Dead or Alive [Paperback]

 

 

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"For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness." -- Psalm 38:4-5 (NKJV)

Dead or Alive pits the Emir and his global terror network against the United States, with only the hope that the secret group, The Campus, can act in time to avoid horror. If that plot sounds familiar, you've read some variation on it several times in the last decade by other authors. What's different here? Authors Tom Clancy and Grant Blackwood work in the major surviving characters from the earlier Jack Ryan novels. Although the names are familiar and friendly to the memory, the characters themselves are more similar in name than in reality. So if you think you are going to enjoy a vintage Jack Ryan thriller, think again.

If that puts you off, realize that you'll be disappointed if you are looking for the old zing in this series. It's just not there. You'll probably grade the book as one or two stars, as a poor imitation of "the prior characters and stories."

If you can put that feeling aside and focus on the book itself, it's about a two-and-a-half star effort that's mainly marred by taking forever to develop over the 950 pages in my edition. The strength of the slow development is that your curiosity will grow about what the terror plot involves, but I doubt if you'll be intrigued. If you enjoy learning how to run a terror network over the Internet, the book becomes a little more interesting. If you want to gain a little paranoia about American vulnerability to terrorists, the book is decent in that regard.

The test for me with such a "thriller" is whether I can put it down in the middle for a few days and feel relaxed about not knowing what's coming next. I did such laying aside with no problem.

The book opens on a high point, as an Army Ranger team strikes into the cave network along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border seeking to capture a potentially high-value terror suspect. They come across something quite unsuspected, which begins to slowly reveal a mystery in motion. Terror cells are described in action, moving towards undefined objectives with great remorselessness. Treasure those parts of the book. What's coming isn't nearly as fast-paced and interesting.

What's the nicest thing I can say about the book? It's definitely better than The Bear and The Dragon.

What's the worst thing I can say? The Kindle version is overpriced.

Should you read it? You'll probably enjoy the trip if your expectations aren't set by the best of the prior Jack Ryan books.

I plodded through this expensive and over wordy 950 page novel. I've usually been able to respect Clancy's attention to detail and depend upon that accuracy to carry me through parts of the plot that might elude my own knowledge. I'm a Canadian and was not shocked to see some of the silliness that is believed to be the case by American readers such as the RCMP wearing red tunics and riding around on horses. The Mounties wear regular police type uniforms albeit it in a tan shirt and navy blue pants configuration and ride around in regular police cruisers. Detectives dress in civilian clothing from suits to undercover garb the same as any other police force. Once again as soon as a terrorist arrives in Canada via an airliner with a nuclear device he is wisked through customs without a hitch while explaining that had he attempted to pull the same thing in the United States he would have been quickly discovered. Instead he slips through a hole in the fence on the Canadian/American border. There is the claim about the best in the world American sniper which at the time of writing was untrue. These lapses in accuracy tend to make me leery of Clancy's claims in other areas. It only takes one clanger to queer the whole thing.
This book was obviously written too early to account for the underwear bomber's easy access to an American carrier and his eluding security despite his father giving him up and the British having him on their no-fly list. So much for Clancy's belief that the intelligence services in the US are state of the art.
As is the case with most American books the precision with which their intelligence and covert services work is well oiled and razor sharp but also a myth and this made it difficult for me to make it through a great deal of the prose. About 4 or 5 years ago some kid in England using no special programs hacked into the Pentagon and NASA databases using his girlfriend's laptop proving how secure these were.
The story took too long to develop and frankly I wondered at the editors at Putnam who just rubber stamped this one and let it through on the strength of Clancy's earlier books. Too many big writers are getting trash out in the major book circuit because their publishers are relying on their former popular writers instead of investing in new talent claiming tough times due to recession and the introduction of E-books.
I admit that the premise appealed to me but I had just come out of reading three 5 star (should be 10 star) books by Stieg Larsson beginning with the "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". These were great writing without the need to wave a flag throughout. I was actually depressed when I had finished Larrson's series. Dead Or Alive was the next book after that read and a real letdown. It was lacking in character description and scenario setups and detail and was a slow read. I could put it down but did read it through to the end because I paid a lot for the book. I am a conservative and believe in a strong, well trained military but do not believe that any military is as sharp as Clancy likes to draw the characters in this book. But then this is a work of fiction.

While very exciting and entertaining, if you recall the plot of 'Executive Orders,' written in 1997, this book should scare you. The political landscape in the book is entirely too similar to today's to be coincidental.

I don't know whether to review the book as great entertainment or as a warning. In either case, I highly recommend it.

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2.0 out of 5 stars uninspired and formulaic
Not to mention the crude marketing - Tom Clancy in LARGE LETTERS, Grant Blackwood underneath in smaller type. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Rodge

4.0 out of 5 stars Dead or Alive
The plot was great and full of classic Clancy. However, I felt that the editor must have been asleep. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Cdn303

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Dead or Alive
Fantastic!!! It's past time that Clancy went back to writing about the Ryan's. I waiting a long time. Read more

Published 15 months ago by LorraineH

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