Fanboys Anonymous

Dear page dwellers: Generally speaking, although I read many works, I rarely review the well-known authors, and I especially don't review older works. It just so happens, though, that I revisited one of Tom Clancy's better known books recently, on my off time, and I was reopened to the military fantasy worlds of one of the greatest fighter writers of our time. Considering Tom Clancy's recent death, you might say this is a bit of a tribute review.

The interesting thing about Net Force is that a lot of the action takes place in a futuristic Internet world that almost everyone uses, for whatever reason they use it. After the death of the Net Force director, several possible candidates arise for his role via a goon onslaught. The position ultimately falls to Alex, the next qualifier, who is soon thrown into the world of big-league decision making.

It's never as easy as it might seem to snap your fingers and make things happen, but Alex is determined to make it work, even though he's never seen any action. After his promotion, Alex finds that his position comes with a little more danger than he is comfortable with as well. He's in danger of being assassinated by a sexy female throat-cut artist wherever he goes—a realization that does not come lightly. All of this while simultaneously attempting to search out a terrible Internet saboteur attempting to get one over on Net Force simply to further his own ends.

This fine piece culminates into a big who's-who and who's-responsible-for-what enigma. Perhaps Net Force can put the pieces together, perhaps not. One thing is for sure, they have to do it before they run out of time. With a destructive net programmer, a calculating assassin, and plenty of mafia brutes on the loose, it won't be an easy puzzle to solve.

My favorite thing about Net Force was it's big "whodunit." I always figure the best way to keep a writer enticed is to make sure they can't figure out the read so easily. It's awesome if, in the end, you find out you had all the pieces lined up, but sometimes writers are too obvious about their big mysteries.

I can happily say, and reverently so, that Tom Clancy never had any issues keeping my attention. His characters are well thought up, he separates their personalities, and he is very graphic in his detail. Tom Clancy has been and always will be an amazing writer, remembered throughout the ages for his talent. I have been lucky enough to be sucked into his works numerous times, including a certain XBox big title that we all fell in love with. RIP. Let me know what you think downstairs.

April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013‎