Chapter By Chapter> Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Mirror Image chapter 26

Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter (or possibly multiple chapter for this one) of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

In our last installment we got a brief visit with the Striker team. It’s a longer chapter this week, so good thing I have the time to read it. It’s been that kind of…time.

Despite my misgivings going in, I’m actually enjoying this book so far. It seems to be bypassing most of the mistakes of the first novel. The unlikable aspects of our heroes are toned down, the chapters are still odd choices at times but at least last time they made good use of it, and while I still think it’s too early for the “evil twin” plot I have maintained interest in the story.

We’re still not at the halfway point so I hope you’re enjoying this readthrough, and let me know what you think if you have a copy and have been reading along. In the meantime, it’s on to the next chapter, and back to Russia.

Chapter 26> Monday, 11PM, St. Petersburg

So the plot thickens at Commie Op-Center.

Orlov has a little talk with Rossky about the missing log and information of a discussion with Dogin. I don’t think Orlov suspects the full plan, but he is currently of the impression that Dogin is trying to exert some authority and Rossky is in on it, possibly working for him instead of the Center. He also notices the information about the plane Dogin asked to keep an eye on is missing from the records, suspecting Rossky was involved but not saying anything to him just yet. He knows he’s getting played, but that has to take a backseat as they find evidence of a plane–Striker’s plane as we readers know–is on the way.

I like how they aren’t simply accepting we the readers know that’s Striker they’re getting communication chatter about. We see things from their perspective. Also, it’s possible that Orlov isn’t in on anything. Would he approve of the return of Communist Russia and the USSR? And now I wonder if the idea of the Center really was intended to be Commie Op-Center. Could Dogin simply be co-opting Russia coming up with their own version of Op-Center? Or is Orlov more correct about being a “figurehead” than he realizes? Who knows what, and what happens when the bad guys are keeping each other in the dark? A house divided cannot stand, and this one may be missing a structural wall somewhere.

Next time it’s a two chapter affair, because one is only 3 pages long and the other is barely 4. We’ll see what happens then as we see what junior is doing and meet another member of the Commie Op-Center team.