Executive Orders is the sequel to Debt of Honor and I believe this is
the last book in the Jack Ryan series.
At the end of Debt of Honor, Jack Ryan becomes President of the US,
the most powerful man on earth. The country was faced with a
leadership crisis and there was no one but Jack Ryan to step in. If
you have read any Jack Ryan book, you would know that he is not a
politician/bureaucrat but a hard hitting analyst. The infamous US
press aided by an ex-Vice President attacks his life, policies and
every decision.
The world also takes note of this, assumes Jack to be a wimp instead
of a hawk and many nations start taking liberties in international
matters. An assassination in Middle East leads to flaring of matters,
China-Taiwan issue comes up again and there is a huge domestic crisis.
Can Jack deal with all these matters alongside the fact that his
family life and every step he takes invite public scrutiny and
criticism from the press? Will he be able to return USA to previous
status quo in world matters? This is the central idea around which the
story evolves.
I thought I knew what to expect from a Tom Clancy novel but here he
has surpassed my expectations.The details regarding the Presidential
Security, various crisis occurring around the world, the operation of
Press in US etc have never seemed truer. At the end of the novel,
there is a war that USA has to fight. Descriptions of army vehicles,
tanks, soldiers, their feelings, strategies employed in the war etc
are as close to reality as a civilian like me can hope for.
I think after Executive Orders, there has been one more Tom Clancy
novel which features Jack Ryan’s son. Haven’t read that yet but should be
good. At 1358 pages, this book is the thickest book I’ve yet read
(more than Atlas Shrugged or LOTR) and I don’t see any book close
enough to break this record yet.