Tom Clancy’s Firing Point

I have read every Tom Clancy novel — including the collaborations and now just the \’inspired by\’ books. I love the way his books are plotted and paced. This book is very weak by comparison. The story seems to revolve around a gigantic plot hole — it spends large amounts of time explaining all the lengths that go into lead character Jack Ryan Jr. goes to hide his identity…(because he\’s a \’secret agent\’ and his dad is the president…but then he uses his real name, the EXACT SAME NAME as the sitting President and not one of his new found allies, enemies, or people he crosses path with ever makes the connection that he\’s related to the President!!! Imagine a young spy checking into a hotel with the name William Jefferson Clinton Jr. and no one mentioning, asking, considering that he was the President\’s kid? I mean give him a cover name, you can even keep calling him Jack in the book, its a one line fix and it all makes sense. Beyond that while Clancy always loved the use of technology, this author just invents more and more amazing tech devices to get his characters into or out of jams depending on the moment. It just feels lazy. Maybe these things got me feeling extra picky, but at one point in the book the author makes a reference to baseball and refers to the baseball term \’unforced error\’ — I\’ve loved baseball my entire life, and I\’ve heard of errors, but never heard anyone refer to an \’unforced error\’. Tennis has unforced errors, not baseball. Later he uses football metaphors (one of the lead characters is a former West Point football player) that seem even more forced. Towards the end of his life Clancy collaborated with Mark Greaney and Grant Blackwood on a few books and they wrote the first few post-Clancy novels — and I thought they were good. The series has now been taken over by Marc Cameron and Mike Maden and has taken a considerable downturn. If you\’re a fan of Tom Clancy I suggest you go back and find your old copy of The Hunt For Red October and start the series over again, unless there is an author choice these books have run their course.

I have read every Tom Clancy book numerous times. I have loved every book until now. This book was absolutely terrible. The only thing it had in common with any other Jack Ryan book was his name. This author I believe feels if one adjective can describe something a half dozen describes it better, he is wrong. Where Tom Clancy was a great story teller, Mike Maden should stick to writing text books for classrooms. This book was an absolute boring read. If Mike Maden writes any other books in Tom Clancy\’s name with any of his characters, the series will die ….

\”Tom Clancy Firing Point\” is a 2020 release by Mike Maden. It is book 29 in the Jack Ryan Universe, as well as the sixth Jack Jr novel. While on vacation in Barcelona, Jack Ryan Jr runs into an old friend at a cafe. After a brief and rather puzzling encounter between the two, Jack leaves and the restaurant explodes, killing his friend. Wondering at the timing of the explosion and just what Renee, his friend, was up to in Barcelona, Jack undertakes an investigation in the only way he knows how. With the help of a Spanish federal agent, Jack begins to dig into the mystery, slowly unraveling a plot that could destroy the world as we know it. Will Jack Jr be able to untangle the plot in time and survive shadowy and nefarious opponents? After Mike Maden\’s last Jack Jr go-round, I was ready to leave the series for good. Absurd coincidence, superhuman Jack, and unneeded filler made for a decidedly mediocre product. However, I decided to give one more shot to the series, and I am glad I did. \”Firing Point\” is not only the best Jack Jr novel to date, but also one heck of a read in its own right. The plot of \”Firing Point\” is timely and relevant, as you would expect from a Tom Clancy novel. There is a real sense of believability, and you will finish the book wondering if some of what you read is true, and if so, what the plot\’s ramifications might have in our own world. The level of research and detail in the book are superb, from describing locations, to weapons, to geopolitics. Author Mike Maden writes with a real sense of authority and ownership of the material. He makes the book his own, and quite effectively balances putting his own brand on things while still channeling what makes Tom Clancy novels great. I enjoyed the different plot threads, and how they came together to create an insomnia-inducing must-read finale. The quality of writing is high, and flows very well; dialogue is very natural-sounding. The plot moves at a break-neck pace, and I was quite impressed with how tight the novel felt. While Mike did get some of his Rick Steves material in there, it felt much less like a waste of space than in previous entries. I was a tad frustrated by some of the overused plot devices recycled from earlier entries. For instance, we get Jack once again teaming up with a female who is interested in him romantically, and that concept is too worn by now. However, the book was so darn entertaining, I was able to look past some of the more fatigued material. Mike Maden paints an effective portrait of Jack Ryan Jr. The character is becoming a more and more compelling figure in his own right, able to step out of his father\’s shadow. Jack Sr is also very well written, his wise experience an interesting equilibrium to Jack Jr\’s kinetic drive. I wouldn\’t have minded to see more of Jack\’s comrades from the Campus, but they do get a little screen time, which is better than nothing. The villain was a tad forgettable, but there was real sense of gravity around the seriousness of the plot, and some rather unexpected surprises along the way. Jack Jr is also much less of a John Rambo in this book than in others. He\’s portrayed as tough, but not a one man killing machine, making for a more realistic character overall. Congratulations to Mike Maden for bringing me back into the Clancy fold. I was worried the series was digging itself into too deep a hole to ascend from, but with \”Firing Point\” Mike Maden has given us a great novel that is one-hundred percent deserving to bear the name \”Clancy\” on its cover. I\’m delighted to report I\’ll be sticking around for the next book, and here\’s to hoping it\’s just as great.

In order to enjoy this book you must suspend disbelief. You must accept that the son of the President can use all of the electronic devices known to man in order to identify people and breakdown events but that no other intelligence agency, including CIA, can identify him for who he is. The Campus has a file on virtually every bad guy but no group of bad guys know about The Campus. Even when Ryan identifies himself by name and passport the Spanish CNI and US Embassy don\’t know who he is. The story follows a familiar formula. Jack stumbles into danger, the women is attracted to either betray him or die, in the end Jack triumphs. Enjoy it for the mind candy it is. I do like the insights given into Spain\’s Civil War and culture and how those things influence Spain today. I strongly suggest that it is time to make Jack a more complete character (less in awe of his father and afraid of his mother) in order for the series to have any interest going forward. Jack Jr. just isn\’t interesting enough as he stands now to be compelling.

I have bought hundreds of books from Amazon, but have never left a review because I feel that everyone\’s taste is different. But this was not value for money and since a paid more £17 for it, and with at least 20 pages blank or with a date only, I am inclined to be less than happy. The story is weak and not worthy of the Tom Clancy cover headline. Jack Ryan junior is being painted as a pubescent thug who will not comply with laws of any land, and his father should long ago have retired from the White House, having been there for 26 fictional years. Even his character was weakened by this storyline. Perhaps the time has come to stop cashing in on the ghost writing experience and to let Mr. Clancy rest in peace. Sadly, the storyline about a quantum computer could have been a good one.

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