I could not finish this book. It's weak adaptation of Tom Clancy's approach to writing. The characterization is weak and the plot is not that engaging.

Jeff Rovin is the author of more than 130 books. Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: The Black Order was published in 2021. It is the 2nd book I completed reading in 2024.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

The Black Order was formed by Burton Stroud. Stroud is a successful businessman in Philadelphia with a security business. He is a self-proclaimed patriot wanting to return America to the values he thinks have been abandoned. He selected a small group of patriots and survivalists to form the Black Order. While they want to avoid injury to innocent bystanders, they are willing to make sacrifices to save America.

Op-Center has been dissolved. In its place is the super secret Black Wasp, authorized by President Wyatt Midkiff. The Black Wasp is a small group of operatives. Admiral Chase Williams, Major Hamilton Green, Lieutenant Grace Lee, and Lance Corporal Jay Rosette make up the unit. Since they were created, they have had two successful missions.

Midkiff’s eight years in office are about up. President-elect John Wright will be inaugurated in a few days. The old administration is moving out as the new is moving in when the Black Order strikes. Retired US Navy Captain Richard Hamill is murdered in his bed at home. The assassin gives his widow a message to deliver - “The war has begun. Those that move against us will die!”

That initiates a string of strikes by the Black Order. They contact President Midkiff and tell him to withdraw those closing in on the Black Order. The Black Order expects the government to capitulate and let them remake America.

While Navy Intelligence and the other federal agencies squabble over jurisdictional issues between themselves and local law enforcement, the Black Wasp is closing in on the Black Order. Will the Black Wasp be able to take down the revolutionaries before they unleash even more death and destruction?

I enjoyed the 7.5+ hours I spent reading this 347-page thriller. I had the opportunity to read three other novels in the Tom Clancy’s Op-Center series by Jeff Rovin. They were For Honor, Sting of the Wasp, and God of War. I also read A Vision of Fire which he coauthored with Gillian Anderson. They all have been consistently good thrillers. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.4 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

When a home grown terrorist plot is exposed, the President calls in the Op-Center's Black Wasp team. Their training shows in every move they make as they bring The Black Order down. Anyone who loves political thrillers will love this one.

When ex-military specialists with a plan to change the world begin to kill off world leaders only one person can infiltrate and stop them. Action and suspense keep you on the edge of your seat.

I just reviewed Tom Clancy's Op-Center: The Black Order by Jeff Rovin. #NetGalley Not as intensive as the Tom Clancy series that I have been accustomed to read but its non stop action right from the start

DNF - I read 25% of this book, but it wasn’t for me. The characters are very difficult to get a handle on and I have never had this problem with this author’s book before. This is usually one of my favorite authors.

Not my favorite of the Tom Clancy’s Black Op Series. I found the character development weaker than a typical book in the series. The book is filled with many twists and turns. I had a hard time with leaving the President of the USA with just three people to protect the future of the free world. I still would recommend reading the Black Op Series.

Thank you #NetGalley, #StMartinsGriffin and #JeffRovin for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

Associating the name Clancy to this book is a disgrace. Doesn't come close to carrying on his writings. The plot, characters, and political bash of conservatives make this book impossible to accept. I tried at lest 4 times and gave up after less than 30%. Who wants to read about a useless administration against a few nut jobs who practically freezing America?

It has been years since I read a Tom Cancy story and I thought I would see what the new writers of the author creation have come up with. I will admit readers will not be disappointed. While Jeff Rovin isn't as overly detailed as Tom Clancy the author is able to bring readers into the work of the original author with details, characters, locations and action pack keeping readers up late into the night.
The story is ripped from the headlines and while the characters are a little brushed over they are used when needed and perfect add to The Black Order.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of Jeff Rovin Tom Clancy Op Center The Black Order

Not a good amount of substance in this one. Not knocking the authors writing ability but the plot and amount of political discourse is decisive vice being a little more centered allowing people to enjoy regardless of their morals and beliefs. I felt it could have been more authentic as well even though it’s a fiction work. I will not hold this review against the author though. I will gladly give the author a read again.

I found this book difficult to read and unable to believe the plotline. The prologue begins on January 11 at 11:18 pm. The first chapter starts in the White House January 16, 7:55 am. The book ends January 16 at 11:11 pm. This is an unbelievable time line. A secret Presidential team known as "The Black Order" manages to stop a domestic terrorist organization in under 16 hours is stretching the limits of believable fiction story telling.

One of the more difficult conversations to believe is with the "President" and a Vice Admiral "The reality, Mr. President, is that we are tracking an evolving situation. It's highly fluid.' Are we really supposed to believe that a Vice Admiral would use this ridiculously trendy language in the Oval Office with the President? These are older men that would be unlikely to use language the is hip and trendy, trying to sound cool.

This is a book that takes you through a maze and gives you a does of thrill that just doesn't stop. Good guys are now bad guys and the other good guys have to stop the war that's on America from within.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good solid political thriller that mixes in very current issues with a flair for conspiracies. Lately, conspiracy plots seem all the rage in political thrillers and THE BLACK ORDER is no exception. The characters, although new to me, have a long history together; this is #20 in a series. But this works well as a stand alone book. I didn’t miss anything by starting here. There is a presidential transition and, unhappy with the incoming administration, a group of unhappy men decide to foment a return to the past. As I said, there is a very current feel to the book which keeps the tale riveting. I read it straight through and enjoyed it a lot. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

This is the first time reading a book by this author, so I didn't really know what to expect. I must say I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and easy to read. It kept my interest throughout. I highly recommend this book and will be looking for other books by this author.

Liked the description, so decided to give the book a try. Was pleasantly surprised. Very well done and would recommend.

The Black Order kept me reading all day yesterday. Author Jeff Rovin tells a captivating tale of the Black Order v. the Black Wasps! I thought that the characters were all interesting as were the various scenarios. Having the incidents happen in the waning days of a presidency was a nice touch. I didn't feel that there was an excess of acronyms, rather I thought the author did a nice job of keeping them to a minimum.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

The plot, characters, and prose are all terribly weak. The flow of the first half of the book made it hard to even stay engaged. The plot, comprised of a half dozen nut jobs holding an incoming and outgoing president and their staffs like deer in the headlights, is a complete non-starter. The characters have a few, rare bright spots but fail utterly to achieve their potential. I rarely give a book a single star, but The Black Order earned it.

Another exciting and intriguing book by Jeff Robin. He does an excellent job of character development and shows each of the combatants, their roles, and the expectations of both sides. The scary part for me was this book highlights the attempted take over of a Navy Logistics base and runs parallel to activities we witnessed on January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol. Robin’s functional description of the Ops Center and its mission was most accurate by today’s standards.

I received this book through "NetGalley".

This story draws you in from the 1st chapter. It starts with the murder of a Retired Navy Captain. It was discovered that he was working as an asset for a branch of the Navy. Once they followed through with who he was working with, they discovered that they system had been infiltrated by the Black Order. This murder was just a start of events that the group was going to perform. In order to learn more, the President called on Op-Center to find out what this meant. The Navy had shut the muder location to all, but a certain group of the Navy. Because of infighting, the agencies were reluctant to share information.

Adm. Williams, the Op-Center Director, had his team go to Philadelphia where the murder occured and see what they could discover. At the same time, other members of the Black Order were carrying out other attacks. They hoped to bring the current administration to recognize and permit the group free rein. The group was looking to bring the country to a more militant government. They felt that the current administration was too soft.

Following leads that they were able to develop, the Black Wasps (Op-Center team), determined who the leader of the group was and a potential location where they were headquartered. Three members of the team headed to Western Penn. to locate their base. Adm. Williams remained and was able to talk with the leader. The leader told Adm. Williams, that anything happened to him or his people, then there would be a major disaster killing many people.

To discover how this all played out in the end, then you must read this book.

Love these books. Plot is complex, yet exciting. Tons of fast paced action, love the characters - couldn't put it down. I love all the political innuendos, but yet author did a great job of disguising his own personal political beliefs. Story could easily take place in today's world.
Looking forward to the next book.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review - thanks NetGalley!