Weighing in at well over 700 pages, Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy and aided by Grant Blackwood is a monumental publication. Although in no rush to finish the book, it took me three days to finish and, my overall reaction to reading my first Tom Clancy thriller was one of efficaciousness.

Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy

It’s not very often that a book can afford to spend in excess of 200 pages creating a thorough and enviable foundation but Dead or Alive successfully achieves this, all the while creating countless scenarios and once again re-introducing us to characters of old. Although Dead or Alive may appear rather sedentary in the beginning I found, as a newcomer to Clancy novels, the care and effort taken to ease me in as a reader invaluable.

As you would expect; countless scenarios mean a huge array of characters, some more colourful and enigmatic than others, Clancy weaves a magical web and although I wasn’t sure he could tie them all together he does so effortlessly and with an assured imagination.

Available at “The Book Depository” & “Amazon”

Dead or Alive is an intellectually stimulating read and I found myself, on numerous occasions, sitting back, taking stock and digesting every minute detail Clancy and Blackwood offered -Perhaps more importantly I found the novel and subject matter believable – some may argue it borders on being a little far-fetched, I would have to disagree! With the threat of terrorism an ever growing factor in the 21^st Century, Dead or Alive made me think about the infinite possibilities and how we all hope there are guys like Jack Ryan and John Clark out there to help serve and protect!

I found the second half of the book run away from me, it was over before I knew it and I must confess I was disappointed when I turned over the final page – I want to find out what happens next! Although a direct follow up to “The Teeth of The Dragon”, I never once felt the poorer for having not read “Jack Ryan Jr 1” – Clancy leaves the door wide open at the end clearly leaving his options open – I’m certain he’ll want to continue Ryan Jr’s fledgling career in “The Campus”.

So what of the storyline? Jack Ryan, his son, also named Jack, John Clark and a whole host of other characters engage in a tale of modern terrorism.  The Campus, a secret and independent US counter-terrorism organisation is on the trail of “The Emir”, a high profile terrorist who has masterminded a series of vicious attacks around the globe.

Thanks mainly to a powerful and dedicated network “The Emir” has avoided capture by the World’s eminent law enforcement agencies. The men and women at “The Campus” are determined not to let him continue his reign of terror and vow to capture him Dead or Alive.

Not only do we follow Jack and his colleagues at the Campus but we are also introduced to numerous characters from “team terror”! With a book of this size nothing is rushed, Clancy taking his time add colour and a background to most of the characters we meet along the way.

The scenarios are imaginative, atmospheric and well produced. Clancy, no stranger to number one bestselling author status has another masterpiece on his hands with Dead or Alive. It made me want to turn on the PS3, load up Rainbow Six and kill a few terrorists! – that can’t be a bad thing can it?!

Wonderful – a great stocking filler!

Published by Penguin Dead or Alive is available at “The Book Depository” & “Amazon“