Jack Ryan Returns In A New Tom Clancy Thriller Next Week

Published Nov 13, 2026, 1:30 PM EST Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV. The Jack Ryan franchise has remained one of the most enduring in all of political fiction, even lasting beyond the life of Tom Clancy, and its November 2026 return is an exciting one. Focused around CIA analyst Jack Ryan, who's played by John Krasinski in the Prime Video TV adaptation of the novels, the series slowly evolves into one of the most important figures in the US government over the course of its run. With the first Jack Ryan novel hitting shelves in 1984, the character has endured and adapted through the times, with different elements of the culture coming into play throughout its run. Having appeared in numerous bestselling titles, Clancy's Ryan has been adapted for TV and film, but the most enduring part of the franchise has always been the books. The literary legacy of Jack Ryan has proven itself through political upheaval, societal change, and the advent of technology, making the character one of the longest lasting in political thrillers. Ryan's stories have explored everything from the Cold War and international terrorism to emerging technology and the shifting geopolitical relationships between the US and other nations. With Clancy's character at the forefront, the Jack Ryan franchise has continued to grow, even without him at the helm. The bestselling franchise is returning in a whole new way next week, with the next novel in the Ryanverse hitting shelves on November 24. The Coldest War, written by new Ryanverse author M.P. Woodward, is the 28th Jack Ryan novel and brings a whole new crisis into play. Tom Clancy's The Coldest War Brings Jack Ryan Into A Dangerous New Conflict With the newest title in the Tom Clancy Ryanverse coming out on November 24, The Coldest War is bringing a whole new thrilling conflict into the spotlight. The novel, written by the Ryanverse's new author M.P. Woodward, sees President Jack Ryan facing a new international crisis involving Russian nuclear technology, and a potentially devastating shift in naval power. Playing into the established storytelling of the Ryanverse, the newest novel in the series draws on the relationship between military technology and international diplomacy to create its core conflict, asking its readers to draw back on what's happened in Ryan's past for the narrative to move forward. While Ryan may have begun his journey as a lowly analyst, the now President of the United States has to draw on his abilities in a different way than usual in the new novel. While he's typically able to use the military to gauge a fairly positive outcome, as President, Ryan has to factor in the diplomatic ties that he could be severing by waging military action as he moves forward with any plans. Taking into consideration security threats to the nation, The Coldest War draws on themes that earlier Jack Ryan novels explored in a modern lens. Although the franchise is no longer helmed by Tom Clancy himself, who passed away in 2013, the spirit of the original author has lived on within Jack Ryan throughout the novels of the past decade. Exploring similar themes to Clancy's entries to the Ryanverse, the novels have become some of the most enduring political thrillers of all time, even finding themselves adapted into a tremendously successful Prime Video universe. The most recent release, Jack Ryan: Ghost War, was a film that Prime Video audiences flocked to earlier in 2026 to continue with the long-running franchise in a whole new way. With M.P. Woodward taking over the Jack Ryan franchise after having collaborated on titles in the past, the new author appears to be taking Jack into a completely different direction with the publication of The Coldest War. While the details of the novel aren't entirely clear ahead of its release, Woodward has been open about the fact that bringing in new military elements to the story will open up the Jack Ryan franchise as a whole. Readers should expect to see a new slant to Ryan as the series moves forward, and The Coldest War will begin to set that shift up. Jack Ryan