When I finished college I no longer knew what I liked to read. What I had read as a young adult in high school no longer held my interest and the only reading I did in college was classics and academic reading. So I browsed the bookshelves in my parents' house and I came across Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series. I had seen the movies - The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Executive Orders - so I picked up Cardinal in the Kremlin and fell in love with Cold War-era espionage. I read every book I could find and eagerly awaited new books in the series.

Then Clancy died and I moved on from the series. However, I recently started going through the audiobooks by the authors who have taken up the reins. They mostly focus on the next generation - Jack Jr and the team from The Campus. Jack Sr. would make an appearance usually; after all, he is the president and the father of Jack Jr. And as the spy trade has changed - now more focused on cyberspying and financial tracking - the stories haven't held quite the same level of interest to me.

Yet, when I saw Shadow of the Dragon, I couldn't pass it up. And I'm glad I didn't. One, it was great to read a Jack Ryan book again (as opposed to listening to the audiobook). Two, Jack Sr. has a bigger role in this book than I've seen lately. John Clark is also pretty prominently featured and not just as a trainer or administrator of The Campus. Three, the plot has the flavor of the old-fashion spycraft.

As some of the old faces are brought to the forefront there are the inevitable moments of nostalgia. There are also subtle nods to the stories during Jack Sr's time with the CIA. As a long time fan of the series, I loved this little sprinkling of parallels. For example, there is a possible foreign submarine disabled under the ice near Alaska. While there might not be a CARDINAL in the Kremlin, there is a VICAR in Russia.

I loved seeing all the different plot threads coming together. Shadow of the Dragon is such a fun story and I couldn't wait to sit down with it each day. Log-time fans won't be disappointed and new readers can easily pick up the book without having read any of the others.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Jan. 1 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/01/tom-clancys-jack-ryan-is-back-in-marc.html

One book, one problem? Not in a Tom Clancy novel.

SHADOW OF THE DRAGON, co-authored by Marc Cameron, dumps three situations on President Ryan’s plate: a missing Chinese scientist, unexplained noises emanating from under the Arctic ice, and a possible mole in American intelligence.

When Dr. Patti Moon hears an unusual noise coming from the ocean floor, she decides to bump an investigation into it up the chain of command in the Navy. She needs to determine whether her fears are real—or if she’s just imagining the human screams. Meanwhile, operatives with the Chinese Ministry of State Security are dealing with their own mystery: the disappearance of brilliant but eccentric scientist Liu Wangshu. They’re desperate to keep his crucial knowledge of aerospace and naval technology out of their rivals’ hands. Simultaneously, President Jack Ryan is informed about a high-level mole, which prompts him to send John Clark and the Campus, his off-the-books and leak-proof option, to try and locate the missing scientist.

Full article appears in December edition of The Big Thrill:

In Shadow of the Dragon, the twentieth in the Jack Ryan series, President Jack Ryan has his hands full. There's a missing Chinese scientist America is accused of kidnapping. Strange noises are heard under the Arctic ice that may or may not be a disabled Chinese submarine. There's a mole in the US Intelligence community. And, President Ryan's son, Jack, is right in the middle of all of this. How the team unravels this many problems without breaking their metaphorical Rubric's Cube is why we-all keep reading these books.

Make no mistake. I love this series and have read all of the books, some with a bit less enthusiasm than others, but their cleverness, twisted plots, and intellectual gravitas never fails to entertain. Tom Clancy's ghost writer, Marc Cameron, is excellent. He knows Clancy’s voice well and delivers it perfectly but here’s why I gave this particular book 4 instead of 5 stars. Cameron adds so much background information, pretty close to data dumps, that I often lose track of the passion and action. I don't want to do that. The plots--all five or ten of them--are riveting, intricate, and devious. I want to turn the page and find out what happens, not enter into the backstory of a new or returning character. Sometimes, by the time Cameron returns to where the plot left me hanging (a submarine is stranded below the Arctic ocean, a crewmember who could rescue them is freezing to death on an ice flow, the girl that might solve a world dilemma is being attacked), I;ve lost my passion for what was happening. That might just be me. Others might be fine with that.

None of that takes away from the great lines always found in Clancy books:

"Petty Officer Ward’s demeanor was relaxed—because calm was contagious..."

"Their hunches were basically weaponized with mathematical formulas..."

"Clark had what Ding called “old-man strength,” which was really not strength at all, but cunning and pure meanness in the face of battle."

Overall, an excellent read with a ton of detail. Recommended for fans of Tom Clancy, James Michener, and the like.

Another Jack Ryan book filled with action and adventure. The story continues over various spots on the globe. Plenty of fun adventure and close calls. I liked the story but for me, 8 pages describing all the characters in the book was a turn off. Had to pay close attention to keep people straight. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This was basically a good book. I admit I had to scan through much of the Chinese operatives planning but then would become engrossed again when the Americans were on the scene. The ending was satisfying.

While this may be the 30th book featuring Jack Ryan, it is as exciting and entertaining as the first one I read many years ago. Marc Cameron has maintained the same level of engrossing, thrilling action writing as the late Tom Clancy, earning the right to be on my "must read" list.

When a Chinese scientist with information valuable to the US and her allies goes missing, an extraction team is sent to find him and bring him in. At the same time, US submarines are picking up unexplained sound from beneath the Arctic ice. And if that wasn't enough to keep President Jack Ryan busy, signs of a Chinese mole in the CIA has surfaced. The multiple threads will lead to some surprising conclusions but along the way we will be treated to the fast moving, tension filled story we have come to expect from this author. This one kept me up very late, just one more chapter turned into I have to see how it ends. A great continuance to a great series. I can't wait until #31 comes out.

The Shadow Of The Dragon by Marc Cameron writing as the incomparable Tom Clancy is another exciting and gratifying installment in the unique Military/Suspense genre
The Shadow Of The Dragon is replete with adventure, jingoism, righteous conflict, and heroism, characteristics that produce a truly wonderful and gripping story. Add exotic and dangerous locals and the recipe is complete.
The novel starts off with a bang and never lets up. Excitement and military heroism abound, exactly what the reader expects and deserves.

Marc Cameron continues to entertain, intrigue, and amaze in his latest Jack Ryan Sr. novel.

Exploring what might occur when global powers battle for the supremacy in the ever changing Arctic waters and the technology necessary to do so, Cameron takes us on a sweeping journey stretching from the government offices of Washington D.C. to the wilds of Northwestern China.

Readers follow members of The Campus as they track down a pair of high value targets, including a 10 year old girl, as they evade various police and military operatives in the unparalleled surveillance state that is modern day China. All the while, unknown forces are actively looking to uncover the identity of the NOC agent leading the hunt.

With the skill that only the likes of Cameron can bring to the page, readers are transported amongst various viewpoints including how events are playing out on the global scale to the very person relationships amongst the cast of characters.

Make sure to pick up a copy ASAP.

The Shadow of the Dragon, by Marc Cameron writing as Tom Clancy. Another barn burner of an action story involving Jack Ryan and company! Like the others, this one is hard to put down as the story develops across the Arctic Sea, Russia, Algeria and DC, through harrowing adventures and near miss escapes. This adventure story with lots of blood and guts, political savvy, and military expertise does not disappoint.