Normally, Jack Ryan, with his considerable power as leader of the free world, has no problem stepping in to help a friend in need—but in Marc Cameron’s latest thriller, being POTUS actually makes it harder for Ryan to lend aid to an old classmate.
Pat West, an old buddy of Ryan’s from grad school, gave up a how-hum but lucrative career at Georgetown to instead go and spread the good word and be of service to others. Now a priest working with the poor in Indonesia, West is accused of committing blasphemy against Islam, but not before he witnesses the murder of a fellow American, a genius software engineer named Geoff Noonan.
Thankfully, West is able to send an email to alert Jack Ryan, who later finds it and connects the dots to a computer application known as Calliope, which functions like a super virus trained to hunt, and is capable of breaching nearly any electronic before taking over full control of said device in real-time. Originally, Noonan, created Calliope to revolutionize Artificial Intelligence as we know it. Now, following his murder, several questions loom large, like who has it and what’s their endgame––two things Ryan knows he better figure out sooner rather than later.
Thankfully, Jack has access to resources most could never dream of, and while he can’t help Father West by engaging Indonesia directly, politically speaking, the president enlists the help of The Campus (an off-the-books program made up of skilled operators, including his son, Jack Junior) to save West and track down whoever’s behind Calliope.
But as the players begin to emerge, so does a major attack that’s in the works against America, and soon it becomes clear that this might be the gravest threat Jack Ryan has ever faced . . .
Marc Cameron continues to show why he was the perfect choice to step in for Mark Greaney (who originally replaced Tom Clancy to keep the Ryanverse afloat) and continue Clancy’s iconic franchise. While each of his previous entries, Power and Empire and Oath of Office, received rave reviews from both critics and readers, the veteran bestseller hits his stride here, pulling out all the stops—and using fan-favorite characters perfectly—to bring a spine-tingling, heart-thumping story to life in a way that tends to, at times, almost feel too real for comfort. Cameron’s attack scenario is smart, well-plotted, and in the end, feels reminiscent of when Clancy himself was ahead of the curve when it came to predicting threats and weaving them into unputdownable, cutting-edge technothrillers—which is exactly what Code of Honor is.
Marc Cameron has outdone himself once again, delivering the kind of fast-paced, original, true-to-the-characters thriller that Clancy’s fans have long devoured. If you were thinking about skipping this one for whatever reason, think again . . . Tom Clancy Code of Honor is the last must-read book of 2019.
Book Details
Author: Marc Cameron
Series: Jack Ryan
Pages: 512 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0525536612
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: November 19, 2019
Book Spy Rating: 8.5/10
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and pens a monthly thriller column for CrimeReads. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.