WaJo 8-20-97: High Tech 'n' Terrorists: Clancy Signs 24-Book Deal New York - Best-selling author Tom Clancy signed a 24-paperback deal with a division of Penguin Putnam Inc. that is expected to be announced today, according to people close to the deal. Berkley Publishing Group is paying an advance of approximately $22 million according to these people. The series, set in the near future, will include six adult and 18 juvenile novels. Berkley will publish the series, "Tom Clancy's Netforce," over the next four to six years. In the books, the Internet and virtual reality have melded so that people spend most of their time on-line. The technology proves irresistible to terrorists and anticomputer zealots, who are pursued by the Netforce. The agreement comes on the heels of another deal Mr. Clancy recently made with Penguin, a unit of London media company Pearson PLC. Pearson this month announced a long-term agreement with Red Storm Entertainment Inc., a media-entertainment company founded by Mr. Clancy and Virtus Corp., an interactive-applications concern. Under that agreement, Penguin, along with other Pearson subsidiaries, will join Red Storm to market multiplayer on-line games and other multimedia products.