The Teeth of the Tiger

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The Teeth of the Tiger is a 2003 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy. It is about an intelligence agency, called Hendley Associates, which is "off the books" and thus freed from the shackles of Congressional oversight. This agency was set up by Jack Ryan when he was President. It earns its money by intercepting communications between the CIA and the NSA, and using the information gained to make money on the stock market.

Plot summary

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The novel begins with the assassination of a Mossad agent in Rome. Jack Ryan Jr., the son of former President Jack Ryan soon finds himself confronting the world of international terrorism in the post-9/11 world along with his twin cousins. The Campus, the nickname for Hendley Associates, is an "off the books" intelligence agency.

The Campus sends out a strike team that utilizes succinylcholine to murder suspected terrorists. It's all training until a group of Muslim extremists crosses the U.S.-Mexico border with a crate of sub-machine guns and attacks suburban malls across the nation.

Characters in \"The Teeth of the Tiger\"

Jack [Shortstop] Ryan Jr – protagonist, son of Jack Ryan Snr.
Dominic "Enzo" Caruso – footsoldier brother in "the Campus"
Brian "Aldo" Caruso – footsoldier brother in "the Campus"
Sally [Shadow] Ryan – Jack Ryan Snr's daughter
Katie [Sandbox] Ryan – Jack Ryan Snr's daughter, still in school
Kyle Ryan – Jack Ryan Snr's son, still in school
Dan Murray – head of the FBI
Gerry Hendley – former senator and friend of Jack Ryan Sr
The Emir – the villan

Spoilers end here.

Literary significance & criticism

Opinion is divided regarding the merits of this novel: Some Clancy fans regard it as a partial return to form compared to his previous novel, Red Rabbit, which received horrible reviews among critics. Others note that dialogue and characterization, never a Clancy strength, are execrable, while the plotting is weak, linear and unbelievable.

The main characters, three highly intelligent young men who are portrayed as quite ethical, seemed to be oblivious to concerns of the legality of their activities, which can be seen as vigilantism writ large, especially given the lack of US government knowledge of their existence. The book never addresses this issue meaningfully.

Books by Tom Clancy
Fiction: 1980s: The Hunt for Red October \| Red Storm Rising \| Patriot Games \| The Cardinal of the Kremlin \| Clear and Present Danger 1990s: The Sum of All Fears \| Without Remorse \| Debt of Honor \| Executive Orders \| SSN \| Rainbow Six 2000s: The Bear and the Dragon \| Red Rabbit \| The Teeth of the Tiger Non-fiction: 1990s: Submarine \| Armored Cav \| Fighter Wing \| Marine \| Into the Storm \| Airborne \| Carrier \| Every Man a Tiger 2000s: Special Forces \| Shadow Warriors \| Battle Ready

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