Who doesn’t love an all expenses paid trip to a country you’ve been wanting to visit and all you have to do is a couple hours of work for a buddy?
Target Acquired explores just that topic… with a slight twist. While on a routine task in Israel, Jack Ryan Jr. literally walks into an assassination attempt on an American and her young son. Then things just go sideways from there. What starts out as a more personal mission to return a lost item to the child, Jack soon finds himself entangled in an international plot that directly threatens the state of Israel and looks to upend the entire global power structure. Through grit, brazen stubbornness, and a healthy dose of sheer force of will, Jack Jr. pummels his way through enemy after enemy to save an innocent woman and her child.
There is an old adage that says “no plan survives first contact with the enemy,” but with Jack Ryan Jr. it’s closer to “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. Actually, it’s more like Jack doesn’t have a plan UNTIL he’s punched in the mouth. His brawling nature and general level of determination makes Jack one of my favorite characters in the larger Clancy universe.
I’m a big fan of all the characters on the team at The Campus, but Target Acquired is focused almost entirely on Jack Jr. and I think that brings out a new dimension to the series as a whole. Don Bentley really propels Jack’s overall character development in this story and we see him start to grow as an operator. With an increased level of trust in his own instincts/decisions and his unshakeable drive to do what is right, consequences be damned, Jack’s future looks to be very, very interesting.
Target Acquired is also a big step forward in Bentley’s writing and there is a level of maturity to his storytelling on display that will continue to make both his Matt Drake and the Jack Ryan Jr. series must reads every year.
The action sequences are riveting, the plotline intriguing and unique, but it’s the multifaceted emotional content that make this one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. This is the type of book that will hit you differently based on when you read it during your life. If I had read it in my 20s, the action and story would have fulfilled all my adrenaline needs. As a parent, Jack’s entire reason for initially tracking down the woman and child pulls on your heartstrings. And if there was a desire for a bit of flirtatious fun with a tough and funny Israeli agent… Bentley provides that as well.
For anyone who is nervous about a new author penning the Clancy series, let me tell you that I have unwavering faith and never question two things; 1) the route Waze tells you to follow (story for another time) and 2) THE Tom Colgan’s editorial choices and author selections. Bentley absolutely proves he was the correct choice to continue the series.
If you’re a long time reader of the Clancy series or this is your first time picking up one, Target Acquired will be one you remember.
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Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
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The Poisoned Pen
