It is very early in Jack Ryan’s career—so early that he has not yet even become an analyst for the CIA. But a series of nasty encounters with an IRA splinter group has brought Ryan to the attention of the CIA’s Deputy Director and his British counterpart. They offer him his first job as a freelance analyst, and he readily accepts. Debriefing a high-level Russian defector, however, he comes across an unbelievable plot: top Soviet officials, including Yuri Andropov, are planning to assassinate Pope John Paul II. Ryan must battle first to verify the plot, and then to stop it. But what chance does a novice CIA analyst have against a cat-and-mouse game between the world’s two great superpowers? “Among the handful of superstars, Clancy still reigns, and he is not likely to be dethroned anytime soon.”—Washington Post
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"I had to Wikipedia this to find out that Clancy has gone back and based this on a real plot. Kinda cool knowing that. It is fun so far. I thought I would hate going back in time with Jack Ryan, but I actually am enjoying getting more back-story into Ryan, the Foley's, Adm Greer, Ritter, etc."
— Stephen (4 out of 5 stars)
" greatest audiobook i have ever used.................................................................................. "
— Dragon Donna, 5/2/2016" Reading through the Jack Ryan series slowly - my "bedtime reading" around everything else on the to read pile. Just good, escapist fiction. "
— Dan, 2/17/2014" I really hope that Clancy writes other books like this one. How Jack Ryan was involved in a REAL historical event. GOOD Stuff! "
— John, 2/16/2014" It seems that Clancy has gone downhill with Red Rabbit and Bear and the Dragon. Or maybe I'm just getting older. "
— Craig, 2/15/2014" Very average Tom Clancy boilerplate. "
— Jose, 2/9/2014" Believable story about how the Russians tried to kill JPII "
— Eric, 2/2/2014" My first Tom Clancy book that I read; it was very detailed and intriguing. Of course, all books by Tom Clancy are interesting reads. "
— Joe, 1/31/2014" A bit repetitive but Jack Ryan is always a fun character to follow. "
— Erik, 1/23/2014" Readable but lots of repeated lines. Sloppy writing & ostentatiously outdated views- lots of cracks about women. I kept waiting for twists to come but no luck- barely managed to finish, very bloated. "
— Katie, 1/23/2014" I gave up halfway through this book. If you edited out about 80% of this book, you might have a good story. "
— User3162, 1/20/2014" Worst Tom Clancy book I've ever read. No suspense at all, very repetitive. The opposite of a good page turning spy novel. "
— Sarah, 1/12/2014" Not as deep or detailed as the other Clancy/Ryan novels I've read so far. The ending left much to be desired. "
— John, 1/4/2014" I had not read Clancy for a while until I picked this up on a whim. Not bad, but did not grip me as much as his first few books. I did enjoy his foray into psudo-historical fiction. "
— Ben, 12/29/2013" Seemed like Clancy was just dying to get back to the Cold War era. Slow plod through both sides' ignorance of the other, interesting start for Jack Ryan's saga though. Makes me want to jump back to Executive Orders... "
— Alex, 12/9/2013" This isn't as action packed as "Teeth Of The Tiger" but is more focused on stealth and tactics. "
— Paul, 12/2/2013" Back to the beginning for Jack Ryan. "
— Kyle, 11/25/2013" I love a good cold war yarn, but this one dragged and lost it's footing in more than one place. Not Clancy's best. "
— Marc, 9/6/2013" Return to early days of CIA Jack Ryan. Polish Pope? Assassination by Russkies? WTF. Good fast read. "
— John, 7/25/2013" A novel based around the attempted assassination of the pope several years ago. Clancy's Jack Ryan character is featured again in a well-written and entertaining story. "
— Greer, 11/11/2012" Starting development chapters are very slow with a lot of redundant ideas and scenarios. I almost gave up. I'd agree that this is not one of Tom Clancy's absolute best, but ultimately I enjoyed this and am glad I read it. "
— Tom, 10/11/2012" Bit of a snoozer -- For Clancy, that is. "
— Dennis, 7/13/2012" Much like The Bear and The Dragon, this was not up to par with the rest of the Jack Ryan series, however I did enjoy the double climax and the fact that the book concluded shortly after the climax. "
— Jim, 4/29/2012" Tom Clancy, a new CIA analyst named Jack Ryan and a plot to kill the pope, what's not to grab your attention. "
— Ginny, 4/10/2012" taut thriller about a KGB defection. not all that thriling. "
— Rod, 3/30/2012" I like this book. Quite an interesting story. Recomended to read during long winter evenings. "
— Renata, 1/2/2012" I have always been enthralled by Clancy's works and this novel kept me rapt, so that has not changed... "
— Stephen, 12/29/2011" Another great one from Tom Clancy and the narration really added to the suspense. Highly recommended. "
— RH31, 12/14/2011" The Jack Ryan series finds itself with a new generation. Still plausible, still technically good, and still worth the read. "
— Michael, 5/21/2011" Starts out REALLY slow. Pretty good overall, but it takes a long time to do anything interesting. "
— Daniel, 5/1/2011" The worst book Clancy has ever written. Overtly biases politically, I think he may have just copy and pasted words from his earlier works. Whoever edited this book should be fired for allowing the same sentences to appear 3 or 4 times in throughout the book. "
— Jmswtsn, 4/26/2011" I agree totally with George " dead rather than red" continually repeats details throughout book, hardest book of Tom's I have read. Really had to try hard to finish this "
— David, 4/17/2011" Macho macho man.<br/><br/>If you read it, count the number of times the author refers to Jack's investment fortune, or his beautiful wife's surgical brilliance. Money = superiority. Nothing subtle. "
— Martha, 4/14/2011" Worst Tom Clancy book I've ever read. No suspense at all, very repetitive. The opposite of a good page turning spy novel. "
— Sarah, 3/20/2011" Love all of the Jack Ryan books. "
— Brenda, 2/19/2011" Great book. This is my favorite Clancy novel. You get to see Jack Ryan growing up and growing up quick. "
— Tim, 1/29/2011" I love a good cold war yarn, but this one dragged and lost it's footing in more than one place. Not Clancy's best. "
— Marc, 1/20/2011" This book just ... felt odd. I think it was because of trying to go back to the beginning of a character's life that we already know so well. It seemed like trying to unring a bell. "
— Cheryldetrick, 12/9/2010" What can I say? Anything Tom Clancy does is brilliant. "
— Brit, 11/26/2010" Couldn't even finish this book! "
— Andrew, 11/21/2010" This is a really bad book. A decent story which would have been better told in 180 pages rather than 656 pages, mortly of Clancey's right-wing ranting. Clancey hasn't wriiten a good book since 1986. "
— John, 10/27/2010" I gave up halfway through this book. If you edited out about 80% of this book, you might have a good story. "
— User3162, 10/6/2010" No wars in this one, thankfully; it's all espionage. Unfortunately, the operations go way too smoothly and makes the story sadly predictable. "
— Barb, 10/2/2010" Somehow I missed this Jack Ryan book. I guess I was busy in 2002. It was not nearly as good as his other books. It lacked the pulse racing ending that make his books so fun to read. I felt like Clancy was using this book to explore his Catholic heritage. That part was interesting. "
— Mary, 9/27/2010Tom Clancy (1947–2013) was the author of numerous #1 New York Times bestselling novels, including The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Red Rabbit, Teeth of the Tiger, and Red Storm Rising. His nonfiction work includes Into the Storm: A Study in Command, Every Man a Tiger, and Battle Ready. Clancy was the co-founder of Red Storm Entertainment, a video game developing company responsible for the successful Rainbow Six series, Ghost Recon series, Splinter Cell series, and others.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.