| In the city of Moscow, a notorious pimp is killed with a military weapon, by unknown assailants.
In the city of Beijing, a political secretary begins an affair with a CIA agent posing as a Japanese salaryman. In Washington, D.C., President Jack Ryan and his cabinet receive news of an unprecedented simultaneous discovery in the wilds of Siberia: gold and oil. In just over a thousand pages of text, author Tom Clancy spins all three storylines into one, once again demonstrating the interaction between intelligence agencies, military forces, politicians, and economics. The story begins with trade negotiations between China and the United States just as the CIA has managed to gain an inside line of information within the Chinese Politburo. As the trade talks progress, a sudden cache of resources are discovered in Siberia. The death of two churchmen in Beijing at the hands of Chinese policemen bring international attention to the lack of civil rights in the PRC, and America and Europe respond by boycotting goods manufactured in China. The Chinese, accustomed to the wealth brought in by the trade imbalance between their country and the United States, seize upon a mad plan: invade Siberia. This technopolitical thriller, sophisticated and complete, is a perfect example of Tom Clancy's genre, one that he helped to create. Follow the actions, methods, and motives of Clancy's recurrent characters, including (but not limited to) Jack Ryan, Robby Jackson, Scott Adler, George Winston, Al Gregory, Sergey Golovko, Gennady Bondarenko, Cathy Ryan, Andrea Price, Arnie van Damm, Mary Pat Foley, Ed Foley, Ben Goodley, Chet Nomuri, and perennial favorites John Clark and Domingo Chavez, as they struggle through intelligence reports, trade negotiations, government investigations, and, ultimately, a climax that hovers over the very brink of the unthinkable: nuclear war. A worthy successor to Executive Orders, Tom Clancy proves that both continuity and a long-term plot can survive in a series of contemporary modern thrillers, incorporating characters and themes drawing from his entire body of Jack Ryan novels, while still managing to keep his work timely and relevant. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) Time/era of story: Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 30 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % War-time military intelligence mission? Yes Search for technology? Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - an organization Age: - 60's-90's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - power The antagonists are: - Chinese How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes Asia/Pacific Yes Asian country: - China Prairie? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - descript. of breasts - descript. of other female areas A lot of techno jargon? Yes Kind of jargon? - military technology Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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