Dead or Alive (novel)
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Tom Clancy with Grant Blackwood |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Lou Diamond Phillips |
| Language | English |
| Series |
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| Genre | |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
Publication date | December 7, 2010 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback), Audio |
| Pages | 848 |
| ISBN | 978-0-399-15723-3 |
| Preceded by | The Teeth of the Tiger |
| Followed by | Locked On |
Dead or Alive is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Grant Blackwood, and released on December 7, 2010. It is Clancy's first novel in seven years after The Teeth of the Tiger (2003), and follows the hunt by The Campus for "the Emir", a Middle Eastern terrorist based on Osama bin Laden. It unites several characters from the Ryanverse, including former president Jack Ryan, his son Jack Ryan Jr., his nephews Dominic and Brian Caruso, and Rainbow Six veterans John Clark and Domingo Chavez.[1] The book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.[2]
Plot summary
Most wanted terrorist Saif Rahman Yasin, known as the Emir, secretly enters the United States by private plane. Having altered his physical appearance and relocated in the state of Nevada, he coordinates his massive operation as leader of terrorist organization Umayyad Revolutionary Council (URC), codenamed Lotus. It aims to weaken the current presidential administration with the destruction of a nuclear waste storage facility outside Las Vegas, using a nuclear device assembled from radioactive material stolen from an abandoned nuclear waste storage site in Russia, in order to poison the water table for the western United States.
After successfully foiling a hostage situation in the Swedish embassy in Tripoli, John Clark and Domingo Chavez are forcibly retired from their duties in the CIA and Rainbow due to the current worldview on black operations. They are then recruited into The Campus, where they take part in the organization's hunt for the Emir, which spans through Sweden, Pakistan and Canada. After further investigation and at one point cooperating with National Counterterrorism Center deputy head and Clark's longtime friend Mary Pat Foley, The Campus later deduce that the Emir is in the U.S.
Meanwhile, former president Jack Ryan is working on his memoirs and initially refusing to speak out against his successor, Ed Kealty. When he finds out that the Kealty administration are planning to prosecute U.S. Army Ranger Sam Driscoll for murdering sleeping Middle Eastern terrorists in a cave during their fruitless search for the Emir, he decides to announce his candidacy for President of the United States in the next election. He later refers Driscoll to Clark and Chavez, who recruit him into The Campus.
Reception
Publishers Weekly lauded the book, saying "Clancy is back at the top of his game." [3] The Los Angeles Times was slightly less generous, calling it "sprawling but propulsive." [4]
References
- ^ "Tom Clancy's 'Dead or Alive' to feature all-star list of Clancy characters". The Independent. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ "The New York Times bestseller list for December 26, 2010" (PDF). Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ "Starred Review, Dead or Alive". Publishers Weekly.
- ^ "Book review, Tom Clancy's Dead or Alive". Los Angeles Times.
