Tom Clancy, the king of techno-thrillers, is cashing in some of the spoils from his remarkable writing career with the purchase of a $12.6 million penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton Residences on Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The nearly 12,000-square-foot residence was originally three separate penthouses, combined at Clancy's request, according to a story today in The Baltimore Sun. The penthouse has four bedrooms, six balconies with harbor views and 6 1/2 bathrooms. Features include a private theater and three "semi-private" elevators, and it's as big as five typical new U.S. houses.

Clancy lives in rural Maryland, and will keep a residence there, but has long had ties to the city -- even helping Peter Angelos buy the Baltimore Orioles in 1993. Photos of Clancy's new home aren't available, but here's a gallery of the Ritz-Carlton project.

Durn. Why didn't I take that course "Writing techno-thrillers 101" in college?

AP photo from 2004