Tom Clancy's twists and turns make 'Locked On' a winner
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Tom Clancy (shown in a 2004 photo) once again accurately describes military weapons and logistics in his latest book.
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Republicans who are disappointed with the GOP field of presidential candidates can escape into fantasy for a few hours with Tom Clancy's latest novel, "Locked On"
In "Locked On," a president whose policies are very much like those of Barack Obama is challenged for re-election by the ideal Republican candidate -- longtime Clancy hero Jack Ryan.
As in Mr. Clancy's earlier novels, the action is nearly nonstop and only occasionally wildly improbable; the description of weapons and tactics employed by protagonists and antagonists is accurate and comprehensive, and is inserted smoothly into the narrative.
The situation with which the protagonists must deal is dire. Islamists in Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence Agency plot a coup and war with India. The coup is to be triggered by a terror strike against Moscow by Islamist separatists from the Russian republic of Dagestan in the north Caucusus, armed with nuclear bombs taken from Pakistan's arsenal.
In order to save the world from this imminent calamity, the protagonists must also avoid snares set for them at home by uncomprehending bureaucrats and scheming leftists, including especially the president.
Mr. Ryan debuted as a former Marine officer turned CIA analyst in Mr. Clancy's first novel, "The Hunt for Red October" (1984). In subsequent novels he switched from analysis to derring-do in the war on terror, rising to the top of the CIA. Then came service as the president's national security adviser, vice president and -- after the president is killed in a terror attack -- president. That was in "Debt of Honor" (1994). His exploits as president were recounted in "Executive Orders" (1996) and "The Bear and the Dragon" (2000).
Jack Ryan declined to run for re-election, which led to the election of Democrat Ed Kealty. In "Locked On" (which Mr. Clancy wrote with the assistance of Mark Greaney, an author of three adventure novels himself), Ryan comes out of retirement to rectify that mistake.
First Published January 11, 2012 12:00 am
