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Jack Ryan #10
Tom Clancy Full Force And Effect
The challenge facing President Jack Ryan is an old one with a terrifying new twist. The international stalemate with North Korea continues into its seventh decade. A young dictator is determined to prove his strength by breaking the deadlock. Like his father before him, he hangs his plans on the country's nuclear ambitions. Until now, that program was impeded by a lack of resources. However, there has been a dramatic change in the nation's economic fortune. A rich deposit of valuable minerals have been found in the Hermit Kingdom. Coupled with their nuclear capabilities, the money from this find will make North Korea a dangerous force on the world stage. There's just one more step needed to complete this perfect plan - the elimination of the President of the United States.
848 pages, Paperback
First published December 2, 2014
1733 people are currently reading
6245 people want to read
About the author
Mark Greaney
95 books6,091 followersMark Greaney has a degree in International Relations and Political Science. In researching The Gray Man series he traveled to ten countries and trained extensively in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close range combative tactics.
Learn more at MARKGREANEYBOOKS.COM
Email Mark at MarkGreaneyBooks@gmail.com
Learn more at MARKGREANEYBOOKS.COM
Email Mark at MarkGreaneyBooks@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 590 reviews
October 25, 2016
Not long ago Tom Clancy died. Like many of you I read each of his books as they came out. I enjoyed the story of jack Ryan as he moved through the ranks of government to the presidency.
It was a sad day when he passed. Other thriller writers have gone and their names continued along with others writing their series and or franchises.
Now Mark Greaney has picked up Tom Clancy's fallen banner so to speak and he's doing an excellent job.
Mark Greany is one of my favorite writers. His Gray man series is one of my favorites also and I watch for the man's name.
This follows Jack Ryan and Jack Ryan Jr. as they continue to struggle with world geopolitics (and I truly wish I'd aged as well as John Clark). The action is still here, the intrigue is still here, all of it's here and if anything (forgive me Tom) Greany is not only as good as Clancy...he may be better.
Recommended, enjoy.
It was a sad day when he passed. Other thriller writers have gone and their names continued along with others writing their series and or franchises.
Now Mark Greaney has picked up Tom Clancy's fallen banner so to speak and he's doing an excellent job.
Mark Greany is one of my favorite writers. His Gray man series is one of my favorites also and I watch for the man's name.
This follows Jack Ryan and Jack Ryan Jr. as they continue to struggle with world geopolitics (and I truly wish I'd aged as well as John Clark). The action is still here, the intrigue is still here, all of it's here and if anything (forgive me Tom) Greany is not only as good as Clancy...he may be better.
Recommended, enjoy.
March 20, 2025
This is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. This author took over the reins of this long running series as the original author, Tom Clancy, has passed. In this one, the North Koreans have discovered a mine that could pay off for them a vast amount of money. The Americans are worried that they will use this money to become part of the nuclear missile race.
This book easily exceeded my expectations. I am not the biggest fan when an author takes over a series from the original author. In my experience they never seem to capture the true essence of the series. Not the case for Mark Greaney and his writing of the Jack Ryan series. Het gets it and I felt like I was reading a book by Tom Clancy. He captured the topical nature of the story where you wonder is this actually fact of fiction. I kept on saying to myself this actually seems plausible and could be happening right now. The author also captured the pulse pounding thriller in the areas of spy drama and with the action. I was reading one scene on my break for work and I was extremely late getting back to work. There was no way I was putting down the book. The only area where Greaney did not capture Clancy in his writing was he did not go into the technical jargon like Clancy would. In my mind that is not necessarily a bad thing.
As you can see I loved this book. There were times where I was holding my breath and I could not put the book down. If you are worried that the series will not be the same because of the passing of Tom Clancy you do not have to be. Jack Ryan is in good hands with Mark Greaney and I for one is so happy I get more adventures with Jack and the rest of the gang of characters that I have followed throughout this series.
This book easily exceeded my expectations. I am not the biggest fan when an author takes over a series from the original author. In my experience they never seem to capture the true essence of the series. Not the case for Mark Greaney and his writing of the Jack Ryan series. Het gets it and I felt like I was reading a book by Tom Clancy. He captured the topical nature of the story where you wonder is this actually fact of fiction. I kept on saying to myself this actually seems plausible and could be happening right now. The author also captured the pulse pounding thriller in the areas of spy drama and with the action. I was reading one scene on my break for work and I was extremely late getting back to work. There was no way I was putting down the book. The only area where Greaney did not capture Clancy in his writing was he did not go into the technical jargon like Clancy would. In my mind that is not necessarily a bad thing.
As you can see I loved this book. There were times where I was holding my breath and I could not put the book down. If you are worried that the series will not be the same because of the passing of Tom Clancy you do not have to be. Jack Ryan is in good hands with Mark Greaney and I for one is so happy I get more adventures with Jack and the rest of the gang of characters that I have followed throughout this series.
January 5, 2021
I'm starting to wonder if Mark Greaney and Tom Clancy are blood-related, because Greaney has his writing style, he crosses every T and dots every I, it's unbelievable. Normally I don't like to continue a series written by an author that's passed and it picked up by someone else, but with Mark Greaney I'll make an exception.
When the new power-hungry supreme leader of North Korea wants to increase his country's Nuclear Weapons arsenal, but while it is being hindered by the US and it's allies, Korea turns to a mining facility where deposits of rare-earth minerals have been discovered, and the Koreans are using the profits to fund their nuclear weapons program. Only one thing stands in their way, President Jack Ryan, so the Korean dictator arranges to have him assassinated.
Jack Ryan Jr. and his Campus team are on the trail of a rogue CIA-operative, but their leads keep ending up getting killed, soon Jack Jr. and Sr. realize they're both connected and are in a race against time to thwart the North Korean madman from starting World War III.
An edge-of-your-seat suspense/thriller, has that classic Clancy feel to it. Tom Clancy would be proud.
When the new power-hungry supreme leader of North Korea wants to increase his country's Nuclear Weapons arsenal, but while it is being hindered by the US and it's allies, Korea turns to a mining facility where deposits of rare-earth minerals have been discovered, and the Koreans are using the profits to fund their nuclear weapons program. Only one thing stands in their way, President Jack Ryan, so the Korean dictator arranges to have him assassinated.
Jack Ryan Jr. and his Campus team are on the trail of a rogue CIA-operative, but their leads keep ending up getting killed, soon Jack Jr. and Sr. realize they're both connected and are in a race against time to thwart the North Korean madman from starting World War III.
An edge-of-your-seat suspense/thriller, has that classic Clancy feel to it. Tom Clancy would be proud.
January 9, 2015
Mark Greaney has done a bang up job on this Tom Clancy inspired book featuring Jack and Jack Jr Ryan. It grabbed my attention from the start and never let go! I am looking forward to his next Ryan father and son adventure,but in the meantime I will be reading his Gray Man series.
December 6, 2014
I have become a fan of Mark Greaney and enjoy reading the books that he has written under the Tom Clancy syndicate. Most of his books up to this point have been middle range books that have had good intrigue and lots of action. This is what I would consider a more daunting longer read epic in the style that Clancy made famous.
The story is well conceived and well written. It has that overarching epic feel of a huge political situation that has multiple fronts and threats that have to be analyzed an dealt with. The main gist of the story is that North Korea has a new leader, the son of the previous dictator. This son wants to accomplish what his father started by getting ICBM missiles with nuclear warheads that can reach the west coast of the United States and thus push the U.S. to listen up to North Korea and consider them a world power.
To do this they need cash. To get cash they have to find a new way to produce income. Lucky for them the worlds largest deposit of rare earth minerals is found in their own back yard. This mining operation could produce 12 trillion dollars of income for the regime. That is enough money to buy everything they need to go nuclear.
Thus the Campus is on the trail of what is going on as well as the CIA and DNI Mary Foley. All the characters are coming together to try and determine the best way to stop North Korea from getting this funding online. President Ryan wants this stopped. Thus he is willing to step out on a limb and handle sanctions against North Korea even against the wishes of other nations.
This epic tale is current to todays political climate. It is ripped right from our front pages. Maybe the only stretch is the rare earth mining issue, but that just adds to the intrigue of the book.
Greaney does a masterful job of weaving this story together and providing plenty of little sub-plots to help you learn more about the characters involved and the dynamics of how espionage works in todays corporate and political world.
You will enjoy every once of the book. So, why did I only give it four stars you ask? Well, because I think that as a larger epic piece under the Clancy name it still didn't have the gripping power of the Clancy style for this longer work. It's close and with more time of development Greaney will get there, just not completely this time. BUT, that doesn't detract from a great story.
Enjoy!
The story is well conceived and well written. It has that overarching epic feel of a huge political situation that has multiple fronts and threats that have to be analyzed an dealt with. The main gist of the story is that North Korea has a new leader, the son of the previous dictator. This son wants to accomplish what his father started by getting ICBM missiles with nuclear warheads that can reach the west coast of the United States and thus push the U.S. to listen up to North Korea and consider them a world power.
To do this they need cash. To get cash they have to find a new way to produce income. Lucky for them the worlds largest deposit of rare earth minerals is found in their own back yard. This mining operation could produce 12 trillion dollars of income for the regime. That is enough money to buy everything they need to go nuclear.
Thus the Campus is on the trail of what is going on as well as the CIA and DNI Mary Foley. All the characters are coming together to try and determine the best way to stop North Korea from getting this funding online. President Ryan wants this stopped. Thus he is willing to step out on a limb and handle sanctions against North Korea even against the wishes of other nations.
This epic tale is current to todays political climate. It is ripped right from our front pages. Maybe the only stretch is the rare earth mining issue, but that just adds to the intrigue of the book.
Greaney does a masterful job of weaving this story together and providing plenty of little sub-plots to help you learn more about the characters involved and the dynamics of how espionage works in todays corporate and political world.
You will enjoy every once of the book. So, why did I only give it four stars you ask? Well, because I think that as a larger epic piece under the Clancy name it still didn't have the gripping power of the Clancy style for this longer work. It's close and with more time of development Greaney will get there, just not completely this time. BUT, that doesn't detract from a great story.
Enjoy!
January 12, 2016
A timely story of intrigue based upon North Korea's ambition to become a nuclear power.
The young and untested leader of the north, suspiciously similar to Kim Jong-Un, tasks his minions to develop a nuclear missile program within three years. The stated aim is to force the U.S. and it's allies to soften restrictions on the beleagured country. The reality is a despot exerting his will to expand his own power.
I found the relationships between the dictator and his subjects to be of particular interest. Citizens are treated like slaves. Ministers are treated as Lords, until the supreme leader is displeased. Death by dog pack is a reality.
The main protagonist baton for this series is now solidly in the hands of Jack Ryan Jr., though the supporting cast remains strong with John Clark, Ding Chavez, Dom Caruzo, and President of the United States Jack Ryan. Mark Greaney seems to have been a great choice to take over writing duties after the passing of Mr. Clancy. The pace and flow of the stories remain consistent.
As with past stories in this series, the action is fairly constant. What starts as simple surveillance operations quickly morph into run and gun, life and death situations. American undercover agents do battle both in front and behind the newest iron curtain. North Korean spies join forces with clandestine operatives, and the President is targeted for assasination.
Hear anything that piques your interest?
At one time I had been concerned the main characters were growing long in the tooth, but integration of a younger hero seems to have rejuvenated the series. I anticpate reading about the exploits of Jack Jr. for years to come.
I enjoyed the read and provide a 4.3 on the expanded scale.
The young and untested leader of the north, suspiciously similar to Kim Jong-Un, tasks his minions to develop a nuclear missile program within three years. The stated aim is to force the U.S. and it's allies to soften restrictions on the beleagured country. The reality is a despot exerting his will to expand his own power.
I found the relationships between the dictator and his subjects to be of particular interest. Citizens are treated like slaves. Ministers are treated as Lords, until the supreme leader is displeased. Death by dog pack is a reality.
The main protagonist baton for this series is now solidly in the hands of Jack Ryan Jr., though the supporting cast remains strong with John Clark, Ding Chavez, Dom Caruzo, and President of the United States Jack Ryan. Mark Greaney seems to have been a great choice to take over writing duties after the passing of Mr. Clancy. The pace and flow of the stories remain consistent.
As with past stories in this series, the action is fairly constant. What starts as simple surveillance operations quickly morph into run and gun, life and death situations. American undercover agents do battle both in front and behind the newest iron curtain. North Korean spies join forces with clandestine operatives, and the President is targeted for assasination.
Hear anything that piques your interest?
At one time I had been concerned the main characters were growing long in the tooth, but integration of a younger hero seems to have rejuvenated the series. I anticpate reading about the exploits of Jack Jr. for years to come.
I enjoyed the read and provide a 4.3 on the expanded scale.
December 14, 2014
What Mark Greaney has done to the world of Jack Ryan is nothing short of sacrilege. Gone are the carefully thought out and deftly interwoven plots of Tom Clancy, gone are the multitude of highly detailed characters, gone are the perfect understanding of the geopolitical situation of the Ryan universe.
What's left is yet another standard issue airport techno-thriller, and if I wanted that I'd read someone I actually like, like Dale Brown.
What's left is yet another standard issue airport techno-thriller, and if I wanted that I'd read someone I actually like, like Dale Brown.
June 21, 2015
I had to think a little about the ranking and rounded up to 5. Yeah, it's that good. Though sad to see a founding member of Rainbow die, the ending was satisfying as hell. Loved it and I'm looking forward to the next Ryan installment.
February 22, 2023
An audiobook. The narrator- Scott Brick- makes any audiobook fantastic! This one was definitely written in the style of Tom Clancy. Ryan Jr makes an excellent lead character. It takes us around the globe until there's an attempt on Prez Ryan's life. North Korea, China, an Iranian bomb maker on the ten most wanted list... this novel has it all. One thing about Clancy novels they've become very voluminous- even though Tom isn't around and writing them. All the moving piece and the wonderful cast of characters make it thrilling and suspenseful. Spoiler alert: RIP to a character you'll know if you're a Clancy novel reader.
=+++++++=
* A little personal opinion- skip over it if you're a snowflake or you get "triggered" by opinions you don't want to agree with... LOL. In my mind I see Prez Ryan as an aged Alec Baldwin. The younger Ryan as the Baldwin from the "Hunt for Red October" movie. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the "real" Baldwin- I despise his liberal politics and the way he treated his daughter like shit. In fact I'd love to see him get jail time for that murder he committed on that Hollywood set. Was it an accident? Yes. But a "real man" knows how to treat EVERY FUCKING GUN as if it's loaded... and for that he's guilty as F*CK and deserves hard jail time. You or me or anyone else would be doing jail time right now- yet he walks around free. That's what is wrong in the USA today. We have a two-tiered justice system- just like in slimy Banana Republics of the world.
=+++++++=
* A little personal opinion- skip over it if you're a snowflake or you get "triggered" by opinions you don't want to agree with... LOL. In my mind I see Prez Ryan as an aged Alec Baldwin. The younger Ryan as the Baldwin from the "Hunt for Red October" movie. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the "real" Baldwin- I despise his liberal politics and the way he treated his daughter like shit. In fact I'd love to see him get jail time for that murder he committed on that Hollywood set. Was it an accident? Yes. But a "real man" knows how to treat EVERY FUCKING GUN as if it's loaded... and for that he's guilty as F*CK and deserves hard jail time. You or me or anyone else would be doing jail time right now- yet he walks around free. That's what is wrong in the USA today. We have a two-tiered justice system- just like in slimy Banana Republics of the world.
July 16, 2015
SUBJECTIVE READER REVIEW FOLLOWS:
For a couple of years now I've been wondering how Tom Clancy is still publishing from the after-life. It turns out that Clancy's last five books were 'written in collaboration with' Grant Blackwood, Peter Telep and Mark Greaney. A little snooping revealed that the collaborationists did most of the legwork, all of the travel and most of the geopolitical research. Now Mark Greaney's published two Tom Clancy books that he's written, has another one in the hopper and Grant Blackwood's published UNDER FIRE which he wrote. I suppose they're written under the Tom Clancy legacy--as well as the estate--taking advantage of great characters Tom put in place; Jack Ryan, Jack Ryan Jr and John Clark come to mind. I was curious as to the 'watering down' effect of the collaborationists, but I rated the twelve novels before shared attribution 4.67 stars on average; the six novels released under collaboration got 4.67 stars on average. Pretty consistent, so the students have learned from the master well. The only noticeable uptick was Clancy books released before 2003, and I rated those twelve novels got 4.83 stars on average.
FULL FORCE & EFFECT is a really great read, but Greaney followed the Zen master's MO; the hardcover's 3" thick and 671 pages. I don't think that's a complaint, because I stayed up one night six hours trying to get through the plot development to see where Greaney was taking it. To make rare earth minerals the key to the plot was downright unique but somehow believable, so I salute the plot even though I had to wonder if any deposit of reserves in the world was worth $12 trillion! So I'm a Jack Ryan fan--though not as much as Mitch Rapp, Scott Harvath and John Corey--and it was an almost incredible read. I was straddling the fence on 4.5 stars, but gave it 5 due to the plot's complex but interesting trio of a North Korean intelligence chief, a Mexican billionaire without scruples and a retrofitted MI6 Station Chief. I'll put it this way; I liked it enough to read UNDER FIRE in the near future.
SPOILER PLOT SUMMARY FOLLOWS:
The North Korean Rare Earth Metals Conspiracy. North Korea has become the Cold War Hangover, bent on launching an ICBM with enough range to hit the US West Coast. The insanity of the plan is the US will retaliate dramatically, with extreme impact to their South Korean allies as well as Northeastern China. Long hampered by the lack of natural resources and UN economic sanctions, the DPRK Dae Wonsu Choi Ji-hoon has hatched a diabolical plan based on the discovery of proven reserves of rare earth metals from a mine in Chongju valued at $12 trillion. The Chinese were mining and refining the ore before a dramatic split appeared and the PRC technicians and geologists abandoned the site. With the future value of the much in demand though not easily attainable metals, Choi sets his intelligence chief LGEN Ri Tae-jin on an impossible mission; obtain an ICBM with adequate range in 3 years or die. Ri's desperation hatches the unholy trio of Mexican billionaire Oscar Roblas and Wayne Sharps to solve the mine/refining problem to get access to the cash from the rare metals. Roblas commits to $500M in credits via his banking network and Sharps is to find and deliver the refining software and hardware and technical expertize needed to replicate the PRC operation. Mary Pat Foley, the US Director of National Intelligence, is so keyed into preventing the DPRK from obtaining ICBMs that DNI has taken over Operation Acrid Herald, also denying its existence. Relying on The Campus, Foley has the operatives surveilling a former stellar FBI agent gone broke, Colin Hazelton, at a secret meeting in Saigon. He is met by a hot blond former French DGSE officer Veronika Martel but refuses to convey the package of data, instead departing he restaurant as DPRK RGB assassins run him down and kill him. The Campus guys kill two of the assassins then high tail it out of Vietnam. Ri becomes concerned that some agency is trying to interfere with Sharps Global Intelligence Partners and has his agents across the world shadow SGIP operators to provide protection. As Duke Sharps pursues and blackmails the UN subcommittee considering additional sanctions, Campus kills two more DPRK shooters bent on killing an uncooperative UN officer. As the UN group vetoes the new sanctions, the Campus operatives travel to Prague to find the Czech Foreign Ministry employee who provided passports for Australian geologists/scientists to travel to North Korea. They find Karel Skala hiding and scared shitless, only to be confronted by a six man DPRK hit team, manage to kill four but Skala also dies. Shifting quickly to Vegas, Jack Jr gets the drop on Veronika Martel, there to steal proprietary software for use at Chongju, they snatch her smart phone just as the DPRK assassins attack. Ri puts a parallel op in play, planning to assassinate US POTUS Jack Ryan during a trip to Mexico City. When a shipment of critical froth flotation tanks is seized by the US Navy from a freighter on the Yellow Sea, Ri becomes desperate that the hit on Ryan succeed. Buck Sharps has entrusted the Roblas Account to ex-MI6 Station Chief Edward Miller, who hired the best Iranian IED builder and sent him to Mexico well in advance. The ambush is deadly but Ryan manages to live and escape, and now he is pissed beyond reason when the Campus team goes to Mexico two days later and snatches the Iranian from Miller and ten Cuban DGI agents. Adel Zarif sings like the bird and exposes the entire DPRK involvement in the assassination attempt. Ri promptly commits suicide by blowing his family up at dinnertime, but Hwang, the Mining Corp Director, is now holding the bag, his death imminent. Deep CIA mole Adam Yao has been at Chongju for weeks and takes Hwang and family to a pickup site, where they are exfiltrated via drones. Yao eludes the KPA until Ryan makes a trip to Beijing, convinces the PRC of the conspiracy, and they rescue Yao just as Hwang is making a broadcast to North Korea exposing the conspiracy. Choi Ji-hoon is dethroned and all is well.
For a couple of years now I've been wondering how Tom Clancy is still publishing from the after-life. It turns out that Clancy's last five books were 'written in collaboration with' Grant Blackwood, Peter Telep and Mark Greaney. A little snooping revealed that the collaborationists did most of the legwork, all of the travel and most of the geopolitical research. Now Mark Greaney's published two Tom Clancy books that he's written, has another one in the hopper and Grant Blackwood's published UNDER FIRE which he wrote. I suppose they're written under the Tom Clancy legacy--as well as the estate--taking advantage of great characters Tom put in place; Jack Ryan, Jack Ryan Jr and John Clark come to mind. I was curious as to the 'watering down' effect of the collaborationists, but I rated the twelve novels before shared attribution 4.67 stars on average; the six novels released under collaboration got 4.67 stars on average. Pretty consistent, so the students have learned from the master well. The only noticeable uptick was Clancy books released before 2003, and I rated those twelve novels got 4.83 stars on average.
FULL FORCE & EFFECT is a really great read, but Greaney followed the Zen master's MO; the hardcover's 3" thick and 671 pages. I don't think that's a complaint, because I stayed up one night six hours trying to get through the plot development to see where Greaney was taking it. To make rare earth minerals the key to the plot was downright unique but somehow believable, so I salute the plot even though I had to wonder if any deposit of reserves in the world was worth $12 trillion! So I'm a Jack Ryan fan--though not as much as Mitch Rapp, Scott Harvath and John Corey--and it was an almost incredible read. I was straddling the fence on 4.5 stars, but gave it 5 due to the plot's complex but interesting trio of a North Korean intelligence chief, a Mexican billionaire without scruples and a retrofitted MI6 Station Chief. I'll put it this way; I liked it enough to read UNDER FIRE in the near future.
SPOILER PLOT SUMMARY FOLLOWS:
The North Korean Rare Earth Metals Conspiracy. North Korea has become the Cold War Hangover, bent on launching an ICBM with enough range to hit the US West Coast. The insanity of the plan is the US will retaliate dramatically, with extreme impact to their South Korean allies as well as Northeastern China. Long hampered by the lack of natural resources and UN economic sanctions, the DPRK Dae Wonsu Choi Ji-hoon has hatched a diabolical plan based on the discovery of proven reserves of rare earth metals from a mine in Chongju valued at $12 trillion. The Chinese were mining and refining the ore before a dramatic split appeared and the PRC technicians and geologists abandoned the site. With the future value of the much in demand though not easily attainable metals, Choi sets his intelligence chief LGEN Ri Tae-jin on an impossible mission; obtain an ICBM with adequate range in 3 years or die. Ri's desperation hatches the unholy trio of Mexican billionaire Oscar Roblas and Wayne Sharps to solve the mine/refining problem to get access to the cash from the rare metals. Roblas commits to $500M in credits via his banking network and Sharps is to find and deliver the refining software and hardware and technical expertize needed to replicate the PRC operation. Mary Pat Foley, the US Director of National Intelligence, is so keyed into preventing the DPRK from obtaining ICBMs that DNI has taken over Operation Acrid Herald, also denying its existence. Relying on The Campus, Foley has the operatives surveilling a former stellar FBI agent gone broke, Colin Hazelton, at a secret meeting in Saigon. He is met by a hot blond former French DGSE officer Veronika Martel but refuses to convey the package of data, instead departing he restaurant as DPRK RGB assassins run him down and kill him. The Campus guys kill two of the assassins then high tail it out of Vietnam. Ri becomes concerned that some agency is trying to interfere with Sharps Global Intelligence Partners and has his agents across the world shadow SGIP operators to provide protection. As Duke Sharps pursues and blackmails the UN subcommittee considering additional sanctions, Campus kills two more DPRK shooters bent on killing an uncooperative UN officer. As the UN group vetoes the new sanctions, the Campus operatives travel to Prague to find the Czech Foreign Ministry employee who provided passports for Australian geologists/scientists to travel to North Korea. They find Karel Skala hiding and scared shitless, only to be confronted by a six man DPRK hit team, manage to kill four but Skala also dies. Shifting quickly to Vegas, Jack Jr gets the drop on Veronika Martel, there to steal proprietary software for use at Chongju, they snatch her smart phone just as the DPRK assassins attack. Ri puts a parallel op in play, planning to assassinate US POTUS Jack Ryan during a trip to Mexico City. When a shipment of critical froth flotation tanks is seized by the US Navy from a freighter on the Yellow Sea, Ri becomes desperate that the hit on Ryan succeed. Buck Sharps has entrusted the Roblas Account to ex-MI6 Station Chief Edward Miller, who hired the best Iranian IED builder and sent him to Mexico well in advance. The ambush is deadly but Ryan manages to live and escape, and now he is pissed beyond reason when the Campus team goes to Mexico two days later and snatches the Iranian from Miller and ten Cuban DGI agents. Adel Zarif sings like the bird and exposes the entire DPRK involvement in the assassination attempt. Ri promptly commits suicide by blowing his family up at dinnertime, but Hwang, the Mining Corp Director, is now holding the bag, his death imminent. Deep CIA mole Adam Yao has been at Chongju for weeks and takes Hwang and family to a pickup site, where they are exfiltrated via drones. Yao eludes the KPA until Ryan makes a trip to Beijing, convinces the PRC of the conspiracy, and they rescue Yao just as Hwang is making a broadcast to North Korea exposing the conspiracy. Choi Ji-hoon is dethroned and all is well.
October 5, 2018
Another partial audiobook on YouTube. Why upload 3/4 of a book? Guess I will have to cough up the cash to finish and I think it will be worth it. "
President Jack Ryan faces a global threat on the verge of going nuclear.
A North Korean ICBM crashes into the Sea of Japan. A veteran CIA officer is murdered in Ho Chi Minh City. A package of forged documents goes missing. The pieces are there, but assembling the puzzle will cost Jack Ryan, Jr., and his fellow Campus agents precious time. Time they don’t have…
The challenge facing President Jack Ryan is an old one with a terrifying new twist. As the international stalemate with North Korea continues into its seventh decade, a young, untested dictator is determined to prove his strength by breaking the deadlock. Like his father before him, he hangs his plans on the country’s nuclear ambitions, a program impeded by a lack of resources—until now.
A recently discovered deposit of valuable minerals has caused a dramatic change in the nation’s economic fortune. Coupled with their nuclear capabilities, the money from this find will make North Korea a dangerous force on the world stage. There’s just one more step needed to complete this perfect plan…the elimination of the president of the United States.
See Less
President Jack Ryan faces a global threat on the verge of going nuclear.
A North Korean ICBM crashes into the Sea of Japan. A veteran CIA officer is murdered in Ho Chi Minh City. A package of forged documents goes missing. The pieces are there, but assembling the puzzle will cost Jack Ryan, Jr., and his fellow Campus agents precious time. Time they don’t have…
The challenge facing President Jack Ryan is an old one with a terrifying new twist. As the international stalemate with North Korea continues into its seventh decade, a young, untested dictator is determined to prove his strength by breaking the deadlock. Like his father before him, he hangs his plans on the country’s nuclear ambitions, a program impeded by a lack of resources—until now.
A recently discovered deposit of valuable minerals has caused a dramatic change in the nation’s economic fortune. Coupled with their nuclear capabilities, the money from this find will make North Korea a dangerous force on the world stage. There’s just one more step needed to complete this perfect plan…the elimination of the president of the United States.
See Less
May 4, 2025
Unbelievable mate! Just gobsmacked a piece of literature could make me feel feelings I’ve never felt
Words cannot describe how good that shit was
Dope as hell
Peace out home dogs
Till the next book
Words cannot describe how good that shit was
Dope as hell
Peace out home dogs
Till the next book
April 19, 2015
So, I'll admit it. I never read a Tom Clancy novel, but I loved the movie The Hunt for Red October for the twist. Then, being a huge Harrison Ford fan, the Jack Ryan movies were on my must see list.
Then came the aging of Harrison Ford - doesn't matter, I still love you Harrison - but the series pettered out with the character's election to President. So, I was intrigued when this popped up on Audible.
I'm glad to revisit the series. mark Greaney did a good job continuing the flavor of the other books (as depicted on the big screen) and the inclusion of a new younger replacement gives me hopes of more movies to come.
Enjoyable read.
Then came the aging of Harrison Ford - doesn't matter, I still love you Harrison - but the series pettered out with the character's election to President. So, I was intrigued when this popped up on Audible.
I'm glad to revisit the series. mark Greaney did a good job continuing the flavor of the other books (as depicted on the big screen) and the inclusion of a new younger replacement gives me hopes of more movies to come.
Enjoyable read.
October 8, 2017
As with all the books in the Tom Clancy series, this one will not disappoint.
A well constructed plot, with in fact one main plot and few other secondary plots unfolding in the background will keep you on the edge. You'll find plenty of action, suspense, adventure, intricate geopolitical strategy, interesting characters, great locations, colorful scenes and much more, all this will definitely make you come back to see the outcome.
A great motion picture type of book, very entertaining, and worth of your time if you enjoy this style.
A well constructed plot, with in fact one main plot and few other secondary plots unfolding in the background will keep you on the edge. You'll find plenty of action, suspense, adventure, intricate geopolitical strategy, interesting characters, great locations, colorful scenes and much more, all this will definitely make you come back to see the outcome.
A great motion picture type of book, very entertaining, and worth of your time if you enjoy this style.
October 26, 2015
This gets 4 stars even though I can't even say how many times I wanted to put this in my DNF pile in the beginning. It was so heavy on the narrative for the set up. I only stayed with it because Scott Brick was the narrator. But I'm glad I stayed with it, because the last half was a page turner for me, even though the government couldn't seem to keep people alive.
What I liked most were the twists in the story and the character development. Those two things were well done.
What I liked most were the twists in the story and the character development. Those two things were well done.
December 12, 2014
The page count by Goodreads was way off saying the book was 752 where it was 674 pages long.
January 3, 2018
Qualche giorno di vacanza, prime letture in piena rilassatezza, primo romanzo “non impegnato o impegnativo” e, soprattutto, primo dubbio assillante: nel titolo inserisco o meno il nome di Tom Clancy?
A giudicare dalle copertine delle varie edizioni mondiali, non mi pare che gli editori abbiano grossi dubbi in proposito.
Sappiamo tutti che il compianto Tom Clancy ci ha lasciato qualche anno fa. Sappiamo altrettanto bene che Clancy ha di fatto inventato un genere, e che smarrirne l’eredità sarebbe commercialmente poco oculato. Dal mio piccolo, muovo una lode a Mark Greaney che – dopo il non indimenticabile Vivo o morto di Grant Blackwood – ha raccolto il testimone e contribuito con cinque romanzi al proseguimento della saga di Jack Ryan.
Sfida totale è un buon romanzo di genere; ritroviamo tutti i personaggi storici della serie e ne riconosciamo perfettamente le caratteristiche. Ryan è il Presidente conservatore che noi tutti vorremmo al posto di quello col ciuffo arancione, Cathy Ryan (poco evidenziata nel romanzo) farà esattamente quello che ti aspetti, a Clark e Chavez offrirei una birra anche domani e Ryan jr. è maturato, ha acquisito spessore, si è liberato di una patina leggermente patinata e piace un bel po’ (il che rassicura un po’ per il futuro). Anche la trama gira ed è particolarmente attuale: un nord-coreano con problemi di stabilità emotiva ha ereditato la nazione, società di intelligence privata operano ai confini con la legalità, i cinesi fanno quello che i cinesi fanno da millenni.
Ancora una volta, l’unica piccola pecca per un amante appassionato è che Sfida totale è un po’ più spy story e un po’ meno romanzo “militare”: mi mancano i campi di battaglia (persino quelli di Potere esecutivo), soprattutto mi manca molto la componente aeronautica e confido un giorno di poterci rimettere le pupille sopra.
Ma Sfida totale scorre, e scorre come un fiume in piena: come spesso capita in romanzi del genere hai l’impressione di un finale un po’ “tirato lì”, ma è (appunto) una impressione dettata dall’accelerazione degli ultimi capitoli, quando le tessere finiscono al loro posto e devi soltanto andare avanti a voltare pagine e a fare il tifo.
http://capitolo23.com/2018/01/03/rece...
A giudicare dalle copertine delle varie edizioni mondiali, non mi pare che gli editori abbiano grossi dubbi in proposito.
Sappiamo tutti che il compianto Tom Clancy ci ha lasciato qualche anno fa. Sappiamo altrettanto bene che Clancy ha di fatto inventato un genere, e che smarrirne l’eredità sarebbe commercialmente poco oculato. Dal mio piccolo, muovo una lode a Mark Greaney che – dopo il non indimenticabile Vivo o morto di Grant Blackwood – ha raccolto il testimone e contribuito con cinque romanzi al proseguimento della saga di Jack Ryan.
Sfida totale è un buon romanzo di genere; ritroviamo tutti i personaggi storici della serie e ne riconosciamo perfettamente le caratteristiche. Ryan è il Presidente conservatore che noi tutti vorremmo al posto di quello col ciuffo arancione, Cathy Ryan (poco evidenziata nel romanzo) farà esattamente quello che ti aspetti, a Clark e Chavez offrirei una birra anche domani e Ryan jr. è maturato, ha acquisito spessore, si è liberato di una patina leggermente patinata e piace un bel po’ (il che rassicura un po’ per il futuro). Anche la trama gira ed è particolarmente attuale: un nord-coreano con problemi di stabilità emotiva ha ereditato la nazione, società di intelligence privata operano ai confini con la legalità, i cinesi fanno quello che i cinesi fanno da millenni.
Ancora una volta, l’unica piccola pecca per un amante appassionato è che Sfida totale è un po’ più spy story e un po’ meno romanzo “militare”: mi mancano i campi di battaglia (persino quelli di Potere esecutivo), soprattutto mi manca molto la componente aeronautica e confido un giorno di poterci rimettere le pupille sopra.
Ma Sfida totale scorre, e scorre come un fiume in piena: come spesso capita in romanzi del genere hai l’impressione di un finale un po’ “tirato lì”, ma è (appunto) una impressione dettata dall’accelerazione degli ultimi capitoli, quando le tessere finiscono al loro posto e devi soltanto andare avanti a voltare pagine e a fare il tifo.
http://capitolo23.com/2018/01/03/rece...
March 1, 2015
The story of Jack Ryan, his son, John Clark and the gang continues, even after the unfortunate passing of the characters' creator. By this point it is hard to imagine that Tom Clancy was involved in the planning and development of these novels up to this point - although I'm sure keeping his name involved (as part of his franchise) means it will sell a whole lot more copies.
However, this story was actually quite good. Mark Greaney has done a remarkable job of taking the torch. And this particular adventure was probably the most exciting one I'd read since the series got started again. Lots of exciting things happened involving not only Jack Jr. and the team, but Jack Ryan himself. Not only that, but this story also felt very plausible/realistic overall, to the writer's credit. North Korea is a serious issue, and there were times when I wondered how they would be able to pull off a conflict with them. Yet instead of going all-out into a war situation involving nuclear weapons and such, the story focused down onto one unexpected area - that of mining - and built a plausible-sounding story out of it that did not heavily feature the country's leader but rather had other officials as key players. There was also quite a bit of action, witty humor and dialogue, and tense clandestine conflict.
The ending is kind of abrupt, but I have no real complaints beyond that except for some language. This series doesn't seem to be at any kind of conclusion yet, so I'm sure there will be more tales yet to come.
However, this story was actually quite good. Mark Greaney has done a remarkable job of taking the torch. And this particular adventure was probably the most exciting one I'd read since the series got started again. Lots of exciting things happened involving not only Jack Jr. and the team, but Jack Ryan himself. Not only that, but this story also felt very plausible/realistic overall, to the writer's credit. North Korea is a serious issue, and there were times when I wondered how they would be able to pull off a conflict with them. Yet instead of going all-out into a war situation involving nuclear weapons and such, the story focused down onto one unexpected area - that of mining - and built a plausible-sounding story out of it that did not heavily feature the country's leader but rather had other officials as key players. There was also quite a bit of action, witty humor and dialogue, and tense clandestine conflict.
The ending is kind of abrupt, but I have no real complaints beyond that except for some language. This series doesn't seem to be at any kind of conclusion yet, so I'm sure there will be more tales yet to come.
December 27, 2014
Full Force and Effect, reminds me of vintage Clancy. There are hints of the same command of detail and relentless pacing that we were treated to in Clear and Present Danger. Tom Clancy may have left his mortal body in 2013, but the soul of Clancy the epic storyteller lives on in Mark Greaney.
But one question for Mark Greaney, "Why all this temporal hop scotch in the beginning?" I can understand a prologue or a chapter or two of historical context to anchor the plot. But all this jumping back and forth in time in the beginning seems unnecessary and demands too much of the reader. Throw in a few Korean characters with hard to differentiate names and pretty soon you have lost the thread. It's like listening to someone tell a story when they keep forgetting something and have to drag you back in time to fill in some crucial detail. Very annoying and counter-productive. Why not just tell the story in chronological order? Fortunately this to-and-fro inexplicably stops a hundred pages or so into the story, and we are treated to some great story telling from there onward.
But one question for Mark Greaney, "Why all this temporal hop scotch in the beginning?" I can understand a prologue or a chapter or two of historical context to anchor the plot. But all this jumping back and forth in time in the beginning seems unnecessary and demands too much of the reader. Throw in a few Korean characters with hard to differentiate names and pretty soon you have lost the thread. It's like listening to someone tell a story when they keep forgetting something and have to drag you back in time to fill in some crucial detail. Very annoying and counter-productive. Why not just tell the story in chronological order? Fortunately this to-and-fro inexplicably stops a hundred pages or so into the story, and we are treated to some great story telling from there onward.
February 3, 2015
I really wanted to quit reading Tom Clancy after he died...but I just cant. Mark Greaney is really doing a nice job of continuing his legacy. Gone are the days of really in depth information on submarines or airplanes. Now its a bunch of chasing people around and entertaining gun fights. Its kind of become my guilty pleasure. After so many books you want to see what happens with so many characters you have gotten to know. I would like to say that this would be my last, but as soon as the next book is in the store I know that I will be picking up a copy.
May 14, 2016
If I had any qualms at all about Mark Greaney continuing Tom Clancy's characters they are totally gone now.
This novel is as good as any of Clancy's best. I especially enjoyed the premise which was unique while also adding believability to the scenario. Totally captivated throughout and while you always know the good guys will win out - there was enough tension to not be sure how that was going to play out.
This novel is as good as any of Clancy's best. I especially enjoyed the premise which was unique while also adding believability to the scenario. Totally captivated throughout and while you always know the good guys will win out - there was enough tension to not be sure how that was going to play out.
November 23, 2020
This is Tom Clancy's 6th novel based on the clandestine privately-funded American intelligence and special ops company called the "THE CAMPUS". The book was written after Tom Clancy's death by ghostwriter Mark Greaney.
The Campus was created by a former senator on the encouragement of President of The United States Jack Ryan (a former CIA director), during his earlier term as POTUS. His son, Jack Ryan, Jr. works there as an analyst/operator. In the 5 past novels, The Campus has been involved with missions to save the USA from enemies within and abroad.
In this novel, the rogue nation of North Korea—with the help of China—discovers the world's largest deposits of Rare Earth Minerals (REM). The megalomaniac North Korean dictator (officially the rogue nation's Grand Marshal and Supreme Leader) Choi Ji-hoon gives the Chinese government a license to extract the REMs and process them. However, in return, Choi asks China for long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching the West Coast of USA.
When China refuses, Choi tasks his minister of minerals to find an execute an alternate plan within 18 months. Simultaneously, he tasks his head of foreign intelligence (RGB), Lt. General Ri Tae-jin, to find long-range ICBMs (inter-continental ballistic missiles) capable of striking America. Lt. Gen. Ri brings in a Mexican oil and mining billionaire to take up the mining contract, which will give North Korea enough money to acquire the ICBMs. Ri also brings in a crooked New York City-based private intelligence and security firm to help with clandestine ops that will hide North Korea's involvement.
As US President Jack Ryan thwarts North Korea's plans to smuggle equipment into the country to be able to execute its two missions, Choi orders the head of RGB to assassinate Ryan. While on a visit to Mexico City, there is an attempt on Ryan's life.
When an analyst in USA's National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency discovers (on satellite imagery) a lot of new activity near the North Korean REM mines, there is concern in the American intelligence and defense leadership. The CIA does not have a single asset (man) inside North Korea. How will the US get intelligence? How will The Campus get involved?
Though this is a nerve-chilling page-turner, I have given it 4 stars (instead of 5) primarily because of two reasons:
● Like all of Clancy's novels, it is too long (693 pages)
● There are an unacceptable number of mistakes in the book: (1) At least 150 perfectly normal words are hyphenated; (2) There are incomplete words such as "photog" for "photographer"; (3) Sentences end without full stops. SURELY PENGUIN EDITORS COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB!!!
The Campus was created by a former senator on the encouragement of President of The United States Jack Ryan (a former CIA director), during his earlier term as POTUS. His son, Jack Ryan, Jr. works there as an analyst/operator. In the 5 past novels, The Campus has been involved with missions to save the USA from enemies within and abroad.
In this novel, the rogue nation of North Korea—with the help of China—discovers the world's largest deposits of Rare Earth Minerals (REM). The megalomaniac North Korean dictator (officially the rogue nation's Grand Marshal and Supreme Leader) Choi Ji-hoon gives the Chinese government a license to extract the REMs and process them. However, in return, Choi asks China for long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching the West Coast of USA.
When China refuses, Choi tasks his minister of minerals to find an execute an alternate plan within 18 months. Simultaneously, he tasks his head of foreign intelligence (RGB), Lt. General Ri Tae-jin, to find long-range ICBMs (inter-continental ballistic missiles) capable of striking America. Lt. Gen. Ri brings in a Mexican oil and mining billionaire to take up the mining contract, which will give North Korea enough money to acquire the ICBMs. Ri also brings in a crooked New York City-based private intelligence and security firm to help with clandestine ops that will hide North Korea's involvement.
As US President Jack Ryan thwarts North Korea's plans to smuggle equipment into the country to be able to execute its two missions, Choi orders the head of RGB to assassinate Ryan. While on a visit to Mexico City, there is an attempt on Ryan's life.
When an analyst in USA's National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency discovers (on satellite imagery) a lot of new activity near the North Korean REM mines, there is concern in the American intelligence and defense leadership. The CIA does not have a single asset (man) inside North Korea. How will the US get intelligence? How will The Campus get involved?
Though this is a nerve-chilling page-turner, I have given it 4 stars (instead of 5) primarily because of two reasons:
● Like all of Clancy's novels, it is too long (693 pages)
● There are an unacceptable number of mistakes in the book: (1) At least 150 perfectly normal words are hyphenated; (2) There are incomplete words such as "photog" for "photographer"; (3) Sentences end without full stops. SURELY PENGUIN EDITORS COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB!!!
July 21, 2018
It amazes me how much better the Mark Greaney books are in comparison to the later Tom Clancy novels in this series. Whereas Clancy seemed to have lost his way and his understanding of the Geopolitics of the world, the newer novels definitely have their finger on the pulse of what is going on in our world. Full Force and Effect mirrors much of what is going on today with North Korea. In this novel, the North Korean dictator, a proxy for Kim Jong Un, is hell bent on getting ICBMs with nuclear capabilities and has come across a rare earth mine that will serve as a source of cash to get these missiles President Jack Ryan along with Jack Jr. and his team at the Campus have to figure out the plot and bring him down.
This was a really strong novel. The writing was tight, whereas in later Clancy novels, the writing tended to meander. The characters, many familiar by now, were three dimensional and seemed like real people. The plot had intrigue and was thought provoking. The stakes were sufficiently high without it being the world is going to end popularized on the television show 24. I particularly liked the parts with CIA special agent planted into North Korea. My one quibble was that I think the value and wealth potential of this rare earth mine was vastly overstated. This was a quality military/political thriller that I would recommend reading.
Carl Alves – author of Battle of the Soul
This was a really strong novel. The writing was tight, whereas in later Clancy novels, the writing tended to meander. The characters, many familiar by now, were three dimensional and seemed like real people. The plot had intrigue and was thought provoking. The stakes were sufficiently high without it being the world is going to end popularized on the television show 24. I particularly liked the parts with CIA special agent planted into North Korea. My one quibble was that I think the value and wealth potential of this rare earth mine was vastly overstated. This was a quality military/political thriller that I would recommend reading.
Carl Alves – author of Battle of the Soul
December 30, 2020
It’s the Jack Ryans and the CAMPUS versus The Rocket Man(A clone copy of Kim), in this long espionage/military thriller epic which continued the Clancy legacy universe in 2014 after he died. Mr. Greaney’s attention to detail and ability to weave all the subplots & the buildups will keep any reader of this genre hooked till the end.
Don’t get me wrong, this does not read like an actual Clancy book from the 80s & 90s. People who want books like the ones Clancy wrote will have to only reread his classic works. I don’t think there’d be another writer anytime soon on that level, and that’s maybe a good thing. Though I respect Clancy’s classic books, they wouldn’t work for today’s markets where readers(and all humans) have very low attention spans. The consumers today want stories that have the feel of an old genre, but fast-paced, sparsely detailed in comparison to the classic versions, and easy to understand & read & finish fast. This trend does help as I have trouble finishing a classic old Clancy book, and I enjoy the past decade’s Ryanverse/Clancyverse books as interesting pieces of entertainment despite any flaws.
Jack Ryan Jr. and his team at CAMPUS(Hendley Associates – an autonomous black ops group) tail a former CIA spook and witness him being assassinated in Vietnam. Their investigation confronts them with a Private Intelligence Company run by an opportunistic former FBI agent, a Mexican mining tycoon, North Korean assassins, and a few old faces.
The US government’s forces are looking into DPRK after the work of a sat-image analyst, a raid on a cargo ship by a SEAL team, and a North Korean missile that falls in the sea of Japan. Surprisingly for a Clancy book, there was no heavy military operations or large scale action involved. But it was good to experience Jack Ryan Sr. use the analytical skills from his former intelligence career in this book while still being an old, grumpy fictional President. His diplomatic skills with China, Mexico, DPRK, and within his own country is still on point as he resolves the whole situation in a matter of a few pages at the end while physically recovering from an assassination attempt on his life.
A previously used major character of the series, Adam Yao from Threat Vector, is back in this book for a big role. He gets trained by the top spooks at Langley to go deep cover into DPRK, the worst position for an undercover operative. The logistics, training, and detail of his operation is complex and written well compared to many contemporary thrillers. He gets to meet Jack Jr. in Vegas where they are both undercover at their separate operations, both indirectly connected to the same conspiracy. A change that I noticed was Jack Jr. being in full operator mode and avoiding the pages of his analyst work. Maybe it’s because a field operator would be a more entertaining main character than an analyst for most readers. Although, I did enjoy the Jack Jr. scenes in Command Authority(The previous Jack Ryan Sr/CAMPUS book) being a financial analyst for a firm in London investigating a complex web of money laundering and being dragged into an old school espionage type plot.
Jack’s cousin Dominic Caruso is dating Adara Sherman on their CAMPUS team, which starts in his solo book Support and Defend, but it appears to be a secret from their colleagues. Jack Jr. gets some chemistry with a private sector operative( a former French spook) who’s a bit older than him, but it doesn’t receive any happy ending when she’s betrayed by her own colleague – a fun, opportunistic, sociopathic scumbag named Edward Riley.
Riley, a private sector James Bond type character, is a washed-up Brit SIS operative who does anything necessary to keep his flashy lifestyle and rise into power, even working with North Korean assassins, Mexican Cartel enforcers, Cuban operatives, and middle eastern bombmakers. Despite being a villainous character, he steals the show by being the most interesting person in the midst of all the normal Chancy-esque characters.
The North Korean leader is portrayed as hilariously crazy as his real-world version which reads like a fun what-if scenario, considering the rocket-man drama that happened a couple of years ago. His ways of executing his own officers by feeding them to hungry dogs, burning them to a crisp, and his intense paranoia makes him appear like a comedic comic book villain, yet unfortunately realistic compared to his real-world counterpart. But the serious, fleshed-out North Korean characters are the director of their mining operations and the director of their foreign intelligence agency. They are portrayed as flawed, human, and realistic characters living in fear of their leader and working together trying to save their lives(and their families) by any means necessary while deceiving their own Supreme Leader.
Although very long and dramatic, this book reads more like an intelligence & espionage thriller than the normal Clancy military technothriller. There are good doses of techno fun including a human extraction capsule that uses a UAV drone, bomb tech, mining mechanism, and other things. A recurring major character on the CAMPUS team, who first appeared in Dead or Alive, dies in this book. I felt that he deserved to get a more meaningful death if the publisher needed him out to bring in another character. Reading Full Force and Effect is a better experience than watching any of the Clancy movies or TV adaptations. If you can avoid comparing it to Clancy’s classic works and view it as a contemporary work in his fictional universe, this long thriller is a good entertaining tale for a weekend in.
For more long-form book reviews, check out - www.kronosananthsimha.com/book-blog/
Don’t get me wrong, this does not read like an actual Clancy book from the 80s & 90s. People who want books like the ones Clancy wrote will have to only reread his classic works. I don’t think there’d be another writer anytime soon on that level, and that’s maybe a good thing. Though I respect Clancy’s classic books, they wouldn’t work for today’s markets where readers(and all humans) have very low attention spans. The consumers today want stories that have the feel of an old genre, but fast-paced, sparsely detailed in comparison to the classic versions, and easy to understand & read & finish fast. This trend does help as I have trouble finishing a classic old Clancy book, and I enjoy the past decade’s Ryanverse/Clancyverse books as interesting pieces of entertainment despite any flaws.
Jack Ryan Jr. and his team at CAMPUS(Hendley Associates – an autonomous black ops group) tail a former CIA spook and witness him being assassinated in Vietnam. Their investigation confronts them with a Private Intelligence Company run by an opportunistic former FBI agent, a Mexican mining tycoon, North Korean assassins, and a few old faces.
The US government’s forces are looking into DPRK after the work of a sat-image analyst, a raid on a cargo ship by a SEAL team, and a North Korean missile that falls in the sea of Japan. Surprisingly for a Clancy book, there was no heavy military operations or large scale action involved. But it was good to experience Jack Ryan Sr. use the analytical skills from his former intelligence career in this book while still being an old, grumpy fictional President. His diplomatic skills with China, Mexico, DPRK, and within his own country is still on point as he resolves the whole situation in a matter of a few pages at the end while physically recovering from an assassination attempt on his life.
A previously used major character of the series, Adam Yao from Threat Vector, is back in this book for a big role. He gets trained by the top spooks at Langley to go deep cover into DPRK, the worst position for an undercover operative. The logistics, training, and detail of his operation is complex and written well compared to many contemporary thrillers. He gets to meet Jack Jr. in Vegas where they are both undercover at their separate operations, both indirectly connected to the same conspiracy. A change that I noticed was Jack Jr. being in full operator mode and avoiding the pages of his analyst work. Maybe it’s because a field operator would be a more entertaining main character than an analyst for most readers. Although, I did enjoy the Jack Jr. scenes in Command Authority(The previous Jack Ryan Sr/CAMPUS book) being a financial analyst for a firm in London investigating a complex web of money laundering and being dragged into an old school espionage type plot.
Jack’s cousin Dominic Caruso is dating Adara Sherman on their CAMPUS team, which starts in his solo book Support and Defend, but it appears to be a secret from their colleagues. Jack Jr. gets some chemistry with a private sector operative( a former French spook) who’s a bit older than him, but it doesn’t receive any happy ending when she’s betrayed by her own colleague – a fun, opportunistic, sociopathic scumbag named Edward Riley.
Riley, a private sector James Bond type character, is a washed-up Brit SIS operative who does anything necessary to keep his flashy lifestyle and rise into power, even working with North Korean assassins, Mexican Cartel enforcers, Cuban operatives, and middle eastern bombmakers. Despite being a villainous character, he steals the show by being the most interesting person in the midst of all the normal Chancy-esque characters.
The North Korean leader is portrayed as hilariously crazy as his real-world version which reads like a fun what-if scenario, considering the rocket-man drama that happened a couple of years ago. His ways of executing his own officers by feeding them to hungry dogs, burning them to a crisp, and his intense paranoia makes him appear like a comedic comic book villain, yet unfortunately realistic compared to his real-world counterpart. But the serious, fleshed-out North Korean characters are the director of their mining operations and the director of their foreign intelligence agency. They are portrayed as flawed, human, and realistic characters living in fear of their leader and working together trying to save their lives(and their families) by any means necessary while deceiving their own Supreme Leader.
Although very long and dramatic, this book reads more like an intelligence & espionage thriller than the normal Clancy military technothriller. There are good doses of techno fun including a human extraction capsule that uses a UAV drone, bomb tech, mining mechanism, and other things. A recurring major character on the CAMPUS team, who first appeared in Dead or Alive, dies in this book. I felt that he deserved to get a more meaningful death if the publisher needed him out to bring in another character. Reading Full Force and Effect is a better experience than watching any of the Clancy movies or TV adaptations. If you can avoid comparing it to Clancy’s classic works and view it as a contemporary work in his fictional universe, this long thriller is a good entertaining tale for a weekend in.
For more long-form book reviews, check out - www.kronosananthsimha.com/book-blog/
March 9, 2018
Highly predictable Clancy-style book, Greaney definitely has the writing style and storytelling style down to make it seem like Clancy himself was involved. Story was still compelling and timely about North Korean shenanigans with a rare earth minerals mine worth trillions of dollars once it comes online and an assassination attempt on President Jack Ryan. Formula? Yes. Enjoyable and a good read? Yup, that too. Recommended.
November 25, 2018
Every time I read a Mark Greaney Clancy book, I am amazed at how he keeps multiple story lines running cohesively without missing a beat. I enjoyed the action and intrigue. It's easy to sit down several days with this book.
May 28, 2019
As a Tom Clancy fan for his books, Mark Greaney delivers!
1) the author gracefully integrates multi-level, complex plots into one major plot that reveals North Korea's intention
2) the plot is action packed from beginning to end.
3) the book was technically long but not too long for integrating multiple major plots!
See blog for detailed review
1) the author gracefully integrates multi-level, complex plots into one major plot that reveals North Korea's intention
2) the plot is action packed from beginning to end.
3) the book was technically long but not too long for integrating multiple major plots!
See blog for detailed review
July 23, 2017
This was the first Jack Ryan book I read. I will definitely read more. I will start way back at beginning, see if Tom Clancy was better. I will definitely read more Mark Greaney books.
July 23, 2017
finished this one this evening, 7:10 p.m. 23 jul 17 good story four stars. i really liked it.
December 12, 2017
I liked it a lot. Good action, intrigue and international implications. Also, great insight into the evil workings of North Korean society as they aggressively seek to build ICBM's to reach the US with nuclear weapons.
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