Tom Clancy Under Fire: A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel

4 4 out of 5 stars | 13,941 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 01-02-2025


About this item

On a routine intelligence gathering mission in Tehran, Jack Ryan, Jr., has lunch with his oldest friend, Seth Gregory, an engineer overseeing a transcontinental railway project. As they part, Seth gives Jack a key, along with a perplexing message.

The next day Jack is summoned to an apartment where two men claim Seth has disappeared—gone to ground with funds for a vital intelligence operation. Jack’s oldest friend has turned, they insist.

They leave Jack with a warning: If you hear from Seth Gregory, call us immediately. And do not get involved.

But they don’t know Jack. He won’t abandon a friend in need.

His pursuit of the truth will lead him across Iran, through the war-torn Caucasus, and finally deep into territory coveted by the increasingly aggressive Russian Federation. Along the way, Jack is joined by Seth’s primary agent, Ysabel, a enigmatic Iranian woman who seems to be his only clue to Seth’s whereabouts.

Jack soon finds himself lost in a maze of intrigue, lies, and betrayal where no one is who they seem to be—not even Seth, who’s harboring a secret of his own that harkens back to the Cold War. A secret that is driving him to the brink of treachery.

Racing against the clock, Jack must unravel the mystery: Who is friend and who is foe? Before it’s over, Jack Ryan, Jr., may have to choose between his loyalty to Seth and his loyalty to America.


Top reviews from the United States

  • None given
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not captivating.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2024
    J. R. Jr. out Bonds Sir James without the tricky weapons.
  • dch822
    4.0 out of 5 stars he’s Jack Jr., not Jack Bauer ...
    Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2015
    If you are a Tom Clancy fan from way back when, it’s nice to be able to read books that continue with new storylines for the great characters in the Jack Ryan series. I think the trick for really enjoying them is to adjust your expectations—no one is going to be able to reproduce a vintage Tom Clancy plot, his attention to detail, or the way he methodically built-up to pulse-pounding climactic scenes.

    But on the plus side, Grant Blackwood and Mark Greaney are terrific writers—and if you accept that the style and flow of the books will be more like Vince Flynn, Brad Thor or Brad Taylor, then there is a lot to look forward to and enjoy with books like Blackwood’s UNDER FIRE.

    In this instance I’d say the plot is more like a Jason Bourne novel on steroids than it is anything written by Clancy. There’s action on virtually every page—shootouts, kidnapping, snipers, more kidnapping, more shootouts, hand-to-hand combat, betrayals every other chapter … you get the idea. It’s fast-paced and exciting, and for sure it’s a good thriller.

    I was bothered by some details though. The most glaring one is the way Jack Jr. jets around the Mideast and Europe playing a mix of Jason Bourne/James Bond … and yet his clandestine work with Hendley Associates is supposed to be, well, clandestine. Only it’s not. It’s given some basic lip service, like, “wow Jack have you had training?” … but very quickly guys who are the actual “professionals” in the plot are deferring to Jack and supplying him with weapons.

    There are other instances where Jack Jr. and his crew intentionally avoid briefing CIA higher-ups because they know the operation would be shut down. Okay, I get it—it’s a Jack Jr. book and he’s the hero, but he’s Jack Jr., not Jack Bauer, and his character isn’t supposed to go off-the-reservation or go-it-alone. That kind of unrealistic behavior is something that would never have happened in an old school Tom Clancy book—at least not in the way it’s written here.

    But as I said, adjust your expectations and it’s great. That’s the key. This isn’t an old school Tom Clancy book, and it was never intended to be. Grant Blackwood has written an action-packed thriller with characters created by Tom Clancy—and I hope he writes a dozen more just like it, because for sure I’ll keep reading them.

    I would recommend it to anyone who likes military/espionage thrillers. Whether or not you’ve read anything else in the Tom Clancy family of books isn’t important. 4/5 stars.
  • Dominic
    3.0 out of 5 stars Under Disappointment
    Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2015
    I am disappointed to say that I was underwhelmed by this latest entry in the Jack Ryan Jr. Series. There are several glaring problems with it, which irritated me immensely. However, there some good characteristics that shine through.

    First, the good. Blackwood's writing has substantially improved since his previous effort with Clancy. The writing style is clean and easy to read. Very straightforward, with no real surprises. About the same level as Brad Thor or a co-written Clive Cussler. The plot is actually rather intriguing, involving members of the Campus, SIS, FSB, and CIA on different sides of a coup in Dagestan. Some new characters are introduced, and a few of them are fleshed out rather well. Under Fire, overall, does not lack for excitement. There are snipers, ambushes, and fistfights, and all of them are written at a blinding-fast pace.

    Now, on to the bad. As in Blackwood's previous effort, Dead or Alive, Blackwood either changes or completely disregards events which happened in previous Clancy books. For instance, one of the major villains of Under Fire works for the SVR. In a previous Ryan book, the FSB and the SVR were joined together to form what was essentially a rebirth of the KGB, going by the new name of the FSB. This villain's connections to the SVR were mentioned several times in Under Fire, which is simply incorrect. Another serious problem is the fact that none of the villains are fleshed out properly. In Tom Clancy's original novels, and in Mark Greaney's continuation novels, the villains were deeply motivated, three-dimensional characters, with ambition and drive. That is simply lost here. Even worse is the anti-climatic ending, where everything the book has been building up to simply fizzles like a wet firework.

    And finally, the really bad. Blackwood seems to have forgotten one of the cardinal rules of writing: to show, not to tell. There is practically no detail about anything. Major character's thoughts and even dialogue are glossed over, and the descriptions of the locations are very ambiguous.

    Overall, while it has an interesting plot, and some good action, Under Fire is a disappointing addition to the Clancy series.

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