Tom Clancy writes about a world of chaos, politics and power, human annihilation by evil men. This is his bread and butter, and he and co-author Grant Blackwood do a commendable job in “Dead or Alive.”

“Dead or Alive” draws you in immediately with a vivid description of a clandestine special assault operation by Army Rangers in the hills somewhere in Afghanistan. Led by 1st Sgt. Sam Driscoll (camouflaged with a full 4-inch beard to blend in with the locals), the assault team has intelligence that says the supreme leader of a terrorist organization bent on destroying America is hiding in a cave they are sent to explore. The Emir is to be taken dead or alive. The operation is unsuccessful. The Emir is not there … and where is he?

The answer to that question is one of the (too) many separate stories in Clancy’s novel.

The assault on the Emir’s supposed hideout sets up the introduction of the Campus, an organization created secretly by the administration of President Jack Ryan. Its sole purpose is to hunt down and eliminate terrorists and those who protect them without sanction or oversight by the American government. The Campus is a self-sufficient entity with no official connection to the American government.

CIA headquarters in Virginia is often referred to as The Campus. The Washington Post (Sept. 2, 2011) reported that the CIA has undergone a fundamental transformation … its focus and resources are increasingly being centered on finding targets to capture or kill. In “Dead or Alive,” Clancy and Blackwood prefer the nongovernmental approach to identify, find, capture or kill.

If you are old enough to remember, think “Mission Impossible” or “Charlie’s Angels.”

Die-hard Clancy fans will enjoy this book because it brings together familiar Clancy characters such as Jack Patrick Ryan, John Clark, Domingo “Ding” Chavez, Mary Pat Foley, Jack Ryan Jr. and twins Brian and Dominic Caruso.

If you have not read any of Clancy’s books, these characters appear separately in some cases in one or more of his books, but this is the first time they all appear together.

I am a die-hard Clancy fan and I like the book. Although it was very long (more than 900 pages), it kept my attention.

However, I did not like the large number of organizations and names in the book. I thought the names of individuals and organizations were overly difficult and hard to remember, which decreased the book’s overall quality. Refusing to go back several pages to identify an individual or abbreviation, I ventured on hoping to remember who is who and what organization was what.

In anticipation of his next book, Clancy introduces a grown Jack Ryan Jr. as a covert intelligence expert at the Campus. He and his compatriots at the Campus wage a silent unauthorized war against terrorism. Joined by two of his father’s closest allies, black ops professionals John Clark and “Ding” Chavez, and former U.S. Marines Brian and Dominic Caruso, the Campus focuses all of its attention on the elusive Emir.

On the trail of the Emir, members of the Campus fly around the globe following incomplete leads, breaking encrypted messages, rescuing hostages, capturing and torturing zealots, while skirting national and international laws and law enforcement agencies.

Supposedly before the elimination of Osama bin Laden, some of the situations in “Dead or Alive” (published one month before bin Laden’s killing, according to the publisher) seem eerily the same as what happened in reality. For instance, the Emir lives in full view of his pursuers. Sounds familiar.

Even though this is a fiction book, it is hard to imagine that names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the authors’ imagination.

Clancy (and Blackwood) do not do a very good job disguising their references to Osama bin Laden (the Emir), al-Qaida and the Obama administration’s policy regarding the handling of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A supporter of the Obama administration could easily become a little miffed with the authors’ less than favorable swipes at policy decisions and put the book down based only on this fact.

Clancy does his best work when writing alone. “The Hunt for Red October,” “The Cardinal of the Kremlin,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Debt of Honor,” “Rainbow Six” and “The Sum of All Fears” are brilliant examples. “Dead or Alive” was enjoyable, but not one of his best efforts. Perhaps being a collaborative work might have contributed.

Die-hard Clancy fans will still enjoy this book, but it comes with some unforgivable shortcomings. The length of the book is one; character development, the number of interwoven stories, and the complexity of the names of individuals and organizations are other reasons.

Before turning to writing, Tom Clancy was a Maryland insurance broker with a passion for naval history. He has written more than 13 fiction and nine nonfiction books. Grant Blackwood, a U.S. Navy veteran, is the author of the Briggs Tanner series – “The End of Enemies,” “The Wall of Night” and “An Echo of War” – and has co-authored with Clive Cussler.

— Reviewed by Harold Little, Department of Accounting, Western Kentucky University