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Dead or Alive  By  cover art

Dead or Alive

By: Tom Clancy, Grant Blackwood
Narrated by: Lou Diamond Phillips
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Publisher's summary

Don't Miss the Original Series Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Starring John Krasinski!

Tom Clancy delivers a #1 New York Times bestselling Jack Ryan novel that will remind readers why he is the acknowledged master of international intrigue and nonstop military action.

It is The Campus. Secretly created under the administration of President Jack Ryan, its sole purpose is to eliminate terrorists and those who protect them. Officially, it has no connection to the American government - a necessity in a time when those in power consider themselves above such arcane ideals as loyalty, justice, and right or wrong.

Now covert intelligence expert Jack Ryan Jr. and his compatriots at The Campus - joined by black ops warriors John Clark and “Ding” Chavez - have come up against their greatest foe: a sadistic killer known as the Emir. Mastermind of countless horrific attacks, the Emir has eluded capture by every law enforcement agency in the world. But his greatest devastation is yet to be unleashed as he plans a monumental strike at the heart of America.

On the trail of the Emir, Jack Ryan Jr. will find himself following in his legendary father’s footsteps on a manhunt that will take him and his allies across the globe, into the shadowy arenas of political gamesmanship, and back onto U.S. soil in a race to prevent the possible fall of the West....

Take another thrill ride with Jack Ryan.
©2010 by Rubicon, Inc. (P)2010 by Brilliance Audio, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Heart-stopping action...entertaining and eminently topical.” (The Washington Post)

“The best characters from all of Clancy’s previous novels are on the case.... For fans of the genre, Dead or Alive is likely to provide a long weekend’s pleasure.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Clancy is back at the top of his game.... In-depth research, continuous suspense, and scores of fascinating characters.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

Featured Article: Listen Before You Watch—The Biggest Page-to-Screen Adaptations in Fall/Winter 2022


It’s not just crunchy leaves and cozy vibes that autumn brings. This fall and winter, television and movie fans also have a lot to look forward to, with major page-to-screen adaptations slated from streaming and theatrical releases. So, as your next listen, consider tuning in to the original works that have inspired what are sure to be our new book-to-movie and book-to-television obsessions.

What listeners say about Dead or Alive

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb! More Clancy/LDP!

Lou Diamond Philips?! MORE! I've been a member of Audible since it started, and I can say this for the first time- "LDP reads this book to me better than I could read it to myself". LDP has played enough military and police roles in movies that he understands where TC is coming from (I'd love to see him in a movie as Ding Chavez!) I usually read the ebook first, and if it's good, listen to it on audible later while I'm driving or doing work around the house. I deleted the ebook this time!

I've read every Clancy book and have liked most of them. He has an undeniable style and finesse. I must caution you; if you're squeamish to the military or have a liberal bone in your body you should probably click away from this page with haste. As a veteran I can tell you that Clancy's books are realistic, right down to the thoughts and attitudes of the troops and analysts. This book was no exception. Welcome back Clancy, John, Chavez, and the Ryans, and 'well met' to the new players.

THIS IS A MUST LISTEN... MULTIPLE TIMES!

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126 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Same great Clancey - Great narration

I've got every Tom Clancy book Audible has done, but they all suffer - BADLY - from Michael Pritchard's narration.

Lou Diamond Phillips does a superb job of performing this latest Clancy thriller.

Don't be deceived by thinking the Lou Diamond Phillips, the actor you see in movies and on TV is the extent of his dramatic range. He is absolutely wonderful at capturing the characters, accents, genders, etc in this Audiobook

5 Stars +++



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110 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Nothing has changed in a decade

If it's a Tom Clancy book, you can be sure of several things:

Mr. Clancy has done his technical research to the last detail and spends page after page explaining it to us. In a previous book, he literally described a nuclear explosion millisecond by millisecond. He does similar things here. Sometimes, you find yourself tuning the narrator off because you don't particularly care how a bullet acts after striking. This is one reason for the extraordinary length of his books.
He also introduces so many characters and sub-plots so quickly that it is difficult to remember what the main plot is. It's easy to lose interest in what a character does when he or she only appears every five chapters.
In short, he kills us with insignificant details and smothers us with new sub-plots and characters.

I was hoping that time had mellowed his fondness for verbosity. It hasn't.

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92 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very insightful!

Great read. Lou Diamond Phillips does an excellent job narrating. He has a masterful command of pronunciation of names in many languages. Fully enjoyed the insight into the workings of the "spy" world. Makes me believe there's a place and time for "torture".

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49 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Some excitement but too much FOX-speak

I found the us/them politics of this book difficult to stick with. Anyone with moderate to liberal views is presented as an idiot, but if that suits you or if you are able to ignore it, I think this would be a good read. It is too long for my taste, but the level of research is impressive and interesting. Narration is good and the accents are well done.

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40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Dead or Alive

A very disappointing book by a good writer. I tried to listen and start this book three times but it just went on and on without any plot or central focus. Also, I am getting tired of conservitave writers building their political views into their plots.

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39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

A Lot of Fast Forward

Once again Tom's eye-rolling views on presidential politics stomped an otherwise fun read. After the first two hours I found myself just fast forwarding through any section with Jack Ryan Sr. I'm not anti-conservative, but the preaching and ranting just knocked me out of the novel reading experience. In stead of getting caught up in the plot, I was constantly reminded that I'm reading a book written by an angry old guy. Loved all the parts with Clark and Ding and Jack Ryan Jr., skipped most of the rest.

Tom, please go back to entertaining us with great stories and detail about the military and intelligence community - smash and burn the soapbox.

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38 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Pretty Good

After the last novel "Teeth of the Tiger" which was flat and of no substance, this was a definite improvement. It was great to have the old guard come back and I really like the way Tom Clancy integrated the old characters with the new. That said, the timeline of the plot of the "bad guys" is convoluted. That was the only thing that prevented this book from being a great story. Tom Clancy had an original idea, technically correct, great characters but I think he spread himself too thin and it caused the timeline of the book to be both confusing and inaccurate.
As far as the narrator, much to my surprise, Lou Diamond Phillips did a good job reading this book. So If you love the characters from the old Jack Ryan series, and want to see them in a more modern setting then this is a pretty good book. If its your first time reading a a Jack Ryan series, I would not recommend this book at all. Try starting with the Hunt for Red october.

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Dead or Alive, or as I call it, With Remorse

I was enjoying this book until about the halfway mark. Then it became very difficult to maintain interest. It just ran out of gas. I re-read his older books quite often and enjoy them every time. But this one won't be one of them. The most interesting parts of this book seemed to be the setup for a future book.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Dead Or Alive

Lou Diamond Phillips did a super job narrating this story. I had read or listen to all of Tom Clancy's books. Glad to see him writing again I had almost given up hope for any new books from him. The only negative part of the book was the pushing of right wing politics. I would prefer sticking to the story and leave out the politics. I do like the pro military story he tell and all the military detail is great as well as his in-depth story of analysis techniques of the CIA and related agencies. Hope the next book comes along soon.

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22 people found this helpful