Out of the Ashes

Tom Clancy's Op-Center

By: Dick Couch, George Galdorisi, Tom Clancy

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

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?

©2014 Jack Ryan Limited Partnership and S&R Literary, Inc. (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“The U.S intelligence agencies have spent billions since 9/11 learning how to 'connect the dots.' But what if there are only one or two dots? Out of the ashes is a smoothly written story by two authors who understand the inner workings of U.S. intelligence, government, and the military, and tell a frightening and exciting tale about a very new, but also a very old threat.” —Larry Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Dangerous Grounds

“Thriller addicts like me devoured every Tom Clancy's Op-Center tale. Now they are back, intricately plotted, with wonderfully evil villains and enough realistic military action and suspense to ruin a couple of night's sleep. Highly recommended.” —Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of Pirate Alley

“Fans of the original Op-Center series created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik will welcome this solid continuation from Couch (SEAL Team One) and Galdorisi (Coronado Conspiracy). . . . This thriller procedural packs plenty of pulse-raising action. The open ending promises more to come.” —Publishers Weekly

Narrator ruined it

Would you try another book from the authors and/or Scott Sowers?

yes

How could the performance have been better?

It was so monotone. I have listened to other Clancy books and they were great. This man, made it tedious to listen to. Had I know on the frontside, I would have rather bought the book to read, rather than listen to.

narrator was terrible

please bring back the original op-center narrator. This narrator was stilted and paused in the middle of sentences, making some parts difficult to follow.

The worst book yet

the only reason I finished this book was likely due to the he's he's reading / listening of Audible. This book was like a poorly scripted movie both in its narrative and its narrator. every line seems unnatural and scripted, a big departure from previous Tom Clancy branded novels of this series. I am a big fan of the Tom Clancy novels and have read and or listened to every single one that has been published up to this one. this was by far the worst.

Another great one!

I appreciate strong women protagonists AND a narrator who doesn’t have to make women’s voices high pitched and screechy. Thanks for the Tom Clancy legacy and the collaboration of writers. And once again I loved the impetus this gave me to study our history.

poor reading

the person reading sounded like a high school student reading fairy tales. He did not do justice to the author.

AWFUL narrator

I was forced to turn the speed up to 1.25 to be able to struggle my way through this. The narrator should be only allowed to read for local radio stations that nobody listens to. He has an awful and nasal voice, and his "accents" or the way he makes characters sound different makes this read sound like a cartoon!

not as good as previous books in this sequence

I don't think the narrator was a good fit for this type of novel, and I don't think the writing was as good as previous books

Fell well short of the first 12

Give me the old writers and Michael Krammer any day over this new attempt. Although the story was somewhat intriguing, it lacked the high paced plot of the first 12 novels. The performance was almost too painful to listed to. it sounded like he was reading off a very small teleprompter. Characters were quite bland with no real depth.

Not great

weak story line. The narrator tried but failed to be engaging. The least interesting book in this series so far. At times I literally fell asleep listening.

Love Op Center stories, this one not so much...

I have listened to Dozens of Tom Clancy stories and this is my least favorite. The story was ok, not great. The performance was painful to listen to. Inflection was terrible and there was an obvious lack of familiarity with material. No more performances by this reader please. I would hate to give up my Clancy books. I look forward to every release.