Command Authority links the present-day Jack Ryan Jr's exploits in London back to those of his father, the now United States president Jack Ryan.
The book is right up to date as far as current affairs are concerned and it is easy to see parts of Russian president Vladimir Putin in the fictional President Valeri Vodin.
What a gripping tale of espionage, betrayal and greed.
The breakdown of the former USSR saw KGB agents shifting millions upon millions of roubles into Swiss banks where they were converted to diamonds or Swiss francs. The sale of Russia's state-owned assets to oligarchs was a trigger for unprecedented wealth for some lucky people, including Vodin. His trusted adviser, under suspicion right from the start, needs to be taken out of action.
Ryan Jr teams up with his former Delta force colleagues, against the wishes of his father, and others, to track down a former English spy who saved the life of his father. For doing that kind deed, the English spy was sent to a concentration camp. And that is where the two stories collide.
At 740 pages, the book requires commitment, but is a great read.
- Dene Mackenzie is the ODT's business editor.
