by Tom Clancy
Part of Jack Ryan
First published 2026
President Jack Ryan faces his most impossible crisis yet. Russian forces deploy nuclear technology to carve a new ocean passage through Arctic ice, creating their own private waterway above the Circle. For years, America has dominated the seas through a vast network of underwater listening posts that track every Russian naval movement. This bold Arctic operation threatens to shatter that advantage completely. Russian ships and submarines will soon travel undetected through their exclusive channel, fundamentally altering global naval power. Ryan confronts an unsolvable dilemma. Military action against the Russian icebreakers means open war. Worse, attacking the nuclear melting operation could trigger an environmental disaster of massive scale. The president must find a way to protect American interests without starting World War Three or poisoning the Arctic forever.
Genres: fiction, military-fiction, suspense, adult, thriller, political-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, geopolitical, high-stakes, suspenseful, tense, thought-provoking
Tropes: impossible-choice, military-conflict, political-intrigue, technological-threat
Setting: Arctic, Russia, America
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
672 pages · Paperback · Random House Large Print
Content warnings: violence, war