By SHAWN DIXON
Bestselling author Tom Clancy, the inventor of the “techno-thriller” and a prolific creator of numerous intellectual properties, died Tuesday October 1 at The John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
With seventeen #1 New York Times bestselling novels and a number of bestselling non-fiction works, Clancy became one of the most well-known and profitable writers of his time, rivaling the likes of Stephen King in sales and name recognition. Clancy lives on with the upcoming release of a new novel on December 3, a new movie on Christmas Day, and a new video game during holiday season of next year. Clancy’s cause of death has still not been released.
Tom Clancy was known for his tireless research, insider knowledge, and detailed descriptions of military tactics, spy craft, and cutting-edge technology. With plots ripped from the headlines Clancy’s novels often were prescient to an almost alarming degree. His latest novel Threat Vector was about Chinese cyber-attacks on the U.S. infrastructure. Threat Vector was released on December 4, 2012.
Not a year later in September 2013, a report was released that determined a group of hackers in China was responsible for cyber-attacks on the U.S. In one of his older novels, Debt of Honor released in 1994, a terrorist flies a 747 into the Capital Building, eerily foreshadowing 9/11.
Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, won universal acclaim and was even praised by President Ronald Reagan.His second novel Red Storm Rising, which is a depiction of the U.S. against Russia in World War III, was so well researched that it became required reading at the U.S. Naval War College. Clancy’s creations and what was termed the “Ryanverse”, after his main creation and often the hero of his novels Jack Ryan, spaned nearly every medium; books, movies, video games, and board games.
Jack Ryan was a U.S. Marine and CIA analyst who often found himself in over his head and must find ingenuitive ways to come out on top. In the movies based on the novels, The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fear. Jack Ryan has been portrayed by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck, respectively. In the upcoming movie Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit the eponymous hero is to be portrayed by actor Chris Pine, of recent Captain Kirk fame.
It is the first movie based on Tom Clancy’s character since the The Sum of All Fears in 2002. If the reboot does well it will launch a new series of Jack Ryan movies.
Another Jack Ryan novel, titled Command Authority debuts in hardcover on December 3. The movie, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit premieres in movie theatres this upcoming Christmas Day. The newest video game based on his ideas is “Tom Clancy’s The Division” and will be released holiday season of next year. As someone who has nearly every one of Tom Clancy’s works on my shelves I highly recommend diving into the “Ryanverse” he created.
Though Tom Clancy will be sorely missed by millions of fans his legacy lives on in his upcoming works, and all future works based in the rich world he created.
