Tom Clancy, one of the world's best-selling authors and creator of popular novels, which were turned into blockbuster films, including 'Patriot Games,' 'The Hunt for Red October' and 'Clear and Present Danger,' has died in Baltimore, his publisher Ivan Held said, as reported by The New York Times reported. He was 66.

Seventeen of his novels were No. 1 New York Times best-sellers.

Some of the military topics addressed in Clancy's novels included submarine warfare, missile systems, espionage and clandestine plots between superpowers. A graduate of Loyola College, he had ambitions to join the military, having joined the Army R.O.T.C, but was told he was too nearsighted to qualify for it.

Clancy began his career as an insurance salesman when he sold "The Hunt for Red October" to the Naval Institute Press for $5,000. His editors found his technical descriptions too lengthy, so he cut about 100 pages, The New York Times reported. 

Once published, his debut was an immediate best-selling success praised for his "mastery of technical details about Soviet submarines and weaponry." "[It's] my kind of yarn," President Ronald Reagan said.

High-ranking military members also acknowledged its apparent inside knowledge.

"He had this innate storytelling ability, and his characters had this very witty dialogue. The gift of the Irish or whatever it was, the man could tell a story," said editor Deborah Grosvenor who acquired the novel.

Clancy followed "The Hunt for Red October" with "Red Storm Rising " in 1986, "Patriot Games" in 1987, "The Cardinal of the Kremlin in 1988 and "Clear and Present Danger" in 1989.

Jack Ryan, his virtuous protagonist who joins the CIA, was famously portrayed by Harrison Ford in films based on his books.