Review: Tom Clancy Point of Contact by Mike Maden
We lost the amazing Tom Clancy a few years ago, but his much loved characters lived on thanks to a few authors, some better than others. The Jack Ryan series is his most successful, and now, with the awesome Mark Greaney passing the main series to Marc Cameron and with Mike Maden picking up the Jack Ryan Jr. aka The Campus Series from Grant Blackwood, some really interesting things are bound to happen in this riveting universe.
This week saw the release of Tom Clancy Point of Contact, the first book written by Mr. Mike Maden and after I listened to it all I can say without a doubt that the spin-off Campus series is in better hands than it ever was before.
Tom Clancy Point of Contact opens with a great first chapter, full of action and tense moments, in which we see a part of the campus special operators as they try to defuse a hostage situation. After that the story focuses mainly on Jack Jr. and a fellow coworker from Hendley Associates who are sent to Singapore in order to look into some Business opportunities in a favor for an important senator of the United States.
But, as we all know, things can go wrong in a blink of an eye and people aren’t always what they seem to be. I won’t spoil the story for you, so all that I’ll add is that Tom Clancy Point of Contact is very well written, with remarkable characters, some scary villains and a great plot! Author Mike Maden emulates part of Clancy‘s writing style with passion and love, while he delivers some heartpownding action sequences that seem to be his trademark, from what I heard about previous thrillers. Rest assured, I’ll give those a try as well, in the near future. I fell in love with Singapore from the way Mr. Maden painted this impressive city, I could see it in my mind’s eye… Also, there was some amazing tech described, from VR to high end drones which sound very interesting and scary at the same time.
In Tom Clancy Point of Contact we see how good people do bad things for the wrong reasons, we see how they can be manipulated, lied to, threatened and bullied. In this unputdownable thriller we have gun fights, fist fights, knife fights and other fights! There is espionage, betrayal, politics and senators, gangsters and special operators, Beautiful women and dangerous bad guys, all wrapped up into a very well thought up story, which touches on current events and crises.
The amazing Scott Brick returns once more to the Jack Ryan universe and brings to life old friends. He reads, he acts, he uses his accents in order to help the listener differentiate between the vast variety of characters of different nationalities. At the same time it’s clear that he enjoys the story and has a good time delivering another Stellar performance.
Scott Brick is one of the best narrators out there, in an industry full of talented artists and his contribution to this series makes it even more immersive and highly enjoyable!
This is a very promising first step into the Jack Ryan universe by a new, talented, author who is clearly treating Tom Clancy‘s characters and work with the love and respect they deserve! If you like Tom Clancy, Brad Thor, Vince Flynn or Robert Ludlum, you’ll be very happy with what Mike Maden delivers in in this page-turner!
Name: Tom Clancy Point of Contact: Jack Ryan Jr., Book 4
Author: Mike Maden
Narrator: Scott Brick
Genre: Military / Thriller
Duration: 13 hrs and 38 mins
Series: The Jack Ryan Universe: Book 23
Release Date:06-13-17
Publisher: Random House Audio
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Publisher’s Summary
In the latest electrifying adventure in Tom Clancy’s #1 New York Times bestselling series, Jack Ryan, Jr., learns that sometimes the deadliest secret may be standing right next to you.
Former U.S. Senator Weston Rhodes is a defense contractor with an urgent problem. His company needs someone to look over the books of Dalfan Technologies, a Singapore company—quickly. He turns to his old friend Gerry Hendley for help. 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.
Both Ryan and Brown initially resist, for different reasons. On the long flight over, Ryan worries he’s being sidelined from the next Campus operation in America’s war on terror. Brown—who was never very good with people—only worries about the numbers, and finding a good cup of tea.
Brown has no idea Jack works for The Campus but the awkward accountant is hiding secrets of his own. Rhodes has tasked him with uploading a cyberwarfare program into the highly secure Dalfan Technologies mainframe on behalf of the CIA.
On the verge of mission success, Brown discovers a game within the game, and the people who now want to kill him are as deadly as the cyclone bearing down on the island nation. Together Ryan and Brown race to escape both the murderous storm and a team of trained assassins in order to prevent a global catastrophe, even at the cost of their own lives.
About the Author
Mike Maden grew up working in the canneries, feed mills and slaughterhouses of California’s San Joaquin Valley. A lifelong fascination with history and warfare ultimately lead to a Ph.D. in political science focused on conflict and technology in international relations. Like millions of others, he first became a Tom Clancy fan after reading The Hunt for Red October, and began his published fiction career in the same techno-thriller genre, starting with Drone and the sequels, Blue Warrior, Drone Command and Drone Threat. He’s honored to be joining “The Campus” as a writer in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Jr., series. He can be reached on social media through his website MikeMaden.com and on Facebook.
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