Tom Clancy Duty and Honor (A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel)

Jack Ryan, Jr. is on a forced leave from his position with the Campus. Taking stock of his life, and trying to figure out the best direction forward, Ryan is almost caught off guard when a man tried to kill him while Ryan is bringing groceries to his car. There is a second man at the scene. A back-up in case the first guy couldn't do the job? Ryan isn't sure. More importantly, he has no idea why someone would want him dead in the first place. Teaming up with the young son of a once-famous journalist, Ryan and Effrem begin to piece together a sinister plot. Something big is about to go down. The problem is the two have no idea what that something big is, where it is going to happen, or who is behind the plan. Deciding they need more evidence before going forward to the authorities, the duo work closely as they fit together the odd-shaped pieces of the puzzle. An absolutely riveting read! From start to finish the book is explosive. It is a little more cut - and - dry when compared to the overly complex "Tom Clancy" novels most fans may be used to. I for one enjoyed the reprise of 1,000 Russian names that all sound alike, and the double and triple agents that leave my head spinning. Duty and Honor was more of a straight forward thriller. And I loved it! Phillip Tomasso Author of Absolute Zero and Damn the Dead

ok

So, being a Tom Clancy fan and a big fan of his characters, I have to say that this book wasn't all that bad. There are some things that I need to point out, however... there is a place where the author says that Jack was traveling west on I-95. Sorry, but I-95 runs north-south. Second, and my biggest complaint, is that Jack runs off and does the exact thing that got him suspended from the campus in the previous book. He apparently learned nothing from his suspension. I'm not sure if that was the authors intention or not, but it makes Jacks rejoining the campus not as plausible. Other than that, it was a decent story that kept moving.

During his sabbatical leave from The Campus, Jack Jr. is nearly assassinated by the unknown threat. Who do they want him dead? Why does he become their target? Without any assistance from Ysabel, nor reliable back up from The Campus, Jack’s lone pursuit begins. He hasn’t any clue on this evil but only his hunches. He flies by the seat of his pants to Virginia, NY, Connecticut, Vermont, Germany, Switzerland, France, and even to Namibia. Grant Blackwood wrote “in Hollywood blockbusters this desperate gambit was glorious to behold and almost always successful, but it rarely worked in the real world.” It worked. “Duty And Honor” far exceeds the reality. A story develops as if we’re riding on a roller coaster and/or sliding on a waterfall. In the course of his chase, he came to know two cooperators, Effrem Likkel, a would-be journalist, and Rene Allemand, a brain-washed French soldier. Their action on well-intentioned impulse taught him an invaluable lesson it doesn’t make either him or those around him bulletproof in tight spots. Seeing their behavior, Jack realizes that he himself was being impulsive, undisciplined, focused on the trees rather than the forest. Jack’s persistent tracking on his psychotic killer leads him to a powerful German businessman. How does Jurgen Rostock conceive a dream of having his own army. “Duty And Honor” insinuates danger hiding in everyone’s inside. The story tells us about a victory which would save lives in the future. On the other hand, the experience becomes a practical personnel management training for Jack. In a different situation, conversations between Jack and his two followers would easily becomes those by him and Gerry Hendley/John Clark. Playing shepherd to the impulsive Effrem and erratic Rene had been a brutal, eye-opening crash course to Jack. He is ready to his further adventure now.

Thought the story was drawn out. Not enough action. Did not think this was a great book maybe just ok.

This is a much better book than the author's previous contributions to the series (DEAD OR ALIVE, UNDER FIRE). One difference is Jack Jr. isn't out to save the world -- he's just trying to avoid being killed, and to do that he hunts down the men that are trying to kill him and tries to find a logical explanation for why he's been targeted. This allows Jack's character to be less of a superhero caricature (as he was in the previous books) and more of a flawed good guy who is introspective and trying to find and learn from his mistakes. It makes for less action/excitement in the book, but it actually improves the overall quality of the book. Forced to work without The Campus and its resources, Jack pulls in some new allies along the way as he crosses America, Europe and ultimately Africa in pursuit of the answers he needs to stay alive. Another thing I really liked: I expected when the reason he'd been targeted was finally revealed that we'd flip back to superhero caricature mode and Jack would suddenly save the world in the final pages of the book. Well, I was so wrong. The reason is logical and compelling, and Jack's response to it was even more so. It all leads to a satisfying conclusion. Hope this book will get the whole Campus series back on track. I highly recommend it to military/spy/thriller fans: 5/5 stars.

The best thing we see in this story is how Jack sees the other side of riding herd on cats. While he ha real luck in his fellow travelers., they’re smart & have some skills, just not spy craft or follow orders. The brainwashing was an interesting complication and I’ll read the next one I would have preferred a different ending. This one while I’d buy it again just wasn’t as sparkling as others,

AN excellent read.

As always a good Tom Clancy read

This story is full of action. For those who enjoy a good action story, this is one not to be missed.

quick delivery. good packaging. the book is in very good condition. thank you!

Ok hear me out. I have not liked any of Blackwood's books. I found them annoying and boring. But this book had such good pacing. I found myself reading it almost in one sitting. Personally, I think Greaney has had better novels. But for me this is Blackwood's best. If he keeps getting the in between novels, I'm happy. I don't have a lot of nastalgia, but I find the writing in this books to be good. Better than Clancy post Rainbow 6. We used to wait years between novels, now were getting two pretty good ones each year. Penguin if you read this, keep it up. I'll vote with my checkbook