Amazon.co.uk Review
At the end of the prologue to
Clear and Present Danger Clancy writes, "And so began something that had not quite begun and would not soon end, with many people in many places moving off in directions and on missions which they all mistakenly thought they understood. That was just as well. The future was too fearful for contemplation, and beyond the expected, illusory finish lines were things fated by the decisions made this morning-- and, once decided, best unseen." In
Clear and Present Danger nothing is as clear as it seems.
The president, unsatisfied with the success of his "war on drugs", decides that he wants some immediate success. But after John Clark's covert strike team is deployed to Colombia for Operation Showboat, the drug lords strike back taking several civilian casualties. The chief executive's approval ratings plummet. He orders Ritter to terminate their unofficial plan and leave no traces. Jack Ryan, who has just been named CIA deputy director of intelligence is enraged when he discovers that has been left out of the loop for Colombian operations. Several of America's most highly trained soldiers are stranded in an unfinished mission that, according to all records, never existed. Ryan decides to get the men out.
Ultimately, Clear and Present Danger is about moral conscience, law and politics, with Jack Ryan and CIA agent John Clark as its dual heroes. Ryan relentlessly pursues what he knows is right and legal, even if it means confronting the president of the United States. Clark is the perfect soldier, but a man who ultimately values his men higher than the orders of any careless commander.
Along with the usual, stunning array of military hardware and the latest techno-gadgets, Clear and Present Danger further develops the relationships and characters that Clancy fans have grown to love: Admiral James Greer passes the CIA torch to his pupil, Ryan; Mr Clark and Chavez meet for the first time; and other recurring characters, like Robert Ritter and "the President", add continuity to Clancy's believable, alternate reality. This is Clancy at his best. --Patrick O'Kelley
Review
From the reviews of Clear and Present Danger: 'A jump ahead of the headlines - moves with the speed of light.' New York Times 'Clancy's most politically sophisticated and philosophically complex thriller.' Time
The Great Clancy Thriller Machine rumbles on, engines on full. This time out, the best-selling ace swivels his big guns away from his usual Russian targets (glasnost fallout?) and toward a nearly homegrown menace: the cocaine lords of Colombia and their deadly white powder. So complex, so intricately researched and detailed is Clancy's newest battle plan that his main hero - CIA-agent Jack Ryan, veteran of three past Clancy novels - doesn't appear until about 100 pages of this 500-page juggernaut have rolled by. That's no problem, though: the front of the novel, like the rest, is built of geared subplots, each of which has teeth enough to snag the reader. The stirring action begins in the White House, in a typical Clancy scene that not only sets up the premise - a radical American initiative against Colombian drug traffic - but also offers nifty inside-info: that the Oval Office's windows are made of light-distorting, bullet-resistant polycarbonate; that the President's chair is backed with bullet-proof DuPont Kevlar. Neither the detailing nor the action lets up as Clancy moves his focus to the high seas - where a Coast Guard skipper captures, tries, and mock-executes a pair of drug-smuggling pirates; to the Rockies - where an ace Ranger trains for a secret mission with other Hispanics under the gaze of dark-souled CIA-agent "Mr. Clark"; to Medellin - where a vile drug lord and his ex-KGB advisor counterplot against the Yanks; to Langley - where a newly promoted Ryan gets wind of the White House plan and its murderous excesses by the hand of a cruelly ambitious presidential advisor. Before the dust Clears, America will secretly invade Colombia; drug lords will assassinate the US attorney general; America will bomb Medellin; and many more will die as Ryan and Clark kill lots of drug lords and serfs to save American boys and honor. Dazzling macho-entertainment, and a rousing farewell present to his fans from the author - who now, as he has announced, caps (for how long?) his astonishingly popular pen. (Kirkus Reviews)
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