Tom Clancy Op-Center: Out of the Ashes Audio Book

I about had a heart attack when I pulled this audio book for review out of the package a few weeks ago. I seriously love Tom Clancy and his brilliant mind. I love the twists and turns along with the edge of your seat story lines and here I was holding the newest offering created from the master of suspense. I even ran and woke up my hubby and told him I got first dibs. HA! So it is with pleasure that I bring you the newest story from the Op-Center.

Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Out of the Ashes
Audio Book
Written by: Dick Couch & George Galdorisi
Series: Tom Clancy’s Op-Center
Audio CD
Publisher: Macmillan Audio; Unabridged edition
Publish Date: May 20, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1427241078

Synopsis: Tom Clancy’s Op-Center is back with this new thriller written by the New York Times bestselling authors of Tom Clancy’s ACT OF VALOR and featuring a chilling, ripped-from-the-headlines scenario.

Before 9/11 America was protected by a covert force known as the National Crisis Management Center. Commonly known as Op-Center, this silent, secret mantel guarded the American people and protected the country from enemies. The charter was top secret and Director Paul Hood reported directly to the president. Op-Center used undercover operatives with SWAT capabilities to diffuse crises around the world, and they were tops in their field. But after the World Trade Center disaster, in the interest of streamlining, OP-Center was disbanded—leaving the country in terrible danger.

But when terrorists detonate bombs in sports stadiums around the country leaving men, women and children dead or mutilated, the President executes an emergency order to bring back Op-Center—an Op-Center capable of dealing with the high tech crises of the 21st Century, and there is a lethal one brewing in the Middle East. A renegade Saudi Prince with ambitions of controlling the world’s oil supply has an ingenious plot to manipulate America into attacking Syria and launching a war against Iran. Next, they would ignite a sleeper cell to attack the America homeland, resulting in a bloodbath unlike any other. Only the men and women of Op-Center, using sophisticated technology, realize what is about to be unleashed. Only they have the courage to issue a warning no one wants to hear. But will anyone believe them?

My Thoughts: Even though this book is written by 2 different authors, it was created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik and it reads much like a traditional Clancy novel we are used to picking up. Op-Center is the newest series in this military action, suspense filled story where the authors pull the story from the headlines and create a decent read.

One of the things I noticed is that while Clancy had innate ability to tell and craft interesting in depth characters, the characters that the authors created in this book were a bit flat. There was not a lot of in-depth, behind the scenes knowledge of the people in this book and there were many folks you had to keep track of. That is why books like these are perfect to be listened to in audio because the reader, Erik Bergmann, took this story into a new light with his voices, cultural inflections and really made the story come alive.

The story line is very interesting on its own and there are many areas that catch your breath and keep you riveted but there are many others, especially in the conversational areas, that could have been developed much better. However, for me, by listening to the audiobook, it was a very entertaining read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

If you love suspense, military thrillers written with a nod to Clancy, then Out of the Ashes is one that you will enjoy. My whole family loves this genre, so I know this will be listened to time and again.

Disclaimer: Affiliate link included. Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.