Once again, Tom Clancy manages to add new twists to the series he initiated in The Hunt For Red October. In The Sum of All Fears, the conflict centers around the Middle East, where a nuclear weapon falls into terrorists’ hands just as peace seems possible. Clancy realistically depicts an almost unthinkable scenariothe bomb is planted on American soil amid escalating tensions with the Soviet Union; the terrorists hope to rekindle Cold War hostility and prevent reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.

Despite the dramatic storyline, Clancy pays attention to individual characters. Jack Ryan’s problems include domestic issues as well as international crises: National Security Director Elizabeth Elliot influences the president against Ryan, claiming his ethics are questionable, hinting at marital infidelity and insider tradingaccusations that are false but cause strain within the Ryan family and attract media attention. While tracking terrorists,