Bulging with pulsating action, anxiety-inducing drama and exhilarating military operations, Tom Clancy Zero Hour offers a complete package of thrilling entertainment with a terrifyingly realistic scenario that should scare the crap out of everyone. Don Bentley delivers another fantastic entry into the Jack Ryan, Jr. universe, keeping the Tom Clancy legacy alive and thriving with his fresh, no-holds barred, action-packed approach to the series.
Jack Ryan, Jr. and Lisanne Robertson are in Seoul, South Korea to interview a potential asset for the Campus when, as usual, trouble finds Junior in the form of a wave of violent attacks in the city. After convincing John Clark to let him lead an operation to figure out who’s behind the hostile acts, Jack goes on the offensive with the help of a mysterious source, a couple of Green Beret snipers, a team of Navy SEALs and a bevy of hotshot Army helicopter pilots in a resolute effort to stop all-out war from breaking out, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and consuming the Korean peninsula.
While the entire book is excellent, there are a few aspects of Zero Hour that really stand out. First, Don Bentley’s signature of putting his characters through hell is once again prevalent throughout. Jack doesn’t make it a handful of pages before being in the blast radius of a VBIED…and that’s just the beginning. He’s tested physically, mentally and emotionally throughout the story with his wellbeing at risk and safety absolutely uncertain.
Second, while North Korea has increasingly been the antagonists in thrillers the past several years, usually it’s in regard to direct conflict against the United States. So having the plot focus on the Korean peninsula and the prospect of war between North and South was a slight, yet bold, change of pace that works very well.
And last but not least, perhaps the most intriguing part of Zero Hour is how Don puts you in the cockpit of an Apache in a way not before seen in fiction. Makes sense given Don’s prior occupation flying the celebrated attack helicopter, but it’s one amazingly extraordinary thing to fly them and another thing entirely to describe it in a way that makes the reader feel like they are in the middle of the action. But he pulls it off perfectly. Don flawless execution and attention to detail in writing these scenes leaves me in awe of the sheer amount of intelligence, multi-tasking ability and poise it takes to successfully pilot an Apache. Respect!
Another impressive book by an impressive writer and induvial. I’d say Don Bentley is a rising star, but that’s no longer accurate because he’s already right there with the best in the genre. Whether it’s writing in the Clancy universe or his brilliant Matt Drake series, Don can be counted on to bring the heat with everything he writes and has reached “automatic must read” status for thriller fans.
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