Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Acts of War »

Known for originating the techno-thriller genre, Tom Clancy writes complex novels dense with hardware and international intrigue. Perhaps the strongest indication of his power as a writer is the fact that he is often treated by the media like a character in one of his books, asked for opinions about military readiness and the subject of rumors about being debriefed by the Pentagon. Not bad for a former salesman who was rejected for service because of bad eyesight.

4 cassettes / 4 hours
Read by John Rubinstein

Syrian terrorists have attacked a dam inside the borders of Turkey, threatening the water supply of their own homeland.  It is not insanity, but the first step in a deceptively simple plan to force all-out war in the Middle East.  This strategy will draw elite troops out of the capital of Damascus, leaving the Syrian president unprotected -- and an easy target for assassination.

What the terrorists don't know is that a new Regional Op-Center is now online in Greece. A mobile version of the permanent crisis management facility, the ROC is a cutting-edge surveillance and information mecca. And its team can see exactly what the Syrian rebels are trying to do.

The terrorists are more resourceful than anyone thinks. They also have ways of obtaining classified information. And the Regional Op-Center -- the United States' newest weapon -- is not a prize to be passed up ...

Publishers Weekly

With recent headlines about feuding Kurdish groups in Iraq, this latest techno-thriller by Clancy and Pieczenik is not far off the mark. In the latest in this series about Paul Hood and his U.S. intelligence force, the Op-Center team must use all of their resources in an attempt to save colleagues who have been taken hostage in Turkey by Kurdish terrorists. Equally troubling, they were captured with the latest intelligence technology, a mobile spy vehicle called a Regional Op-Center. Because the ROC is so powerful, if Op-Center's military arm can't rescue it, it will have to be destroyed regardless of who may be killed along with it. As usual, Clancy and Pieczenik rely on a mixture of technology, military muscle, diplomacy and espionage to save hostages and keep peace in the Middle East. But what makes this, like all Clancy novels, so much fun are the details from the quasi-military technobabble to the settings to the gadgets -evidence of the authors' excellent grasp of both world politics and modern technology. Fans have yet another treat. (Mar.)