They track fairly closely with Clancy in tone and plot progression, IMHO.
To me, Clancy was always {interesting event} -> {discovery of unexpectedly serious implications of event} -> {race to uncover extent of implications, before it's too late}.
And I get why he converged on that! That's a banger plot, guaranteed to sell copies!
His earlier stuff bucks this trope (e.g. Red October and Red Storm Rising), but he was something of a different author in his more technically curious years.
To me, Clancy was always {interesting event} -> {discovery of unexpectedly serious implications of event} -> {race to uncover extent of implications, before it's too late}.
And I get why he converged on that! That's a banger plot, guaranteed to sell copies!
His earlier stuff bucks this trope (e.g. Red October and Red Storm Rising), but he was something of a different author in his more technically curious years.