Against All Enemies by Tom Clancy (with Peter Telep)

Oh, Tom Clancy, you weave an ever-so-complicated tale.  After finishing Bite Me, I started reading Against All Enemies on May 21st and finished it on June 29th.  Like many Clancy novels, this isn't a short book.  It is 709 pages of action-packed reading material.

If you've never read a Clancy book before here are a few things to note:  

• The book may seem disjointed.  Clancy writes complicated books with many small sub-stories that come together.  It can be a little tough to keep everything straight and remember how everything is intertwined.  That's ok.  He usually wraps everything up nicely in the last 100 pages or so. 
• There is a lot going on in the book.  Yes, there is.  Just go with it. 
• It is long.  Again, yes.  The book is long.  You'll enjoy it (probably).  Just keep reading. 
• The book sort of seems real.  Yes, it does.  Clancy writes realistic books that are well-researched.

Going into any Clancy book - know that it may seem confusing, it's long, there's a lot going on - that's his style and genre.  You'll either like it or not.  I really like it.  The Husband doesn't.  The Husband's dad actually gave me this book after he read it.  He and I have similar taste in some books, and he and The Husband have another similar taste in books.  You can have more than one taste.  That's the beauty of books - they are so diverse - and there is bound to be something out there that whets your appetite!

Back to Against All Enemies.  How do I even begin?  What came first - the chicken or the egg?  Who knows, but they both exist.  This book makes a tasty omelette out of the Mexican drug cartels, Middle-East terrorists, Guatemalan death squads, the alphabet soup of federal agencies (FBI, CIA, DEA, boarder patrol, and...), Navy SEALs, and more.  It seems like everything imaginable comes into the mix in this one.

One of the main characters in this book is ex-Navy SEAL Max Moore - he's the thread that is a constant throughout the whole book.  It starts and ends with him.  We experience many intense situations in present time and in Moore's past that help us understand who he is and what motivates him.  Another thread that is present throughout is a question that Moore was asked by a Middle Eastern man who was providing information to him.  This man asked Moore what the most difficult thing he has ever done in his life.  It is a question that Moore struggles with throughout the book.  

     "...So, in the name of brotherhood... what is the most difficult thing you have ever done in your life?"

      "I don't think I've ever faced that question before."

     "Are you afraid to tell me?"

     "I'm not afraid, I'm just..."

     "You don't want to look at it.  You've hidden it away."

     Moore gasped, and he was unsure if he could maintain his gaze on Wazir.  "We've all done many difficult things."

     "I need the most difficult.  Do you want me to go first?"

     Moore nodded.

     "I yearned to make my father proud.  I wanted to be a good son."

     "And how was that difficult?"

     Wazir raised his stump.  "I got hurt early in the war, and with that the paternal glow of pride, each time I entered the room, was quenched from my father's gaze.  His son was a cripple now, no longer a warrior.  It was never the same with him after that.  And there was nothing harder for me to do than make him proud."

      ... Moore's eyes began to burn - because he knew that the old man was going to press him again.  He did.

     "The hardest thing?"

     "Moore glanced away.  "I'm sorry.  I can't look in there."

     The old man sat quietly, sipping on his tea, letting the silence reclaim the room, while Moore forced his thoughts onto deep, dark waves of nothing.  And then he looked up.  "I guess if I don't tell you, you won't help me."

     "If you told me too quickly, I wouldn't believe you.  I understand that the pain is so great that you can't talk.  I know this pain.  And I will help you.  I must help you."

     "I just... I once made a decision that to this day I'm not sure was the right one.  Every time I think about it I feel like I'm going to throw up."

Through flashbacks of his SEAL training and missions we learn of some of the difficult things that Moore has been through, and we might just learn what that one thing makes him feel like he's going to throw up.

I like Clancy's books because he writes his characters very believably - they seem like real, complicated, complex, messed-up people - like all of us.  Everyone has problems, failures, challenges, successes, regrets, wants, desires, thoughts, happiness, sadness, frustration.  Not everything works out for every one.

I can't remember the last Clancy book I read - maybe Rainbow Six - and that was many years ago.  It was nice to pick up another Clancy book and really like it.  If you're a fan of Clancy or this genre, you'll probably like this book.