THE HUNT FOR TOM CLANCY

$$ TOM CLANCY $$

I believe in taking some time off.  Refueling. Sinking your toes in the sand.

But 7 years!

Has Tom Clancy been in witness protection?  Has it taken this long to count all his money?  Talk about the sum of all successes.

Ah, silly stuff to ponder.  The only important thing to grasp is that on Dec. 7, Clancy's first offering since 2003's Teeth Of The Tiger, comes out.

I haven't been given an advance title of Dead Or Alive (What the hell!) but I am looking forward to reading it.  Some familiar faces are back after all this time.  Jack Ryan, Jack Ryan, Jr., John Clark and Ding Chavez weave their way through intrigue as part of a secret US counter-terrorism organization known as the Campus.  The goal is to take down, by any means necessary, a sadistic terrorist called the Emir who plans to bring America to its knees.  Okay, the storyline sounds familiar but I wager it will be told with a technical insight that Clancy perfected, which should make parts of the book compelling.

Full disclosure, I've contributed to the Clancy treasure chest over the years, buying and playing for hours his various video game offerings.  Almost forgot the dude wrote books that could sometimes double as a weapon.  Executive Orders was 874 pages!  Somewhere Ken Follett is laughing.  Skip the gym and pick up Fall of Giants.

Dead Or Alive is written in collaboration with US Navy veteran Grant Blackwood, an author of several books himself.  If his name is on the tip of your tongue, it's probably because he's assisted Clive Cussler on a couple of projects.

I haven't seen a book tour for Clancy.  No satellite opportunity has crossed my desk.  For some, he isn't exactly 'Mr. Warmth' so that could be a wise decision by some savvy exec.

In the spirit of the holiday season, Penguin is providing the first two chapters much like the small samples of cologne you get when you make a major purchase.  Question is, will you be gift wrapping Dead Or Alive this season?  Here's a link to the sample... Don't get killed along the way.