Limelight 'The sum of their fears' By Lubna Abdel Aziz Who is Tom Clancy, and how does he write the things he writes? He is the same Tom Clancy, who befriends US presidents, lunches at the White House, lectures at the CIA, and is regularly consulted by international intelligence agencies around the world. Rumoured to be an ex-American naval officer and an ex-CIA officer, the reality of the matter is that he is an ex-insurance broker, who always dreamed of writing a novel. In 1975 he read about a Soviet frigate that attempted to defect to Sweden. The story of the daring and desperation of the Soviets haunted him for years. One day he sat and wrote about it. He sought his technical knowledge from publicly available sources in libraries and institutions. He solicited the help of former CIA agent and submariner Robert Chatham, to whom he dedicated the book. He wrote mostly at night when he was not working on his insurance business. Almost 10 years later, in October 1984, a small publishing house released a modest edition of the book entitled The Hunt for Red October. No one expected the tremendous public response of the readers to the incredibly authentic and thrilling account of the Soviet submarine defection. Even the president of the US, then President Reagan, called it "a non put-downable" and invited Clancy to lunch so that he can personally congratulate him. It remained on the New York Times best-seller list for 40 weeks and was made into a very successful 2-hour movie by the same name, starring Sean Connery as the Soviet Captain and Alec Baldwin as CIA officer Jack Ryan. It was directed by John McTiernen (Die Hard) and was released n 1990. Red October is an incredibly intricate plot, full of suspense and technical wizardry. Marko Ramius, the Soviet Navy's top submarine commander, had just taken control of the "Red October" submarine. His mission was to test the sub's new silent "caterpillar" drive, but Ramius and a select group of his officers were actually planning to drive the submarine to the coast of the United States and defect. When the Americans discover that the Soviet fleet was heading their way they panic and only super CIA analyst Jack Ryan discovers Ramius's intentions. He coordinates the operation and brings the defecting sub safely to American shores. Other best sellers followed, 11 so far, 4 of them have been adapted for the screen and the fifth is on the way. Clancy originated the literary genre known as the "technothriller" and has established himself as the master of the realistic narrative on current and future events. The role of super CIA consultant Jack Ryan was taken over by Harrison Ford in Patriot Games, (1992, dir. Phillip Noyce), about Irish terrorists threatening his family after he thwarts an assassination attempt on the Prince of Wales. This thriller was followed by Clear and Present Danger, 1994, again directed by Phillip Noyce, where he spins a marvelously tense yarn that appealed to his legion of fans with the usual technological bravura spiced by artful espionage and the all too human mistakes. Ryan breaks up the drug smuggling "Colombian Cartel", which has become a "clear and present danger" to American national security. The novel, Clear and Present Danger was published in August 1989 and in 4 months it became the best-selling book of the decade. His life-long fascination with technology and the military and the success of his books has resulted in Clancy's "adoption" by the military. Admirals and generals welcome him and give him access to Pentagon briefings and many of his books are required readings at American military colleges. He also serves as consultant in national defence and strategy to the American Space Council. It is probably this access to a wide variety of sources and information from military and intelligence circles that gives Clancy this edge, an authenticity that sets him apart. The walls of his office are lined with war games and books on weapons and government-produced maps. There, he produces his heart-stopping novels, riveting accounts of the world's most intriguing issues of our time and his foreknowledge of the future. His fourth motion picture based on another best-seller technothriller The Sum of All Fears, with Ben Affleck now portraying Jack Ryan, has just been released to an overwhelming success. It was first published 11 years ago in 1991. There lies the amazing talent that not only "very nearly scoops reality", but even predicts it. The story revolves around a group of terrorists, who smuggle a small nuclear device inside the US and detonate it at a Baltimore football game. The world is now on the verge of a nuclear disaster and Jack Ryan must frantically seek a solution before the chiefs of state of the US and the USSR lose control of themselves and the world. The film was made 2 years ago at a cost of $70 million and was ready for release before September 11th. Paramount pulled it back and seriously considered shelving it, but when profit is at stake, Hollywood will be Hollywood. The film was released last week to an uproar by the American media, outraged that an already paranoid nation was exposed to scenes of mass destruction and widespread panic -- a frightfully realistic reminder of 9/11. What has Clancy done? Has he frightened or alerted an already jittery global populace? With the Middle East conflict still raging, with the US constantly threatening Iraq and with India and Pakistan at the brink of yet another conflict over the disputed territory of Kashmir, such a film carries the danger of traumatising the viewer as the eerie possibility of nuclear proliferation threatens. In defence, the film-makers claim that it raises public awareness, which the administration regularly recommends. But the White House, while officially maintaining silence, has leaked its reservations about such a film, unnecessarily alarming an already restless public. Unfortunately, the administration cannot have it both ways! "Time and again Tom Clancy's novels have been praised not only for the big-scale drama and propulsive narrative drive, but for their cutting-edge prescience in predicting future events." In one moment without sign or signal, note or warning, the reader is floundering up to his neck in thrilling suspense. Clancy has an uncanny sense of a soothsayer, providing invaluable insight into conflicts that are about to occur. It was none other than Tom Clancy in his novel Debt of Honour released in 1994, who first conceived of an airplane crashing into the US Capitol. Are his writings didactical, analytical or prophetic? Easily one of the most influential authors of modern times, the world eagerly awaits more of Clancy's prognostications and premonitions. His latest novel The Bear and the Dragon published in August 2000 has Russia as the 'bear' and China as the 'dragon'. His next book The Red Rabbit will be released August 2002. It will surely have American 'good guys' battling the 'bad guys' wherever they may be. The next screen adaptation Executive Orders will also be released sometime next year. A great believer in a strong military, Clancy published his thoughts on the poor performance of American intelligence after 9/11 in an article in the Wall Street Journal, September 18th 2001: "First we cripple the CIA, then we blame it." Predicting global political crises with such hair-raising accuracy is reminiscent of HG Wells and other science fiction writers, who seemingly indulged in fantasy, when in later years it was realised they were actually predicting the future. Science has caught up with science fiction and may have even surpassed it. Has the technothriller taken a page from science fiction and now does the literary novel predict history before it happens? With hearts thumping in every chest, this perturbed world needs a statesman of the calibre of a Winston Churchill who could calm mounting anxieties with his profound wisdom and understanding. It was he who so eloquently spoke of the proximity of courage and fear. "You may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman, the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together, what do you get? The sum of their fears!
