Tom Clancy's Op-Center-Games of State-Book Review

BOOK REVIEW

OF

TOM CLANCY'S OP-CENTER: GAMES OF STATE

By: Tom Clancy

Steve Pieczenik

BOOK REVIEW

SUBJECT: Book Review of Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Games of State

1. Reference. Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Games of State by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik, published in New York by Berkley Books in 1996, 500 pages.

2. Recommendations

a. Recommended Audience

This is a fiction/thriller book created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik as an adult or young adult book and I would recommend it for all people over 18 years old who have basic knowledge about technology, intelligence and politics as a good plot with a bit of mystery. I wouldn't recommend it to children because of the violent scenes described and the language that comprises military terms and a specific jargon.

b. Recommended Actions

I recommend this book as a light reading for all people already familiarized with fiction books, who enjoy mystery and a good thriller book or movie; also, this book develops an interesting view on how things could work in a certain extreme situation where higher interests of a group or a person are influence our lives while we are not aware. This book could also be viewed as a case study for training leaders in the intelligence structures.

3. Analysis of the Author

a. Credentials

Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. (born April 12, 1947) is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and promotional purposes. His name is also a brand for similar movie scripts written by ghost writers and many series of non-fiction books on military subjects and merged biographies of key leaders. He is Vice Chairman of Community Activities and Public Affairs, as well as a part-owner, of the MLB Baltimore Orioles. ("Alexandra Llewellyn, Tom Clancy," The New York Times, June 27, 1999.).

Dr. Steve Pieczenik trained in Psychiatry at Harvard and has both an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College and a Ph.D. in International Relations from M.I.T. He was the first psychiatrist ever to receive a PhD. focusing on international relations. He served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and/or Senior Policy Planner under Secretaries Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, George Schultz and James Baker where he utilized his unique abilities and expertise to develop strategies and tactics that were instrumental in resolving major conflicts in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and the United States. He was also the principal International Crisis Manager and Hostage Negotiator and he developed conflict resolution techniques that were instrumental in saving over five hundred hostages in different terrorist episodes. He is currently an advisor to the Department of Defense. (http://www.stevepieczenik.com/).

b. Purpose

Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Games of State is part of a novel series of 13 books, created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik, though the series is actually written by Jeff Rovin with whom was in an agreement worth $22 million. OP Center was a 1995 made-for-TV movie starring Harry Hamlin as Paul Hood, newly minted director of the "OP Center". The book "Games of State" is the 3rd book in this series and follows the same pattern as the previous ones; the first one was called "Tom Clancy's Op-Center" and the second one "Mirror Image".

c. Sources

"Games of State" is the third volume in the bestselling series of high-tech, high-action thrillers created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik. In Tom Clancy's Op-Centre, bestselling author Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik, novelist and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, have created an astonishingly popular thriller series, which has already sold over 1 million HarperCollins paperbacks. The novels are based on Steve Pieczeniks' twenty years experience in resolving international crises for four U.S. administrations.

d. Objectivity

Being a fiction novel, the action can not be related to reality but some facts and characters could be inspired from real life, from previous conflicts and even from present phenomenon, like using media as manipulation tool. Because the story of the book is about Neo-Nazis inciting race hate, groups that want to change world events by means of right-wing propaganda, computer games based on KKK cookouts and Nazi concentration camps, it may seem too exaggerated and unrealistic for some readers, but the technology behind it is described in such a way to make it easy to understand and, frighteningly enough, feasible. The angle on the re-unification of Germany starting the resurgence of Nazism is also well put together. The characters are very well portrayed but at some point there are some very strange things happening that are too much to be coincidences or others, heroic acts. But taking into consideration that is a fiction novel, the story and the politics behind it are the strong points of this book and give the idea to the reader of a possible and real situation.

4. Analysis of the Content

a. Thesis

A millionaire funds Neo-Nazi groups to spread violence and resurrect dead dreams in Europe, while plotting to insert subliminal messages by using cutting edge technology, in order to influence world events, but his actions are stopped by the Op-Center team, lead by Paul Hood.

b. Synopsis

In the newly unified Germany, old horrors are reborn. It is the beginning of Chaos Days, a time when Neo-Nazi groups gather to spread violence and resurrect bad dreams. But this year, Germany isn't the only target. Plans are afoot to destabilize Europe and cause turmoil throughout the United States. Paul Hood and his team, already in Germany to buy technology for the new Regional Op-Center, become entangled in the crisis. They uncover a shocking force behind the chaos - a group that uses cutting-edge technology to promote hate and influence world events.