Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
The Ryan family are no strangers to danger and risky situations, but President Jack Ryan has a job to do. There’s some inherent risk when you lead a country – something President Bolero of Panama has faced, too. Bolero has faced assassination plots and knows he needs to regain the trust of his people to quell the opposition. When Bolero invites Ryan to join him for a photo opportunity in Panama before the upcoming summit of world leaders, Ryan is compelled to help his friend. Cathy, still nervous after her own kidnapping by the Camarilla, asks Jack not to go, but the value of this opportunity to both the US and Panama is too great. Once Ryan arrives in the country, the opposition plan to take out Bolero reaches a whole new level with the support of both the Camarilla and the Russian Navy. Will they succeed…or will Ryan escape the threat?
Tom Clancy Command and Control is Marc Cameron’s latest addition to the Ryanverse, and Cameron’s last behind the wheel of the Jack Ryan novels. This book is set during the Ryan presidency, decades after we first meet Jack’s family in London. Tackling big issues like guerilla groups, narcotrafficking, and international coups, this novel is relevant to the current political climate in the Americas. After the 2021 fiasco in the Suez Canal that blocked commerce and river traffic for weeks, it is easy to understand the plot’s secondary focus on the Panama Canal.
I give Command and Control 4 out of 5 stars. I am always a fan of Cameron’s work, but this book starts slow and it was difficult to stay focused. Where most of the Ryanverse novels and Cameron’s other works could be read as standalone books, this novel needs the backstory of previous books in the timeline to make sense of some of the details. Cameron includes great details of the Panamanian locations and his law enforcement and weapons knowledge bring depth to the story, but slows down the action in several scenes.
I would recommend this book to readers who love the Jack Ryan and Jack Ryan, Jr., series – Jack Jr.’s team makes an appearance here as well. I would also recommend this book to readers interested in Panama and the canal – this topic has been controversial for many years and the novel plays to that controversy well. With references to several methods of murder and military coups, this novel may be best directed to more mature audiences of the age of 13.
I have been reading through the Ryanverse for the past year and enjoy seeing the new books available on Netgalley for review! Marc Cameron is one of my favorite authors as well, so when he joined the Ryanverse, I was very excited. While I’m disappointed his time writing for Jack Ryan has come to an end, I am interested to see is next for Cameron with his other series. Tom Clancy Command and Control is a great finale to his time with the Ryans.
Command and Control releases on November 21st – preorder your copy today!
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