Author Tom Clancy has passed away at the age of 66. Clancy died at Johns Hopkins Hospital after a brief illness, the Baltimore Sun reports. Clancy’s novels took place in a world of high-stakes political espionage, but usually seen through the lens of unlikely hero Jack Ryan. Although Clancy wrote novels without the character, Ryan is the author’s most enduring creation. The character was adapted to the big screen in The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, and the upcoming reboot, Jack Ryan.
Over the course of Clancy’s novels, Ryan went from being a CIA analyst all the way to the President of the United States. Clancy also left a mark with gamers as he co-founded the video game developer Red Storm Entertainment, which led to the lucrative franchises for Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell.
