Tom Clancy Line of Sight (Jack Ryan, Jr. Book 5)

The story was hard to follow at first with all the subterfuge that was happening but since it was a quick read it was still tied up in a neat bow at the end. The only question is what did Jack tell his Mother about the the letter and the response he received : )

The Tom Clancy series doesn’t crackle like it once did. It’s strong on some things it always was - weaponry, technical details, the occasional inside bit of spookery - but drags in others.This one revolves around Jack Ryan Jr.’s trip to the former Yugoslavia - first to Slovenia, where he’s doing work as part of his financial analyst cover, and then to Bosnia. It’s a personal mission there: his mother, the First Lady and an eye surgeon, had operated on a little Bosnian girl in Sarajevo during the Yugoslav Civil War in the 1990s, can’t forget her, and wants to track her down and see how she’s doing. She asks Jack to see what he can do while he’s over there.Jack’s search leads him to Sarajevo just as bad guys plot to plunge Bosnia into yet another war.It’s hard to keep track of all the operators, a Balkan stew of simmering trouble: Serb, Croat, Bosnian, Turkish, Chechen, Syrian, Russian, Bulgarian, Czech, Muslim fanatics, nationalists, cops of different countries. One has a dastardly plan to start a civil war.The girl’s name is common, and Jack runs into a lot of dead ends, before he finally gets a lucky break. But there is more to the girl Aida - now an adult and, of course, stunningly beautiful - than meets the eye.Meanwhile, a crime syndicate has put out a contract on Jack, sending extremely talented killers to take him out.The action at the end is meritorious, as Jack, of course, heroically and at the last minute (the last 15 seconds, actually) foils the killers’ plot. But it plods before that. We see, and learn the complex history of, the land through Jack’s eyes, as well as his burgeoning romance with Aida and the work she does with refugees. But it’s mostly a personal trip for him, making for less than riveting reading, until the action heats up near the end.No spoilers, but the end didn’t really hang together for me, most specifically the different sides of Aida.

I have been very pleased with the authors that have taken up the standard for Tom Clancy after his passing. The stories and characters were too well done to let them die. And the Jack Ryan Jr. books have been excellent. This one takes us to Croatia and Slovenia in current times. It carefully explains the history of the area, the features of the cities, even the cuisine and peoples. It is painstakingly written, and in the unhurried and informative style Tom Clancy, Lee Child, and other greats of the genre employ, as if their task is to inform as well as entertain.Jack is tasked with assessing an up and coming tech company that is wishing to be listed on the NASDAQ exchange in Slovenia. His mother charges him with bringing a letter to a young woman who she performed eye surgery on when she was there many years prior. Unbeknownst to Jack Jr., an organization he has run afoul of also wants him dead. Plus, we have assassins, an intelligence officer that may or may not be on Jr.’s side, and a beautiful woman from his mother’s past. It’s a fascinating book, as it reveals the history of the area, the role the allies in NATO played, and explains the current ethic situation in the area. I found it highly entertaining, and we even had a cameo or two from the past. That’s all I will say.

It's okay but storyline a little shallow.Probably okay for non-diehard Clancy readers.I will read more of his works!

Tom Clancy (and others) wrote an excellent series - Jack Ryan. Buy all 37 books today. This book was part of an order. All books were new and arrived in pristine condition. Great job!!

Jack Ryan Jr is the star of the story. He is stupid. This the second book showing how stupid he is. Instead of using the full services of the Campus, he once again focused on the computer nerd. The authors once again have the rest of the campus staff as almost clueless. How did the bad guys find them in Rome? No clue from the authors. Hiw did the Campus people find the bad guy leaders? No clue from the authors. It is apparent the campus regularly eliminates pictures of the operatives from databases around the world. How did the miss the bad guys database’s? I would rather see them find the bad guys through their regular efforts to eliminate pictures of members of the operations team. I do have to give the authors credit for a very good ending by using all the resources available. So it is almost a 5 star book. I do recommend this story.

“Line of Sight” is a fallout episode from “Point of Contact.” Under irrelevant opposition from Iron Syndicate, Jack made a Herculean effort to save Bosnia and Herzegovina from their being dragged into the Third World War. The episode renews our understanding of Anais Nin’s famous view : We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are. Except the Sarajevo Winter Olympics and Ivica Osim, the manager of the Japanese national team, the former Yugoslavia is a considerably remote place to ordinary Japanese. The book provides us a quick history lesson on this area, together with a recommended tour guide and an excellent gourmet report in this area. Mike Maden nicely brings in new trends like Uber, Airbnb and CAR T-cell treatment, etc., into the story. Have a hunch Iron Syndicate continues to be a great opponent to the future Campus activity.

Great read for the second time I’m a bit older now and the history of the area was spot on loved the story line always a good one with Jack Jr to read this you can think you are there with him great ending as well say no more to spoil the storylineTHANK YOU

1-*from UZ on 06 April 2022Not up to the Clancy standard. Really bad book. I am a big Tom Clancy fan and read all his original books. This book lacks the depth, lacks the detail and the action offered by Tom Clancy books. Also some of the anti-muslim rhetoric and language used in the book was really not required and was not adding any value to the plot or the already bland storyline. I will try to return this book even if it costs me more than how much I paid for this book.

The book was received as advertised. I look forward to reading it in the near future.

Lots of suspense and very well written, action packed and interesting characters. I just hoped the final ten pages would last longer...

I gave it a five rating as it was a good story from beginning to end typical Tom Clancy story always keep me intreged how his storys with Jack Ryan get better all the time especially when there is about to have another war between countries like Bosnia and America intervening to stop a mass murder was a great read.