''Chain of Command'' (stylized as ''Tom Clancy Chain of Command'', ''Tom Clancy: Chain of Command'', or ''Tom Clancy's Chain of Command'' in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) is a techno-thriller novel, written by

Marc Cameron Marc Cameron (born 1961) is an American novelist. He is best known for the Jack Ryan series, which is part of the Tom Clancy universe, as well as the Jericho Quinn series of action adventure novels. Early life Cameron was born and raised in Tex ...

and published on November 16, 2021. It is his fifth book in the Jack Ryan series, which is part of the

Ryanverse The Ryanverse refers to the fictional universe created by author Tom Clancy centering on the character Jack Ryan (character), Jack Ryan. It also features other characters such as John Clark (Ryanverse character), John Clark and Domingo "Ding" Cha ...

featuring characters created by

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

. In the novel, President Ryan deals with an Indian billionaire who plots to intimidate him into repealing a pharmaceutical bill. The book debuted at number seven on

the New York Times bestseller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

Plot summary

U.S. President Jack Ryan deals with a multitude of crises as he prepares a bill regulating the production of

pharmaceutical drugs Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

, from

ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware that Encryption, encrypts the victim's personal data until a ransom is paid. Difficult-to-trace Digital currency, digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, cryptocurrencies are com ...

cyberattack A cyberattack (or cyber attack) occurs when there is an unauthorized action against computer infrastructure that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of its content. The rising dependence on increasingly complex and inte ...

s across the country to

deepfake ''Deepfakes'' (a portmanteau of and ) are images, videos, or audio that have been edited or generated using artificial intelligence, AI-based tools or AV editing software. They may depict real or fictional people and are considered a form of ...

videos of him circulating on the Internet. These are orchestrated by Indian billionaire Harjit Malhotra, who plots to intimidate President Ryan into repealing the bill as he is about to sell his own pharmaceutical company to German businessman Reinhardt Roth. Meanwhile, vice president Anthony Hargrave dies during a state visit to Japan; he is later succeeded by secretary of homeland security Mark Dehart. Malhotra also tasks a shadow group of European mercenaries named Camarilla with kidnapping First Lady Dr. Cathy Ryan during a medical conference at the

San Antonio River Walk The San Antonio River Walk is a city park and special-case pedestrian street in San Antonio, Texas, one level down from the automobile street. The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and sh ...

. A team led by former British SAS operative Leo Debs practices the abduction at a ranch in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

, attracting the attention of self-proclaimed

militiaman A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary Military organization, force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of Regular army, regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of nee ...

Royce Vetter. Debs tries to silence Vetter, killing his estranged wife and son before thwarting his attempt to rob an armored car. Vetter flees into a nearby mall, shooting and taking hostages before he is shot dead by police officer Steven “Chilly” Edwards. Campus operatives Jack Ryan Jr., Bartosz “Midas” Jankowski, and Adara Sherman travel to Japan to investigate a lead regarding the cyberattacks, where they rescue two hackers from hitmen sent to kill them. They go to Japanese intelligence officer Yukiko Monzaki, who identifies one of the hitmen as an ex- Japanese Special Forces operator who had traveled to India many times. Meanwhile, husband-and-wife doctors Monte and Naomi Harper are kidnapped near the

Wakhan Corridor The Wakhan Corridor (; ) is a narrow strip of territory in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This corridor stretches eastward, connecting Afghanistan to Xinjiang, China. It also separates the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajiki ...

by a rogue Chinese

PLA Pla may refer to: People * Cecilio Plá (1860–1934), Spanish painter * Conrad Pla (born 1966), Canadian kickboxer and actor * Jim Pla (born 1992), French racing driver * Joan Baptista Pla (ca. 1720–1773), Spanish composer and oboist * Josefina ...

officer ordered by Malhotra due to their association with Cathy. Debs and his team push forward with their abduction of the First Lady, killing

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

personnel in the process. Outraged, President Ryan decides to temporarily step down. His political rival, Senator Michelle Chadwick, later survives an assassination attempt by a Camarilla operative. Campus director of operations John Clark orders Jack Jr. back to the White House to accompany his father, while Campus operative Dominic “Dom” Caruso uses his

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

credentials to assist in the search for the First Lady in Texas, accompanied by Domingo “Ding” Chavez. In the Wakhan Corridor, Monte Harper manages to activate an emergency transponder on his watch, leading to a rescue operation from a

U.S. Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, is a branch of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). The core missionset of Special Forces ...

unit based in nearby

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Meanwhile, Midas and Adara arrive in India to apprehend Malhotra, who had just signed the deal for his company’s sale. His secretary, revealed to be a spy working for Roth, fatally shoots her boss, but not before Malhotra reveals Cathy’s location to the Campus operatives. Vetter’s estranged daughter Rene Tatum investigates her father’s death, leading her to Debs’s hideout, where she contacts Edwards before she is captured. The police officer calls in the local

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

team as he also recognizes Cathy. He shoots some of the Camarilla operators dead with a

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...

, rescuing Rene and the First Lady. President Ryan returns to his position. Roth is assassinated by Camarilla operatives, led by the mysterious Spaniard Gil. Chilly is recruited by Clark and Chavez into the Campus.

Characters

United States government

* Jack Ryan: President of the United States *Anthony Hargrave: Vice president of the United States *Dr. Caroline “Cathy” Ryan: First Lady of the United States *Arnold “Arnie” van Damm: White House chief of staff *Mary Pat Foley: Director of national intelligence *Mark Dehart: Secretary of Homeland Security *Dan Murray: United States attorney general *Jay Canfield: Director of the Central Intelligence Agency *Brian Wilson: Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation *Tom Vogel: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff *Scott Adler: Secretary of state *Robert Burgess: Secretary of defense *Jason Bailey: Admiral of the United States Navy, chief White House medical officer *Robbie Forestall: Commander of the United States Navy, adviser to President Ryan *Carter Boone: Commander of the United States Navy, vice president’s physician, White House medical office *Marci Troxell: Commander of the United States Navy, First Lady’s physician, White House medical office

United States Secret Service

*Lawrence Howe: Director *Gary Montgomery: Special agent in charge, presidential detail *Maureen “Mo” Richardson: Special agent in charge, FLOTUS detail *Karen Sato: Assistant special agent in charge, FLOTUS detail *Keenan Mulvaney: Special agent in charge, vice presidential detail

The Campus

* John Clark: Director of operations *Domingo “Ding” Chavez: Assistant director of operations *Dominic “Dom” Caruso: Operations officer *Jack Ryan, Jr.: Operations officer / senior analyst *Adara Sherman: Operations officer *Bartosz “Midas” Jankowski: Operations officer

Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 0312, Afghanistan

*Alan Brock: 18A, Captain *Guzman: 180A, Warrant officer *Eric “Ripper” Ward: 18B, Ops sergeant *Jake Thelan: 18F, Intelligence sergeant *Megnas: 18E, Communications sergeant

Reception

Commercial

''Chain of Command'' debuted at number seven at the Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Books category, as well as number 13 at the Hardcover Fiction Books category of

for the week of December 5, 2021. It charted at number 13 on the Mass Market Books category of the same list in January 2023.

Critical

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

gave a mixed verdict, describing it as "admirable if flawed" and adding: "Cameron skillfully depicts the audacious and bloody kidnapping, but it’s all in service of weak and contrived motives, which a last-second gotcha moment makes superfluous anyway."

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

also regarded the plot as convoluted, but called it "another adventure-packed treat for fans of the Ryan family".

References

{{Jack Ryan fiction Political thriller novels 2021 American novels American thriller novels Techno-thriller novels Ryanverse Novels set in Japan Novels set in Asia Novels set in Texas Novels set in India G. P. Putnam's Sons books Japan in non-Japanese culture