John Remembers Tom Clancy

When THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER arrived on the scene in 1984 the cold war was still in full swing, it was a period of elevated tension, with the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 the United States increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressures on the Soviet Union. Tom Clancy emerged from nowhere to become the dominant voice in a new genre filled with techno-thrillers and Cold War novels. So impressive was his grasp of the technology of warfare, when he met the Navy Secretary, the official demanded: “Who the hell cleared it?”

Clancy’s main character, Jack Ryan, soon became the country’s symbol for strong leadership as he traveled a bumpy road from the Navel Academy to the Oval Office. In EXECUTIVE ORDERS, Ryan, issues a foreign policy doctrine which defines his administration’s international perspective. The Ryan Doctrine states that the U.S. will no longer tolerate attacks on “our territory, our possessions, or our citizens,” and will hold whoever orders such attacks accountable.

Over the years that followed Clancy wrote or co-wrote 25 novels in all, each one a bestseller. THREAT VECTOR and his final novel, COMMAND AUTHORITY, were co-written by Mark Greaney. Continuing a with a world alive with action and remarkable individuals, Greaney now brings us SUPPORT AND DEFEND featuring Dominic Caruso, nephew of President Jack Ryan, as he faces the deadliest challenge of his career.

Clancy is gone, but his voice is still echoing in a world where the Cold War has ended, but the dangers we face are just as dangerous. Now more than ever we need heroes like Jack Ryan.

John Hutchinson
VJ Books
July 2014