Reading Without Mercy by Colonel David Hunt and R. J. Pineiro was like a long-awaited visit to the house that Clancy built. From start to finish, the writing duo maintains heart-pounding pacing and tension. In an all too plausible scenario, radical Islamic terrorists target New York City once more, this time with a nuclear device. The remainder of the book has multiple covert and military assets, several federal agencies, and a new President of the United States working around the clock to prevent the rest of the planned attacks.

Hunt and Pineiro have a tendency to over-season their writing with the precise make and model numbers of ships, weapons, and guns; presumably to lend an air of authenticity to the narrative, but the mixture could have done with a little less salt. As always, it’s fun to see stories where the best of American talent is unleashed against impossible odds and its many enemies. It was refreshing to see a movement away from male dominated thrillers by following four very strong female characters throughout the novel, though they couldn’t resist having two of them dealing with romantic issues. But then again, strong human/romantic relationships are often forged against a backdrop of death and destruction and provide a great source of tension.

Hunt and Pineiro made sure to illustrate the mindset of the terrorists and elucidate their motivations. The reader would be hard-pressed to resist the sense of empathy that comes with seeing what drove them to their hatred of the west. They’re also not shy about pointing out the posturing among politicians and government agencies and how dangerous it can be when faced with a time bomb.

Without Mercy delivers a story that reminds the reader just how unstable and unsafe our world is and begs the question of how effective our leadership would be if the circumstances in the novel played out in real life. Given the current political climate, the contemplation of that is almost more frightening than the book.