1987, 1st edition (mfg. code 1-10); G.P. Putnam's Sons publishers, New York; hardbound in powder blue boards with gilt lettering along spine; author's gilt signature embossed on cover, very nice; very good condition with unmarked pages, appears unread; dust jacket quite good.
 
Description -
Patriot Games is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on July 1987. It is the indirect sequel to Without Remorse, and is chronologically the first book featuring Jack Ryan, the main character in most of Clancy’s novels. The novel focuses on Ryan being the target of Irish terrorist group Ulster Liberation Army for thwarting their kidnapping attempt on the Prince and Princess of Wales in London. It debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. A film adaptation, starring Harrison Ford as Ryan, premiered on June 5, 1992.
 
Plot -
A kidnapping attempt on the Prince and Princess of Wales and their infant son occurs at the Mall in London. The attack is orchestrated by members of the Ulster Liberation Army, an ideologically Maoist and ultra-radical Irish terrorist group splintered from the Provisional Irish Republican Army. However, Jack Ryan, who happens to be nearby, interferes with their operation, killing one of the attackers and incapacitating another, named Sean Miller, at the same time that Miller shoots him in the shoulder. Miller is later arrested.
While recovering from his shoulder wound, Ryan is honored by the British government and later becomes a knight.
 
Meanwhile, Miller is sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnapping attempt; however, his ULA compatriots led by Kevin O’Donnell free him while he is being transported to a maximum security prison in the Isle of Wight. They are then aided by Libyan allies in escaping into their secret training camp in the North African desert. Miller vows revenge on Ryan for making his recent operation fail.