It feels good to be reading a book like this again, and it has been quite some time since I last opened a book this chunky.

The book is Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy. Clancy would be one of my favourite authors. Having been captured by his style of writing back in my high school days and getting sucked into the world of Jack Ryan & John Clarke it is always a thrill to read one of his books.

After a good sized gap Clancy is back at his old tricks again with lots of his usual characters in play. It is a bit wierd having the Clancy storyline with real world events intertwined but you get used to it eventually. This story picks up a few years after Jack Ryan has ended his presidency and his son works for a non government intelligence outfit called “The Campus “.

With Clancy’s usual panache and style there is usually a lot of back story before you start getting anywhere but any die hard fan will know that going in. Unlike Dale Brown who leaves the big moments till the last 3 pages Clancy does tie things up in the last 100 or so pages but it does get you hooked into the last portion of the book.

This book doesn’t disappoint in the usual story of cloak and dagger spy vs spy mixed with terrorist plots and the occasional nuclear weapon, and it brings that and more. I won’t ruin the story to much but it has some of his usual tactics. Good vs Evil etc

Although this is a thick book (hardback is 950 pages) I don’t regret it at all (my shoulder might after carrying it around for 2 weeks). A good read for any Clancy fan (get the paperback version though).