Tom Clancy: Act of Defiance by authors Andrews & Wilson is book filled with adventure, espionage and intrigue fitting the Clancy estate name. The writers do a grand job with the material which no doubt was a challenge due to the subject matter.

President Jack Ryan’s past enters into his present. Though, for the reader, Ryan is never far removed from his connection to the first published novel, The Hunt for Red October, the plot of Act of Defiance brings that past solidly to the character’s present. The plot lightly resembles the original novel.

The captain of the newest, deadliest and stealthy Russian submarine takes her out for the initial voyage. A shadow government inside Russia come into play as the captain is one of the few who knows about his plan to attack the United States.

This time out it is Jack Ryan’s daughter, Katie, a naval intelligence officer who is thrust into the adventure that takes reader throughout the world, and into various government agencies in a race to foil the suspected plans of the Russian captain. A plus for readers of the book to which this one is connected is the appearance of a couple of characters from the original novel.

This book is engaging, however the problem knit within this story, closely connected to “Red October” are the differences in writing style. Here, Act of Defiance falls a bit short.

Red October had less technical detail, as I recall, which helped it be a true page turner. Act of Defiance is filled with technical detail of all kinds of weapons systems which I felt got in the way of the plot. Admittedly, though, there are Clancy readers who delight in the details, but for me it slowed the story down.

Still, if you are a fan of the Clancy books you will find enough to enjoy in this new adventure that will make it, as it was for me, a worthwhile read.

Finally a Jack Ryan Book that is fun to read. The writing between the two was constant, I was not able to tell when the authors changed places. The character development in the book was good and I cared about the them in the story. The pace of the book was perfect for me, always wanting me to read one more chapter before putting down. I like that the authors didn't bog down the book with tons of technical details, which are often times in the TC stories. I would read another TC Story from these two authors.

The Russians are developing a new submarine under wraps but the eye in the sky happens to get photos of any unusual feature that stymies US intelligence. Enter Katie Ryan, Jack Jr's sister and Navy Intel Officer. Katie sees things that others miss.
What she finds is shocking.
We are hurling towards WWIII and not many believe it.
It's up to Katie Rytan to solve this Russian threat.

The first important thing to say about this book is that it's not a Jack Ryan novel at all. It's not even a Jack Ryan, Jr. novel. It's a Katie Ryan novel. Yes, that's right. They're doing their best to create another planet in the Jack Ryan universe to keep the money machine cranking. I can picture the Netflix series already.

Look, this isn't a bad book, not by any means, but it has an inescapably manufactured quality to it. The plot gimmick of giving birth to Planet Katie by reprising HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER as the adventure of a past generation, which her very similar adventure brings it into the present generation, isn't really bad either. It's just that it adds exponentially to the whole manufactured feeling the book generates.

You hear a lot of agonizing these days about whether AI tools will wipe out human writers as the source of new novels. Reading this book, you get a flavor of what that would be like. Feed ChatGPT a copy of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and a few other novels with Clancy's name on the cover, tell it you've got to have a female protagonist, and you'd get something just like this.

Tom Clancy and Jack Ryan deserve better.

I am a big Jack Ryan universe fan and have read every book that’s come out it in. This one definitely reminds me of the original Tom Clancy books, especially Res October. I thoroughly enjoyed bringing in another Ryan into the universe in Katie. I thought the way that her narrative compares to her dads in Red October is fascinating although somewhat predictable. I will say the “coup from an inside part of Russia” seems to be getting old in my opinion (although i do understand the relevance to todays world). Overall i felt that this was a new beginning in the Universe to bring another element and main character into the fold. Also, are we sure Jack Ryan hasn’t gone over 2 terms in office yet?

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I first fell in love with Tom Clancy's novels when I read Hunt for Red October. It truly is one of the best books I have ever read. I've been reading his books ever since and it's great to have another series grow for the Ryan family that is set around a submarine. In ACT OF DEFIANCE, we meet another Ryan character.....a female...... President Ryan's daughter Katie Ryan. The plot is solid, something is going on in the Russian Navy, something too big to remain a secret for long. This is a very good political thriller, ranking 5 stars easily from this long time Clancy fan.