I recently came up with a three book concept for the Ryanverse – Fault Line / State of rebellion / Line of Succession – in which the series is able to meaningfully move forward, addressing some long standing issues.

In the final days of Jack Ryan Sr.’s presidency, a deepfake-driven disinformation campaign shatters a contested election, allowing a foreign-backed populist to seize power and dismantle the institutions Ryan spent a lifetime defending. As America descends into authoritarianism, the Campus is scattered, loyalists are hunted, and the Ryans are forced into exile and resistance. Across three novels, we see the conclusion of the Ryan presidency, a meaningful close to John Clark’s journey, and the rise of a new generation to continue the Ryanverse.

A lot of my thinking came as a result of reading Shadow State by M.P. Woodward, where he introduced a new character, Kendrick Moore. I found myself connecting with Moore and as a result, looking for the continuation of his journey in Line of Demarcation. But I didn’t see the full development of Moore that I was anticipating and, in my three book concept, I also completely overlooked it.

So I went back and reread chapter 5 of Shadow State several times, where Woodward introduced Moore. Honestly, it’s the best introduction of a new Campus member in as long as I can remember. Usually, someone unaffiliated with the Campus does something to support the Campus and by the end of the book they are having dinner at the White House. But the way Woodward introduced Moore was real and so genuine. The hell he’d been through was still so raw. His shaking knee, the way Woodward described him clutching his resume, and his lips quivering before he spoke. Damn, it was so good. All of that might look like weakness to someone who doesn’t understand the brooding intensity of Moore, which in many ways mirrors Clark in Without Remorse. It’s clear that Moore was a gritty operator who had unfairly been through hell.

It was then obvious. Moore needed a cathartic redemption story. Just as John Clark had several books focused on him, Without Remorse, Rainbow Six, Moore also needed the same. A book that comes out of that initial meeting with Clark and the associated backstory. These two men have a bond that’s formed by reflections of each other.

Path of Honor – A Kendrick Moore Novel, is concept that comes prior to the three book concept, and should come as soon as possible in the current run of the series.

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Short Pitch:

In Tom Clancy Path of Honor, Master Chief Kendrick Moore, disgraced SEAL, rising Campus operator, must confront the covert mission that cost him everything when his old teammates begin dying under suspicious circumstances. Years ago, Moore stumbled onto a rogue group called the Network diverting U.S. arms to criminal groups. Before Moore could do anything about it, the Network had him discredited and ended his career by means of a manufactured war crimes scandal. But now, with President Jack Ryan’s administration unknowingly pressuring the rogue network through sweeping reforms, the Network are racing to eliminate Moore and his teammates before the truth surfaces. So when former teammates start dying, Moore turns to John Clark for help. Together, they hunt the conspirators across the U.S., racing to save the few surviving witnesses before they too are silenced.

Path of Honor is a gritty, emotional thriller that not only deepens Kendrick Moore’s place in the Ryanverse but also positions him organically as the heir to John Clark’s legacy, the next warrior of principle willing to fight in the shadows when no one else can.

Detailed premise:

Now operating for the Campus, Master Chief Kendrick Moore is finally putting his past behind him, or so he believes. But when former SEAL teammates start dying under suspicious circumstances, Moore is forced to confront the one mission that still haunts him: a covert operation in West Africa that led to the deaths of half his team, and ultimately cost him his trident.

Years ago, Moore’s team stumbled onto something they were never supposed to see when he disobeyed orders and effected the rescue of over fifty civilians. In doing so, he uncovered a rogue group of private military contractors, known as the Network, operating without official sanction and illegally diverting U.S. arms to criminal groups in Africa. At the time, Moore was ordered to “stand down,” told the operation was “State-approved.” Worn down, grieving the loss of teammates, and trusting the chain of command, he stayed silent.

But in short succession he was falsely accused of war crimes by an ISIS defector. It wasn’t a random smear, it was engineered by the Network to destroy Moore’s credibility and erase any chance that the truth about their operation would surface. Even if Moore was able to piece together the details of the Network’s operation, they believed his disgrace had sufficiently removed the threat to their organisation.

The charges were ultimately dropped but the damage was done and Moore’s career was over. That is until John Clark recruited him into the Campus.

At the direction of President Jack Ryan’s administration, a sweeping review of past covert operations begins to expose long-buried anomalies. The Network feels the walls closing in and moves to eliminate every loose end. Now, the last surviving members of Moore’s old team, those who might still remember enough to connect the pieces, are being systematically hunted.

Moore attends the funeral of a teammate, who’s death was ruled a suicide, but small inconsistencies raise his suspicions. When another teammate narrowly survives an “accident,” Moore knows for certain: someone is tying off the past, and he might be next.

Determined to protect The Campus’s secrecy, and driven by a personal need to face his failures, Moore chooses not to involve the full Campus. Instead, he turns to John Clark, a man who understands what it means to fight a private war against the ghosts of his own past. Together, they move quietly and off-book, seeking justice without dragging innocent allies into a battle Moore feels he must finish himself. If they fail, Moore won’t just lose his life—he’ll lose the last chance to reclaim his honor, and the last chance to bring the real traitors into the light.

Why this story is critical for developing Kendrick Moore’s character:

Kendrick Moore is one of the most promising “next-generation” operators in the Ryanverse, but he remains emotionally unproven to the reader. This story gives him what no training sequence, no mission success could:

– A true test of personal honor over tactical skill.
– A confrontation with his deepest wound, the loss of his team, and the betrayal that followed.
– An earned evolution from a man surviving his past to a man owning it.

By facing the conspiracy tied to his disgrace, Moore transforms from a figure haunted by mistakes into a man defined by his resilience, loyalty, and moral clarity, the same traits that once made Clark legendary.

Without this journey, Moore remains a “muscle and gun” character. With it, he becomes a soul the Ryanverse can invest in.

Why John Clark is the right partner for Moore in this story:

John Clark isn’t just a mentor, he’s the living embodiment of redemption through action in the Ryanverse.

– Like Moore, Clark once faced a broken system and chose to fight privately for what was right (Without Remorse).
– Like Moore, Clark was forced to rebuild his honor outside the normal structures of government.
– Unlike Jack Ryan Sr. or Jack Jr., Clark understands the warrior’s isolation, the burden of making moral choices alone, in the shadows.

Clark standing with Moore is powerful not because he “saves” him, but because he trusts Moore to save himself.

Through their partnership, Clark doesn’t anoint Moore, he challenges him, reflects him, and ultimately recognizes him. And Clark is the only one who could truly do that.

Why setting Moore up as a future successor to Clark matters:

The Ryanverse has always balanced two archetypes:

– Jack Ryan, the strategist, the statesman, the moral compass in public arenas.
– John Clark, the covert warrior, the conscience forged in fire, defending honor when laws fail.

As Clark ages out of operational status, the Ryanverse needs a successor who can carry that moral weight in the shadows, someone forged not in diplomacy or policy, but in the brutal calculus of life and death, honor and survival.

That successor could never be Jack Ryan Jr., because Jack Jr., like his father, is a creature of intellect, heart, and leadership, but not of ruthless, bone-deep survival.

Jack Jr. is brilliant, brave, and deeply loyal, but he is ultimately an idealist at heart. He was raised to believe the system can be repaired, that good men in power can change the world.

Clark, and Moore, understand that sometimes the system cannot be saved. Sometimes you must act in secret, in silence, to protect the very ideals others can’t afford to see compromised. The Ryanverse needs someone who embodies:

– Physical lethality and tactical mastery.
– Deep personal honor shaped by surviving moral compromise.
– Loyalty to country, but loyalty first to principle over corrupt authority.

Kendrick Moore, if developed properly through a story like Path of Honor, becomes that successor organically. He doesn’t replace Clark. He becomes his own man, forged through pain, tested through action, witnessed by Clark himself.