Author | Mike Maden |
---|---|
Audio read by | Scott Brick |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Jack Ryan Jr. |
Genre | |
Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
Publication date | June 11, 2019 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback), Audio, eBook |
Pages | 468 |
ISBN | 9780525541691 |
Preceded by | Line of Sight |
Followed by | Firing Point |
Enemy Contact (stylized as Tom Clancy Enemy Contact, Tom Clancy: Enemy Contact, or Tom Clancy's Enemy Contact in the United Kingdom [1] ) is a techno-thriller novel, written by Mike Maden and released on June 11, 2019. It is his third book in the Jack Ryan Jr. series, which is part of the overall Tom Clancy universe. The novel depicts a breach in the U.S. intelligence community that is connected to Ryan's mission in Poland. It debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list. [2]
A mysterious hacker known as CHIBI has been offering classified information to Iranian and Russian intelligence, which then cause a series of attacks on special operations units stationed in Argentina and Syria, respectively. Additionally, a German police officer working undercover in a drug case was killed in a mugging by Iron Syndicate operatives using information from the hacker. The demonstrated attacks then enable the three parties to participate in a secret silent auction to be held by CHIBI in London.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Fung is a hacker working for the red team of the recently built IC Cloud, a cloud database storing classified information gathered by the U.S. intelligence community. His job is to exploit any vulnerabilities in the database and patch them. However, he is revealed to be working with CHIBI for ideological reasons, and has been helping him with gathering actionable intelligence for the recent attacks.
U.S. senator Deborah Dixon withdraws her support for a foreign policy bill, which would have allowed the construction of a U.S. military base in Poland to counter Russian aggression. President Jack Ryan is convinced that the senator had changed her mind due to her connections with the Chinese, who stand to benefit due to the Belt and Road Initiative, an extensive trade route plan spanning Eurasia which has been bankrolling several interested Western businessmen including Dixon's husband, billionaire Aaron Gage. He discreetly orders an investigation into Dixon's finances.
Hendley Associates financial analyst Jack Ryan Jr. is tasked with the Dixon investigation. He finds out that Dixon's stepson, businessman Christopher Gage, does business with Chinese interests in Poland. He travels there, accompanied by Polish intelligence officer Liliana Pilecki, to look for illegal activities in Gage's businesses under the guise of researching for investment opportunities in the country. Initially finding nothing incriminating, they later investigate a Gage-owned warehouse in the Gdańsk shipyards. They are then abducted and tortured for information by Mathieu Cluzet, a French drug smuggler working for the Iron Syndicate (an organization Ryan had tangled with in a previous novel Line of Sight ). Afterwards, Cluzet throws Ryan and Pilecki out of his ship in the middle of the Baltic Sea. While Jack is later rescued, his partner drowns.
Meanwhile, in Angola, a local rebel force attacks an offshore oil rig under construction by the Chinese. Pressed by his superiors for retribution, Chinese intelligence officer Chen Xing turns to CHIBI for information about the rebel force's whereabouts. The hacker then orders Fung to pinpoint the location of the rebels. Using CHIBI's information, the PLA stages a surgical attack on the Angolan rebels, enabling Xing and Chinese intelligence to enter the auction.
The attack on the rebels attracts the attention of Director of National Intelligence Mary Pat Foley. She later finds out that the recent attacks in Argentina, Germany, Syria, and now Angola may have been the result of an intelligence breach within the IC Cloud. The cloud's head of security, Amanda Watson, imparts her suspicions about her colleague Fung, which leads Foley to track him down. However, CHIBI finds out about the manhunt and orders Fung's death, disguised as a suicide. Foley's investigation into the breach prematurely ends.
After recuperating in Virginia, Jack travels to Peru to honor his recently deceased friend Cory Chase's wishes. Still distraught over Liliana's death, he later discovers an illegal mining operation led by Cluzet's unnamed brother. Along with former U.S. Army Ranger Rick Sands, whom he had met in the area, Jack dispatches him and his men and then rescues the miners taken against their will.
Later reunited with his Campus colleagues, Jack tracks down the leader of the Iron Syndicate, known as the Czech, in the former Czech Republic. He instead reveals CHIBI's plot about the auction of an algorithmic key that would unlock the entire IC Cloud in a tech conference in London. The Campus, as well as Foley, scramble into London to track down CHIBI, who is revealed to be Watson. While the auction is still successful, Foley devises a plan to penetrate the Chinese, Iranian, and Russian intelligence agencies, while Watson is later sentenced to prison.
President Ryan informs Dixon about her stepson's association with the Chinese, which is by smuggling drugs around Europe and then laundering the dirty money produced into the senator's charities. After being informed of her brief investigation into Hendley Associates, he blackmails the senator into passing an anticorruption bill instead of being disgraced from politics. Meanwhile, Foley works on dismantling the Iron Syndicate, now deemed a national security threat. Gage is found dead in the Gdańsk shipyards, while the Czech is killed by a sniper working for Polish intelligence. Jack tracks down Cluzet in Libya and kills him in revenge for Liliana's death.
Maden researched for the book by visiting Poland. [3]
Enemy Contact debuted at number three at both the Combined Print and E-Book Fiction and Hardcover Fiction [4] categories of the New York Times bestseller list for the week of June 29, 2019. It also debuted at number three on the USA Today Best Selling Books list for the week of June 20, 2019. [5]
The book received positive reviews. Kirkus Reviews praised it as "another well-crafted and enjoyable escape from reality", saying that "Maden’s style meshes perfectly with the classic Clancy yarns, with global action, struggle, suffering, and formidable foes who get what they deserve." [6] New York Journal of Books stated: "Maden has definitely made this character and his supporting cast his own in this excellent third trip through the Tom Clancy universe." [7] On the other hand, Publishers Weekly gave the book a mixed review, stating that it is "competent but ponderous". [8]
John Patrick Ryan Sr. (Hon.) is a fictional character created by author Tom Clancy and featured in his Ryanverse novels, which have consistently topped the New York Times bestseller list over 30 years. Since Clancy's death in 2013, five other authors, Mark Greaney, Grant Blackwood, Mike Maden, Marc Cameron and Don Bentley, have continued writing new novels for the franchise and its other connecting series with the approval of the Clancy family estate.
The Teeth of the Tiger is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on August 11, 2003. Set in a post-9/11 world, it is the first book to feature The Campus, a covert intelligence agency created by President Jack Ryan before the end of his term as chief executive. While he does not appear in the book, his son Jack Ryan Jr., as well as his nephews Dominic and Brian Caruso, are featured as The Campus operatives. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and would become Clancy's last solely written novel before a seven-year break from writing fiction.
The Ryanverse is a term for the political drama media franchise created by author Tom Clancy centering on the character of Jack Ryan and the fictional universe featuring Jack and other characters, such as John Clark and Domingo Chavez.
Dead or Alive is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Grant Blackwood, and released on December 7, 2010. It is Clancy's first novel in seven years after The Teeth of the Tiger (2003), and follows the hunt by The Campus for "the Emir", a Middle Eastern terrorist based on Osama bin Laden. It unites several characters from the Ryanverse, including former president Jack Ryan, his son Jack Ryan Jr., his nephews Dominic and Brian Caruso, and Rainbow Six veterans John Clark and Domingo Chavez. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
Locked On is a techno-thriller novel written by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney released on December 13, 2011. A direct sequel to Dead or Alive (2010), it is Clancy's first of three collaborations with Greaney and features Jack Ryan Jr. and The Campus as they try to avert a nuclear threat from a rogue Pakistani general, as well as his father Jack Sr. in his presidential campaign. The book debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list.
Threat Vector is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Mark Greaney, and published on December 4, 2012. A direct sequel to Locked On (2011), President Jack Ryan and The Campus must prevent a Chinese expansionist government from enacting war in the South China Sea. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
Command Authority is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Mark Greaney, and published on December 3, 2013. It is Clancy's last major work of fiction and was released two months after his death. Set during the Cold War and after the events of Threat Vector (2012), the novel features President Jack Ryan and The Campus as they must deal with Russian dictator Valeri Volodin, a character widely noted as similar to real-life Russian president Vladimir Putin. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
Support and Defend is a thriller novel, written by Mark Greaney and published on July 22, 2014. The book is a spinoff from the Tom Clancy universe and features FBI agent and The Campus operative Dominic “Dom” Caruso, who is President Jack Ryan’s nephew. It is the first novel in the franchise written after Clancy’s death during the previous year, as well as Greaney’s first solo contribution to the overall series.
Full Force and Effect is a political thriller, written by Mark Greaney and published on December 2, 2014. It is the fifteenth overall entry in the Jack Ryan series and the first such entry to be published after original author Tom Clancy’s death during the previous year, as well as Greaney's second solo contribution to the franchise.
The following is a complete list of books published by Tom Clancy, an American author of contemporary spy fiction and military fiction.
Commander in Chief is a political thriller novel, written by Mark Greaney and released on December 1, 2015. In the book, President Jack Ryan and The Campus must stop Russian president Valeri Volodin from launching a covert violent offensive in an effort to bring back Russia as a superpower. Commander in Chief is Greaney’s third solo entry in the Jack Ryan series, which is part of the overall Tom Clancy universe. The book debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list.
Duty and Honor is a thriller novel, written by Grant Blackwood and published on June 14, 2016. In the novel, Jack Ryan Jr. must stop a German private contractor from unleashing false flag attacks to profit from the war on terror. Duty and Honor is Blackwood’s last contribution to the Jack Ryan Jr. series, which is part of the overall Tom Clancy universe. It debuted at number four on the New York Times bestseller list.
Point of Contact is a techno-thriller novel, written by Mike Maden and released on June 13, 2017. Set in the Tom Clancy universe, the novel depicts Jack Ryan Jr. as he helps avert a North Korean plot to crash the Asian stock market, along with his Hendley Associates colleague Paul Brown, in Singapore. Point of Contact marks Maden’s debut as the sole author of the Jack Ryan Jr. novels, succeeding Grant Blackwood. It debuted at number 3 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Mike Maden is an American novelist. He is well known for the Jack Ryan Jr. novels, which are part of the Tom Clancy universe, as well as for the Drone series of techno-thrillers.
Power and Empire is a political thriller novel, written by Marc Cameron and released on November 28, 2017. Set in the Tom Clancy universe, President Jack Ryan and The Campus must prevent a secret cabal heightening the tensions between the United States and China from causing a violent coup in the Chinese government. Power and Empire is Cameron's first book in the Jack Ryan series, succeeding Mark Greaney. It debuted at number six on the New York Times bestseller list.
Line of Sight is a techno-thriller novel, written by Mike Maden and released on June 12, 2018. It is his second book in the Jack Ryan Jr. series, which is part of the overall Tom Clancy universe. In the novel, Ryan has to avert a sinister plot by Serb extremists to provoke war between NATO and the Russians in the Balkans. It debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list.
True Faith and Allegiance is a political thriller, written by Mark Greaney and released on December 6, 2016. In the book, President Jack Ryan and The Campus must contain a massive intelligence breach that has been responsible for a series of terrorist attacks on American military and intelligence personnel. True Faith and Allegiance is Greaney's last book in the Jack Ryan series, which is part of the Tom Clancy universe. It debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list.
Oath of Office is a techno-thriller novel, written by Marc Cameron and published on November 27, 2018. Set in author Tom Clancy's "Ryanverse," universe, President Jack Ryan and The Campus deal with a sinister plot behind a series of protests in Iran, dubbed the Persian Spring. Oath of Office is Cameron's second book in the Jack Ryan series. The book debuted at number eight on the New York Times bestseller list.
Code of Honor is a techno-thriller novel, written by Marc Cameron and published on November 19, 2019. It is his third book in the Jack Ryan series.
Firing Point is a techno-thriller novel, written by Mike Maden and released on June 9, 2020. It is his fourth and final book in the Jack Ryan Jr. series, which is part of the overall Tom Clancy universe. In the novel, Ryan investigates an old friend's death while vacationing in Barcelona, Spain. It debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list.