WASHINGTON – Tom Clancy, author of a number of popular military thrillers, has died at 66, The New York Times reports.

Clancy wrote a number of best-sellers, including the following:

• “The Hunt for Red October”
• “Patriot Games”
• “The Sum of All Fears”
• “Clear and Present Danger”
• “The Cardinal of the Kremlin.”

Clancy’s novels about CIA analyst Jack Ryan inspired movies and video games.

The Baltimore-born writer died Tuesday after a brief illness at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Baltimore Sun reports.

Clancy, who went to high school in Towson, graduated from Loyola College in Baltimore, now Loyola University, in 1969.

Tom Clancy's publisher confirms to the NYT that he died last night in a hospital in Baltimore.

— Julie Bosman (@juliebosman) October 2, 2013

"He was a thrill to work with," said Ivan Held, the president of Putnam.

— Julie Bosman (@juliebosman) October 2, 2013

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