Ryan Kealey Books In Order

Publication Order of Ryan Kealey Books

The American author Andrew Britton created the character Ryan Kealey in his Ryan Kealey book series comprising various works such as “The American”, “The Assassin”, “The Invisible”, “The Exile”, and “The Operative”. Tragically, Andrew Britton died in 2008, even though publisher continued to publish his books even after this event. Before his death, Britton compiled works such as “The American” and “The Assassin”, which depict adventures of the secret agent Ryan Kealey.
The first book in the Ryan Kealey series is “The American”, which narrates the story of conflict between Ryan Kealey, the accomplished soldier who supports CIA in its mission to fight terrorism, and Jason March, Kealey’s pupil in the army. The anti hero is Jason March, who is known for his smartness, quick actions, and keen interest to attack American political leaders such as Daniel Levy, and more importantly he has the ambition of attacking the American President. For Kealey, Jason March is a puzzle. This is because Kealey had assumed that March had dead long back, but he has reappeared in the scene to create problems for the country’s security. March is a mysterious character because he does not reveal his purpose at first interaction with Kealey. In actuality, Kealey is interested in leading a peaceful life, but he is not allowed to do so. Interestingly, the book series shows the importance of Kealey particularly due to the menace of March, a polyglot, and a person who is difficult to catch. At the same time, Kealey is most suited for the job. This is because he had trained March previously, and he knows strengths and weaknesses of the person who is determined to destroy the country and its leaders.

Kealey needs time to locate March and his intentions. He realizes that March is using him to achieve his motives. Initially, in actuality, March achieves victory, which compels Kealey to find ways of dealing with this challenge. The secret agent has the support of the CIA and the beautiful Naomi Kharmai. The author has used the game strategy to narrate the events that obtain significance. It is the game played by March with a view to attack American administration including CIA and Kealey. March is fighting his personal battle, as he believes that policy of the American government affected his family members. There is a political touch, as March has allied with Al-Qaeda leaders known for their anti American rhetoric.

The first in the Ryan Kealey series, “The American” appealed to the American psyche because it narrates incidents related to terrorism. It shows that terrorist threat for the country can be a reality, if appropriate actions are not taken. At the same time, it has encouraged growth of a personality cult at the expense of a great institution CIA, which depends on Kealey for the solution for the problem affecting the country. Obviously, institutions cannot control activities of non state actors. This shows that agents like Kealey can respond to the challenges posed by terrorists such as Jason March. Kealey needs a strong opponent in the form of March. This is because Kealey is an accomplished personality with rich experience in the American army. In actuality, he had survived a major assault by March, and both had survived in this conflict.

The second in the Ryan Kealey series is “The Assassin”. It appears that Britton was interested in creating stories around events that took place in the Middle East. In this work, Iraq becomes the major center of political activities. The work shows continued cooperation between Kealey and Kharmai. In the backdrop of hostile public opinion in the domestic front, the American president has the daunting task of preventing death of U.S. personnel stationed in Iraq. An attempt to kill the Iraqi Prime Minister has complicated the situation. In this circumstance, the CIA has no other option but to depend on the service of Kealey who had previously participated in anti terrorist activities.

Kealey has the ability to deal with the challenge of world terrorist organizations, but he also needs a few clues before finding solution for this problem. A major turning point of the work relates to chance discovery of an audio tape by Kharmai, and the evidence reveals that there is an agent or agency that provides valuable information to the enemy. This implies that Kealey needed to take precaution not only with reference to the external enemy but also the internal danger that can reveal his strategies to the enemy. He also realizes that he had to face the old enemy who was defeated in his previous project. Now Kealey has the responsibility to protect lives of CIA officials and world leaders, the potential terrorist targets in the future. As a person who is known for solving puzzles, Kealey takes effective measures to achieve his professional mission, even though he suffered from a personal tragedy. The villain in this work is William Vanderveen who had emerged powerful as he obtained a major weapon from Iraq, and the weapon could be used to destroy world leaders. This time, Kealey could not take direct support of the CIA as it becomes difficult to differentiate between friends and enemies. Kealey could not trust anyone, and he had to accomplish the mission alone.

There is a continuity between two works in the Kealey series. The protagonists are the same, but enemies are different. In “The American”, it is possible to identity the enemy, but in “The Assassin” it is difficult to identify the enemy. Nevertheless, two works in the Kealey series have succeeded in convincing the reader concerning the reality of terrorist threat not only to the US but also other parts of the world including Iraq and Iran. Mystery, suspense, and thrill are the major themes of “The American” and “The Assassin”. The aim of the author seems to retain attention of the reader, even though the works in the Ryan Kealey series are known for their considerable detail. The reader, nevertheless, enjoys daring acts of Ryan Kealey. The game strategy used by the author impresses the reader who is compelled to find answer to the questions raised by the works. Kealey is the major character of the work, while inferior role is given Kharmai and CIA.

2 Responses to “Ryan Kealey”

1. David Trenteseaux: 12 months ago

   Will Andrew Britton write additional Ryan Kealey books last one I read 2014?

   Reply
   • Graeme: 12 months ago

     He passed in 2008. He had some manuscripts which they published posthumously, but I am not sure if there are any more.

     Reply