Summary and Reviews of The Teeth of The Tiger by Tom Clancy

The Teeth of The Tiger by Tom Clancy

The Teeth of The Tiger

by Tom Clancy
  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Readers' Rating (6):
  • First Published:
  • Aug 1, 2003, 431 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Aug 2004, 496 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

In the Brave New World of terrorism—the old rules no longer apply. The only truly effective government organizations are those that are quick and agile, free of oversight and restrictions...and outside the system.

A man named Mohammed sits in a café in Vienna, about to propose a deal to a Colombian. Mohammed has a strong network of agents and sympathizers throughout Europe and the Middle East, and the Colombian has an equally strong drug network throughout America. What if they were to form an alliance, to combine all their assets and connections? The potential for profits would be enormous—and the potential for destruction unimaginable.

In the Brave New World of terrorism—where anybody with a spare AK-47, a knowledge of kitchen chemistry, or simply the will to die can become a player—the old rules no longer apply. No matter what new governmental organizations come into being, the only truly effective ones are those that are quick and agile, free of oversight and restrictions...and outside the system.

Way outside the system.

In a nondescript office building in suburban Maryland, the firm Hendley Associates does a profitable business in stocks, bonds, and international currencies, but its true mission is quite different: to identify and locate terrorist threats, and then deal with them, in whatever manner necessary. Established with the knowledge of President John Patrick Ryan, "the Campus" is always on the lookout for promising new talent, its recruiters scattered throughout the armed forces and government agencies—and three men are about to cross its radar.

The first is Dominic Caruso, a rookie FBI agent, barely a year out of Quantico, whose decisive actions resolve a particularly brutal kidnap/murder case. The second is Caruso's brother, Brian, a Marine captain just back from his first combat action in Afghanistan, and already a man to watch. And the third is their cousin...a young man named Jack Ryan, Jr.

Jack was raised on intrigue. As his father moved through the ranks of the CIA and then into the White House, Jack received a life course in the world and the way it operates from agents, statesmen, analysts, Secret Service men, and black ops specialists such as John Clark and Ding Chavez. He wants to put it all to work now—but when he knocks on the front door of "the Campus," he finds that nothing has prepared him for what he is about to encounter. For it is indeed a different world out there, and in here...and it is about to become far more dangerous.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

The Boston Herald - David Exum
A chilling look at a frighteningly plausible scenario, The Teeth of the Tiger surprises and entertains as only Tom Clancy can... It's no secret that Clancy owns the techno-thriller genre. Long before countless writers started pouring out fictitious tales of modern terrorism, Clancy was paving the way with the remarkable Patriot Games in 1986. Portions of The Teeth of the Tiger reflect a chilling version of reality and place it comfortably along-side any of Clancy's earlier work.

The San Antonio Express-News - Harry Thomas
Despite last year's lackluster response to Red Rabbit, Clancy is still the top draw in a field filled with contemporaries. The Teeth of the Tiger is his measured response to the events of 9-11 and an obvious attempt to reinvent the franchise he has created. It's an acceptable thriller, with the promise of more to come.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Harry Levins
On the plus side, this book is mercifully briefer than its chronological predecessor in the Jack Ryan series... and the reader is spared the Limbaugh-like monologues that made such a drag of The Bear and the Dragon...On the minus side Other than a synchronized terrorist assault on shopping centers in four midsize American communities, not much happens in The Teeth of the Tiger. Oh, there's a lot of tradecraft as the Caruso brothers take out terrorists across Europe, but the action is low-key and localized.

The Washington Post - Patrick Anderson
Clancy's strength has always been his plots, and this is a good and timely one, but it is soon overwhelmed by his usual weaknesses, which include inane dialogue, gossamer characterizations, endless repetition and bumper-sticker politics.

Publishers Weekly
This isn't Clancy's strongest novel, but it's a big improvement over Red Rabbit. Geopolitical analysis and operational details overwhelm the few action sequences, perhaps to the chagrin of many Clancy fans, but the author knows this stuff like no one else and delivers it all in his inimitable clipped manner.

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Read-Alikes

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