Tom Clancy (1947-2013)

Bestselling thriller author Tom Clancy, 66, died October 1, 2013 in a Baltimore MD hospital.

While best known for his Cold War thrillers, Clancy also wrote near-future SF thriller Red Storm Rising (1986), about a war between NATO and the USSR. The Jack Ryan series, beginning with his debut The Hunt for Red October (1984), diverges from contemporary reality in later volumes to develop a future history involving major geopolitical upheavals and a war with China. Many of his novels have been made into films, notably The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games (1987), and Clear and Present Danger (1989). His next book, Command Authority (with Mark Greaney) is forthcoming in December.

Thomas Leo Clancy was born April 12, 1947 in Baltimore. He attended Loyola College, graduating in 1969, and worked as an insurance salesman when he sold his first novel, which became popular after then-President Reagan praised it as “my kind of yarn.” He is survived by second wife Alexandra Marie Llewellyn, married 1999, and four children from his first marriage.

See the November issue of Locus for a complete obituary.

For more, see his entry in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.