Marc Cameron. Tom Clancy: Chain of Command. Putnam, 2021.
Chain of Command is the latest in the Tom Clancy estate tales of President Jack Ryan and his associates. We have been longtime fans of Clancy, and some of the tales since Clancy himself passed away are still fun to read.
As I began Chain of Command, I confess, I was not having fun. Some of the graphic, even perhaps gratuitous, violence established the fact that the bad guys in this novel were truly evil. The only comparison I could think of was Clancy’s Without Remorse, which featured John Clark but not in a government role. I was beginning to think that maybe the Clancy franchise had finally run of out steam and was just appealing to sensationalism.
About halfway through, though, the story took a turn and some things started coming together. The story begins in Argentina where we are introduced to rogue group of mercenaries known as the Camarilla. It turns out they have been hired by a billionaire from India who is upset at America because President Ryan is promoting the passage of a law that would more closely regulate generic drugs. Most generic drugs these days come from Asia, either India or China, and sometimes the quality and efficacy are suspect.
Seemingly unrelated, the same outlaw group kills the family of a Texas survivalist execution-style. They then attack the survivalists who are in turn attacking a shopping mall nearby.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world, a medical doctor and his nurse wife who are volunteering in remote Afghanistan are kidnapped by a Chinese military unit that crosses into the country from Tajikistan.
It all comes somewhat together. We learn that the Indian pharmaceutical CEO has hired the Camarilla to kidnap the First Lady. Somehow, he believes, holding her hostage will make the President and Congress change their minds. Most of the Camarilla are military veterans, so they carry out the kidnapping with precision, but they do as though they are in a battle. I think this Clancy book has the highest body count since Sum of All Fears when terrorists blew up an NFL stadium full of spectators and players.
Citing the 25th Amendment, President Ryan temporarily turns his office over to the Vice President so as not to interfere with either the political situation or the search for his wife. And the Campus gets involved, of course, along with the FBI, CIA, the Texas Rangers, and police from San Antonio and Abilene, Texas.
There are numerous twists as the story progresses. When I was expecting a formula, something else happened. A long time ago there was a film that spoofed action-adventure movies. One of the characters complains that he is not coming with another character because he would become the movie sidekick that within fifteen minutes everyone knows is going to die. I was correct on a few of the poor schmucks, but then there were some surprises. So much so, that the story ends on what I can only call a humorous note.
In one sense this is a throwback to some of the earlier Clancy stories like The Hunt for Red October. This will appeal to the real technodude fans of Clancy. While there are quite a few technical descriptions of different devices, nearly all of them are for small arms. We learn about the latest and greatest pistols and rifles. Yes, there are also a few drones and grenades, but most of the weapons are things most people can easily tote themselves.
Malhotra, the Indian pill executive, has minor echoes of a James Bond villain. He lusts after his secretary and he has a stuffed tiger in his office. The predatory cat sets the tone. He is pretty sure can make even more money from a merger with a German pharmaceutical company. His attorneys have figured out a way to add a few minor items to the contract to make things even more favorable, and the German CEO seems like he is approaching senility and is more interested in the attractive receptionist than the legal drug deal. As the story goes on, we see that no one really has all the information.
The men of the Campus, especially John Clark and Ding Chavez realize they are not getting any younger. They need some new blood. But how do you recruit people for an organization that is not supposed to exist? And as we see a few parallels between the Campus and the Camarilla, it makes us ask the question, is there really much of a difference between these two groups of veterans? Yes, I might have been a reluctant reader towards the beginning, but soon the story swept me up anyhow. I was smiling as I read the last sentence.