Tom Clancy – the hugely successful writer best known for his novels about CIA Agent Jack Ryan – has died aged 66.

The author, who was born in Baltimore, Maryland, also co-founded Red Storm Entertainment and lent his name to the hugely successful Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon games. He was also due to continue this tradition with Ubisoft's latest offering, The Division, due out on next-gen consoles next year.But he was best known for his Jack Ryan books, with The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears all turned into movies variously starring Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck as the popular hero.The character is set to return to screens later this year, this time starring Chris Pine, in Jack Ryan: Shadow One.Clancy passed away in a hospital in Baltimore last night.