Tom Clancy, Executive Orders

Through a catastrophic terrorist attack, Jack Ryan has risen to the post of President of the United States. But the first days and weeks of his presidency are marked by challenges from a numer of directions, as various countries test the seemingly weakened US. Ryan's first task is to secure his family, and try begin reconstituting the government, which was almost totally decimated with the loss of almost all Senators, Congressmen, Joint Cheifs, and Supreme Court Justices, in addition to the President. His first days are further complicated by a challenge from the disgraced former Vice President, Ed Kelty, who makes the claim that he never officially resigned, and should be the rightful President. With the death of the Secretary of State, the person to whom he reported his resignation, definite proof of his resignation proves a bit difficult to obtain. But other challenges arise as well. Half way around the globe, an Ebola outbreak occurs in Zaire, and a doctor loyal to Iran manages to smuggle one of the infected patients out of the country, giving Mohammed Haji Daryaei, the leader of Iran, a very potent biological weapon. An Iranian assasin is successful in killing the leader of Iraq, and Iran takes overthat country, forming the United Islamic Republic, with aspirations of further conquest.

Daryaei's plan goes further, though. He dispatches a group of assassins to make an attempt on Ryan's youngest daughter, an attack that is thwarted thorugh some heroic actions by the agents guarding her. Daryaei also sends out twenty men armed with a weaponized version of the Ebola virus they have cultivated, infecting twenty conventions across the United States. Actions by China and India (through a consipracy with Daryaei) also turn up the heat on America. But quick work by doctors at Hopkins, the CDC, and the military, identify the problem, and Ryan shuts down all interstate travel to stop its spread. And as all this is going on, Kealty is spreading disinformation about Ryan's past CIA service out to the media in an attept to discredit him. But the truth, or at least a truer interpretation of events, does eventually get out.

The UIR also makes an aggressive attempt to take over Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the first major step in the quest to take over the Islamic World. The US military suffers from the same exposure to the Ebola outbreak as the general public, and isn't in a position to be deployed, but two divisions are at the National Training Center in California, separated off from the outside world, and are clean of the virus. They are deployed as quickly as possible to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to stand with those countries in repelling the UIR attack. And even outnumbered, they do just that through careful tactical maneauvers and the element of surprise.

In Executive Orders, Clancy has continued his Ryan saga with another book of international intrigue. But it again emphasizes his clearest strength, which isn't the complexity of his plots or the accuracy of his military imagery, though both of those are exemplary. His biggest strength, showcased here, is his studies of character. Ryan is a well-developed character who struggles with the burdens of command, the philosophies of leadership, the place of politics in public life and government, and the role of honesty in his daily pursuits. His own experiences provide a backdrop for his development, and we see how his past exploits and lessons bear on his decisions in the present. In essence, Clancy has built a character who tries to do the right thing. Clearly not without flaws, such as his temper, or such as a desire to see things in simple terms, Ryan is a character that could walk off the page, and further, is one you'd like to meet. He also develops a number of other characters, from Daryaei to John Clark to Andrea Price, who give the novel its depth and interest. This book is yet another worthy read in the Ryan chronicles.