If Red Winter is a preview of the new direction of the Jack Ryan Sr. series, you can go ahead and take my money now for the next dozen installments. Marc Cameron has written a stunning throwback story with all the hallmarks of tradecraft and intrigue of the early Clancy thrillers, but enhances the experience by mixing in the genre’s contemporary focus on the mental and emotional forces characters must overcome.
Cameron transports us back to the height of the Cold War to 1985 Berlin. A lowly state department employee is accosted and given evidence that an East German is looking to defect with the promise of revealing vital secrets to the CIA. With suspicions of a mole on the west side of the wall, the US has no choice but to play ball. Admiral Jim Greer has no hesitation bringing in Jack Ryan and Mary Pat Foley to validate the claims and extract the defector right under the nose of the Stasi. Always one to hedge his bets and protect his assets, Greer dispatches John Clark to cover the duo as they look to complete their mission. Unfortunately for Ryan and Foley, their intended jaunt into the East is leaked before their arrival and the Ministry for State Security is waiting for them. Clark, arguably the most lethal man alive, is forced into playing the “fixer” role from the shadows when the situation calls for it.
While Foley and Ryan are battling against the bitter cold in Europe, the Nevada desert is heating up after a highly secretive aircraft unexpectedly crashes. A deep cover East German operative tasked with surveillance of the nearby airfields is one of the first to the scene, absconding with a piece of the radar shielding technology that may turn the war from cold to hot.
I’m not sure if Red Winter is a one off, but I certainly hope not. With the Jack Ryan Jr. series in great hands and being able to continue present day adventures, the idea of revisiting some of our long time favorite Clancy-verse characters in their prime sounds absolutely amazing. The ability to look back on history with modern eyes and explore previously unknown exploits of the time should provide an unlimited number of potential stories. And even if this is a one off, we’re the better for it. Marc Cameron has thrown his hat in the ring for "book of the year" with this late entry.
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