Executive Orders (Jack Ryan, #8) by Tom Clancy

Executive Orders (Jack Ryan, #8) Reviews

• 
  Paul Hollis

  1358 pages yes 1358 of Tom Clancy and now the nightmare is finally over!!
  This book took me a year to read, not because of its length but because it's incredibly boring for loooong stretches, I would set it aside for months at a time.
  The beginning was good and the ending (the last 300 pages was gripping) but to get there you have to get through a 1000 pages of of the main character Jack Ryan, now president, whining and complaning about being president and the political process(if there was ever any doubt where Clancy stands, he makes it pretty obvious). Every few pages Ryan complains about the bad day he's had blah blah blah and bums smokes from people(come'on he's the pres somebody buy him a pack already!!)
  Clancy threw in everything but the kitchen sink in this book, it's just too much.
  This book is a perfect example of what is wrong with book publishing in the past decade. Editors (remember them?) are now afraid to say no to the big brand name authors and let them get away with some horrendus decisions. This book could easily have been cut in half and nothing missed. Or better yet made in 2 books.
• 
  Christopher Slater

  This book is the pinnacle of the Jack Ryan series of novels. We finally see Jack Ryan, reluctantly and tragically, become President of the United States. He hates it, and sees it as a curse. The problem is that he is good at it. The very fact that he doesn't want to be there makes him all the more appealing to the voters in the book and to the reader. Of course, his reluctance is seen as weakness by other world leaders, and some try to take advantage of the situation. Their mistake. This book takes the Jack Ryan series to its ultimate height.
  As a Tom Clancy fan, I was naturally drawn to this book, but even if I were not a fan, I think this would have been a huge hit with me. Clancy wrote this book, and most before it, with an amazing degree of realism. So much of what happens in the books could easily happen in the real world, and that is what makes them so good. That is also what makes them so complex. Reality is complex, therefore so are Clancy's novels. This particular addition to the series struck just the right balance of politics, intrigue, military adventure, and even science to keep you turning page after page of this massive volume. If you have ever read any of the Jack Ryan novels, then you must read this one. If you have never read one, get one of the earlier ones. Otherwise, Executive Orders will be a bit of a spoiler.
• 
  Rosalind

  Reading this was entirely an exercise in reading something that lies way outside my comfort zone. Why is it outside my comfort zone? Well, it's not aimed at me for a start; I'm a woman, and I'm not American. I knew what I was taking on; it's a thriller, by a mega-bestselling author who specialises in a particular kind of macho, flag-waving, Budweiser-swilling, big-dick, patriotic, all-action Americana. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, if the writing's good and knowing that I had every opportunity to avoid reading it in full knowledge of what it was. And besides I don't always conform to type. I love the spy thrillers of John le Carré and while your standard Action Movie leaves me cold (Bond films in particular because actually I'm quite fond of Fleming's original Bond books) I do have a big soft spot for The Dirty Dozen for reasons I've never fully understood. So, I was determined to see this one through.
  
  Anyway, the premise of this 900-page doorstop is something like this. CIA spook and alleged family guy Jack Ryan becomes President by accident after a Japanese airline pilot flies a 747 into a packed Capitol (yes, really!) wiping out both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court and a goodly part of the Washington establishment. Yes, it's a Tea Party wet dream! Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, the demented leader of Iran takes advantage of the situation to take over Iraq and launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia with the wildly improbable cooperation of both India and China. And to complicate things, also attempts to kidnap the president's younger daughter and start an epidemic of haemorrhagic fever amongst America's car salesmen (you feel like shouting "Yay!" at that point)
  
  Ok, it's fantasy stuff (Le Carré always has the ring of authenticity, not least because he was a real spook while Clancy was an insurance salesman) and that's fine if it's well-written. The big problem is that it's appallingly badly written. To be fair, Clancy knows his stuff about military hardware and he's obviously done his homework about life in the White House; in fact those are the most interesting bits although still a poor substitute for The West Wing. The rest is just dismal. Violence? I wish there was some. For great stretches nothing happens at all except digressions on Clancyan hobby-horses like why the US tax system needs reform. There's no humanity; we keep being told how much President Ryan loves his family but we never see any evidence; he never takes time to read his youngest a story, or play with his son, or have conflicts with his teenage daughter. In fact by the end of the 900 pages we know hardly any more about the children than we did at the beginning. There's the endless pauses while the author stops to explain some trivial point to his braindead readership (hey, naval parlance still talks about a ship 'steaming' even though a modern ship's engines don't do it that way, isn't that amazing, tell Ripley's Believe It Or Not at once!) Foreigners, of course, are meekly compliant and admiring (Russians, would you believe?) or sinister, devious, comic-book villians (Gadzooks! My master plan has been foiled again by those pesky Americans!).
  
  Worst of all, though, is the sickly sentimentality of it all. The triumph of Mom's Apple Pie, beer and franks at the Ball Game and the Grand ol' Opry, with the mean streets of South Central LA and West Baltimore kept well out of the way in the Free Speech Zone. Hell, they love their President so much there's not a whisper of a protest even when the unelected President Ryan overrides the constitution to impose a ban on crossing state lines. I can think of one president who'd be glad of a tiny fraction of the cooperation from his truculent nation. And no, I'm not being unpatriotic: the US is a foreign country to me, I'm an alien there (I've been told as much in no uncertain terms) and owe no allegiange to Old Glory.
  
  Ok, it was an experiment, and I'm glad I read it. But I don't think I'll be going back that way any time soon.
  
• 
  Matthew

  This was a 1358 page book - but it never felt slow and I was enthralled throughout.
  
  While sometimes Clancy's military maneuver segments were a bit over my head, they were interspersed with enough other action to keep it moving.
  
  A big thing I noticed about this book is that even though it was written in 1996, Clancy had a few plot lines that seemed like Nostradamus-esque foreshadowing to 20 years later.
• 
  Jim C

  This picks up right from the ending point of the last book. One really needs to read that book before this one. Jack is now president of the country after the devastating events that hit the country. Is he ready for it as domestic people and leaders of foreign countries question his leadership and test him.
  
  This one is a little long as it is over thirteen hundred pages. That being said I was never bored with it and there were definitely times where I was emotional. One of the aspects I like about Tom Clancy's books is the realism and these events are unfortunately too real as they are similar to actual events. I think this is one of the reasons why I have enjoyed these last books as they evoke feelings because I have actually seen these events with my own eyes. And the realism just doesn't stop with dealing with these events but with its aftermath. Whether it is getting back up from the mat, grieving, or being tested by others as they view us weak because we were hit by terrorist attacks. While being entertained I was also being informed about how much is on the plate of the leader of this country. This book is also a little scary as we see a new form of attack and realize how easy this attack could happen. Once again, the realism is tangible and just leaps off the pages.
  
  Yes, reading these books is a commitment as they are very lengthy in nature. One just never realizes it though because right away you are sucked into the story and cannot stop reading. Once again Tom Clancy has written a very entertaining book.
• 
  Stewart Sternberg

  Tom Clancy believes in flat tax, military growth, keeping the judiciary constructionist, limited government, and reeling in a destructive liberal media.
  
  How do I know this? Clancy spends pages on boring polemic doing his best Ayn Rand impression. What a sludge!
  
  Oh, and this over thousand pages of text features an absurd number of characters and enough plots to choke Godzilla. There's an attempt on kidnapping his daughter, an attempt by Iran to take over Saudi Arabia, a case of weaponized Ebola, a group of militia determined to blow something up in Washington, a secret service agent who is a.sleeper, the reconstruction of the government after its destruction, an attempt by a corrupt VP to.wrestle power away..
  ..tired yet?
  
  This novel was a mess. Period. A colossal disappointment.
• 
  Jerome Otte

  Jack Ryan and Tom Clancy may have reached their pinnacle of achievement with this book. However, this book is definitely not the place to start the series; as a minimum, The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Debt of Honor should definitely be read before this book.
  
  Jack, due to the events detailed in Debt of Honor, suddenly finds himself President of the U.S., a position which he never aspired to and in which he feels decidedly uncomfortable. But, good former Marine that he is, he quickly buckles down to the demands of the job - a job that rapidly spawns seemingly endless problems and complications. In detailing these, Clancy weaves an incredible number of sub-plots together: an assassination of the Iraqi President and the amalgamation of that country with Iran, an attempt to kidnap his youngest daughter, a biological attack on the U.S., a heat up of the continuing dispute between the two Chinas, an attempt by the former Vice President to remove Jack from office, and multiple attacks on his integrity by the news media. This is where Clancy shines, as each of these sub-plots is probably strong enough to be a novel in its own right. They all have strong dramatic elements and are not only plausible, but frightening in just how close they are to events in the real world that have occurred since this book was written - so much so that the notion has been put forth that certain terrorist elements got the ideas for their deeds from this book and Debt of Honor.
  
  Jack is well drawn. His reactions to situations and problems make sense for the type of man he is, and Clancy does a good job of making the reader empathize with him. Most of the other main characters are shown with enough depth to make them real, though it definitely helps if you have read the prior novels in this series, as some of the background for these characters was presented earlier, and is not re-hashed in this book. However, most of the characters are not excessively deep, and it is very clear who are the `good guys' and who are the `bad', which perhaps is a good thing in a thriller.
  
  The battle scenes are typical Clancy, filled with a great number (quite accurate) technical details - perhaps too much so, as at times the picture of just what war is really like gets lost in all these details. Also somewhat of a detraction is the fact that the `good guys' have too easy a time of it; it seems like all their plans are precisely accomplished, with few of the screw-ups and surprises that always happen in real conflicts. Which leads to the other fault with this book - it really is too long, and a fair amount of it could have been cut without losing the impressive tapestry effect.
  
  Some may object to the political viewpoints expressed in this novel, as they are decidedly on the right of the spectrum. But Clancy does a good job of detailing why these viewpoints should at least be given some careful thought by all Americans. Here we find good rationales behind limiting the power of the press under certain circumstances; the necessity for maintaining both a strong military and a strong intelligence network; cases where the power of the President may need to exceed the powers granted by the Constitution; when diplomacy is appropriate versus military action (and just how much diplomacy is dependent on having the military power to back up stated positions). It is just these viewpoints that elevate this book from a blockbuster adventure novel to one with substance. A quick perusal of any newspaper today will show exactly the points Clancy makes here, from the obvious `slanting' of the reporting to the need for a military that is second to none.
  
• 
  Brett

  This book is a serious contender for worst book I have ever read that is not by Dean Koontz. It is an excrutiating almost 1400 pages of awful dialogue, shocking misunderstanding of politics, simplification of international affairs, right-wing propaganda, and the utter ruination of a once enjoyable, if kind of silly, character--Jack Ryan.
  
  Maybe back in 1996, some people could be fooled by Clancy's ideas, but after the disasterous presidency of George Bush Jr., whose policies and thought process are often similar to Ryan's in this novel, this book is completely without credibility. When I would see it laying on my coffee table out of the corner of my eye, I kept mistaking "Clancy" for "Cheney". That should tell you everything you need to know about this one.
• 
  Shane Phillips

  I could not finish this book. 12 hours into the audiobook and I could take no more. I guess I am just not a fan of Clancy’s writing. Such quotes as “he loaded the papers into his briefcase, most of them were useless” and a 13 minute diatribe on what secret service agents are thinking. I bet you could edit out 30% of this book and still get the story across.
• 
  Colleen O'grady

  As usual with anything that Tom Clancy writes I am astounded at his breadth of knowledge of world affairs, the political no-how of nations including his homeland of USA. Once again he weaves this knowledge into a gripping tale of espionage, terrorism, fighting to do what is right against all odds. From the first Ryan novel Red October I have followed the efforts of Jack Ryan as an inteligence officer and historian, university lecturer and great thinker. This massive tome has kept me gripped to my seat as I want to know where Clancy will take Ryan and me next. Believe it or not, I have learnt much about the American President and his role for that nation. I am not finished yet of course, but already have given it a five star rating. And now its finished the five star rating remains. Clancy is a gifted story-teller and a great writer. He weaves his various characters together in time and space so I know exactly who is up to what, and eagerly read on to see what happens next. Take the Mountain Men for example. Raring to go to do a serious mischief in Washington with a souped-up concrete mixture that's almost a time-bomb, and the person they were aiming for, the President, suddenly closes all movements between states because of an horrific infectious disease spreading across America and leaves them stranded. As their 'bomb' had a mixer full of manure, things got a bit smelly of course...great yarn. so know I am going to read Reflections of a Scientist by Henry Eyring. Something completely different
• 
  Brett C

  I enjoyed this one. Jack Ryan becoming the president after a terrorist attack and the story takes off. My only gripe was the book was very long. I think it could have been cut down by several hundred pages...maybe even 600 or so.
• 
  Christian Orr

  Mr. Clancy's epic magnum opus (is that a redundancy?), his finest work of all time, IMHO, and one of my all-time favorite novels, period. I first read this book back in 1999, a few months before I shipped off to Basic Training, and I found characters like Jack Ryan, John Clark, and Domingo Chavez to be great role models for my then-fledgling military career, their fictitious status notwithstanding. RE-reading it now with a combined 16 years of military, law enforcement, and private military contracting experience under my belt makes the book even more enjoyable and relatable, and the book doesn't lose its power after all these years. Only two major gripes here: (1) the Nook (e-reader edition) is FULL of typos, mainly of the spacing and punctuation variety and (2) citing p. 329, USAF Chief Master Sergeants are NOT addressed as simply "Sergeant!" A technical oversight on Clancy's part, or merely on the part of the character (a Kuwaiti Major)?"
  
  So many great quotes from the book, the laundry list would run too long and cause eye-strain for my fellow Goodreads members, so let me settle for the best 7 that are relatively short & sweet:
  
  p. 36: "....he'd been in public life practically since leaving law school, which was another way of saying he hadn't held a real job in his entire life." (in reference to Sen. Ted Kennedy, er, Ed Kealty) Haha, priceless!
  
  p. 39: "...though the entire country had just another lesson in how illusory 'safety' was, the illusion was real enough for trained professionals to feel more at ease within the substance of a lie." Wow.
  
  p. 277: "'Iraq is a nation which should be prosperous.'" Amen, President Jack Ryan!
  
  p. 420: "It wasn't well appreciated in the West that the Arabs were businessmen. Not ideologues, not fanatics, not lunatics, but businessmen. Theirs was a maritime trading culture that predated Islam, a fact remembered in America only in remakes of Sinbad the Sailor movies."
  
  p. 569: "'Gee, Mr. C, does that mean seduction is okay?' Ding asked.
  'Only if you pay for it, Domingo.'"
  Haha, S.A. Bailey, take note! ;-)
  
  --p. 792: "All too often international relations was simply one country f*cking another."
  
  --p. 882: "'Why should I trust you? You're reporters.'" Like my freshman year roommate in college (himself a journalism major) told me, "Never trust a journalist; nothing is ever 'off the record' with a journalist."
  
  RIP and God bless, Mr. Tom Clancy, you are sorely missed.
• 
  Don Stanton

  I first read it in 1996 when it came out....My reaction then was ho hum.
  I just finished it again. The man was 5 years before 9/11. Wow, did he call it or what?
  The things that he speaks about are exactly about what is happening in Europe and america today.
  I like very much his style of flipping form entity to entity. It truly gives the perspective of multiple plots running simultaneously. It could be confusing to those with a eighth grade reading ability.
  I read one cometary for a non american who probably doesn't read the news or understands what is truly happening in the world today or her country hasn't been attached at all since 1996. She ignorantly equates the them of the book to 'The Men at Work' "Macho Macho Man." If she really read this book she would have seen plenty of "Macho Women," from other countries.
  I heartedly recommend this book for those with at least an High School education, any background in history that has more than 10 years in depth.
  Definitely not for the PETA, Code Pink crowd.
  Any of you been to France lately? I have. What a warm a fuzzy feeling it gives me to see two French Policemen with full automatic weapons walking amongst the crowds of passengers at the Gran Tran Gar in Lion. Talk about Macho...
  
• 
  Brian Eshleman

  This was truly a great book, reminiscent for me of the television show The West Wing is that explored not only events but the adjustment of the president and his family to the immense responsibility he bears.
• 
  Sridhar Babu

  DEAR FRIENDS...!!!
  ** This is my blog about the Novel. This fictions is soooo huge containing 1359 pages, and I can't make it short. Kindly excuse me.
  
  ***This fiction deals about dangerous Ebola virus, used as bio weapon against the Americans. While I was reading these portions, my wife fell sick infected by typhoid virus, and recovered.
  
  **** While I was about to finish the novel, (( actually I was in 1196th page)) my vision in my left eye started dropping and started treatment for recovering my vision.
  
  
  AUTHOR...
  Tom Clancy .
  
  CHARACTERS....(( selective ))
  JACK RYAN, MAHMOUD HAJI DARYAEI, ARNIE VAN DAMM, ED KEALTY , ALI BADRAYN, PAT O' DAY, ANDREA PRICE, CATHY RYAN, ED FOLEY, JOHN CLARK, CHAVEZ, TONY BRETANO, Dr.MOHAMMED MOUDI , SISTER JEAN BAPTISTE and others....
  
  LOCATION...
  WASHINGTON DC....(USA) TEHRAN ((IRAN)), IRAQ, SAUDI ARABIA-KUWAITI BORDER...
  GENRE...
  THRILLER...
  
  PLOT...
  
  The most devastating terrorist attack // act, in the history of America, happens at Capitol Hill, Washington DC. The Japanese Airlines 747 crashed into the Capitol building killing the present President Druling, the Joint Chiefs, Judges of Supreme Court and nearly all members of Congress . This terror attack was carried out deliberately by one disturbed and demented individual, a Japanese pilot named captain Sato for avenging America for intervening in Japanese conflict.
  
  Only Jack Ryan, confirmed vice President mere minutes before, survives to take the reins of a shaken and leaderless country. He must now, rebuild a government, comfort a grieving nation and become a true leader.
  
  Jack Ryan, a Boston College graduate, former stock trader, left that business to go to history, his first love. He taught history at the Naval Academy. His family consisting of wife Dr.Cathy and three children were targeted by terrorist group, and this near death experience brought him to Government . He joined in CIA, from there he never looked back. Because of his ability and intelligence he claimed in bureaucratic ladder very quickly and ended in becoming Vice President of America under the Presidency of Mr.Durling. Now the New American President Jack is surrounded by enemies-both inside the White House and around the world-all of them plotting to destroy an untested President, and bring back already wounded country to its knees.
  
  Jack Ryan has the following tasks ,challenges,and crises before him. The tasks and challenges created by his colleagues at the White House to bring him down politically and crises plotted by international enemies to bring down not only Ryan, but the country of America to its knees.
  
  JOHN PATRICK RYAN is an AMATEUR...
  
  The White House lobbyists, the Senators , media, press,and the staffs of Oval Office have one common opinion about the New President. John Ryan is just an bureaucrat, sort of an assistant to Government. He is not leader of political party or elected by the public through elections. In general He appears strong but when comes to leadership and decision making, he is lacking, because of his inexperience. Previously the American Presidents were elected by citizens on the basis of their popularity, charisma and their ability to achieve things for their country. The Dimensions of the constitutional crises in which America is found itself was nor apparent for the past years. Though John Patrick Ryan is a man of ability, his talent to perform his Presidential duties has not yet established.The initial indications are less than promising. Jack Ryan does not belong to any political party, he is just an amateur . These Amateurs can perform, able to grow into their duties only in an orderly way.
  
  After the terror attack, Ryan has to assure the American citizens, that whoever had done that barbaric act should be punished and brought to justice. For this Ryan has to give periodical reports to the public with proper facts and evidences of the investigations. He has to seek the cooperation of the Japanese Prime Minister and police to provide full details about the pilot by verifying identities using DNA testing. Ryan has to form a combined task force consisting of FBI, the Secret Service, Department of Justice and other federal agencies to take lead in investigations surrounding the tragic deaths.
  
  Ryan's another major task was to fill the cabinet appointments with people who will come to Washington at great personal sacrifice to do an important job for their country. Ryan fills these posts with outsiders who are not politicians, but people with pure professional interest. For treasury Department, he selects George Winston, who is the owner of a stock firm. For defense he picks Tony Bretano, a vociferous outsider for the last ten years, who promises the President that he will clean out Pentagon with his new schemes. For foreign affairs, he appoints Jack Alder, who started his carrier as a junior official. Ryan's views on abortion,and New Tax Policies causes huge criticism as well as appreciation among the media and public. Selecting pure conservatives as Supreme Court judges with an inexperienced team, also causes huge controversies among the Law firms of America.
  
  Former Vice President Ed Kealty, with an intention to bring down Ryan from the office, quotes a constitutional point that in the event of Vice President resigning from the post, after his resignation letter presented and accepted by the Secretary of State, only then a new vice president can be appointed. Ed Keatly says he never resigned from the post, his resignation letter not even drafted by him. Without his resignation as the Vice President, how come Ryan can be apoointed as the President??
  
  THE INTERNATIONAL CRISES...
  
  UNITED ISLAMIC REPUBLIC...((UIR))
  
  MAHMOUD HAJI DARYAEI, a religious cleric from Iran, has an important mission to complete during his life time. He makes a bid for superpower status. In uniting Iraq with Iran, they will get enormous oil wealth, that would give them contiguous borders with Kuwait and Saudi Kingdom. The conquest of these nations will double their wealth, combined Iran and Iraq will outnumber the combined populations of other states. By absorbing Azerbaijan, Usbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, there will be significant resource and base for UNITED ISLAMIC REPUBLIC, defending against this superpower will be very difficult in future.
  
  For achieving this ultimate goal Daryaei, assisted by his commander ALI BADRAYN, assassinates Iraqi leader with his own security personal, and starts sending the Iraqi army generals to Sudan for unification of Iran and Iraq. Daryaei wants to punish America from intervening and stopping the United Islamic Republic by the way of crippling the country through Bio-war. He also starts sending Army to the Saudi-Quwaiti border for invading neighbours.
  
  At an isolated place near Tehran, a germ factory governed by an Iranian doctor mentioned as "Director" and supervised by MOHAMMED MOUDI,former WHO doctor is operating secretly. Its main purpose is to spread dangerous "EBOLA" virus at various gateway cities and towns of America and to cripple the nation psychologically . The Ebola virus is very dangerous and can spread through aerosol. If a person is infected with Ebola bug, his chance of survival is 80% nil. Mohammed Moudi kidnaps SISTER JEAN BAPTISTE, who got infected with Ebola Virus while treating a patient at an isolated village in Africa. Moudi assures Sister Jean that by treating her with advanced medical facilities in Paris She can be easily cured. Dr.Moudi instead of airlifting Sister Jean to Paris, brings her to the germ factory near Tehran by diverting the flight schedule .
  
  After Sister Jean's pathetic death, her Ebola infected blood is drawn and tested with two sets of criminals facing death penalty at Tehran. Watching their terrible death, the Ebola infected blood is collected in flasks and distributed to 20 travelers from Iran under the supervision of Badrayn.
  
  These "travelers" reach their destination and place the spray type flask at various important Cities of America such as, Orlando,Chicago,Housten,Phoenix, and San Francisco where vehicle exhibition, Trade centers,sports exhibition and horse shows were going on. All these travelers after completing their mission returns to Iran and reports about their successful. mission.
  
  Slowly and Steadily the plague starts spreading and with in few days many Ebola infected cases with high fever and vomit were reported from hospitals of America. For President Jack Ryan and his team there was no evidence of how the Ebola virus originated from Africa got into America. An attack was made upon civilians using a Bio-weapon of mass destruction and it is President Ryan's major task to save America from panic and plague.
  
  At Giant Steps kinder garden school where President Ryan"s last daughter Katie was studing, a major attempt to kidnap Katie by unknown persons lead by an Iranian mentioned as "Movie Star" was successfully put down by Secret Service guards resulting in heavy casual from both groups.
  
  In White House, under the directions of Daryaei, an Iranian assassin named Jeff Raman is posing as a loyal Secret Service guard, is waiting for the final order from Iran to murder President Ryan at proper time.
  
  THE PRESIDENT...THE PERFORMER ...!!!
  
  President Jack Ryan, in a desperate attempt to save America from Ebola virus and plague, issues some important Executive Order and appeals American citizens to obey it without any second thoughts.
  He orders to close all schools, colleges, business houses ((except for those providing essential services )) all places of public assembly, theaters, restaurants, bars until further notice.
  
  He orders to suspend all interstate travels, including commercial air travel, interstate trains and buses, until further notice. He activates the National Guard in all fifty states, places it under federal control to maintain public order.
  
  Guided by germ experts in Washington and laboratory in Atlanta, Ryan learns that the Ebola virus will be dangerous while infected primarily and will slowly lose its power to the secondary contacted people,,by means of hugs,kisses and by love making. With effective planning and treatment, Ryan saves America from plague and disaster. Though there are more than 5000 deaths, the country is saved from millions of deaths and sufferings. Ryan's Executive order to close everything, though criticized as unconstitutional was appreciated by the media and public as an intelligent and wise act , taken at the time of panic n confusion.
  
  Ryan learns that Ebola virus is originated from an isolated village of Africa and desperately wants to find out the barbarian who used this germ as a weapon of destruction against Americans. He sends his top secret service Agents John and Chavez to find out the facts. The CIA Agents after visiting Congo and Sudan, and by conducting full fledged investigations discovers about the sudden airlifting of Sister Jean to illegal germ factory at Tehran. They also discovers that green monkeys have been transported to Tehran for feeding the Ebola Virus.
  
  As per the reports submitted by John and Chavez, the President Ryan discovers that Mahmoud Haji Daryaei is behind this bio-weapon war and the failed attempt to kidnap his daughter. President Ryan takes a pledge, to destroy Daryaei and his Army to stop him from forming UIR.
  
  American forces working together with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait destroys six divisions of UIR Army which raged through all day and night. As per the Orders of President Ryan, by dispatching the 10th and 11th American cavalry regiments , National Guard, a massive battle was fought and the final UIR units attempts to flee the battle field were cut off and after a brief engagement begins to surrender to allied forces. The American forces emerges victories by killing ten thousand soldiers of UIR. Haji Daryaei vanishes from Iran, since his dreams about UIR, were shattered.
  
  President Ryan, orders to neutralize the germ factory at Tehran, by sending team of technical experts, accompanied by journalists for independent verification of facts. Ryan also warns UIR, if these are not carried out , the germ factory site will be destroyed with a low yield nuclear bomb with in twelve hours of the issue of the order.
  
  Since the Iraqi leader was assassinated by his own security personal, President Ryan as per the instructions of Secret Service Chief Andrea Price, and FBI director Ed Murray, orders to dig the backgrounds of all his Secret Service Personals. While checking Jeff Raman, they find secret list of phone calls made to a drug dealer, who is dead already, and his connections to Iran and Daryaei. The traitor is arrested and placed in a separate cell for further interrogations.
  
  ARNIE VAN DAMM, the Secretary for the State affairs helps to boost the image of President with his able guidance and advice. As per his advice President Ryan, gives frequent media and press interviews with latest updates according to the situations. President's new Cabinet appointees perform well and live up to his exceptions. Ryan's Secretary for Treasury George Winston's new Tax code, enabling people from all walks of life, to pay uniform tax to the government is well appreciated. Defense Secretary Tony Bertano's new budget proposal,enabling to fire over staffed departments, and to allot more funds for purchasing defense artillery is appreciated and accepted by Congress. President Ryan's Executive Orders at the time of outbreak of Plague and Gulf War was highly appreciated both Nationally and Inter-nationally and President Jack Ryan slowly and steadily becomes the darling of the Americans....!!!
  
  MY COMMENT...
  
  This is fiction is so huge with 1300+ pages, making the reader astonish about the time needed to finish it. But, once started, the pages starts flying. The portions about the Ebola virus, Haji Daryaei 's barbaric idea of using the virus as a weapon of mass destruction. The cruel measures carried out at Tehran by Mohammed Moudi and "the director" for testing the Virus. President Ryan's brilliant schemes in stopping the Virus from serious outbreak, and his appeals made to the Americans is so gripping and interesting.
  
  The only thumbs down thing is, lots of acronyms are used by the author throughout the novel. ..such as CDC ((Centers for disease control)) ,NBC, HMMWV (( High Mobility Multi purpose wheeled vehicle)),SNIE ((Special National Intelligence Estimate)), UIR ((United Arabic Republic))
  ABA ((American Bar Association )) nick names POTUS for President, FLOTUS for his wife Caroline Ryan.. makes the reader confusing and frustrating...
  
  
  EXECUTIVE ORDERS.....WELL DRAFTED ..!!!
• 
  Nolan

  In some ways, I hesitate to write about this book because it’s been out so long that everyone who will read this kind of thing already has.
  
  Master spook Jack Ryan has been sworn into the presidency minutes after a massive terrorist-sponsored explosion destroys the U.S. capitol building, killing nearly all of the members of Congress and the president. Ryan had been named vice president minutes earlier when a political scandal forced the resignation of the former vice president.
  
  This is an edge-of-the-chair tapestry—not merely a story, but a veritable tapestry of plots and subplots—all dealing with how Ryan restores the government against huge odds while international powers seek to destroy the nation from without.
  
  This is a book that includes numerous subplots, and you jump from one to another instantly and without warning. If you let your mind wander during this one, you will miss crucial bits of information on which hangs the rest of the book. It will require your full concentration, and you’ll have no problem proffering that, so well written is this book.
  
  Clancy crafts this so as not to offend his readers too much; they won’t agree with every decision Jack Ryan makes or every policy to which he ascribes, but it’s written such that regardless of which side of the aisle you’re comfortable being on, you’ll cheer for the beleaguered president and those who want him to succeed.
  
  There are horrifying graphic scenes in the book. You’ll learn with chilling tension how easy it is for a terrorist to introduce deadly viruses into the nation. The horrors of Ebola are described graphically here. I read this while battling a respiratory thing, and it only served to heighten my sense of terror at the ease by which Ebola was introduced into the nation and the description of the disease’s impact on various organs.
  
  These plotlines are intricately woven. The military scenes here are classic Clancy. The descriptions are riveting and concise, and you can easily picture the battles in your mind.
  
  As I wrote above, most of you who like this kind of fiction will have long, long ago read this. I feel sorry for people who perfunctorily write off Clancy’s books. These are studies in intricacy, character development, and thought-provoking scenarios that will keep you up with your mind churning. I have to admit that I’ve been a bit jumpy at work the last couple of days. Any time someone sneezed or coughed, I found myself instantly asking, only partly in jest, whether this was the beginning of the new plague that is really only an airplane ride away from any of us.
  
  If you’ve always intended to read this one-time bestseller turned military fiction classic, perhaps now is as good a time as any to do it. Clancy drops the F-bomb here several times, and the name of God is taken in vain rather frequently, as you might expect in a book whose characters are stressed-out military types. But it will remain with me for a long time to come.
  
  
• 
  Corey

  Holy shit! Not only was this the longest book I've read by Tom Clancy, but the longest book I've read, period! But I quote Yoda from the Star Wars Saga, (Size matters not. judge me by my size, do you?).
  
  Executive Order picks up right where Debt of Honor left off, a jet deliberately crashes into the US Capitol, killing the US President, and thousands of other people. Now Jack Ryan, who was elected Vice President right before the attack and now he's sworn in as the next President of the United States. Now Ryan has to address the Nation and rebuild the Senate and everything else that was long, whilst having to deal with terrorism in Saudi Arabia, and also a deadly Ebola Virus outbreak.
  
  The plot involving the Ebola Outbreak was interesting and at the same time disturbing, I still have to read the non-fiction book The Hot Zone. Towards the end I found myself skipping pages through like the tank battle between the Americans and the terrorists because they kept going back and fourth and I just thought it was more lengthy than it had to be, but other than that, the book was just non-stop thrills.
  
  Right up there with The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Without Remorse. Classic Tom Clancy! PS, those of you who like Tom Clancy and haven't yet read Debt of Honor yet, I highly recommend reading that one first before picking up Executive Orders.
  
  
  
• 
  Ed

  I think this is one of Clancy's top 5 novels - right up there along with "Hunt for Red October," "Wihthout Remorse," and "Cardinal of the Kremlin." It discribes the first few months of Jack Ryan's presidency, and the challenges he must face as other nations as well as those around him test the new chief executive. These include: trying to rebuild the government after the former President and the entire legislative branch and supreme court are wiped out in the suicide attack which destroyed the capitol; the legal challenge from the recently-resigned Vice President who has decided that he didn't really resign; a kidnap attempt on his toddler daughter, and a terrorist attack using a weapon of mass destruction instigated by a middle-eastern dictator, to name only a few. As if these aren't enough problems, it begins to appear that a full-scale war is brewing which will affect the largest oil-producing region in the world.
  This story gives the reader the most comprehensive insight into the character of Jack Ryan, delving into his conscience, his fears, and his relationships with those around him. It is the longest and most complex of Clancy's books to date, but also, without doubt, one of his most engrossing.
• 
  C

  As I plowed my way through this during the past two months, west Africa experienced an explosion in Ebola Virus Disease, and ISIS started beheading Americans and Brits and committing genocide over in Mesopotamia. And, of course, there's the whole airplane-as-bomb prescience, for this book was written before 9/11.
  Clancy was brilliant at laying out how possibilities can become realities in the area of foreign conflicts, and his books are very interesting except when I don't understand the vocabulary (sorry, I don't even know what AWAC stands for...I think it's a plane, though...). He also liked to give us satisfying comeuppances for the villains; sadly, such endings are not often realistic.
  It would sure be wonderful if the current real-life Ebola epidemic would behave like Clancy's fictional outbreak. God speed an effective vaccine!
  Oh, and did anyone else think of "Yes, Minister", the British comedy, while reading some of the interaction between Arnie Van Damm and Jack Ryan? :)
• 
  Sindre

  Picking up where "Debt of Honor" left off, this was a very enjoyable read. The story itself, a highly militant islamic group trying to create a Middle Eastern superpowe, is thrilling enough, but the real piece de restistance are the fantastic subplots, all related to the main story. This includes a terrorist attack towards president Ryan's family, a biological terrorist attack with weaponized Ebola, a sleeper agent embedded within the Secret Service and a disgraced former vice president's attempt at regaining power.
  
  The very best of the Ryanverse books I've read so far!
• 
  Harv Griffin

  Jack Ryan as POTUS. I have to skip through huge chunks of this, but I really like the First Family stuff. Have re-read many times.
• 
  Kelly

  My only attempt at a Tom Clancy novel. I was in fifth grade, and decided to read it to impress people. Even as a ten year old, I lost patience with Tom Clancy. I found it in a box a few years later and tried to read it again. Ten year old self: You were not wrong. Nooo, thank you.
  
  The best thing about Tom Clancy is his ongoing feud with Christopher Buckley. Which Christopher Buckley seems to win, every single time. Look up their letter writing spats online sometime. It's amazing.
• 
  Luke Walker

  Whew, this book was long! I have loved Tom Clancy’s books for a long time. I have been intimidated by this book for years due to its length. I finally committed to read it and I’m glad I did. It was a great story with many moving parts, which is typical Clancy. The Jack Ryan character is one of my favorites. This book could have been much shorter. There was slot of extra stuff that could have been omitted, but overall the story was very good and I’m glad I read it!
• 
  Δx Δp ≥ ½ ħ

  Sebenarnya saya tidak terlalu suka dengan novel bertipe dunia intelejen/militer yang tokoh agennya jadi seorang superhero. Bukan kenapa-kenapa, pas liat film-film Holywood semacam James Bond ato Bourne ato Rambo, suka gondok liatnya. Kan si tokoh agennya tidak memiliki kekutan super, tapi ajaibnya, dia selalu menang di akhir cerita tak peduli sebanyak apa musuhnya. Meski si jagoan ditembak bertubi-tubi, eh, gak bocel-bocel. Tapi sepenjahat, kena tembak kaki ajah langsung tewas. Bahkan ada penjahat yang kena pukul di kaki langsung koit. Sedangkan si agen tadi, paling banter kena tembak di bahu dan di akhir cerita dia akan selamat dan kita harus berterimakasih padanya. Terimakasih Jagoan, karena jasamu, dunia bisa kembali tersenyum
  
  Kedua, film tersebut selalu dimuati pesan ala Holywood dan berbau propaganda Amerika. Hanya Amerika yang benar. Negara lain salah dan harus tunduk pada aturannya. Suka mendikretkan negara lain dengan visualisasi negara yang "dicap teroris" sebagai negara terbelakang dengan penduduk barbar dan sangar. Kadang digambarkan juga sebagai tempat yang penuh makhluk tolol.
  
  Makanya, saya (yang terhipnotis film Holywood) males banget baca novel yang isinya tentang dunia intelejen dan ada tokoh agennya --kecuali trilogi si Bourne seh :D-- Yah, meski kadang novel dan film bisa jauh banget bedanya. Tak terkecuali novel Clancy juga. Tapi, ada dua alasan saya membeli+membaca novel ini, 1. Pengarang novel ini adalah Tom Clancy, sapa yang belum mendengar dia? dia adalah legenda penulis cerita thriller-intelejen-militer (ada istilah yang lebih tepat gak sih?) 2. well, saia adalah maniak buku diskonan. ketika melihat buku setebel bantal (lebih tebal malah), lebih dari 1000 halaman, dengan pengarang beken, bukan buku 2nd, masih disampul, cuma seharga 20ribu emas, sapa yang tak ngiler?
  
  Ok, buku ini, selain tebal juga unik. Soalnya, pernahkan Anda membayangkan bahwa secemerlang apapun tokoh agen spionase, kedudukan tertinggi agen jagoan tersebut hanyalah... agen doang. Tapi Clancy, melakukan terobosan baru di novel ini, si mantan agen, tak tanggung-tanggung, menjadi presidan AS.
  
  Kesan pertama baca novel ini adalah membosankan. Bayangkan, dari jumlah halaman 1200-an, 200 halaman awal habis digunakan sebagai 'prolog' cerita. Hanya untuk memperkenalkan kejadian apa yang sedang berlangsung. Yang kedua, ini sangat mengganggu saya, bahwa tiap bab berisi berbagai fragmen sub bab lainnya. dalam satu bab ada banyak cerita. bahkan saya menghitung, ada satu bab yang berisi lebih dari 20 cerita lain. Ok, buat cerita thriller, pembagian sub bab tadi bagus karena akan menimbulkan pertanyaan, misteri, dan ketegangan. Tapi 20 sub bab? O_o
  Kenapa dia tidak menggabungkan beberapa sub bab itu menjadi satu bab tersendiri. Toh itu tidak akan mengganggu jalan cerita. Lagi pula plot cerita menjadi tidak loncat-loncat. trus, tokoh cerita dalam novel ini teramat banyak. beberapa tokoh yang tidak penting pun disebutkan namanya. padahal tokoh tersebut cuma nongol sekilas.
  
  Dan, di atas semuanya, akhir cerita mudah ditebak. Padahal ini adalah novel tipe gaban yang tebelnya minta ampun. sejak halaman 230-an saya sudah tau siapa si penjahat sesungguhnya (dan tebakannya untungnya tepat), dan apa motifnya. Jadi kurang terasa gereget thriller-nya.
  
  Well, mungkin ada yang bertanya, meski ada keluhan di atas, mengapa saya memberi bintang 4? disinilah nama besar berpengaruh besar. Clancy, sang juru dongeng, begitu lihainya mempertahankan alur crita sehingga meski saya sudah menebak alur cerita tapi cerita ini tidak membuat saya bosan. Padahal untuk novel tipis saja, jika ceritanya sudah ketebak, saya suka tidak mengacuhkannya. Tapi entah mengapa, di tangan Clancy, meski novelnya super duper tebel, cerita tadi tetap terasa asik dan menawan. Lagipula saat membaca novel ini pengetahuan saya tentang dunia spionase, militer, sistem politik AS, dan kinerja media barat jadi bertambah.
  
  Sinopsis crita? whuaa, tadinya saya tidak mau memberi bocoran cerita, soalnya kalo dikasih bocoran, yah itu tadi, efek tebal buku bakal mengalahkan minat baca (yang sudah diketahui akhir ceritanya). Yah, tapi kasih dikit bocoran lah, cerita dimulai saat pesawat menabrakan diri ke gedung Capitol Hill yang sekaligus menewaskan presiden dan para mentrinya. maka, si mantan agen spionase tadi yang bernama Jack Patrick Ryan diangkat jadi presiden. Di film diperankan oleh Ben Affleck yang... kurang cocok mewakili sosok Ryan T.T
  
  Oya, ni buku sekuel. detail mengenai penabrakan pesawat ke Capitol Hill dapat dibaca di buku prekuelnya yang berjudul "Debt of Honor". Buku sekuelnya ajah setebal gaban. apalagi prekuelnya... Yah, Presiden Ryan harus mengalami tekanan baik media maupun musuh negara asing (AS sepertinya negeri yang paling banyak dimusuhi di seluruh dunia x_x).
  
  Sampai saat ini baru dua karya Clancy yang saya baca, "The Hunt for Red October" dan buku ini. Jadi saya kurang familiar dengan tokoh agen Patrick Ryan (kecuali tambahan filmnya, tapi kan film ma novel beda banget). Jadi cukup kaget juga jika ada agen yang jadi presiden :-)
  
  Selain itu, ada beberapa 'keanehan', 'keganjilan', 'kemusykilan' atau apapun Anda ingin menyebutnya tentang isi cerita, antara lain :
  1. Cerita ini menceritakan tentang Amerika yang babak belur setelah presiden dan mentri mereka tewas saat sebuah pesawat jatuh ke gedung Capitol Hill. Padahal buku ini terbit tahun 1996. Tepat empat tahun kemudian, 11/9/01, dengan cara berbeda, dua pesawat menabrakan diri ke gedung WTC dan Pentagon. Memang presiden tidak sampai tewas. Tapi AS, babak belur dibuatnya. Sejarah pun berubah secara radikal.
  
  Tapi, ajaibnya, dalam novel ini, meski AS 'terguncang' tapi mereka menghadapinya dengan 'tenang'. Si pelaku yang menabrakan pesawat berkebangsaan Jepang. Tapi AS sama sekali tidak melakukan apapun terhadap Jepang. Bayangkan, saat tragedi WTC. Hanya selang beberapa hari, Bush, langsung berpidato yang legendaris dan mengubah wajah dunia, Bush memberikan pilihan, bersama AS, atau negara Anda dicap teroris. Efeknya? Afghanistan, yang diduga tempat persembunyian Osama bin Laden tersangka dalang pemboman WTC, nyaris luluh lantah digempur habis-habisan. pdahal di novel, penjahatnya sudah pasti orang Jepang, tapi nama Jepang bahkan tidak disebut sama sekali di novel kecuali di halaman-halaman awal.
  
  Di novel ini juga ada negara yang menyerang AS dengan senjata biologis (ups, hampir spoiler, soalnya, inti ceritanya di sini :p), dan AS baru bertindak itu pun lebih karena alasan, negara tsb menyerang negara sekutu AS, bukan karena kepemilikan senjata biologis (padahal senjata beupa virus itu sudah menewaskan ribuan orang AS). Bandingkan dengan IRAK! Diduga memiliki senjata pemusnah massal (padahal tak pernah terbukti, [pendapat seorang pembaca buku konspirasi :D]), Irak diserang dengan sedemikian brutalnya sehingga negara itu nyaris lenyap dari peta!
  
  Novel-film-realita, benar-benar dunia yang berbeda
  
  2. begitu banyak tokoh penjahat di novel ini. tapi, entah mengapa, karena mungkin terlalu banyak, tokoh tersebut hanya diceritakan sekilas. bahkan akhir ceritanya, sama sekali tidak diceritakan 'akhir naas' sebagaimana tokoh penjahat novel lain.
  
  3. AS diceritakan diguncang dengan kematian presiden, instabilitas pemerintahan, wabah virus yang mengharuskan karantina nasional, serangan negara lain, tapi ajaibnya, AS tetap gagah. tidak diceritakan kehancuran ekonomi dan sebagainya. padahal kenyataannya, seperti kita lihat akhir-akhir ini, tak perlu teroris, perekonomian AS ambruk dengan sendirinya. krisis finansial membuat perekonomian AS begitu terpuruk hingga perusahaan2 yang jadi kebanggan nasional dan dikenal sebagai perusahaan sukses satu demi satu jatuh pailit. Di novel ini, cerita seperti ini tak akan dijumpai.
  
  Yah, sepeti banyak novel heroik lainnya, novel ini jelas bermuatan pesan "Amerika yang hebat, bijak, dan perkasa". Sekilas ini menggelikan. Soalnya ini benar-benar American Dreams dalam artian benar-benar Amerika Impian. Andai AS yang ada di dunia nyata adalah AS seperti di novel ini T.T
  
  Tampaknya pesan (baca : propaganda) AS yang hebat telah sedimikian gencarnya hingga mulai dari film, musik, hingga novel pun tak lepas darinya. termasuk novel ini.
  
  Well, gimana pun kita harus objektif. Novel tetaplah novel dan harus dilihat sebagai novel (hanya cerita fiksi).terlepas dari itu semua seperti yang diuraikan di atas, novel "Excecutive Order" memanglah novel hebat. Sensasinya sama seperti saat membaca novel tebal "Musashi" dan "Taiko"
  
  Yah, begitulah, dan sekali lagi kita harus berkata, Terimakasih Jagoan, karena jasamu, dunia bisa kembali tersenyum
• 
  Jay Wright

  The concept is mostly fantasy. What if we had a chance to remake the US from scratch? Here Jack Ryan gets to do it as he becomes President without a Supreme Court or a Congress. The action is good. The actions are interesting. The battles realistic and frankly just a good action fantasy. Definitely, Clancy is right of center and you get your fill of it here.
• 
  Burnsey

  Action packed thriller full of the usual details.
• 
  Sandy Schmidt

  Considering the state of the world today, this book is not a comforting winter read. As the Goodreads summary indicates, the world is in a turmoil and the plots include bad actors in Iraq, Iran, China, Africa, India, Japan, Taiwan, ... all who hate the United States in general, Jack Ryan in particular. And don't forget the power-hungry, greedy individuals plotting internally as well - including former VP Kealty who had been forced to resign.
• 
  Mark

  This is the book that finished my interest in reading Tom Clancy novels. It's a real shame, too, as I thought Clancy's previous one, Debt of Honor, had an inventive set-up (necessary, as the Cold War ended too soon for the man) and a plot that kept things humming along entertainingly. Yet the end of that novel saw a contrived situation that set up the stage for this one, with Clancy's main protagonist/avatar now President of the United States. This gave Clancy an opportunity to sound off on American politics, a field which he demonstrates far less command than that of the military hardware that were a distinguishing hallmark of his previous novels. Moreover, Ryan is now completely detached from the action, which means large stretches of the novel are consumed with Clancy's attempts to write a political thriller, an area where he demonstrates far less skill than he did as an action novelist. By the end of it, I was through with Clancy, wishing only that I had stopped reading his books at the previous novel so I could have maintained a better opinion of the author than I have now.
• 
  Peter

  It was an effort to get past the last one, Debt of Honor, but I was hooked by the cliffhanger from the end of Debt of Honor.
  There did not seem to be an editor involved in writing this book. There were far to many instances of poor word choices, including several instances of just plain incorrect words; one specific example referencing an Apache helicopter, and referencing the same pilot in an airplane later in the paragraph.
  Can characters be less than one dimensional? Would that be what half-baked ideas are? To paraphrase (actual steal and change) from Spaceballs, "now you see that good will always triumph because evil is dumb." The succession obstacle that Ryan faces could have been so much better and created a real conflict, as opposed to the farcical disembarkation from a clown car that it was, as written.
  
  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. This will be the last Tom Clancy book that I read.