Oh boy, although I like the stories about Junior, this one was a letdown. There are always a lot of characters in Tom Clancy novels, but this was ridiculous. Some of them are known by more than one name, so you never know if the person they're talking about now is the same as in the last chapter, or if it's someone new. About half way through, I thought... "Who the hell is Sam??" and had to look backward to figure out who this new person was, and THAT was the moment I stopped enjoying this book. Phenomenal political espionage thriller from the master himself, Tom Clancy - may he rest in peace - that rarely takes its foot off the throttle. What will truly shock the reader, though, is that this book was published in 2011, and contains an incredible amount of content you would swear is ripped from today's headlines. Once again, this is a Clancy book that reflects how he could be at the top of his selected craft. This novel is perhaps the most layered work I can recall reading in recent memory, and each layer is thick and detailed. When everything is put together, this story is like a cleverly-woven tapestry of high intrigue.Jack Ryan, Jr. is once again the protagonist of this series of books, but in "Locked On" the action is more involving of The Campus, John Clark, Jack, Sr. and the other players surrounding them. In fact, this could easily be a novel unto itself about Jack Ryan, Sr.'s second presidential run, which runs concurrent to the plot of this book. It is all brilliant, to keep both Ryans at the forefront of their storylines and tie them together throughout the book.As previously mentioned, there are a lot of occurrences in this 2011 novel that are startlingly current, from radical Islam seeking to establish a caliphate as a result of the aftermath of their despicable terrorism, to a presidential administration sufferring an incredble lack of support and credibility based on their actions that have weakened the U.S., to a captured terrorist being Mirandized and potentially tried in domestic courts, instead of correctly being detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison. Obviously Mr. Clancy was not psychic, so it's actually rather dismaying that the "feel" of 2011 is the same or worse half way through 2014.A minor complaint I have with this story is the vast amount of characters that are interspersed throughout it. It can be hard to keep track of them all, especially as they are all of the international variety. The fact of the matter is that the main players are all very predominant and assertive, and so these other characters are more of the supporting cast that don't necessarily need to be remembered at all times. Their actions tend to speak louder than they do, anyway, and that helps a great deal in identifying their loyalties, so to speak.There are a couple of good plot twists in this book, that I am hesitant to label as such. Whatever they are defined as, I liked the subplot with John Clark and there is sense of heroism in his call to action (being deliberately vague). This book was also made good on something that I thought was lacking slightly in rounding out the characters - the lack of females. It was good to give Jack Ryan, Jr. a girlfriend, despite his profession not really being conducive to maintaining a relationship.As one may suspect, this is not the novel to jump into for those new to Clancy's books. I think getting in with the Jack, Jr. character is a good start, though, and the starting point for him is "The Teeth of the Tiger". Reading from that point onward does a decent job of establishing the characters within this book. The best part about a Tom Clancy novel is just how long it stays with you after you're finished reading it. I'll remember this book for a long time to come.
What do You think about Locked On (2011)?
Ce livre est la suite des aventures de Jack Ryan Jr. L'histoire nous transporte cette fois au Pakistan et dans une des province russe avec une population musulmane. On doute donc que l'auteur parlera de terrorisme.J'ai trouvé le roman pas mal en dents-de-scie. Ce que j'ai moins aimé c'est la partie sur l'élection de Jack Ryan Sr. Le gros problème vient d'une prise de position politique que je n'adhère pas trop. Ce que j'aimais des romans précédents c'était que Clancy ne nous achalait pas trop avec la politique et se concentrait vraiment sur ceux qui défendent les États-Unis. Un autre point que je n'ai pas aimé c'est la chronologie avec les autres livres de l'auteur. Dans les livres où Ryan Sr. est président, l'histoire de passe à la fin des années 1990, dans le coin de 1996 comme la date du livre Sur Ordre. Dans Rainbow 6, c'est lui qui est président et ça se passe en 2000, durant les Olympiques d'Australie. On sait qu'il n'a fait qu'un seul mandat, donc imagine que son successeur a pris la place en 2000. Les élections du livre seraient donc en 2004 mais les outils technologiques du livre semblent plus indiquer le début des années 2010. Tout ce problème de de chronologie a un peu gâché ma lecture.Pour le positif, je dois avouer que la fin était géniale. Tout au long du sprint final, j'étais vraiment stressé face à ce qui allait arriver. C'est la course contre la montre typique de Tom Clancy qui font que j'adore ses romans.Ce n'est pas le meilleur des histoire des Ryan mais en bout du compte c'est quand même très agréable à lire.
—demple
Since I don't spend a lot of time reading, Clancy's tomes are a little long. However, they are also hard to put down. Having only read three and all of which were Jack Ryan stories and they begin to run together in my old mind.His spy group known as the campus, has the same team in every book that I have read. This works good in a television series, but in books we need a different "good guy" from time to time. Also the top player, president Jack Ryan Sr. is a right wing Zealot. Possibly letting Tom Clancy's political leaning show through.
—Jan
This is and always will be my favorite Clancy book I have ever read.
—Alien
