Tom Clancy Zero Hour (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), the latest book in the Clancy universe to feature Jack Ryan Jr., is basically an action movie — and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially during a summer that features the return of the ultimate feel-good military action film, Top Gun: Maverick.
As conceived by author Don Bentley, Zero Hour has all the elements of a good, mass-audience Hollywood military adventure flick. You’ve got heroes, villains, the brotherhood of warriors and lots of scenes with edge-of-the-seat excitement that move the story to a satisfying climax.
Bentley, the author of three excellent thrillers that feature his own hero-operative, Matt Drake, recently inherited the mantle of writing the Ryan Junior books for the Clancy world. His second effort with JRJr succeeds much like the first, Target Acquired (read my review here).
EDGE-OF-THE-SEAT EXCITEMENT
If you’re reading this, you probably know that Jack Jr. is the son of Clancy’s most famous character, Jack Ryan, who rose from intelligence analyst to operative to agency head to reluctantly entering politics and becoming president of the United States. The President’s son works for a secret, off-the-books government agency dubbed the Campus — the folks who tread on the bad guys when no one else can.
In Zero Hour, Jack lands in the South Korean capital of Seoul to interview a potential recruit to the Campus. It should be an easy, no-hassle trip, but timing is everything as the Korean Peninsula is about to explode. Jack finds himself in the middle of multiple, violent attacks throughout the city. The action-packed set pieces start unfolding from there as Jack survives multiple outbursts with no idea of what’s really going on or whether he can even trust the South Korean authorities to protect him and his fellow American operatives caught in the crossfire.
Jack eventually learns what the reader learns sooner — the supreme leader of North Korea has been stricken, perhaps exposed to radiation during a large-scale experiment at a reactor and weapons site. That triggers a nightmare scenario that could lead to World War III. Some of the North Korean leaders jockeying for power think the answer is to keep the leader’s condition secret while activating his elaborate and methodical plans for first undermining and then attacking South Korea.
Meanwhile, Jack gets a strange phone call from a very enigmatic woman who claims to know what’s going on and wants to help the Americans and South Koreans. This includes tips on upcoming attack plans with maybe enough time to stop the incursions. Still, Ryan wonders who she is and what she might want in return. He’ll learn that the answers are testimony to the old cliché that sometimes in life you have to pick the lesser of two evils.
SURE TO SATISFY CLANCY FANS
Through it all, you’ll find a taut, fast-moving tale in the hands of a skillful writer who knows his stuff. That’s especially true in the scenes involving military tactics and the warrior brotherhood, which makes sense when you consider Bentley’s background as a decorated Apache helicopter pilot.
And it’s a story sure to satisfy legions of Clancy fans, down to the explicit detail that the late author loved on all manner of military hardware and software. One of my favorite scenes involves Ryan getting schooled on why chopper pilots are a different breed. It’s all about the aerodynamics and physics of flight. Airplanes are designed to go aloft and glide smoothly through the sky. They want to fly. Helicopters, by their nature, want to spin around and crash.
Fortunately, Zero Hour doesn’t crash. It nails its landing as a fine summertime thriller whether you read the words or listen to the audiobook, expertly narrated by the always terrific Scott Brick. You won’t find much plot development beyond what’s needed to keep the action moving or character development that’s much more than the courageous good guys versus the really bad guys. But that’s okay. Make some popcorn and enjoy the ride.
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About Don Bentley:
Don Bentley is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Matt Drake thriller series including Hostile Intent, The Outside Man, and Without Sanction as well as one forthcoming title. Don also writes in the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan, Jr. universe with Zero Hour, Target Acquired, and one forthcoming title.
Don spent a decade as an Army Apache helicopter pilot during which time he was stationed in South Korea, Germany, and Texas. While deployed to Afghanistan as a Troop Commander in support of Operation Enduring Freedom VI, Don was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with “V” device for valor. Following his time in the military Don worked as an FBI Special Agent and was a member of the Dallas Office Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
After leaving the FBI, Don worked for companies that developed technology for the U.S. Special Operations Community. He holds a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Ohio State University, and an M.F.A in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.
