Tom Clancy Terminal Velocity (A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel), Book 14; M. P. Woodward, author; Scott Brick, Narrator
When the book begins, we learn about two half-brothers, Rafa and Fahim. They share a mother, but Rafa’s father was the Emir, the founder of the Umayyad Revolutionary Council. The Emir believed that he was the one true prophet and was a direct descendant of Mohammad. Rafa is viewed as his successor, and Rafa believes that he is now the one true Caliph. Rafa has been groomed by Mullah Fawwah.
When Fahim graduates from the Sorbonne, he is ready to embark on his life in Paris. He wants to build bridges! Before he can leave, he hears from Mullah Fawwah. He insists that he go to the Mosque in Marseilles immediately to speak with him and bid his brother goodbye. Once there, he learns that his true father was a nobody. It was the Emir, through the Mullah, who had been supporting him all these years. He is forced to recite the Shahada, to swear allegiance to the Caliph, and to perform Jihad with his half-brother to prove his loyalty. If he doesn’t, he will be eliminated instead. They need him because the “end of days” is at hand.
The story then moves to the United States. A gruesome murder of a cattleman and his entire family has been discovered in the state of Washington. Soon, Hendley Associates realize that those involved in killing Rafa’s father, the Emir, in the operation called “Poseidon Spear” that was run by the Campus, are being systematically murdered in the same brutal way. Gavin and Mandy are called in by the Campus to help with the investigation into the murders. They soon also discover a terrorist plot to poison our water supply with nuclear waste. They are attacked and are in grave danger and in need of immediate rescue.
During this time, Attorney General Murray’s wife is undergoing surgery that will, hopefully, restore her eyesight. Kathy Ryan, Jack Jr’s mother is the surgeon. Jack’s fiancé Lisanne has undergone surgery to have an artificial arm attached to her body. Srini, soon to be married in India, is the surgeon. Mary Pat Foley is briefing Jack’s father, the President, on the possibility of the existence of a mole who is responsible for arranging the heinous murder of the agents and their families.
Srini and Lisanne became fast friends and she invited Lisanne and Jack to her wedding to Sanjay. Srini’s father, Rai, is a very successful businessman and his company, AGI, is preparing to dedicate a new bridge, that they just built in Kashmir. The project was funded by the Chinese. He would also like to make a business pitch to Jack, in case Hendley Associates would be interested in doing business with his company. Jack and Lisanne were invited to the bridge dedication ceremony and festivities too. Their journey in India, however, is fraught with danger.
While Lisanne and Jack are in India, Clark, Murray and Midas, from the Campus, are involved in trying to save the other operatives who were involved in the Poseidon Spear action from being murdered. Because they believe that Rafa is behind the murders, as revenge for the death of his father, the Emir, Midas sets out for India to kill Rafa before he can cause more violence. Midas fails and is gravely wounded himself. Jack, in India for the wedding, is called upon to rescue him. Midas was assisted by a Mujahideen who now assists Jack, as well. When they discover there is a plot to attack a train on the way to the bridge dedication, they race to the train. It is the train that Lisanne is on, supposedly together with Jack, whom they are pretending is lying down suffering from a stomach bug and not out rescuing Midas!
It seems that Rafa and Fahim have plotted to disrupt the bridge dedication with Pakistani mercenaries to cause chaos and ruin the alliance between India and the United States. Also, if they cause injury to the Deputy Director to the Chinese Foreign Minister, who is also on the train heading to the dedication, it will further disrupt relationships. Fahim had hoped to marry Srini to cement his rise as head of AGI, but Srini rejected him and married Sanjay who will now ascend to that position. So, in addition to wanting revenge and chaos, Fahim also wants his boss and Sanjay out of the way so he can become CEO and use the company to funnel weapons and money to his revolutionary cause.
The story becomes even more complicated as there is also an overlay of romance throughout. So, let me end by saying that while I love Jack Ryan novels, this one was a little disappointing. Multi-layered with so many characters, it was difficult to keep track of them. It was also too long by half and was filled with a lot of inane dialogue. It was often a bit disjointed and hard to follow with too many sub-plots and too much action occurring in too many different places. It simply did not feel as if it flowed naturally from one moment to the next. Even so, it was an interesting read that did keep me interested, if not sometimes confused.