Oh No!

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Actually, this is sort of exciting news–Tom Clancy is releasing a new novel August 11, 2003. It’s called The Teeth of the Tiger, and it centers around Jack Ryan, Jr.

The reason for the negative title of this blog is my own dismay of the publishing date. Why does Clancy alsways publish his books in August? With little over a week until classes begin, there is little time to read an entire Clancy book (no, I am not like those Harry Potter fans who will read a 1000 page novel in 48 hrs or less). This will be the last August in which I will have to resume classes, so perhaps this will be the last time Clancy will upset me such.

UPDATE: DID CLANCY EVEN WRITE THIS NOVEL? A recent Fox News article suggests otherwise. The article focuses on Clancy’s Op-Center series which was Ghost-written, and speculates that many of the other projects are ghost-written as well–even as far back as The Hunt for Red October. The problem with this theory is the question of how Clancy, an unknown at the time of his writing Red October, would have managed to attach his name to it. I’ll admit that some Clancy novels are sub-par (take the plot of Rainbow-Six, for example), but it’s a quite a heavy allegation to suggest he didn’t write the books penned under his own name.

That said, I do find it odd that Clancy has departed from his usual two-year schedule (Red Rabbit was released last August) to write a new book. I remember reading somewhere last year that Clancy was scheduled to wrap up the Jack Ryan series next year with a final book. Hmmm…

4 thoughts on “Oh No!”

  1. Perhaps someone will purchase the book, read it, and provide a summary of it to you. Then you would not have to wait until December to learn what happens. Would that be helpful?
    CWB

  2. A spoiler summary would be most UNhelpful, thank you very much. Amazon.com says the book is only 480 pages (short for a Clancy novel, hmm…), so perhaps I will be able to read it.

  3. I bought the book today; having read the first two chapters it does NOT read like Clancy at all.

    I strongly believe that Fox article is correct, and this book was ghost written. In particular, Clancy tends to have a lot of short chapters, this book has a few long ones. The pacing is screwy, and it doesnt have the “catch” that a typical Clancy novel has.

    The book also references events that haven’t happened in another novel yet; ergo, I think this “Jack Ryan Jr.” series is written by another author, and is probably being published before it should be.

    Here’s the thing — a true Clancy novel is VERY hard to put down. I have put down Teeth of the Tiger without finishing it, and have no interest in going back right now.

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