A Welcome Return To Form (The Teeth of the Tiger - Tom Clancy)

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	The Teeth of the Tiger - Tom Clancy
Date:	05/12/04 (179 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A return to form for Clancy

Disadvantages: Still not as good as some of his earlier novels

~ ~ I wrote two particularly scathing reviews of a couple of author Tom Clancy’s recent novels, “The Bear and the Dragon” and “Red Rabbit” where I slated him for basically confusing length with quality and trading on his past reputation for writing tight, taut, well constructed thrillers such as “Clear and Present Danger” and “The Hunt for Red October”.
His most recent offering to hit the bookshelves in paperback, “The Teeth of the Tiger”, while still not up to the quality of his earlier novels, is at least a welcome return to form for the American master storyteller who invariably tops the best seller lists with almost everything he pens.

~ ~ In Teeth of the Tiger Clancy has moved on from the Jack Ryan era, basically having taken that character as far as he possibly could. (Into the Whitehouse as President for two terms) But sticking closely to his tried and trusted formula we are introduced for the first time to a whole new bunch of characters cast in much the same mould as proved so successful for the author in his earlier works.
In fact, one of the main characters is Jack Ryan Junior, the son of the ex-President, now all grown up and looking to emulate the heroic exploits of his famous daddy. Then we have the Caruso twins, one an FBI agent with a penchant for dispensing his own lethal justice at the point of a gun rather than trusting on the court system to convict and punish the bad guys, and the other a US marine officer who has proved himself under fire on the plains of Afghanistan. These two guys are like a double act of another early Clancy character, John Clark.
We have a retired US Senator called Hendley, who was once tipped to take over the Presidency from Jack Ryan until his wife and children were killed in a fatal car accident and he lost the plot somewhat. He now runs an ultra-black agency sanctioned by ex-President Ryan to operate where more conservative agencies like the FBI and CIA might fear to tread, and to take on the new bad guys (Islamic terrorists) on their own ground and using their own methods. (Terror) Again, Senator Hendley could almost be an exact clone of yet another old Clancy character, Admiral John Greer of the CIA.

~ ~ The plot of Teeth of the Tiger is not exactly scintillating, and doesn’t exactly break any new ground in terms of innovative storytelling. The USA is under attack (yet again) from Islamic terrorists hell bent on exacting dastardly and bloody revenge for the supposed transgressions of the good old USA against their homelands and religion. Senator Hendley is equally hell bent on stopping them in their tracks using the same terror tactics they so successfully employ, and is looking to employ new talent to assist him in his mission. Enter stage left (or even stage right) the young Jack Ryan Junior and the deadly Caruso twins, who are only too happy to sign on the dotted line. (After a brief interlude of Catholic soul searching and angst from one of the twins)
They pursue the terrorists using all methods at their disposal, in Jack Ryan’s case a computer terminal and the Internet, and in the case of the Caruso twins with deadly force. Not content to wait until the terrorists strike at their homeland (which they DO manage to do in this book) to exact revenge, the Caruso twins are dispatched to hit at the terrorists leaders and followers wherever they may be in the world.

~ ~ That’s the plot in a nutshell. (And hopefully without giving away too much and spoiling the book for you)
The story may be slightly old hat at this stage, (we already had Islamic terrorists in Clear and Present Danger) and not terribly innovative in nature, but at least it is told with some of Clancy’s old flair and style that has been sadly lacking in a lot of his recent work. The characters, if not exactly fully fleshed out, are at least interesting, and Clancy has left the door wide open for their further development in future novels. He uses his old ploy of jumping around different locations and different characters in each new chapter or sub-chapter, and manages to keep you guessing throughout what the eventual outcome is going to be. (The sure sign of a good thriller) Although, of course, you know that the good guys will win out in the end in any Clancy novel.

~ ~ I paid €10.15 for this book in my local bookstore, but it is available for only £3.49 from Amazon in the UK. You’ll enjoy this novel if you’re a fan of Clancy, and as long as you are aware of his ultra-patriotic agenda when it comes to all things concerning the USA and its fight against terror.
Recommended by the mad cabbie, who is now waiting in eager anticipation for the next follow-up novel.

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Released: August 2004
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 0141004924
£3.49 at Amazon (Down from £6.99)

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© KenJ December 2004

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