Local readers mourn loss of literary legend

By Jack Carver

Tom Clancy, father of the modern techno-thriller, passed away today at the age of 66, and the death is being felt here in Belleville.

Resident Kevin McPhee has been reading Tom Clancy books for over two decades and says he was shocked when he heard the news.

“I felt sad in the same way that anyone would when a cultural touchstone in their life dies,” said Mcphee. “Like when John Candy died or when Michael Jackson died. It’s like the loss of a distant relative, one who made you laugh, made you think.”

McPhee said he would be reading his favorite books again in memory of Clancy.

The author’s family alerted the media of his passing earlier today. Clancy died at a Baltimore hospital, but details of his death have not been released.

His first book The Hunt for Red October was published in 1984 and quickly became a hit, prompting a 1990 film adaptation of the novel, which became a Hollywood blockbuster, starring Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery.

The Baltimore native is survived by his four children and his second wife, Alexandra Marie Llewellyn.

With files by Erin Stewart