Jason Bourne
thriller
Series · thriller
Jack Ryan
The Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy has 44 known books (44 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Hunt for Red October (1984). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Rules of Engagement. The next announced book, The Coldest War, is due 24 November 2026. Tom Clancy wrote the series; books 17-22 were ghostwritten by Mark Greaney; books 19-21 were ghostwritten by Grant Blackwood; books 23-29 were ghostwritten by Mike Maden; books 24-37 were ghostwritten by Marc Cameron; books 31-36 were ghostwritten by Don Bentley; books 38-43 were ghostwritten by Brian Andrews; books 38-43 were ghostwritten by Jeffrey Wilson; books 39-42 were ghostwritten by M.P. Woodward; book 44 were ghostwritten by Ward Larsen.
- Books
- 44 known books (44 novels)
- Published
- 44
- First published
- 1984
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: The Hunt for Red October (1984) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October (1984) opens the Jack Ryan series with a CIA analyst pulled into the defection of a Soviet submarine captain -- the case that starts Ryan's slow climb from desk analyst toward the Oval Office over the decades of books that follow. It runs 479 pages and set the template for Tom Clancy's techno-thriller density: real weapons systems, real geopolitics, and enough submarine tradecraft to read like unofficial Pentagon briefing material.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hunt for Red October - Book 2:
Patriot Games
Patriot Games (1987) is Tom Clancy's second Jack Ryan novel by publication, but it's set earlier in Ryan's career than that date suggests -- one of the chronological quirks readers hunting a strict in-story order need to account for. At 541 pages, it continues the series' trademark mix of geopolitical detail and a CIA analyst's rise through extraordinary events.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Patriot Games - Book 3:
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988) is Clancy's follow-up to Patriot Games, running 543 pages and continuing the Cold War-era intelligence plotting -- real tradecraft, real geopolitics -- that made the early Ryan novels feel like insider briefings rather than pulp thrillers.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Cardinal of the Kremlin - Book 4:
Clear and Present Danger
Published in 1989 and sitting between The Cardinal of the Kremlin and The Sum of All Fears, Clear and Present Danger is one of Clancy's longer Jack Ryan entries at 688 pages, part of the run that built his reputation for techno-thriller density and procedural intelligence detail.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Clear and Present Danger - Book 5:
The Sum of All Fears
The Sum of All Fears (1991) is the fifth Jack Ryan novel and, at 914 pages, one of Clancy's longest -- consistent with the series' habit of packing in real weapons systems and geopolitical detail as Ryan's profile within the CIA and Washington keeps rising.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sum of All Fears - Book 6:
Without Remorse
Without Remorse (1993) breaks from the main Ryan timeline: it's a prequel about John Clark's origin, set years before The Hunt for Red October, which is why readers chasing Ryan's in-story chronology are sometimes told to read it ahead of that first book. It runs 768 pages and sits between The Sum of All Fears and Debt of Honor in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Without Remorse - Book 7:
Debt of Honor
Debt of Honor (1994) is the seventh Jack Ryan novel, running 828 pages -- part of the stretch of Clancy's solo work that kept piling on geopolitical stakes as Ryan's arc pushed him closer to the presidency the later books put him in.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Debt of Honor - Book 8:
Executive Orders
At 1,101 pages, Executive Orders (1996) is the longest book in the Jack Ryan series -- the eighth entry, preceding Rainbow Six, and a high-water mark for the dense, procedural style Clancy built his reputation on.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Executive Orders - Book 9:
Rainbow Six
Rainbow Six (1998) is the ninth Jack Ryan novel at 897 pages, continuing Clancy's run of techno-thrillers thick with tactical and intelligence-community detail rather than character-driven intimacy.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rainbow Six - Book 10:
The Bear and the Dragon
The Bear and the Dragon (2000) follows Rainbow Six and precedes Red Rabbit in the Jack Ryan lineup, running 1,028 pages -- another of Clancy's doorstop-length entries built on the series' trademark real-world geopolitics and military-grade technical detail.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Bear and the Dragon - Book 11:
Red Rabbit
Red Rabbit (2002) is Clancy's eleventh Jack Ryan novel at 720 pages, and like Patriot Games it's set earlier in Ryan's career than its publication date implies -- one of the chronological quirks in a series more easily read in publication order than in strict in-story sequence.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red Rabbit - Book 12:
The Teeth of the Tiger
The Teeth of the Tiger (2003) closes out Tom Clancy's run of twelve solo Jack Ryan novels -- after this one, the universe splits into a rotating slate of continuation authors. It runs 431 pages and introduces the next generation of the Ryan story that the following books would carry forward.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Teeth of the Tiger - Book 13:
Dead or Alive
Dead or Alive (2010) is the first Jack Ryan novel published after Clancy began sharing the byline, co-written with Grant Blackwood as the series moved into its continuation era. Running 848 pages, it sits between The Teeth of the Tiger and Locked On in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead or Alive - Book 14:
Locked On
Locked On (2011) is the fourteenth Jack Ryan novel, co-written by Clancy and Mark Greaney -- the author who would go on to become one of the series' main continuation writers after Clancy's 2013 death. It runs 853 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Locked On - Book 15:
Threat Vector
Threat Vector (2012) is Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney's fifteenth Jack Ryan novel, published the year before Clancy's death, when Penguin Random House kept the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' branding going through a rotating slate of continuation writers. It runs 835 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Threat Vector - Book 16:
Command Authority
Command Authority (2013), sitting between Threat Vector and Support and Defend, was published the year Tom Clancy died -- after this point the Jack Ryan universe continued entirely through continuation authors like Mark Greaney, who co-wrote this 739-page installment.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Command Authority - Book 17:
Support and Defend
Support and Defend (2014) is the first Jack Ryan novel credited solely to a continuation author, with Mark Greaney writing as Clancy's ghostwriter after Clancy's 2013 death. It runs 692 pages, the seventeenth entry in a series now sustained by a rotating slate of writers rather than a single author's vision.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Support and Defend - Book 18:
Full Force and Effect
Full Force and Effect (2014) is Mark Greaney's second solo turn as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the eighteenth book in a series that by this point was less one author's story than a shared universe carried by several writers. It runs 345 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Full Force and Effect - Book 19:
Under Fire
Under Fire (2015) is credited to Grant Blackwood as ghostwriter, the nineteenth Jack Ryan novel and part of the continuation era's habit of splitting storylines between President Ryan's Oval Office plots and the Jack Ryan Jr./Campus side of the universe. It runs 523 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Under Fire - Book 20:
Commander in Chief
Commander in Chief (2015) credits both Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney, with Greaney as ghostwriter carrying the twentieth Jack Ryan novel forward after Clancy's death continued to reshape the series into a multi-author enterprise. It runs 718 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Commander in Chief - Book 21:
Duty and Honor
Duty and Honor (2016) follows Commander in Chief and is credited to Grant Blackwood as ghostwriter, the twenty-first entry in a series whose continuation authors by now ran parallel storylines -- some centred on President Ryan, others on the next generation. It runs 425 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Duty and Honor - Book 22:
True Faith and Allegiance
True Faith and Allegiance (2016) credits Mark Greaney as ghostwriter for the twenty-second Jack Ryan novel, part of the post-Clancy stretch where the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' brand kept going regardless of which continuation author held the pen. It runs 496 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of True Faith and Allegiance - Book 23:
Point of Contact
Point of Contact (2017) follows True Faith and Allegiance and introduces Mike Maden as a Jack Ryan ghostwriter, one of several continuation authors Penguin Random House brought in to keep the series' rotating slate going after Clancy's death. It runs 464 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Point of Contact - Book 24:
Power and Empire
Power and Empire (2017) is credited to Marc Cameron as ghostwriter, the twenty-fourth Jack Ryan novel and part of the continuation era's real-world geopolitical focus -- techno-thriller density carried on by a new writer rather than character-driven intimacy. It runs 582 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Power and Empire - Book 25:
Line of Sight
Line of Sight (2018) credits Mike Maden as ghostwriter for the twenty-fifth Jack Ryan novel, continuing the series' post-Clancy pattern of multiple authors sustaining the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' brand in parallel. It runs 480 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Line of Sight - Book 26:
Oath of Office
Oath of Office (2018) is Marc Cameron's contribution as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the twenty-sixth book in a series now defined less by a single author's vision than by the shared universe Clancy's continuation writers keep running. It runs 608 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Oath of Office - Book 27:
Enemy Contact
Enemy Contact (2019) picks up the series after Oath of Office, written by Mike Maden as Jack Ryan ghostwriter -- part of the rotating slate that kept the franchise's real-world military and intelligence detail going after Clancy's death. It runs 560 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Enemy Contact - Book 28:
Code of Honor
Code of Honor (2019) is Marc Cameron's turn as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the twenty-eighth entry in a series where the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' branding by now covered work from several different continuation writers rather than Clancy himself. It runs 622 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Code of Honor - Book 29:
Firing Point
Firing Point (2020) follows Code of Honor and is written by Mike Maden as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, continuing the post-Clancy pattern of parallel author threads within the shared series universe. It runs 512 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Firing Point - Book 30:
Shadow of the Dragon
Shadow of the Dragon (2020) credits Marc Cameron as ghostwriter for the thirtieth Jack Ryan novel, part of the continuation era's geopolitically dense, procedural style that Clancy's successors kept alive after his 2013 death. It runs 512 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shadow of the Dragon - Book 31:
Target Acquired
Target Acquired (2021) picks up the series after Shadow of the Dragon and introduces Don Bentley as a Jack Ryan ghostwriter, one more name added to the rotating slate of continuation authors Penguin Random House kept cycling through. It runs 524 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Target Acquired - Book 32:
Chain of Command
Chain of Command (2021) follows Target Acquired and is written by Marc Cameron as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the thirty-second entry in a series sustained entirely by continuation authors nearly a decade after Clancy's death. It runs 640 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Chain of Command - Book 33:
Zero Hour
Zero Hour (2022) credits Don Bentley as ghostwriter for the thirty-third Jack Ryan novel, part of a series that by this point was less one author's singular vision than an imprint carried by several rotating writers. It runs 432 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Zero Hour - Book 34:
Red Winter
Red Winter (2022) follows Zero Hour and is written by Marc Cameron as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, continuing the real-world geopolitical focus that has defined the series' continuation era since Clancy's death. It runs 544 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red Winter - Book 35:
Flash Point
Flash Point (2023) is the thirty-fifth Jack Ryan book, written by Don Bentley as ghostwriter -- part of the rotating slate of continuation authors that has kept the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' brand running for a decade past Clancy's own writing.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Flash Point - Book 36:
Weapons Grade
Weapons Grade (2023) is Don Bentley's contribution as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the thirty-sixth installment in a series now defined by a shared universe of continuation writers rather than a single author's voice. It runs 576 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Weapons Grade - Book 37:
Command and Control
Command and Control (2023) follows Weapons Grade and is written by Marc Cameron as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, continuing the geopolitically dense, procedural style that has carried the series through more than a decade of continuation authors. It runs 464 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Command and Control - Book 38:
Act of Defiance
Act of Defiance (2024) is the thirty-eighth Jack Ryan book, co-written by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson as ghostwriters -- two more names in the rotating slate Penguin Random House has kept cycling through since Clancy's 2013 death. It runs 608 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Act of Defiance - Book 39:
Shadow State
Shadow State (2024) picks up the series after Act of Defiance, written by M.P. Woodward as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, part of the continuation era's parallel storylines sustained by several different writers under one shared brand. It runs 384 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shadow State - Book 40:
Defense Protocol
Defense Protocol (2024) continues the fortieth installment of the Jack Ryan series, written by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson as ghostwriters -- part of the multi-author imprint the franchise became after Clancy's death. It runs 512 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Defense Protocol - Book 41:
Line of Demarcation
Line of Demarcation (2025) is M.P. Woodward's contribution as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the forty-first book in a series now carried entirely by continuation authors more than a decade after Clancy's own last Jack Ryan novel. It runs 389 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Line of Demarcation - Book 42:
Terminal Velocity
Terminal Velocity (2025) picks up the series after Line of Demarcation, written by M.P. Woodward as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, continuing the shared-universe structure that has defined the franchise's post-Clancy stretch. It runs 446 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Terminal Velocity - Book 43:
Executive Power
Executive Power (2025) follows Terminal Velocity and was written by Brian Andrews as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, part of the rotating slate of continuation authors sustaining the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' brand. It runs 520 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Executive Power - Book 44:
Rules of Engagement
Rules of Engagement (2026) is written by Ward Larsen as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the forty-fourth installment and the newest name added to the continuation authors keeping the series going more than a decade past Tom Clancy's death. It runs 448 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rules of Engagement
The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.
- Book 1:
Without Remorse
Without Remorse (1993) breaks from the main Ryan timeline: it's a prequel about John Clark's origin, set years before The Hunt for Red October, which is why readers chasing Ryan's in-story chronology are sometimes told to read it ahead of that first book. It runs 768 pages and sits between The Sum of All Fears and Debt of Honor in publication order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Without Remorse - Book 2:
Patriot Games
Patriot Games (1987) is Tom Clancy's second Jack Ryan novel by publication, but it's set earlier in Ryan's career than that date suggests -- one of the chronological quirks readers hunting a strict in-story order need to account for. At 541 pages, it continues the series' trademark mix of geopolitical detail and a CIA analyst's rise through extraordinary events.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Patriot Games - Book 3:
Red Rabbit
Red Rabbit (2002) is Clancy's eleventh Jack Ryan novel at 720 pages, and like Patriot Games it's set earlier in Ryan's career than its publication date implies -- one of the chronological quirks in a series more easily read in publication order than in strict in-story sequence.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red Rabbit - Book 4:
The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October (1984) opens the Jack Ryan series with a CIA analyst pulled into the defection of a Soviet submarine captain -- the case that starts Ryan's slow climb from desk analyst toward the Oval Office over the decades of books that follow. It runs 479 pages and set the template for Tom Clancy's techno-thriller density: real weapons systems, real geopolitics, and enough submarine tradecraft to read like unofficial Pentagon briefing material.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hunt for Red October - Book 5:
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988) is Clancy's follow-up to Patriot Games, running 543 pages and continuing the Cold War-era intelligence plotting -- real tradecraft, real geopolitics -- that made the early Ryan novels feel like insider briefings rather than pulp thrillers.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Cardinal of the Kremlin - Book 6:
Clear and Present Danger
Published in 1989 and sitting between The Cardinal of the Kremlin and The Sum of All Fears, Clear and Present Danger is one of Clancy's longer Jack Ryan entries at 688 pages, part of the run that built his reputation for techno-thriller density and procedural intelligence detail.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Clear and Present Danger - Book 7:
The Sum of All Fears
The Sum of All Fears (1991) is the fifth Jack Ryan novel and, at 914 pages, one of Clancy's longest -- consistent with the series' habit of packing in real weapons systems and geopolitical detail as Ryan's profile within the CIA and Washington keeps rising.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sum of All Fears - Book 8:
Debt of Honor
Debt of Honor (1994) is the seventh Jack Ryan novel, running 828 pages -- part of the stretch of Clancy's solo work that kept piling on geopolitical stakes as Ryan's arc pushed him closer to the presidency the later books put him in.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Debt of Honor - Book 9:
Executive Orders
At 1,101 pages, Executive Orders (1996) is the longest book in the Jack Ryan series -- the eighth entry, preceding Rainbow Six, and a high-water mark for the dense, procedural style Clancy built his reputation on.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Executive Orders - Book 10:
Rainbow Six
Rainbow Six (1998) is the ninth Jack Ryan novel at 897 pages, continuing Clancy's run of techno-thrillers thick with tactical and intelligence-community detail rather than character-driven intimacy.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rainbow Six - Book 11:
The Bear and the Dragon
The Bear and the Dragon (2000) follows Rainbow Six and precedes Red Rabbit in the Jack Ryan lineup, running 1,028 pages -- another of Clancy's doorstop-length entries built on the series' trademark real-world geopolitics and military-grade technical detail.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Bear and the Dragon - Book 12:
The Teeth of the Tiger
The Teeth of the Tiger (2003) closes out Tom Clancy's run of twelve solo Jack Ryan novels -- after this one, the universe splits into a rotating slate of continuation authors. It runs 431 pages and introduces the next generation of the Ryan story that the following books would carry forward.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Teeth of the Tiger - Book 13:
Dead or Alive
Dead or Alive (2010) is the first Jack Ryan novel published after Clancy began sharing the byline, co-written with Grant Blackwood as the series moved into its continuation era. Running 848 pages, it sits between The Teeth of the Tiger and Locked On in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead or Alive - Book 14:
Locked On
Locked On (2011) is the fourteenth Jack Ryan novel, co-written by Clancy and Mark Greaney -- the author who would go on to become one of the series' main continuation writers after Clancy's 2013 death. It runs 853 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Locked On - Book 15:
Threat Vector
Threat Vector (2012) is Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney's fifteenth Jack Ryan novel, published the year before Clancy's death, when Penguin Random House kept the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' branding going through a rotating slate of continuation writers. It runs 835 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Threat Vector - Book 16:
Command Authority
Command Authority (2013), sitting between Threat Vector and Support and Defend, was published the year Tom Clancy died -- after this point the Jack Ryan universe continued entirely through continuation authors like Mark Greaney, who co-wrote this 739-page installment.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Command Authority - Book 17:
Support and Defend
Support and Defend (2014) is the first Jack Ryan novel credited solely to a continuation author, with Mark Greaney writing as Clancy's ghostwriter after Clancy's 2013 death. It runs 692 pages, the seventeenth entry in a series now sustained by a rotating slate of writers rather than a single author's vision.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Support and Defend - Book 18:
Full Force and Effect
Full Force and Effect (2014) is Mark Greaney's second solo turn as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the eighteenth book in a series that by this point was less one author's story than a shared universe carried by several writers. It runs 345 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Full Force and Effect - Book 19:
Under Fire
Under Fire (2015) is credited to Grant Blackwood as ghostwriter, the nineteenth Jack Ryan novel and part of the continuation era's habit of splitting storylines between President Ryan's Oval Office plots and the Jack Ryan Jr./Campus side of the universe. It runs 523 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Under Fire - Book 20:
Commander in Chief
Commander in Chief (2015) credits both Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney, with Greaney as ghostwriter carrying the twentieth Jack Ryan novel forward after Clancy's death continued to reshape the series into a multi-author enterprise. It runs 718 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Commander in Chief - Book 21:
Duty and Honor
Duty and Honor (2016) follows Commander in Chief and is credited to Grant Blackwood as ghostwriter, the twenty-first entry in a series whose continuation authors by now ran parallel storylines -- some centred on President Ryan, others on the next generation. It runs 425 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Duty and Honor - Book 22:
True Faith and Allegiance
True Faith and Allegiance (2016) credits Mark Greaney as ghostwriter for the twenty-second Jack Ryan novel, part of the post-Clancy stretch where the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' brand kept going regardless of which continuation author held the pen. It runs 496 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of True Faith and Allegiance - Book 23:
Point of Contact
Point of Contact (2017) follows True Faith and Allegiance and introduces Mike Maden as a Jack Ryan ghostwriter, one of several continuation authors Penguin Random House brought in to keep the series' rotating slate going after Clancy's death. It runs 464 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Point of Contact - Book 24:
Power and Empire
Power and Empire (2017) is credited to Marc Cameron as ghostwriter, the twenty-fourth Jack Ryan novel and part of the continuation era's real-world geopolitical focus -- techno-thriller density carried on by a new writer rather than character-driven intimacy. It runs 582 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Power and Empire - Book 25:
Line of Sight
Line of Sight (2018) credits Mike Maden as ghostwriter for the twenty-fifth Jack Ryan novel, continuing the series' post-Clancy pattern of multiple authors sustaining the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' brand in parallel. It runs 480 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Line of Sight - Book 26:
Oath of Office
Oath of Office (2018) is Marc Cameron's contribution as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the twenty-sixth book in a series now defined less by a single author's vision than by the shared universe Clancy's continuation writers keep running. It runs 608 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Oath of Office - Book 27:
Enemy Contact
Enemy Contact (2019) picks up the series after Oath of Office, written by Mike Maden as Jack Ryan ghostwriter -- part of the rotating slate that kept the franchise's real-world military and intelligence detail going after Clancy's death. It runs 560 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Enemy Contact - Book 28:
Code of Honor
Code of Honor (2019) is Marc Cameron's turn as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the twenty-eighth entry in a series where the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' branding by now covered work from several different continuation writers rather than Clancy himself. It runs 622 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Code of Honor - Book 29:
Firing Point
Firing Point (2020) follows Code of Honor and is written by Mike Maden as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, continuing the post-Clancy pattern of parallel author threads within the shared series universe. It runs 512 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Firing Point - Book 30:
Shadow of the Dragon
Shadow of the Dragon (2020) credits Marc Cameron as ghostwriter for the thirtieth Jack Ryan novel, part of the continuation era's geopolitically dense, procedural style that Clancy's successors kept alive after his 2013 death. It runs 512 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shadow of the Dragon - Book 31:
Target Acquired
Target Acquired (2021) picks up the series after Shadow of the Dragon and introduces Don Bentley as a Jack Ryan ghostwriter, one more name added to the rotating slate of continuation authors Penguin Random House kept cycling through. It runs 524 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Target Acquired - Book 32:
Chain of Command
Chain of Command (2021) follows Target Acquired and is written by Marc Cameron as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the thirty-second entry in a series sustained entirely by continuation authors nearly a decade after Clancy's death. It runs 640 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Chain of Command - Book 33:
Zero Hour
Zero Hour (2022) credits Don Bentley as ghostwriter for the thirty-third Jack Ryan novel, part of a series that by this point was less one author's singular vision than an imprint carried by several rotating writers. It runs 432 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Zero Hour - Book 34:
Red Winter
Red Winter (2022) follows Zero Hour and is written by Marc Cameron as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, continuing the real-world geopolitical focus that has defined the series' continuation era since Clancy's death. It runs 544 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red Winter - Book 35:
Flash Point
Flash Point (2023) is the thirty-fifth Jack Ryan book, written by Don Bentley as ghostwriter -- part of the rotating slate of continuation authors that has kept the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' brand running for a decade past Clancy's own writing.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Flash Point - Book 36:
Weapons Grade
Weapons Grade (2023) is Don Bentley's contribution as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the thirty-sixth installment in a series now defined by a shared universe of continuation writers rather than a single author's voice. It runs 576 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Weapons Grade - Book 37:
Command and Control
Command and Control (2023) follows Weapons Grade and is written by Marc Cameron as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, continuing the geopolitically dense, procedural style that has carried the series through more than a decade of continuation authors. It runs 464 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Command and Control - Book 38:
Act of Defiance
Act of Defiance (2024) is the thirty-eighth Jack Ryan book, co-written by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson as ghostwriters -- two more names in the rotating slate Penguin Random House has kept cycling through since Clancy's 2013 death. It runs 608 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Act of Defiance - Book 39:
Shadow State
Shadow State (2024) picks up the series after Act of Defiance, written by M.P. Woodward as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, part of the continuation era's parallel storylines sustained by several different writers under one shared brand. It runs 384 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shadow State - Book 40:
Defense Protocol
Defense Protocol (2024) continues the fortieth installment of the Jack Ryan series, written by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson as ghostwriters -- part of the multi-author imprint the franchise became after Clancy's death. It runs 512 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Defense Protocol - Book 41:
Line of Demarcation
Line of Demarcation (2025) is M.P. Woodward's contribution as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the forty-first book in a series now carried entirely by continuation authors more than a decade after Clancy's own last Jack Ryan novel. It runs 389 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Line of Demarcation - Book 42:
Terminal Velocity
Terminal Velocity (2025) picks up the series after Line of Demarcation, written by M.P. Woodward as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, continuing the shared-universe structure that has defined the franchise's post-Clancy stretch. It runs 446 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Terminal Velocity - Book 43:
Executive Power
Executive Power (2025) follows Terminal Velocity and was written by Brian Andrews as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, part of the rotating slate of continuation authors sustaining the 'A Jack Ryan Novel' brand. It runs 520 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Executive Power - Book 44:
Rules of Engagement
Rules of Engagement (2026) is written by Ward Larsen as Jack Ryan ghostwriter, the forty-fourth installment and the newest name added to the continuation authors keeping the series going more than a decade past Tom Clancy's death. It runs 448 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rules of Engagement
About the Jack Ryan series
Jack Ryan starts the series as a CIA analyst who stumbles into a Soviet submarine defection and rises, book by book, to national security adviser and eventually President of the United States — one of the most sustained "ordinary competent man in extraordinary circumstances" arcs in thriller fiction. Tom Clancy built his name on techno-thriller density: real weapons systems, real geopolitics, and enough procedural detail about submarines, fighter jets and intelligence tradecraft that the books doubled as unofficial Pentagon-adjacent reading. After Clancy's death in 2013, Penguin Random House kept the universe going through a rotating slate of continuation authors (Mark Greaney, Marc Cameron, Mike Maden, Don Bentley, M.P. Woodward and others), branding every book "A Jack Ryan Novel" whether President Ryan, his son Jack Ryan Jr., or CIA operative John Clark is doing the legwork.
That makes this less a single continuous story than a shared universe with President Ryan as its institutional anchor — Jack Ryan Jr.'s Campus-based spy missions and his father's Oval Office plotlines run as parallel, occasionally intersecting threads. It's for readers who want military-grade technical detail and great-power conflict rather than character-driven intimacy, and who don't mind a series that's really an imprint sustained by several different writers rather than one author's singular vision.
Frequently asked questions
Who writes the Jack Ryan series?
Tom Clancy wrote the series; books 17-22 were ghostwritten by Mark Greaney; books 19-21 were ghostwritten by Grant Blackwood; books 23-29 were ghostwritten by Mike Maden; books 24-37 were ghostwritten by Marc Cameron; books 31-36 were ghostwritten by Don Bentley; books 38-43 were ghostwritten by Brian Andrews; books 38-43 were ghostwritten by Jeffrey Wilson; books 39-42 were ghostwritten by M.P. Woodward; book 44 were ghostwritten by Ward Larsen.
How many Jack Ryan books are there?
45, from The Hunt for Red October (1984) to The Coldest War (November 2026), across Tom Clancy and eight continuation authors. This excludes Clancy's standalone Against All Enemies (2011), which is not part of the Jack Ryan series despite the shared branding.
What order should I read the Jack Ryan books in?
Publication order for the whole run. If you only want Clancy's original twelve solo novels in story chronology, read Without Remorse, Patriot Games and Red Rabbit before The Hunt for Red October; everything from Rainbow Six onward follows publication order either way.
Who writes the Jack Ryan books now?
Tom Clancy wrote the first twelve solo (1984-2003) and co-wrote three more before his death in 2013. Since then Mark Greaney, Marc Cameron, Mike Maden, Grant Blackwood, Don Bentley, Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson, M.P. Woodward and Ward Larsen have each contributed, usually alternating between the President Ryan and Jack Ryan Jr. storylines.
What's the difference between the Jack Ryan books and the Jack Ryan Jr. books?
They're published as one continuous numbered series, but roughly half the entries since 2014 follow President Jack Ryan and CIA officer John Clark, while the others follow his son Jack Ryan Jr. and The Campus. Both threads share the same political timeline.
What is the next Jack Ryan book?
The Coldest War by M.P. Woodward, due 24 November 2026, in which a Russian plan to open an Arctic shipping passage threatens President Ryan.
If you like the Jack Ryan series
Reading order last verified .