US novelist Tom Clancy dies at age 66

October 2, 2013



The bestselling US novelist died yesterday in a hospital in Baltimore, according to his publisher. The sixty-six year old is best known for a series of novels themed around espionage, military affairs and geopolitical intrigue, many of which have been adapted into movies and video games.

, Clancy's first novel, sold over five million copies and was made into a movie with and. President described the novel as a "perfect yarn". The protagonist of Red October, CIA analyst Jack Ryan, starred in a series of Clancy adventures featuring wars, terrorist attacks and international political power games. Ryan has been played by and later.

Seventeen of his twenty novels have reached number one on the  bestseller list. In 2002,  magazine estimated Clancy's earnings at 47.8m. His final novel, Command Authority, is to be published in December.