explanations of equipment and technology. Other portions, particularly those involving deep-sea diving, absolutely fascinated me. Either way, the technical detail never diminished my enjoyment of the story.
There is plenty of suspense and action, particularly as Jack Ryan Jr. and his team become involved in an international race surrounding something that was never meant to be discovered. Toward the end, the tension became intense enough that I genuinely wondered whether Jack was going to survive. This was definitely a page-turner—or, in my case, an audiobook I didn’t want to stop listening to.
Although I received an advance reader copy of the Kindle edition, I listened to the audiobook through my library. The narrator was outstanding and earns five stars from me as well. He added tension to already suspenseful scenes and even made the heavier technical passages easy to listen to.
Five stars. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy intelligent, action-packed military and geopolitical thrillers.
I was blessed with an advance reader copy of this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Pressure Depth. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and are unbiased.
Pressure Depth is another gripping, action-packed addition to the Jack Ryan Jr. series. These books have a way of pulling me in from the very beginning, and this one was no exception. The story opens with a historical shipwreck before moving into the present day, and I was immediately curious about how the two would connect.
The discovery of a mysterious structure deep beneath the ocean takes the story into the fascinating world of deep-sea diving. I especially enjoyed learning about the challenges involved in diving at extreme depths—the decompression procedures, the stops divers must make as they ascend, and even the umbilicals that connect them to the surface and provide necessities such as breathing gas and warm water. I learned quite a bit, which was an unexpected bonus.
As is often the case with books in the Tom Clancy universe, there is a great deal of technical information. Some of it went beyond my personal level of interest, and I occasionally found my attention wandering during the more detailed explanations of equipment and technology. Other portions, particularly those involving deep-sea diving, absolutely fascinated me. Either way, the technical detail never diminished my enjoyment of the story.
There is plenty of suspense and action, particularly as Jack Ryan Jr. and his team become involved in an international race surrounding something that was never meant to be discovered. Toward the end, the tension became intense enough that I genuinely wondered whether Jack was going to survive. This was definitely a page-turner—or, in my case, an audiobook I didn’t want to stop listening to.
Although I received an advance reader copy of the Kindle edition, I listened to the audiobook through my library. The narrator was outstanding and earns five stars from me as well. He added tension to already suspenseful scenes and even made the heavier technical passages easy to listen to.
Five stars. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy intelligent, action-packed military and geopolitical thrillers.
I was blessed with an advance reader copy of this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Pressure Depth. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and are unbiased.
July 28, 2026
This review was originally published at FanFiAddict.
After a pair of misfires from Grant Blackwood and an increasing series of missteps and frustrations with the series under Mike Maden, I had all but written off the Jack Ryan, Jr. series. Since spinning-off into his own series from the mainline Jack Ryan books, little effort was made to really establish Junior as somebody worth reading about, never mind rooting for. Past efforts did little to convince me that Junior was nothing more than a cash grab by the Tom Clancy Estate as they attempted to put their own spin on Mitch Rapp and Jack Bauer. The cardboard-thin Junior oscillated between being a rich nepo baby looking for action who survives each adventure due only to the durability of plot armor, and a heavily plot armored rich, whiny nepo baby with a teenager’s maturity that hates such liberal conceits as free speech, climate change, masking up, and protesting fascism, and who consistently ignored his boss’s orders in favor of going rogue but was somehow able to still hold down a job as a secret agent for an off the books black ops org known as The Campus because, again, rich nepo baby plot armor.
Being the product of a dead author’s literary estate means that there’s a high turnover in house writers. In Michigan we joke that if you don’t like the weather, wait an hour or two and it’ll be different. A similar concept applies to the Jack Ryan Universe and its stable of authors. Don’t like the current run? Give it a year or two and somebody new will be at the helm soon enough. After DNF’ing Maden’s Enemy Contact, I sat out the Don Bentley and M.P. Woodward books, but decided to give Jack Stewart and his Pressure Depth a try.
Admittedly, I wasn’t intending on ever picking up another Jack Jack book. I figured him for an irredeemable lost cause after Maden’s nuttery, but larks are gonna lark, I suppose. Stewart’s hook revolving around Junior getting involved with a dive team and having underwater adventures reeled me in. I’m a sucker for big, action-packed sea stories like this.
Junior’s working a white side case for Hendley Associates, the venture capital front for The Campus, in Guam to determine if a sunken ship fits the bill for an insurance claim. He’s really there for the black side of the op, though, to determine if the ship’s haul of radioactive material was stolen and by whom. Nearby, a Naval research ship is conducting tests of an unmanned underwater drone when Chief Carla Bennet discovers Cold War-era Russian tech on the sea floor. Jack is tasked with recovering it, but lo and behold, the Chinese get wind of things and are themselves hellbent on taking control. Jack and Stewart decide to forego any further explorations about the sunken ship, leaving that plot line and plenty of hay made over insurance fraud to resolve only somewhat as they strike out in favor of richer and more compelling plot points hidden in Davey Jones’s locker.
Stewart pulls on some threads from previous Jack Ryan, Sr. books, primarily Andrews & Wilson’s Defense Protocol and Ward Larsen’s Rules of Engagement, both of which feature Junior’s far more interesting, smart, and quirky sister, Katie, the real heir apparent of Jack Ryan, Sr. Seriously, retire both Jack Ryans and let her take center stage, I’m begging you. Neither of these aforementioned books are required reading here, but they do make Pressure Depth’s Chinese plotline feel redundant, particularly after being handled so neatly in Defense Protocol.
Junior doesn’t exactly escape accusations of being Temu James Bond, either, with a storyline that recalls, at times, Thunderball and The Spy Who Loves Me. Thankfully, his relationship with Bennet is kept mostly professional, aside from his lame attempts at flirting, which she promptly and correctly shuts down. This is for the better, as neither character is particularly well-developed beyond being cardboard stock characters. Should they ever find themselves in a romantic entanglement that bears them offspring, I fear their children risk being born with all the dimensionality of a flatfish.
But I guess nobody’s reading these books because the characters are so memorable, keenly defined, charming, and sharply written. When given the inglorious task of writing for a fundamentally uninteresting character like Jack Ryan, Jr., Stewart does the smart thing by putting that character into interesting situations. Action scenes are well staged and exciting, both on land and off. Plunging Junior and his retinue of soldiers to the bottom of the ocean floor makes for a welcome change of pace, not to mention scenery. Typically, such underwater adventures would be aboard a submarine, but not here. Stewart spends a good amount of time tackling the science required for deep sea dives and getting his characters properly pressurized before putting them under different kinds of extreme pressures required to save the world. Where Stewart really shines is in tackling the sense of claustrophobia and overwhelming panic that comes with being trapped underwater and alone in the dark. There’s a horrifying peril to it all, and the sea can be deadly in severely awful ways, like rapid depressurization of the human body, that being trapped on land can’t even fathom.
I greatly enjoyed Stewart’s layman explanations about dive prep and the warnings about what could possibly go wrong, as it provided enough real-world grit to make the more outlandish elements a bit more forgivable. One error I couldn’t ignore, and it’s possible it’s just an artifact particular to this advance copy that will see itself fixed in the final published work, is the references to President Jack Ryan’s cabinet member, Robert Burgess, as the Secretary of War, rather than his proper title of Secretary of Defense. As far as I know, Congress has not passed any laws whatsoever allowing for the change in title, in either the Jack Ryan Universe or here in our real world. “Secretary of War” and the “War Department” are nothing more than silly affectations of our current sadly real-world administration that will hopefully read as incredibly outdated sooner rather than later, bestowed by a 34-time convicted felon, rapist, insurrectionist, and dementia-addled pedophile currently hellbent on poisoning America’s food supplies upon another debauched sex pest Christofascist who can’t bench press properly. Jack Ryan’s better than that, and I would certainly hope that former Navy fighter pilot Stewart is, too.
Pressure Depth doesn’t reinvent the wheel, nor does it miraculously turn Jack Ryan, Jr. into a hero suddenly worthy of his own series, but it’s mostly a decent read, aside from a few minor plot threads. I’ll be curious to check out Stewart’s follow-up. Hopefully he doesn’t drop the ball as badly as Maden did during his tenure, but that feels like a low bar to clear, even in an America currently defined by the lowest bars of them all.
After a pair of misfires from Grant Blackwood and an increasing series of missteps and frustrations with the series under Mike Maden, I had all but written off the Jack Ryan, Jr. series. Since spinning-off into his own series from the mainline Jack Ryan books, little effort was made to really establish Junior as somebody worth reading about, never mind rooting for. Past efforts did little to convince me that Junior was nothing more than a cash grab by the Tom Clancy Estate as they attempted to put their own spin on Mitch Rapp and Jack Bauer. The cardboard-thin Junior oscillated between being a rich nepo baby looking for action who survives each adventure due only to the durability of plot armor, and a heavily plot armored rich, whiny nepo baby with a teenager’s maturity that hates such liberal conceits as free speech, climate change, masking up, and protesting fascism, and who consistently ignored his boss’s orders in favor of going rogue but was somehow able to still hold down a job as a secret agent for an off the books black ops org known as The Campus because, again, rich nepo baby plot armor.
Being the product of a dead author’s literary estate means that there’s a high turnover in house writers. In Michigan we joke that if you don’t like the weather, wait an hour or two and it’ll be different. A similar concept applies to the Jack Ryan Universe and its stable of authors. Don’t like the current run? Give it a year or two and somebody new will be at the helm soon enough. After DNF’ing Maden’s Enemy Contact, I sat out the Don Bentley and M.P. Woodward books, but decided to give Jack Stewart and his Pressure Depth a try.
Admittedly, I wasn’t intending on ever picking up another Jack Jack book. I figured him for an irredeemable lost cause after Maden’s nuttery, but larks are gonna lark, I suppose. Stewart’s hook revolving around Junior getting involved with a dive team and having underwater adventures reeled me in. I’m a sucker for big, action-packed sea stories like this.
Junior’s working a white side case for Hendley Associates, the venture capital front for The Campus, in Guam to determine if a sunken ship fits the bill for an insurance claim. He’s really there for the black side of the op, though, to determine if the ship’s haul of radioactive material was stolen and by whom. Nearby, a Naval research ship is conducting tests of an unmanned underwater drone when Chief Carla Bennet discovers Cold War-era Russian tech on the sea floor. Jack is tasked with recovering it, but lo and behold, the Chinese get wind of things and are themselves hellbent on taking control. Jack and Stewart decide to forego any further explorations about the sunken ship, leaving that plot line and plenty of hay made over insurance fraud to resolve only somewhat as they strike out in favor of richer and more compelling plot points hidden in Davey Jones’s locker.
Stewart pulls on some threads from previous Jack Ryan, Sr. books, primarily Andrews & Wilson’s Defense Protocol and Ward Larsen’s Rules of Engagement, both of which feature Junior’s far more interesting, smart, and quirky sister, Katie, the real heir apparent of Jack Ryan, Sr. Seriously, retire both Jack Ryans and let her take center stage, I’m begging you. Neither of these aforementioned books are required reading here, but they do make Pressure Depth’s Chinese plotline feel redundant, particularly after being handled so neatly in Defense Protocol.
Junior doesn’t exactly escape accusations of being Temu James Bond, either, with a storyline that recalls, at times, Thunderball and The Spy Who Loves Me. Thankfully, his relationship with Bennet is kept mostly professional, aside from his lame attempts at flirting, which she promptly and correctly shuts down. This is for the better, as neither character is particularly well-developed beyond being cardboard stock characters. Should they ever find themselves in a romantic entanglement that bears them offspring, I fear their children risk being born with all the dimensionality of a flatfish.
But I guess nobody’s reading these books because the characters are so memorable, keenly defined, charming, and sharply written. When given the inglorious task of writing for a fundamentally uninteresting character like Jack Ryan, Jr., Stewart does the smart thing by putting that character into interesting situations. Action scenes are well staged and exciting, both on land and off. Plunging Junior and his retinue of soldiers to the bottom of the ocean floor makes for a welcome change of pace, not to mention scenery. Typically, such underwater adventures would be aboard a submarine, but not here. Stewart spends a good amount of time tackling the science required for deep sea dives and getting his characters properly pressurized before putting them under different kinds of extreme pressures required to save the world. Where Stewart really shines is in tackling the sense of claustrophobia and overwhelming panic that comes with being trapped underwater and alone in the dark. There’s a horrifying peril to it all, and the sea can be deadly in severely awful ways, like rapid depressurization of the human body, that being trapped on land can’t even fathom.
I greatly enjoyed Stewart’s layman explanations about dive prep and the warnings about what could possibly go wrong, as it provided enough real-world grit to make the more outlandish elements a bit more forgivable. One error I couldn’t ignore, and it’s possible it’s just an artifact particular to this advance copy that will see itself fixed in the final published work, is the references to President Jack Ryan’s cabinet member, Robert Burgess, as the Secretary of War, rather than his proper title of Secretary of Defense. As far as I know, Congress has not passed any laws whatsoever allowing for the change in title, in either the Jack Ryan Universe or here in our real world. “Secretary of War” and the “War Department” are nothing more than silly affectations of our current sadly real-world administration that will hopefully read as incredibly outdated sooner rather than later, bestowed by a 34-time convicted felon, rapist, insurrectionist, and dementia-addled pedophile currently hellbent on poisoning America’s food supplies upon another debauched sex pest Christofascist who can’t bench press properly. Jack Ryan’s better than that, and I would certainly hope that former Navy fighter pilot Stewart is, too.
Pressure Depth doesn’t reinvent the wheel, nor does it miraculously turn Jack Ryan, Jr. into a hero suddenly worthy of his own series, but it’s mostly a decent read, aside from a few minor plot threads. I’ll be curious to check out Stewart’s follow-up. Hopefully he doesn’t drop the ball as badly as Maden did during his tenure, but that feels like a low bar to clear, even in an America currently defined by the lowest bars of them all.
September 5, 2026
I don’t read many military thrillers, but maybe I should, cause Jack Stewart’s take on the Tom Clancy Extended Universe is gripping from jump. Mixing an astounding depiction of deep sea diving with Cold War era schemes and modern geopolitical predicaments, Stewart throws Jack Ryan Jr. into the Mariana Trench and you’re right there with him the whole way. The last 150 pages absolutely rip. PRESSURE DEPTH is relentless. Read it.
September 22, 2026
Another home run by Jack Stewart. Jack Jr is operating out of Guam to perform a deep water dive on a sunken ship. While there of course something comes up that is critical.
Stewart's background and knowledge helps once again in making this a very believable story.
Stewart's background and knowledge helps once again in making this a very believable story.
September 5, 2026
When a routine scan of the ocean reveals a Cold War era weapon, Jack Jr. and the other Campus operators are called in to investigate. What follows is a tense, page-turning adventure that lasts through the rest of the book. Did I mention the Chinese are also involved? This book would appeal to anyone keeping up with the Clancy series. A very worthy effort.
May 27, 2026
This is absolutely fantastic! It’s an underwater adventure that’s so different from anything else I’ve read. It’s truly a remarkable feat, giving off vibes of a hunt for Red October. This one is a real page turner and another great addition to the Jack Jr. story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Controversy and popularity, the 1960s had both in spades for the little rock band from Liverpool that could. Originally seeing the light of day on their seventh studio album REVOLVER, YELLOW SUBMARINE was recycled to brilliant chart success two years later in form of the opening track of the 1968 movie by the same name and inspired by said Fab Four song. Tinkering about in the studio brought about what THE BEATLES deemed basically a children's song about a happy place. Turns out that we all do not live in a YELLOW SUBMARINE, and the Cyrillic lettering on the hull of a yellow, abandoned underwater vessel near the Mariana Trench is no happy place. PRESSURE DEPTH explores the extent of Cold War depravity and the deadly arms race to the bottom of the ocean, placing Jack Ryan Jr. into the starting blocks of a mad dash with ruthless foes to secure a dooms-day machine like no other. Honoring the Jack Ryan legacy, PRESSURE DEPTH is a riveting tribute to global intrigue, Mil-Tech extravaganza and stunning action that are the trademark of legendary Tom Clancy spy thrillers.
Right in China's back yard and about 200 miles from US controlled Guam lies to deepest part of the world's oceans, the Mariana Trench, and with it, answers that wait in the dark for those who're driven by THE question. At the forefront of America's seekers is Jack Ryan Jr., progeny of famed Cold War hunter of Red Octobers, acquaintance of the Kremlin's Cardinal and winner of Patriot games, Jack Ryan Sr, now El Presidente of these United States. Ryan's band of merry marauders chase insurance fraud, radioactive cesium chloride and Soviet tech deep-sixed in Davy Jones' locker for close to 40 years. Forged by adversity, Junior is a common man with an uncommon desire to succeed, hinting that there's more to Jack Ryan the younger than just a fancy diploma and rugged good looks. What exactly that might be, the reader will have to fight gigantism imbued bottom dwellers and merciless Commie Chinese to find out. As murky as the ocean floor at PRESSURE DEPTH, the plot gets going from the line of departure, yet tangles right away with too many ships, hijackings, illicit cargo, sunk vessels, and scheduled investigative dives. The one thing that emerges mighty quick is that the race to the bottom of the ocean is on to find a left-over Soviet Easter-egg intended for a catastrophic power move to close the United States' play book for good. Facing the vast resources and unbound evil of Communist China and her cruel vassals, Jack Ryan Jr and his coterie of newly found friends aren't safe anywhere. Not even the holy sanctuary of a US Navy base. Perhaps the immense ocean will safely harbor them while they unravel the mystery of the insane time-bomb found at PRESSURE DEPTH.
Tangentially related to Homer's THE ODYSSEY, even if only in naming convention in the story, PRESSURE DEPTH is a timely adventure with current event relevance, nicely cutting into DEEPSTAR SIX, THE ABYSS and LEVIATHAN territory, just without the creature feature angles. While homage is noble, these Jack Ryan Jr. novels using legacy characters from the OG Tom Clancy novels still trucking (presumably in their 80s) feel like the latter Richard Marcinko books of ROGUE WARRIOR fame where he was 70 and still frolicked about with the younger generations, defending freedom, justice and the American Way in most ludicrous and caricature fashion. Definitely a triumph if you're into (deep sea) diving at all, PRESSURE DEPTH raises the Alfa Flag and delves deep into the minutiae of underwater action. Expanding on the technical detail of Clancy books of yore, PRESSURE DEPTH scratches the bottom of the ocean for thrills, drama, and the neo-nuclear race for global supremacy with America's enemies. Dive in, decompress, and enter fathoms of adventure, action, and the most daring underwater combat since THUNDERBALL. From the eastern end of the Trans-Siberian railway to D.C., Guam and seven miles UNDER THE SEA, PRESSURE DEPTH is effervescent and propelling page-turning excitement that will leave you breathless.
Big thanks to Jack Stewart, Net Galley, and GP Putnam for the ARC. <3
April 21, 2026
Another new Jack Ryan Jr book, another banger. Regardless of who is writing the book, they always hit. I have never read Jack Stewart but definitely want to now. An exciting and fast paced narrative to add to the Ryanverse. Highly recommend!
I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 27, 2026
4.5
Another action-packed installment of the Jack Jr series
This one is a bit different, under the sea but a fast-paced read.
Another action-packed installment of the Jack Jr series
This one is a bit different, under the sea but a fast-paced read.
September 19, 2026
In 9 years on this platform, I have written a single review. This novel is so offensive towards, and has such a low opinion of its readers that I wrote a second.
For reasons I can not even articulate anymore, I have read every single Ryanverse novel. Each successive entry has pushed me closer, but "Pressure Depth," has finally made me decide to completely abandon new entries into the Jack Ryan universe.
Every single character comes off as one dimensional. The antagonists are borderline racist Orientalist caricatures and the main group of protagonists (including all the various members of the Campus and broader Ryanverse characters who show up, including John Clark and Ding Chavez - both of whom, I would like to note, have been shown throughout the entire series to be completely fluent in Russian - and the firebrand© spark-plug© Mary Pat Foley) are morally pure, uncompromising paladins with no depth, or even any characterization beyond their willingness to lay down their lives in pursuit of their country's interests.
This is easily the least intelligent and least introspective version of Jack Jr. we have seen. To pick one of the many examples, a major moment in the novel includes a knife fight, during which Jr. appears to have never held a knife. I can't remember which title specifically, but the entire plot of one of the earlier Jack Jr. novels revolves around training with knives, and Jr. learning various techniques and strategies to knife fight. If the authors who write novels in the same universe, with the same characters, can't be bothered to read the previous entries, what is even the point of any of this?
I feel personally insulted by the hand-feeding and lack of respect and trust shown to the intelligence of the readers.
___
This American-made novel, dramatically and overwhelmingly displays just how absolutely and aggressively absurd fiction authoring can quickly become when someone, powered by the rich flavor of fresh-roasted US brand Starbucks© coffee beans, deliberately goes meters (with each meter equaling 3.28 ft) out of their internally-guided way to vividly include, seemingly as an insult to what the author quite clearly believes is a gullible audience who are vulnerable to easy exploitation, a clunky, brute-forced adjective to every single patriotic noun, and an illuminating and expanding adverb to every single perfectly-placed verb they contemplatively pen with an expensively-crafted yet classic Montblanc Masters of Art Collection Henri Matisse Limited Edition 4810 fountain pen©.
For reasons I can not even articulate anymore, I have read every single Ryanverse novel. Each successive entry has pushed me closer, but "Pressure Depth," has finally made me decide to completely abandon new entries into the Jack Ryan universe.
Every single character comes off as one dimensional. The antagonists are borderline racist Orientalist caricatures and the main group of protagonists (including all the various members of the Campus and broader Ryanverse characters who show up, including John Clark and Ding Chavez - both of whom, I would like to note, have been shown throughout the entire series to be completely fluent in Russian - and the firebrand© spark-plug© Mary Pat Foley) are morally pure, uncompromising paladins with no depth, or even any characterization beyond their willingness to lay down their lives in pursuit of their country's interests.
This is easily the least intelligent and least introspective version of Jack Jr. we have seen. To pick one of the many examples, a major moment in the novel includes a knife fight, during which Jr. appears to have never held a knife. I can't remember which title specifically, but the entire plot of one of the earlier Jack Jr. novels revolves around training with knives, and Jr. learning various techniques and strategies to knife fight. If the authors who write novels in the same universe, with the same characters, can't be bothered to read the previous entries, what is even the point of any of this?
I feel personally insulted by the hand-feeding and lack of respect and trust shown to the intelligence of the readers.
___
This American-made novel, dramatically and overwhelmingly displays just how absolutely and aggressively absurd fiction authoring can quickly become when someone, powered by the rich flavor of fresh-roasted US brand Starbucks© coffee beans, deliberately goes meters (with each meter equaling 3.28 ft) out of their internally-guided way to vividly include, seemingly as an insult to what the author quite clearly believes is a gullible audience who are vulnerable to easy exploitation, a clunky, brute-forced adjective to every single patriotic noun, and an illuminating and expanding adverb to every single perfectly-placed verb they contemplatively pen with an expensively-crafted yet classic Montblanc Masters of Art Collection Henri Matisse Limited Edition 4810 fountain pen©.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Jack Ryan Jr. is near Guam, preparing to dive to a shipwreck containing material that could help China develop a devastating chemical weapon. When a U.S. Navy dive team discovers a mysterious Soviet-era secret weapon resting on the ocean floor, Jack Jr. is brought in to uncover its true purpose and potential danger.
As the team prepares its mission, a Chinese operation closes in on the same target. What follows is a high-stakes race to reach the weapon first and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. With the future security of the United States hanging in the balance, Jack and his allies must stay one step ahead of a determined adversary.
This book was an absolute page-turner. Jack Stewart crushed it with his first contribution to the Jack Ryan Universe. The story builds steadily before exploding into a tense and action-packed second half. The final 10 percent of the novel elevates the suspense even further, making it nearly impossible to put down.
I thoroughly enjoyed this entry and hope it is the first of many Jack Ryan novels from Stewart. He has proven he can capture the spirit of the Ryan Universe while delivering a thrilling story of his own.
As the team prepares its mission, a Chinese operation closes in on the same target. What follows is a high-stakes race to reach the weapon first and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. With the future security of the United States hanging in the balance, Jack and his allies must stay one step ahead of a determined adversary.
This book was an absolute page-turner. Jack Stewart crushed it with his first contribution to the Jack Ryan Universe. The story builds steadily before exploding into a tense and action-packed second half. The final 10 percent of the novel elevates the suspense even further, making it nearly impossible to put down.
I thoroughly enjoyed this entry and hope it is the first of many Jack Ryan novels from Stewart. He has proven he can capture the spirit of the Ryan Universe while delivering a thrilling story of his own.
September 30, 2026
Jack Stewart has become one of the more reliable legacy authors working today, keeping the worlds of W.E.B. Griffin and Tom Clancy alive for fans who still crave those familiar rhythms of geopolitical tension and military precision. His latest entry, "Tom Clancy Pressure Depth," fits neatly into that tradition. It's a fast, high‑stakes thriller built on classic Clancy ingredients of international brinkmanship, cutting‑edge tech, and Jack Ryan Jr. racing to prevent disaster...The spark this time is the discovery of a mysterious structure hidden deep beneath the ocean, a find that pushes the U.S. and China toward conflict and gives Jack Jr. another chance to save the day. What made the book especially fun for me was its immersion in the world of extreme‑depth diving. As someone who spent younger years SCUBA diving, mostly shallow wrecks, always great. In my younger years, I actively SCUBA dived and I especially liked shallow wreck diving. It was just absolutely great fun. I loved the technical detail Stewart weaves in: decompression stops, the hazards of deep‑water pressure, and the technology that keeps divers alive miles below the surface. Even though this level of diving is far beyond anything I ever did, the fundamentals were familiar from certification training, and the realism only enhanced the story rather than bogging it down...In short, "Pressure Depth" delivers exactly what I want from a Clancy‑universe novel: a gripping geopolitical setup, clean action, and enough technical flavor to make the world feel lived‑in. Stewart continues to prove he’s a steady hand at carrying forward the legacy.
September 25, 2026
Jack Ryan Jr is on a mission to investigate a shipwreck that may have been carrying radioactive material, but when a US naval ship discovers a mysterious Russian structure near the Mariana Trench, Jack’s mission is diverted immediately because the danger has shot through the roof with this discovery. As Jack heads towards the structure, he and his team find themselves in a race against time, as China also know about the structure and have their own dangerous plans to change the world order.
I was a bit worried when I saw that this was a Jack Ryan Jr solo story, as other reviews have noted they haven’t really hit the mark and Jr was starting to look like a Basildon Bond type of character. But thankfully Jack has a few other of his Hedley Associates team with him and Mary Pat is also involved. Given that the setting of this is the deep sea, the danger feels different because you know one slip and it could be death, it also feels very claustrophobic, which creates real tension in the book. The discovery of the Russian station also has a feel of a James Bond movie. A great read.
I was a bit worried when I saw that this was a Jack Ryan Jr solo story, as other reviews have noted they haven’t really hit the mark and Jr was starting to look like a Basildon Bond type of character. But thankfully Jack has a few other of his Hedley Associates team with him and Mary Pat is also involved. Given that the setting of this is the deep sea, the danger feels different because you know one slip and it could be death, it also feels very claustrophobic, which creates real tension in the book. The discovery of the Russian station also has a feel of a James Bond movie. A great read.
September 19, 2026
What did I think? Not a whole lot about this book. It is forgettable. But while I'm here - I find the distribution of advance/free copies for reviewers to be deplorable. Look at all these 5 star reviews for what is clearly a subpar offering. The quality of the Jack Jr. novels has fallen off a cliff, in this case perhaps into the Mariana Trench. And that has been the case in at least the last 3 books. Not to mention, the product placement situation is getting so embarrassing I wonder if all the authors are getting baskets full of all the knives, guns, survival gear, etc. named exhaustingly throughout each tome. (Though that has been a feature for some time now - military guys and their gadgets ...)
The cash grab is obvious. What's next, a Carla Bennet series? Both of the "Jack" series need to be shut down. "Suspension of belief" is a laughable understatement when it comes to what we're supposed to be still expecting from these books. The truth is, they've become a cash cow, installments being handed out to one ex-military hack who can't write after another. Mark Greaney was the last great post-Tom author imo.
I don't take free books in exchange for reviews. That is a travesty. But that means I've spent several hundred dollars on Jack Sr. and Jack Jr. books, and the last few in each series have been more ludicrously unbelievable than ever. Jack Sr. has to be well over 90 now, in his 10th presidency. John Clark obviously has been reincarnated. Mary Pat Foley is bathing in the fountain of youth. It is time to retire these series. Maybe all the authors that have contributed to this decline will find their mojo again - release them! Free the Clancy sub authors!
There are other "series" books that are way more engaging than these are now. Do they have to be military? Try the Reacher series by Lee Child, or some great horror by Joe Hill (KING SORROW!!) or the Pendergast novels by Preston and Child. That's just the popular stuff. Try a classic! Stop giving money to these last-gasp efforts. I already pre-ordered the next Jack Sr. book, but this is it for me for the Jack Jr. series, since the next one is also being written by the same guy that wrote this crappy one.
The cash grab is obvious. What's next, a Carla Bennet series? Both of the "Jack" series need to be shut down. "Suspension of belief" is a laughable understatement when it comes to what we're supposed to be still expecting from these books. The truth is, they've become a cash cow, installments being handed out to one ex-military hack who can't write after another. Mark Greaney was the last great post-Tom author imo.
I don't take free books in exchange for reviews. That is a travesty. But that means I've spent several hundred dollars on Jack Sr. and Jack Jr. books, and the last few in each series have been more ludicrously unbelievable than ever. Jack Sr. has to be well over 90 now, in his 10th presidency. John Clark obviously has been reincarnated. Mary Pat Foley is bathing in the fountain of youth. It is time to retire these series. Maybe all the authors that have contributed to this decline will find their mojo again - release them! Free the Clancy sub authors!
There are other "series" books that are way more engaging than these are now. Do they have to be military? Try the Reacher series by Lee Child, or some great horror by Joe Hill (KING SORROW!!) or the Pendergast novels by Preston and Child. That's just the popular stuff. Try a classic! Stop giving money to these last-gasp efforts. I already pre-ordered the next Jack Sr. book, but this is it for me for the Jack Jr. series, since the next one is also being written by the same guy that wrote this crappy one.
September 8, 2026
Detail Heavy
First, thank you author Jack Stewart for your service to our country. Like many Clancy novels, this one suffers from exhaustive detail that really bogs down the story. 100 pages less and this would be a more exciting page turner.
First, thank you author Jack Stewart for your service to our country. Like many Clancy novels, this one suffers from exhaustive detail that really bogs down the story. 100 pages less and this would be a more exciting page turner.
September 19, 2026
Always fun to read but predictable
September 5, 2026
great read
This is a much better Jack Ryan than the last few. Lots of action and at times hard to believe results, but Jack is still like the original even if he a Jr.
This is a much better Jack Ryan than the last few. Lots of action and at times hard to believe results, but Jack is still like the original even if he a Jr.
October 4, 2026
Recently, a book was released by Military Thriller Book Group's very own Jack Stewart on 1 September 2026. He was also known for the Battle Born series of thriller novels and the Silent Horizons series of military thrillers, co-written with Chad Robichaux.
Apparently, this is his first foray into the "Ryanverse", as he skillfully weaves his tale with the well-used character of Jack Ryan Jr (who is the son of the sitting President of the United States, Jack Ryan - a position that he has held since the beginning of Executive Orders in 1996).
Inside the Depths: The Covert Struggle for a Soviet Undersea Weapon
Summary
This detailed narrative unfolds around a covert intelligence and military operation centered on a mysterious underwater Soviet-era structure, codenamed Siren, located near Guam. The story interweaves multiple perspectives—from U.S. intelligence officials, Navy divers, special operations forces, and Chinese operatives—all converging on a high-stakes mission to secure or neutralize a weapon of unprecedented scale and danger.
The operation begins with the discovery of an anomalous object deep beneath the ocean surface near Guam, initially identified via sonar and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). U.S. Navy and civilian divers, including Master Diver Carla Bennett and Hendley Associates operator Jack Ryan Jr., dive to investigate this massive, pressurized undersea base which is suspected to be a control station for nuclear warheads capable of triggering tsunamis.
Complicating matters is the active presence and interference of Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operatives aboard the Research Vessel Qianlan, who are simultaneously maneuvering to secure and control the weapon ahead of the Americans. The narrative traces escalating tension through underwater combat, sabotage, and intelligence maneuvers, culminating in an underwater firefight and diver peril as Jack Ryan Jr. becomes trapped in a crevice and sustains a life-threatening injury.
Throughout the story, strategic decisions and tactical challenges highlight the dangers of saturation diving at nearly 600 feet depth, the critical role of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and the immense physical and psychological pressures on the personnel involved. Parallel to the action beneath the waves is a high-level intelligence race involving the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, John Clark, and his team, who piece together archival intelligence and current peril to understand and counter the Soviet weapon’s threat.
The climax reveals that the weapon itself comprises five megaton-range nuclear warheads on tethers designed to detonate near the ocean surface to create devastating localized tsunamis, aiming to neutralize critical Pacific U.S. territories like Guam and Hawaii. The U.S. team faces profound vulnerabilities, including a compromised UUV susceptible to takeover and severing of critical tether lines that could doom divers. The story balances intimate human drama, technical diving intricacies, and broad geopolitical intrigue, illustrating the life-or-death stakes of espionage and warfare hidden beneath the ocean surface.
__________________
Highlights
> Discovery of a Soviet-era undersea base Siren near Guam with massive nuclear capability.
> Deep saturation diving operations at nearly 600 feet by Navy divers and special forces.
> Chinese Ministry of State Security operatives covertly aboard Qianlan pursuing the same target.
> Underwater combat and diver rescues amid looming threats of rapidly deteriorating conditions.
> Intelligence unraveling with involvement of former KGB colonel Alexei Morozov revealing weapon details.
> The weapon consists of five 5-megaton warheads tethered near the surface to generate tsunamis.
> Complex underwater rescue system deployment (SRDRS) and vulnerabilities to electronic sabotage.
Key Insights
> Cold War Ghosts in the Modern Age: The resurfacing of Siren—a forgotten Soviet Cold War weapon—reveals how decades-old projects could still pose potent threats, especially when covertly exploited or reactivated by rising powers like China with strategic ambitions in the Pacific.
> Tsunamigenic Weapon Mechanisms: Unlike conventional nuclear detonations, Siren’s design to trigger megatsunami via multiple nuclear warheads tethered to ascend near the sea surface exemplifies a unique and devastating strategic weapon concept, raising the stakes far beyond traditional battlefield weapons.
> Extreme Diving Challenges: The narrative highlights the complexity and danger of saturation diving to extreme depths (~600 ft), including physiological risks (nitrogen narcosis, oxygen toxicity), operational pressures, and the critical need for specialized equipment such as pressurized rescue modules and decompression chambers.
> Technology and Vulnerabilities: The use of advanced autonomous underwater vehicles (Manta Ray UUV) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) is essential but also introduces new vulnerabilities, such as hacking and loss of control that could sabotage surface operations or endanger divers.
> Underwater Combat Dynamics: The story vividly demonstrates a rare area of warfare—underwater hand-to-hand and armed combat—where physical constraints, oxygen supply, and pressure make engagements uniquely lethal and complicated for diver combatants.
> Intelligence Community Complexities: The involvement of various U.S. agencies and directorates, coordination with private intelligence fronts (Hendley Associates, The Campus), and the importance of historic context with former KGB operatives sheds light on the intricate, multi-dimensional chess game at the center of modern intelligence gathering and covert operations.
> Redundancy and Fail-Safes in Nuclear Systems: The existence of external fail-safe mechanisms on the weapon and the debate over how to safely dock with and disable the structure illustrates the balance of offensive capability and inherent risk in nuclear arsenals, especially under unconventional deployment methods.
This multilayered operation showcases how age-old Cold War secrets beneath the Pacific have emerged as a focal point for modern geopolitical conflict, combining cutting-edge technology and human valor in the most unforgiving of environments—the deep ocean.
__________________
Jack Ryan, Jr. is the eldest son of U.S. President Jack Ryan, Sr. and Dr. Cathy Ryan, first introduced by author Tom Clancy in the 2003 novel The Teeth of the Tiger (though apparently his birth was announced in the 1988 novel The Cardinal of the Kremlin).
While I was a die-hard Tom Clancy (reading all of his books up to when he started to Executive Orders (1996)), I think that this may have been my first foray into the "Ryanverse" in almost thirty years.
While in the early years of the 2000's Clancy relied heavily upon ghostwriters and credited collaborators, including Marc Cameron, Mark Greaney, Brian Andrews, and Jeffrey Wilson (these authors were in the Jack Ryan Sr portion of the "Ryanverse").
The other portion of the "Ryanverse" has been written primarily by Grant Blackwood, Mike Madden, Don Bentley, M.P. Woodward, and now Jack Stewart.
Taking over an established franchise is never easy, especially when the name on the cover is as iconic as Tom Clancy. Fortunately, Jack Stewart, a former fighter pilot turned seasoned writer with previous estate writing (for the W.E.B. Griffin) under his belt, doesn’t just keep the Jack Ryan Jr. series moving—he injects it with a fresh dose of excitement, urgency, and cinematic energy.
Set after the events of Tom Clancy Terminal Velocity (M.P. Woodward, 2025), Stewart opens the 15th Jack Ryan Jr. adventure with Jack traveling to Guam on what’s supposed to be a routine insurance matter for Hendley Associates, a legitimate financial trading and analysis firm whose primary function is to serve as a front for “The Campus,” a top-secret, off-the-books U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism agency. Generally, as longtime readers have come to expect, even “routine” Hendley assignments have a habit of turning into action-packed missions when Ryan is involved, and once again, it does not take long for things to take a deadly turn here.
After connecting with a U.S. Navy dive team searching for an old, rumored Soviet submarine-tracking system, Jack learns that the technology resting on the ocean floor is neither as harmless nor obsolete as they previously believed. In reality, it’s a weapon of staggering destructive potential. Worse yet, a Chinese special operations unit is already moving to claim it.
From there, Stewart turns the Pacific into a pressure cooker as competing teams begin closing on the same objective, with more than a few surprises waiting within the pages you’ll no doubt find yourself racing through, sprinting to the end to see how things play out.
With regard to my vaunted five-star rating, this is one of those books that I believe is worthy of a strong four-star rating (especially considering this is his debut effort on a series that has had many great (and maybe not-so-great) authors before). Fans of writers such as Mark Greaney, Brian Andrews, David Bruns, and Jim Bultema should definitely give this effort a go, they will soon find a new favourite.
As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents' worth.
Apparently, this is his first foray into the "Ryanverse", as he skillfully weaves his tale with the well-used character of Jack Ryan Jr (who is the son of the sitting President of the United States, Jack Ryan - a position that he has held since the beginning of Executive Orders in 1996).
Inside the Depths: The Covert Struggle for a Soviet Undersea Weapon
Summary
This detailed narrative unfolds around a covert intelligence and military operation centered on a mysterious underwater Soviet-era structure, codenamed Siren, located near Guam. The story interweaves multiple perspectives—from U.S. intelligence officials, Navy divers, special operations forces, and Chinese operatives—all converging on a high-stakes mission to secure or neutralize a weapon of unprecedented scale and danger.
The operation begins with the discovery of an anomalous object deep beneath the ocean surface near Guam, initially identified via sonar and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). U.S. Navy and civilian divers, including Master Diver Carla Bennett and Hendley Associates operator Jack Ryan Jr., dive to investigate this massive, pressurized undersea base which is suspected to be a control station for nuclear warheads capable of triggering tsunamis.
Complicating matters is the active presence and interference of Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operatives aboard the Research Vessel Qianlan, who are simultaneously maneuvering to secure and control the weapon ahead of the Americans. The narrative traces escalating tension through underwater combat, sabotage, and intelligence maneuvers, culminating in an underwater firefight and diver peril as Jack Ryan Jr. becomes trapped in a crevice and sustains a life-threatening injury.
Throughout the story, strategic decisions and tactical challenges highlight the dangers of saturation diving at nearly 600 feet depth, the critical role of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and the immense physical and psychological pressures on the personnel involved. Parallel to the action beneath the waves is a high-level intelligence race involving the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, John Clark, and his team, who piece together archival intelligence and current peril to understand and counter the Soviet weapon’s threat.
The climax reveals that the weapon itself comprises five megaton-range nuclear warheads on tethers designed to detonate near the ocean surface to create devastating localized tsunamis, aiming to neutralize critical Pacific U.S. territories like Guam and Hawaii. The U.S. team faces profound vulnerabilities, including a compromised UUV susceptible to takeover and severing of critical tether lines that could doom divers. The story balances intimate human drama, technical diving intricacies, and broad geopolitical intrigue, illustrating the life-or-death stakes of espionage and warfare hidden beneath the ocean surface.
__________________
Highlights
> Discovery of a Soviet-era undersea base Siren near Guam with massive nuclear capability.
> Deep saturation diving operations at nearly 600 feet by Navy divers and special forces.
> Chinese Ministry of State Security operatives covertly aboard Qianlan pursuing the same target.
> Underwater combat and diver rescues amid looming threats of rapidly deteriorating conditions.
> Intelligence unraveling with involvement of former KGB colonel Alexei Morozov revealing weapon details.
> The weapon consists of five 5-megaton warheads tethered near the surface to generate tsunamis.
> Complex underwater rescue system deployment (SRDRS) and vulnerabilities to electronic sabotage.
Key Insights
> Cold War Ghosts in the Modern Age: The resurfacing of Siren—a forgotten Soviet Cold War weapon—reveals how decades-old projects could still pose potent threats, especially when covertly exploited or reactivated by rising powers like China with strategic ambitions in the Pacific.
> Tsunamigenic Weapon Mechanisms: Unlike conventional nuclear detonations, Siren’s design to trigger megatsunami via multiple nuclear warheads tethered to ascend near the sea surface exemplifies a unique and devastating strategic weapon concept, raising the stakes far beyond traditional battlefield weapons.
> Extreme Diving Challenges: The narrative highlights the complexity and danger of saturation diving to extreme depths (~600 ft), including physiological risks (nitrogen narcosis, oxygen toxicity), operational pressures, and the critical need for specialized equipment such as pressurized rescue modules and decompression chambers.
> Technology and Vulnerabilities: The use of advanced autonomous underwater vehicles (Manta Ray UUV) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) is essential but also introduces new vulnerabilities, such as hacking and loss of control that could sabotage surface operations or endanger divers.
> Underwater Combat Dynamics: The story vividly demonstrates a rare area of warfare—underwater hand-to-hand and armed combat—where physical constraints, oxygen supply, and pressure make engagements uniquely lethal and complicated for diver combatants.
> Intelligence Community Complexities: The involvement of various U.S. agencies and directorates, coordination with private intelligence fronts (Hendley Associates, The Campus), and the importance of historic context with former KGB operatives sheds light on the intricate, multi-dimensional chess game at the center of modern intelligence gathering and covert operations.
> Redundancy and Fail-Safes in Nuclear Systems: The existence of external fail-safe mechanisms on the weapon and the debate over how to safely dock with and disable the structure illustrates the balance of offensive capability and inherent risk in nuclear arsenals, especially under unconventional deployment methods.
This multilayered operation showcases how age-old Cold War secrets beneath the Pacific have emerged as a focal point for modern geopolitical conflict, combining cutting-edge technology and human valor in the most unforgiving of environments—the deep ocean.
__________________
Jack Ryan, Jr. is the eldest son of U.S. President Jack Ryan, Sr. and Dr. Cathy Ryan, first introduced by author Tom Clancy in the 2003 novel The Teeth of the Tiger (though apparently his birth was announced in the 1988 novel The Cardinal of the Kremlin).
While I was a die-hard Tom Clancy (reading all of his books up to when he started to Executive Orders (1996)), I think that this may have been my first foray into the "Ryanverse" in almost thirty years.
While in the early years of the 2000's Clancy relied heavily upon ghostwriters and credited collaborators, including Marc Cameron, Mark Greaney, Brian Andrews, and Jeffrey Wilson (these authors were in the Jack Ryan Sr portion of the "Ryanverse").
The other portion of the "Ryanverse" has been written primarily by Grant Blackwood, Mike Madden, Don Bentley, M.P. Woodward, and now Jack Stewart.
Taking over an established franchise is never easy, especially when the name on the cover is as iconic as Tom Clancy. Fortunately, Jack Stewart, a former fighter pilot turned seasoned writer with previous estate writing (for the W.E.B. Griffin) under his belt, doesn’t just keep the Jack Ryan Jr. series moving—he injects it with a fresh dose of excitement, urgency, and cinematic energy.
Set after the events of Tom Clancy Terminal Velocity (M.P. Woodward, 2025), Stewart opens the 15th Jack Ryan Jr. adventure with Jack traveling to Guam on what’s supposed to be a routine insurance matter for Hendley Associates, a legitimate financial trading and analysis firm whose primary function is to serve as a front for “The Campus,” a top-secret, off-the-books U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism agency. Generally, as longtime readers have come to expect, even “routine” Hendley assignments have a habit of turning into action-packed missions when Ryan is involved, and once again, it does not take long for things to take a deadly turn here.
After connecting with a U.S. Navy dive team searching for an old, rumored Soviet submarine-tracking system, Jack learns that the technology resting on the ocean floor is neither as harmless nor obsolete as they previously believed. In reality, it’s a weapon of staggering destructive potential. Worse yet, a Chinese special operations unit is already moving to claim it.
From there, Stewart turns the Pacific into a pressure cooker as competing teams begin closing on the same objective, with more than a few surprises waiting within the pages you’ll no doubt find yourself racing through, sprinting to the end to see how things play out.
With regard to my vaunted five-star rating, this is one of those books that I believe is worthy of a strong four-star rating (especially considering this is his debut effort on a series that has had many great (and maybe not-so-great) authors before). Fans of writers such as Mark Greaney, Brian Andrews, David Bruns, and Jim Bultema should definitely give this effort a go, they will soon find a new favourite.
As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents' worth.
August 27, 2026
I always forget how much I love these freakin books. I need to start from the beginning and read them all. Adrenaline fueled cinematic quality adventure at its finest. The entire book keeps you on your toes. I swear my blood pressure was up the entire second half of it.
Read
April 9, 2026Tom Clancy’s Pressure Depth is another entry in the Tom Clancy universe, following Jack Ryan as he works to keep the U.S. safe from emerging threats. This time, the conflict centers on a high-stakes race against China to locate a lost Russian nuclear launch facility from the Cold War, hidden deep in the Pacific near Guam. Working alongside the White House Situation Room, the Office of National Intelligence, the U.S. Navy, and Hendley Associates, Ryan and his team try to stop the Chinese from reaching—and potentially activating—the submerged nuclear site. The story is packed with action and tension, with plenty of moving parts and side plots that keep things interesting without feeling overwhelming. From underwater missions to global political maneuvering, there’s always something happening.
Overall, it’s an engaging, well-written thriller that delivers exactly what you’d expect from a Tom Clancy-style story: fast pacing, big stakes, and nonstop intrigue. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s sons publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Overall, it’s an engaging, well-written thriller that delivers exactly what you’d expect from a Tom Clancy-style story: fast pacing, big stakes, and nonstop intrigue. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s sons publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
April 25, 2026
This was a fantastic thriller featuring Jack Ryan Jr. dealing with a weapon buried on the sea floor that could cause devastation to America and her allies. This is my first Jack Stewart book and he did a phenomenal job of attention to details as well as living up to the Clancy hype and I look forward to more of his work in this universe. Thanks to Putnam books and Jack Stewart for this early copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
You know that feeling when you're sent somewhere to do a boring work assignment and suddenly you're fighting international bad guys over a secret weapon at the bottom of the ocean? No? Just Jack Ryan Jr., apparently.
Going into Tom Clancy Pressure Depth, I was operating on a very casual acquaintance level with the Ryan family. We nod at each other across the room. I've read some books. I've watched some adaptations. I know Jack Ryan's whole thing is being the world's most stressed man. What I did not know is that Jack Ryan Jr. inherited the exact same superpower where he cannot walk into a mildly suspicious situation without accidentally uncovering a global catastrophe.
The setup here is delightfully unhinged. Jack is in Guam working what is supposed to be a fairly routine assignment when a Navy dive operation uncovers something buried deep underwater that absolutely nobody should be finding. The Americans want it. The Chinese want it. Suddenly everyone is swimming around the Pacific like they're in the world's most dangerous game of underwater capture the flag.
And listen, if you handed me a summary that included Cold War secrets, deep-sea diving, Chinese special operators, nuclear threats, military intelligence, and enough underwater pressure to turn my entire skeleton into jelly, I would've assumed this thing would become a technical manual halfway through. Surprisingly, I was locked in. The diving stuff is detailed, sure, but in that way where you start learning horrifying facts about saturation diving and immediately regret having lungs. Every time someone went underwater, I developed a brand-new fear.
Jack Jr. is also a lot more fun than I expected. He's competent, but not in that invincible action hero way where you know he'll casually solve every problem while looking cool. Half the tension comes from the fact that this man frequently finds himself in situations where other people are significantly more qualified than he is. There's something weirdly charming about watching a guy realize he might be in over his head while still refusing to back down because apparently poor decision-making is genetic in this family.
The real star, though, is the atmosphere. Everything feels claustrophobic. The ocean is already terrifying before you start hiding Cold War nightmares under it. Every dive felt like something could go catastrophically wrong at any second. At one point I realized I was holding my breath while reading about people holding their breath, which feels medically unnecessary but here we are.
What I appreciated most is that underneath all the military hardware and geopolitical maneuvering, the book never loses sight of the people involved. Jack's still figuring out who he is. The supporting cast gets room to shine. The villains feel dangerous. Nobody's just standing around waiting for the plot to happen. Everyone's moving, scheming, diving, chasing, or trying very hard not to die in the Pacific Ocean.
The last chunk of this book absolutely rips. Once everything clicks into place, it becomes one of those "just one more chapter" situations that somehow ends with you reading fifty pages and wondering why it's suddenly midnight. I had a couple tiny moments where I thought the technical details threatened to stage a hostile takeover, but the story always managed to pull me right back in.
This ended up being a very easy 4.5-star read for me. Big stakes, great tension, underwater terror, and enough Cold War paranoia to make me immediately suspicious of every object sitting quietly on the ocean floor. Apparently there are people who look at the Mariana Trench and think, "Let's investigate that." Couldn't be me.
Whodunity Award: For Making The Bottom Of The Ocean Somehow Feel More Stressful Than Most Murder Scenes
And thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC. Nothing says a relaxing reading experience quite like discovering new reasons to fear deep water while Jack Ryan Jr. treats international incidents like an extracurricular activity.
Going into Tom Clancy Pressure Depth, I was operating on a very casual acquaintance level with the Ryan family. We nod at each other across the room. I've read some books. I've watched some adaptations. I know Jack Ryan's whole thing is being the world's most stressed man. What I did not know is that Jack Ryan Jr. inherited the exact same superpower where he cannot walk into a mildly suspicious situation without accidentally uncovering a global catastrophe.
The setup here is delightfully unhinged. Jack is in Guam working what is supposed to be a fairly routine assignment when a Navy dive operation uncovers something buried deep underwater that absolutely nobody should be finding. The Americans want it. The Chinese want it. Suddenly everyone is swimming around the Pacific like they're in the world's most dangerous game of underwater capture the flag.
And listen, if you handed me a summary that included Cold War secrets, deep-sea diving, Chinese special operators, nuclear threats, military intelligence, and enough underwater pressure to turn my entire skeleton into jelly, I would've assumed this thing would become a technical manual halfway through. Surprisingly, I was locked in. The diving stuff is detailed, sure, but in that way where you start learning horrifying facts about saturation diving and immediately regret having lungs. Every time someone went underwater, I developed a brand-new fear.
Jack Jr. is also a lot more fun than I expected. He's competent, but not in that invincible action hero way where you know he'll casually solve every problem while looking cool. Half the tension comes from the fact that this man frequently finds himself in situations where other people are significantly more qualified than he is. There's something weirdly charming about watching a guy realize he might be in over his head while still refusing to back down because apparently poor decision-making is genetic in this family.
The real star, though, is the atmosphere. Everything feels claustrophobic. The ocean is already terrifying before you start hiding Cold War nightmares under it. Every dive felt like something could go catastrophically wrong at any second. At one point I realized I was holding my breath while reading about people holding their breath, which feels medically unnecessary but here we are.
What I appreciated most is that underneath all the military hardware and geopolitical maneuvering, the book never loses sight of the people involved. Jack's still figuring out who he is. The supporting cast gets room to shine. The villains feel dangerous. Nobody's just standing around waiting for the plot to happen. Everyone's moving, scheming, diving, chasing, or trying very hard not to die in the Pacific Ocean.
The last chunk of this book absolutely rips. Once everything clicks into place, it becomes one of those "just one more chapter" situations that somehow ends with you reading fifty pages and wondering why it's suddenly midnight. I had a couple tiny moments where I thought the technical details threatened to stage a hostile takeover, but the story always managed to pull me right back in.
This ended up being a very easy 4.5-star read for me. Big stakes, great tension, underwater terror, and enough Cold War paranoia to make me immediately suspicious of every object sitting quietly on the ocean floor. Apparently there are people who look at the Mariana Trench and think, "Let's investigate that." Couldn't be me.
Whodunity Award: For Making The Bottom Of The Ocean Somehow Feel More Stressful Than Most Murder Scenes
And thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC. Nothing says a relaxing reading experience quite like discovering new reasons to fear deep water while Jack Ryan Jr. treats international incidents like an extracurricular activity.
September 19, 2026
Tom Clancy Pressure Depth: A jack Ryan Jr. Novel, Jack Stewart, author; Scott Brick, narrator
While on vacation, trying to get over his recent broken engagement, Jack Ryan Jr., gets a call from Hendley Associates to investigate what is believed to be a fraudulent insurance claim for a container ship called the Meridian Star. It seems that it sank close to Guam, near the Marieta Islands. The ship was boarded by unknowns, the cargo was dumped, the crew was murdered, and the ship was sunk. The ship was registered in Singapore but was believed to be of Russian origin. The attackers were later believed to be Asian.
The missing container ship was secretly carrying nuclear warheads, but who would have known and arranged to attack it? Why would the attackers then dump the warheads into the ocean? Jack flies to Guam. He assembles an experienced dive team to search for the cargo and discover answers. He seeks to enlist Navy divers like Doug Park and Carla Bennett. Kendrick Moore immediately agrees to join him, but Doug and Carla refuse.
Prior to their meeting, Chief Carla Bennett, a very experienced diver, had been running the ship Salvor, on a salvage operation near Guam, for the Navy. She discovered the existence of an unusually large and unknown object anchored deep beneath the sea in the Mariana Trench, also near Guam. It is the deepest place on earth. She reported her discovery, and suddenly, her salvage operation was canceled. She was told to scrub all information about her discovery. Why would the Director of National Intelligence, Mary Pat Foley, instruct her to do this? She secretly kept a copy on her laptop. She believed no one knew it was there, but she was wrong.
There was also a Chinese research vessel commanded by Colonel Sheng Liao, in the area. What was that ship doing there? China had been expanding its presence in the South China Sea. It was supposedly conducting benign operations.
When Doug Park was attacked in his room and violently beaten, and Carla’s laptop was stolen and her room was trashed, Carla wondered why anyone would attack them. Could anyone else have known about her clandestine copy of the discovery of the unknown object on the bottom of the ocean? Could there be a leaker? Was someone watching her? How much danger were they in? Then she and Jack and Doug were attacked again. Kendrick Moore came to the rescue after hearing gunshots. Doug and Carla had little choice but to join the investigation.
When they learned about the missing cargo and the reason for the Cold War Russian ship named “Siren”, the very one that Carla discovered deep beneath the ocean, they knew that the mission they were joining had become vital. The safety of the world was at stake as China had devised a diabolical plan to gain back control of Taiwan. Together with the Navy Seals, could Jack and his fellow divers prevent a possible future Armageddon?
The book has a great deal of technical information which may or may not interest all readers. For some, it may even go over their heads, as it did mine. In addition, there is a minor undertone about Jack and Lizann’s engagement. She has broken off with Jack and he is smarting. While it seemed irrelevant to the constant action of the novel, perhaps it was meant to inspire a new romance. between Carla and Jack in future books? She is beautiful, talented and well aware of the demands of his job.
While on vacation, trying to get over his recent broken engagement, Jack Ryan Jr., gets a call from Hendley Associates to investigate what is believed to be a fraudulent insurance claim for a container ship called the Meridian Star. It seems that it sank close to Guam, near the Marieta Islands. The ship was boarded by unknowns, the cargo was dumped, the crew was murdered, and the ship was sunk. The ship was registered in Singapore but was believed to be of Russian origin. The attackers were later believed to be Asian.
The missing container ship was secretly carrying nuclear warheads, but who would have known and arranged to attack it? Why would the attackers then dump the warheads into the ocean? Jack flies to Guam. He assembles an experienced dive team to search for the cargo and discover answers. He seeks to enlist Navy divers like Doug Park and Carla Bennett. Kendrick Moore immediately agrees to join him, but Doug and Carla refuse.
Prior to their meeting, Chief Carla Bennett, a very experienced diver, had been running the ship Salvor, on a salvage operation near Guam, for the Navy. She discovered the existence of an unusually large and unknown object anchored deep beneath the sea in the Mariana Trench, also near Guam. It is the deepest place on earth. She reported her discovery, and suddenly, her salvage operation was canceled. She was told to scrub all information about her discovery. Why would the Director of National Intelligence, Mary Pat Foley, instruct her to do this? She secretly kept a copy on her laptop. She believed no one knew it was there, but she was wrong.
There was also a Chinese research vessel commanded by Colonel Sheng Liao, in the area. What was that ship doing there? China had been expanding its presence in the South China Sea. It was supposedly conducting benign operations.
When Doug Park was attacked in his room and violently beaten, and Carla’s laptop was stolen and her room was trashed, Carla wondered why anyone would attack them. Could anyone else have known about her clandestine copy of the discovery of the unknown object on the bottom of the ocean? Could there be a leaker? Was someone watching her? How much danger were they in? Then she and Jack and Doug were attacked again. Kendrick Moore came to the rescue after hearing gunshots. Doug and Carla had little choice but to join the investigation.
When they learned about the missing cargo and the reason for the Cold War Russian ship named “Siren”, the very one that Carla discovered deep beneath the ocean, they knew that the mission they were joining had become vital. The safety of the world was at stake as China had devised a diabolical plan to gain back control of Taiwan. Together with the Navy Seals, could Jack and his fellow divers prevent a possible future Armageddon?
The book has a great deal of technical information which may or may not interest all readers. For some, it may even go over their heads, as it did mine. In addition, there is a minor undertone about Jack and Lizann’s engagement. She has broken off with Jack and he is smarting. While it seemed irrelevant to the constant action of the novel, perhaps it was meant to inspire a new romance. between Carla and Jack in future books? She is beautiful, talented and well aware of the demands of his job.
October 13, 2026
I n Tom Clancy: Pressure Depth, Jack Ryan Jr. finds himself caught up in a dangerous underwater operation that quickly escalates into a threat to international security. What begins as a seemingly routine assignment off the coast of Guam leads to the discovery of a mysterious piece of Cold War-era technology that could have devastating consequences if it falls into the wrong hands.
With Chinese special operations forces also pursuing the technology, Jack Ryan Jr. and his allies must navigate a high-stakes mission where advanced technology, military strategy, and underwater dangers collide. As the situation grows more dangerous, the team faces a race against time to prevent a potential catastrophe.
Packed with technical details, military intrigue, and suspense, Pressure Depth delivers an action-filled thriller that explores the dangerous intersection of technology and global power.
My thoughts: One of the biggest challenges of continuing a beloved series after its original author has passed away is capturing the spirit of what made it special in the first place. Tom Clancy built an incredible universe, and since his death, the series has continued through a revolving door of talented authors. With Pressure Depth, Jack Stewart delivers a welcome addition to that legacy.
What I particularly enjoyed was Stewart’s emphasis on technology and technical detail. Rather than relying solely on gunfights and nonstop action, he gives readers a techno-thriller that really explores the equipment, operations, and technical challenges involved in the mission. That added dimension made the story especially enjoyable for me.
The underwater sequences were another major highlight. Stewart’s descriptions were so vivid that I could almost feel like I was right there alongside the divers, experiencing the tension and danger of the operation firsthand. He does an excellent job of immersing the reader in that environment, making the underwater setting feel like an essential part of the story rather than simply a backdrop for the action.
This was definitely a page-turner for me, and the suspense builds as the story progresses. The ending, in particular, had me on the edge of my seat. Stewart does a great job of keeping the tension high and making the stakes feel real.
Overall, I thought Pressure Depth was a very enjoyable entry in the Tom Clancy universe. It captures the military intrigue and technical detail that fans have come to expect while bringing something fresh to the table. I hope Jack Stewart continues writing these novels because I would love to see him help breathe new life into the series. If this book is any indication of what he can bring to the table, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what comes next!
Final Verdict: A suspenseful, technology-driven military thriller that honors Tom Clancy’s legacy while delivering an exciting adventure of its own.
With Chinese special operations forces also pursuing the technology, Jack Ryan Jr. and his allies must navigate a high-stakes mission where advanced technology, military strategy, and underwater dangers collide. As the situation grows more dangerous, the team faces a race against time to prevent a potential catastrophe.
Packed with technical details, military intrigue, and suspense, Pressure Depth delivers an action-filled thriller that explores the dangerous intersection of technology and global power.
My thoughts: One of the biggest challenges of continuing a beloved series after its original author has passed away is capturing the spirit of what made it special in the first place. Tom Clancy built an incredible universe, and since his death, the series has continued through a revolving door of talented authors. With Pressure Depth, Jack Stewart delivers a welcome addition to that legacy.
What I particularly enjoyed was Stewart’s emphasis on technology and technical detail. Rather than relying solely on gunfights and nonstop action, he gives readers a techno-thriller that really explores the equipment, operations, and technical challenges involved in the mission. That added dimension made the story especially enjoyable for me.
The underwater sequences were another major highlight. Stewart’s descriptions were so vivid that I could almost feel like I was right there alongside the divers, experiencing the tension and danger of the operation firsthand. He does an excellent job of immersing the reader in that environment, making the underwater setting feel like an essential part of the story rather than simply a backdrop for the action.
This was definitely a page-turner for me, and the suspense builds as the story progresses. The ending, in particular, had me on the edge of my seat. Stewart does a great job of keeping the tension high and making the stakes feel real.
Overall, I thought Pressure Depth was a very enjoyable entry in the Tom Clancy universe. It captures the military intrigue and technical detail that fans have come to expect while bringing something fresh to the table. I hope Jack Stewart continues writing these novels because I would love to see him help breathe new life into the series. If this book is any indication of what he can bring to the table, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what comes next!
Final Verdict: A suspenseful, technology-driven military thriller that honors Tom Clancy’s legacy while delivering an exciting adventure of its own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I suppose it sounds strange to give a book a 5-star rating when there were chunks of it I totally skimmed, but let me explain. Once when I visited a top-of-the-water submarine in downtown Cleveland and had the chance to venture down the tube that led to the guts of the beast, I took one look and ran the other way. Yep, I’m definitely on the claustrophobic side, so being seriously enclosed like that, even if it’s not under water is pretty terrifying. Well, guess what this book is all about?
Mind you, I wasn’t too fearful that the hero of the story, Jack Ryan Jr., son of U.S. President Jack Ryan (he of The Hunt for Red October, an all-time favorite book), would meet a watery, highly pressurized demise. But over the series, I’ve come to know and love several of his friends and cohorts at Hendley Associates, where he fills roles on both the “legitimate” and clandestine sides of the company, so I WAS worried about them. And as can be deduced by my earlier comments, I can’t think of a worse way to go than on the sea floor mere feet from the Mariana Trench – the deepest oceanic trench on Earth.
This time out, Jack – whose fiancé and co-worker Lisanne Robertson are no longer an item – is planning a dive with co-worker Doug Park to inspect a sunken ship in the Philippine Sea near Guam thought to be carrying illicit and potentially dangerous cargo. Meantime, on another ship, captain Carla Bennett has spotted an object dangerously near the Mariana Trench that shouldn’t be there – it appears to be about the length of a submarine and has a corroded hull. More importantly, perhaps, is that it has a logo that looks suspiciously Russian. So what is it and how did it get where it is now? Further research finds it just may be one thought to have been surreptitiously placed by the Russians long ago for nefarious purposes. To get to the truth, Jack and his dive team will need to sink to all new levels. Problem is, someone else is determined to get there before they do and stop them from learning the truth.
For sure, it’s a mission fraught with danger - the details of which, of course, will be revealed as the story unfolds (I’m certainly not doing to be a wet blanket and spill the beans). I will say, though, that I learned way more than I ever wanted to about deep sea diving (a lot of it so technical it went way over my head, actually). And if I weren’t already certain I’d never want any part of deep sea diving, trust me, I’d be convinced after finishing the book. Parts, in fact, I had to skim over or else face having nightmares for weeks to come.
All that said, though, it’s a riveting, well-written story – and I’m already looking forward to the next adventure (though I’m hoping most of it will take place on dry land). Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.
Mind you, I wasn’t too fearful that the hero of the story, Jack Ryan Jr., son of U.S. President Jack Ryan (he of The Hunt for Red October, an all-time favorite book), would meet a watery, highly pressurized demise. But over the series, I’ve come to know and love several of his friends and cohorts at Hendley Associates, where he fills roles on both the “legitimate” and clandestine sides of the company, so I WAS worried about them. And as can be deduced by my earlier comments, I can’t think of a worse way to go than on the sea floor mere feet from the Mariana Trench – the deepest oceanic trench on Earth.
This time out, Jack – whose fiancé and co-worker Lisanne Robertson are no longer an item – is planning a dive with co-worker Doug Park to inspect a sunken ship in the Philippine Sea near Guam thought to be carrying illicit and potentially dangerous cargo. Meantime, on another ship, captain Carla Bennett has spotted an object dangerously near the Mariana Trench that shouldn’t be there – it appears to be about the length of a submarine and has a corroded hull. More importantly, perhaps, is that it has a logo that looks suspiciously Russian. So what is it and how did it get where it is now? Further research finds it just may be one thought to have been surreptitiously placed by the Russians long ago for nefarious purposes. To get to the truth, Jack and his dive team will need to sink to all new levels. Problem is, someone else is determined to get there before they do and stop them from learning the truth.
For sure, it’s a mission fraught with danger - the details of which, of course, will be revealed as the story unfolds (I’m certainly not doing to be a wet blanket and spill the beans). I will say, though, that I learned way more than I ever wanted to about deep sea diving (a lot of it so technical it went way over my head, actually). And if I weren’t already certain I’d never want any part of deep sea diving, trust me, I’d be convinced after finishing the book. Parts, in fact, I had to skim over or else face having nightmares for weeks to come.
All that said, though, it’s a riveting, well-written story – and I’m already looking forward to the next adventure (though I’m hoping most of it will take place on dry land). Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.
September 12, 2026
Jack Stewart’s “Tom Clancy Pressure Depth” takes the Ryanverse somewhere its familiar geopolitical machinery has rarely gone: down into the black, claustrophobic depths of the western Pacific. The result is a tense, technically flavored thriller that understands a central Clancy truth—technology is never merely hardware; it is power, leverage, and, in the wrong hands, catastrophe. Jack Ryan Jr. arrives on Guam for what appears to be a routine Hendley Associates insurance assignment involving a sunken vessel. Naturally, the mundane proves temporary. A murdered crew, illicit radioactive cargo, Chinese special operators, and the discovery of Siren—a lost Soviet undersea device with a horrifying strategic purpose—pull Jack into a race conducted under crushing pressure, in every sense of the phrase. The premise has the satisfying audacity of classic techno-thriller fiction: a Cold War relic, presumed obsolete, turns out to be the fuse on a thoroughly modern crisis. Stewart’s strongest decision is to make the ocean itself the book’s dominant antagonist. The underwater setting is not an exotic backdrop for a conventional firefight. Depth, decompression, visibility, time, machinery, and the sheer indifference of the sea impose constraints that make every choice feel consequential. The technical diving and naval detail give the story its credibility without wholly obscuring its forward momentum. At its best, the novel creates the old Clancy sensation that the reader is learning just enough about specialized equipment and operational procedure to appreciate why one small failure could become fatal. Jack Jr. benefits from the environment as well. He remains capable and resourceful, but he is not treated as a one-man solution to every problem. Navy master diver Carla Bennett and the broader ensemble bring competence, courage, and a welcome team dynamic to the mission. That distribution of expertise keeps the narrative grounded in the professional cultures—diving, naval operations, intelligence, and special operations—that have long powered the series. The plot occasionally leans into the extravagant escalation expected of the franchise, and some readers may find its geopolitical menace more familiar than surprising. Yet the book’s last act earns its urgency through the physical realities Stewart establishes early: at depth, options disappear quickly. “Pressure Depth” is not simply a change of scenery for Jack Ryan Jr.; it is a convincing expansion of his world. Stewart delivers an atmospheric, high-stakes adventure that honors the Clancy tradition while proving there are still dangerous places for the Ryanverse to explore—especially where sunlight cannot reach.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Navy Chief Carla Bennett and Financial Analyst Jack Ryan Jr are in Guam for very different reasons--Bennett to investigate a sunken Cold War era Soviet submarine and Ryan to investigate an insurance claim in his cover role for the campus. Little do each know but their goals for being there are about to change as the US government finds out that the Chinese have a great interest in the sunken Soviet submarine. Fortunately there are senior citizens who are still around to provide information on old technology and submarines from this era and can shed light on the importance of the stopping the Chinese from retrieving the technology lying below the water. The race is on! What is needed to accomplish this new mission and what are the Chinese willing to do to retrieve the technology?
There is not a lot of love lost between Bennett and Ryan Jr and getting past this is the first obstacle they have to get over. Jack Steward has the knowledge of ships, submarines, and diving as well as the writing skills to explain what needs to happen, all the while giving the reader lots of thrills and suspense. Personally I love that fact that this book and Clancy's others increase my knowledge and understanding of the world. Sometimes it can slow the action, but background knowledge is important to comprehend what is happening in the story.
Jack is put in a role where he is uncomfortable and does not have the training and experience like his mentors Jack Clark and Ding Chavez to accomplish the mission goals, but he reaches deep and overcomes these feelings because Mary Pat Foley and his father, the President, are counting on him. I do wish that the authors of the Jack Ryan Jr series would stop trying to put him in romantic situations with people he is working with. It doesn't add to the story and makes him look like he is incapable of having relationships. You know they say there is someone out there for everyone!
I do love that Clancy and authors who are continuing to bring his characters to life in novels after Clancy's death bring to light threats and dangers that the United States has been faced with so the public doesn't think that the defense of our country is easy and the government is not daily being called upon to make difficult decisions to keep us safe.
Thank you to NetGalley and G P Putnam's Sons for providing me thrills and an Advance Reading Copy.
There is not a lot of love lost between Bennett and Ryan Jr and getting past this is the first obstacle they have to get over. Jack Steward has the knowledge of ships, submarines, and diving as well as the writing skills to explain what needs to happen, all the while giving the reader lots of thrills and suspense. Personally I love that fact that this book and Clancy's others increase my knowledge and understanding of the world. Sometimes it can slow the action, but background knowledge is important to comprehend what is happening in the story.
Jack is put in a role where he is uncomfortable and does not have the training and experience like his mentors Jack Clark and Ding Chavez to accomplish the mission goals, but he reaches deep and overcomes these feelings because Mary Pat Foley and his father, the President, are counting on him. I do wish that the authors of the Jack Ryan Jr series would stop trying to put him in romantic situations with people he is working with. It doesn't add to the story and makes him look like he is incapable of having relationships. You know they say there is someone out there for everyone!
I do love that Clancy and authors who are continuing to bring his characters to life in novels after Clancy's death bring to light threats and dangers that the United States has been faced with so the public doesn't think that the defense of our country is easy and the government is not daily being called upon to make difficult decisions to keep us safe.
Thank you to NetGalley and G P Putnam's Sons for providing me thrills and an Advance Reading Copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Pressure Depth is a tense, technically detailed thriller that sends Jack Ryan, Jr. into unfamiliar waters—literally and narratively. Jack Stewart brings a strong sense of military authenticity to the story, especially in the diving sequences and Cold War-era technology, and those details give the novel a grounded, high-stakes feel. The pacing is engaging, the premise is compelling, and the mission carries enough danger to keep the pages turning.
As a Ryanverse entry, however, it feels somewhat removed from the broader series. Longtime supporting characters appear only briefly, and Jack’s usual team is mostly absent, which makes this installment read more like a standalone military thriller than a fully connected Jack Ryan, Jr. novel. Even so, readers who enjoy action-driven suspense, technical military detail, and authors such as Marc Cameron, Brad Thor, William Kent Krueger, and John Sandford will likely find plenty to appreciate here.
Pressure Depth is a tense, technically detailed thriller that sends Jack Ryan, Jr. into unfamiliar waters—literally and narratively. Jack Stewart brings a strong sense of military authenticity to the story, especially in the diving sequences and Cold War-era technology, and those details give the novel a grounded, high-stakes feel. The pacing is engaging, the premise is compelling, and the mission carries enough danger to keep the pages turning.
As a Ryanverse entry, however, it feels somewhat removed from the broader series. Longtime supporting characters appear only briefly, and Jack’s usual team is mostly absent, which makes this installment read more like a standalone military thriller than a fully connected Jack Ryan, Jr. novel. Even so, readers who enjoy action-driven suspense, technical military detail, and authors such as Marc Cameron, Brad Thor, William Kent Krueger, and John Sandford will likely find plenty to appreciate here.
September 13, 2026
Jack Ryan Jr is back under author number five. Not sure why there are so many changes to who is carrying on this series and some of the writers get it better than others.
That said, we find Jack Jr on a new adventure (working on an insurance claim for a sunken ship near Guam for the "white side" of Henley associates) and then while there being pulled onto a "dark side" op for the black side of Henley). He's enlisted with friend/colleague former Seal Kendrick Moore into deep diving to an oddity near Guam next to a deep ocean trench. There's a new woman in the mix, an expert navy diver that found the structure and maybe Jack's new flame since ending his engagement to Lissette.
Turns out it's an abandoned Soviet relic that's a danger to international security. The storyline gets a lot technical in describing how various deep dives work (making my eyes glaze over) but the action on land and under the sea makes up for it. About a 3.5 for me.
That said, we find Jack Jr on a new adventure (working on an insurance claim for a sunken ship near Guam for the "white side" of Henley associates) and then while there being pulled onto a "dark side" op for the black side of Henley). He's enlisted with friend/colleague former Seal Kendrick Moore into deep diving to an oddity near Guam next to a deep ocean trench. There's a new woman in the mix, an expert navy diver that found the structure and maybe Jack's new flame since ending his engagement to Lissette.
Turns out it's an abandoned Soviet relic that's a danger to international security. The storyline gets a lot technical in describing how various deep dives work (making my eyes glaze over) but the action on land and under the sea makes up for it. About a 3.5 for me.
September 14, 2026
Thank you to Jack Stewart, G.P. Putnam and Sons, and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy.
Another Jack Ryan Jr. Book, another new author into the Ryanverse. Welcome Jack Stewart. Stewart brings back more of the techno-thriller style detail to the more action oriented Jack Jr. series. Junior is still written as an immature, somewhat insecure flirt, always in the worst circumstances, that have him stuck in constant mire of validation seeking behavior that he doesn't look like he will ever grow out of.
So much detail provided for deep sea diving/salvaging in here. Do I know if it was all accurate? I hope so, because I'm going to act like an armchair expert now.
4 stars. A good entry in to the Jack Jr. lineup. Well detailed, good action and some humor.
Hopefully, Jack Stewart will have the opportunity to bring richer character development that the cast deserves.
Another Jack Ryan Jr. Book, another new author into the Ryanverse. Welcome Jack Stewart. Stewart brings back more of the techno-thriller style detail to the more action oriented Jack Jr. series. Junior is still written as an immature, somewhat insecure flirt, always in the worst circumstances, that have him stuck in constant mire of validation seeking behavior that he doesn't look like he will ever grow out of.
So much detail provided for deep sea diving/salvaging in here. Do I know if it was all accurate? I hope so, because I'm going to act like an armchair expert now.
4 stars. A good entry in to the Jack Jr. lineup. Well detailed, good action and some humor.
Hopefully, Jack Stewart will have the opportunity to bring richer character development that the cast deserves.
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