Rogue Asset, from Andrews & Wilson, is a high-octane injection of modern warfare into a classic legacy. While the justification for the program’s existence requires a slight suspension of disbelief, the character dynamics and kinetic pacing make this a must-read for fans of the genre.

Taking over a legacy series is never easy. Stepping into the shoes of W.E.B. Griffin is a particularly tall order. But in Rogue Asset, Andrews & Wilson have managed to pull off a tactical breach of the Presidential Agent universe that both respects the legacy and is aggressively modern.

It’s important to clarify: This is not a reboot. As the authors note, this is a continuation of the heroic journey of Charley Castillo. However, the pacing has shifted gears to the Tier One authenticity Andrews & Wilson are best known for.

The premise kicks off with a nightmare scenario: U.S. Secretary of State Frank Malone is kidnapped during a summit in Cairo. In the aftermath, President Natalie Cohen, a transparency-focused leader, finds herself struggling with the intelligence failure. Her solution? Resurrect the Presidential Agent program, a small-footprint, black ops asset that answers only to her and the DNI.

This brings us to the core dynamic of the book. We have Charley Castillo, the original agent, now pulled from retirement in Texas. And we have Captain P.K. “Pick” McCoy, a Marine Raider pulled straight from the sandbox in Iraq.

The friction here is excellent. Castillo doesn’t want to be a babysitter for his replacement, and McCoy wants to be back with his unit, not playing spy games with a guy he initially dismisses as a dinosaur. Watching McCoy learn that there is a time for “big boy rules”, autonomy and total accountability, outside the military chain of command is the core arc of the story.

For veteran readers of the genre, especially those familiar with the darker origins of Clancy’s The Campus, the justification for the Presidential Agent program might feel a little thin.

In the book, the President argues that the current intelligence community has slipped back into a “rice-bowl mentality,” becoming a stumbling block to reliable information. The Presidential Agent exists to cut that red tape. However, in a world where the CIA Ground Branch exists, it’s sometimes hard to buy that the Agency couldn’t have executed this mission themselves. Unlike the early days of The Campus, where the mandate was the cold-blooded assassination of terrorists the government couldn’t legally touch, Castillo’s team is essentially doing a hostage rescue, a mission set the U.S. military excels at and for which Navy SEALs were brought in for towards the end anyway.

That said, once you accept the premise that the President needs deniability and speed above all else, the ride is worth it.

The small unit feel is one of the book’s greatest strengths. You don’t need a scorecard to keep track of the players. It’s Castillo, McCoy, the sharp-witted CIA officer Ani Shaheen, and the enigma known as Junior (aka Smith/Jones/Rogers).

Junior serves as the team’s logistical wizard, though at times he borders on a Deus Ex Machina. Need a safe house in Khartoum? Junior has one. Need a satellite feed hacked? Junior is on it. Need a shoulder-fired “Enforcer” missile launcher to take out a van on a bridge? Junior just happens to have brought one in a hard case. It adds a layer of convenience that smooths the plot progression, but it’s undeniably fun to watch him work.

The title of the book is a clever bit of wordplay. Who is the Rogue Asset? Is it Castillo, the operator who ignores orders to back off and kidnaps a Sudanese agent? Is it McCoy, who goes off-script in Cairo to hunt shooters through the streets? Or is it the villain, a government minister operating as a terrorist within his own state apparatus? The answer is definitely all three.

Rogue Asset is a thriller that moves at speed. Andrews & Wilson have successfully bridged the gap between Griffin’s world and the modern era of drone feeds and asymmetric warfare. While the black ops logic requires a small leap of faith, the execution is lethal, precise, and highly entertaining.

Rogue Asset was published in 2021. The follow up, Direct Action, by Jack Stewart, is available to pre-order now and will be published on December 16th.