Tom Clancy’s Point of
Contact by Mike Maden brings back the return of Jack Ryan
Jr. He has taken over the writings for the Clancy estate, replacing
Grant Blackwood. Maden has put his own imprint on Jack Ryan
Jr. by making him a solo main character instead of one of many
secondary characters.
Maden noted, "I received a call from my editor, Tom Colgan,
of my paperback Drone series who is also the Tom Clancy editor.
Although it was a thrilling day it was also a terrifying day
I was asked to write the summer book and Marc Cameron will write
the fall series. Tom is the one conducting the symphony story
making sure there are no conflicts between the plots and that
the whole series is on a certain guide path."
He also wants Tom Clancy fans to understand, “I would never think of
imitating Clancy who I consider a complete original. I consider
him the one who practically invented the genre. I hope to
honor his spirit, memory, and imagination by keeping alive
the characters and universe. I feel it is a great responsibility
to be a part of the tradition in which Clancy emphasizes America
is good and the people who serve this country deserve both
honor and respect.”
This plot has US Senator Weston Rhodes hiring Hendley Associates
to view the books of Dalfan Technologies. It is a Singapore
company that will be taken over by a large conglomerate. Hendley
Associates is one of the best financial analysis firms in
the country and the cover for The Campus, a top-secret American
intelligence agency. Rhodes asks for two specific analysts,
Jack Ryan Jr., and Paul Brown, a mild-mannered forensic accountant.
The Senator wants someone to crunch the numbers to make sure
there are no surprises that will turn up down the road. What
starts out as a routine audit soon turns into something far
more dangerous when Ryan uncovers a potential sinister motive
behind the merger, with the help of Brown. Ryan and Brown
race to escape a team of trained assassins to prevent a global
catastrophe, even at the cost of their own lives.
Because the rest of the Campus team was basically missing
in action, Jack Jr. was completely on his own, needing to
use resources and grit. He needs to prove that although there
is admiration for his dad, President Jack Ryan Sr., he is
his own man. This story shows how Junior goes on a journey,
a test to prove he can be self-reliant.
Those who have read Maden in the past know he is immune to
political correctness. In this book, it is no different. He
has a few scenes that involve knife fighting, describing how
it "will slice through skin, muscle, tendons, cartilage,
and even bone…. Second, the knife extends your reach."
When asked, Maden noted, "I wanted the knife to be the
weapon of choice in this book. I put in the quote how it is
not the knife or gun that kills, but the person having the
weapon. If someone does not have access to a gun they find
a knife. If they don't have access to those they get a van
to kill people. So are we going to ban vans next?"
Throughout the book, readers realize the clear distinction
between the good guys and bad guys. The antagonists are described
as "cold-blooded fanatics who butchered innocent civilians.
They lost the right to be treated with respect, either in
life or in death" Maden hoped to show "you cannot
negotiate with evil. We are in an era where we are waking
up to the fact it must be destroyed."
No stranger to thrillers Maden has previous experience as
the writer of the Drone series featuring Troy Pearce He uses
new technology, incorporated it into a plot, which emphasizes
how the global economic situation could threaten world peace.
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