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Tom Clancy Books

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Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan

Ok, I am reading Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. On the cover it says, "A Jack Ryan Novel".

Am I alone in expecting this to actually be a Jack Ryan Novel. I am not too mad as this is a very good book, but I am trying to read the books in the series, not just Clancy's books in general.

I did some quick, non spolier research just after I hit page 300 and saw no signs of Jack in the book, and lo and behold. Jack is not in this book.

Go Figure,
Mike
 
i read a tom clancy book once & i can honestly say it was the worst thing i've ever read. it had all the trademarks of a formula book, shorter & shorter chapters towards the end, desperately obvious plot strands clumsily pulled together as the end mercifully loomed.......:rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by booker
i read a tom clancy book once & i can honestly say it was the worst thing i've ever read. it had all the trademarks of a formula book, shorter & shorter chapters towards the end, desperately obvious plot strands clumsily pulled together as the end mercifully loomed.......:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
How about being a little more specific? Which book did you read? Are you even sure it was written by him as opposed to one of the 'Created by Tom Clancy' books? I don't think I've ever seen anyone refer to Clancy's writing as clumsy... :rolleyes:

EDIT: Nothing like bringing a thread back from the dead 'eh?! :)
 
I don't want to speak for Booker, but I had a similar reaction to The Hunt for Red October. I won't say that Clancy isn't a good writer, but I found his fixation with military specs tedious. If I want to know everything there is to know about an F-18, for example, I'll read Jayne's.
 
Yes, I can understand that, but that is different than "clumsy" and is also a preference issue. I prefer the detail and it is one of the reasons I enjoy his books much more than those of his peers in the techno-thriller genre.
 
I quite enjoy Clancy's books for their plot and characters. (I'm tallking about his own originals - not the clones by other writers)

However, I'm not thrilled by his obsession with technical detail, either. I solve the dilemna by skimming the tech talk to get to the rest.

But Jason, I'm sure there must be lots of readers like you who love all the techie stuff. 'Cause he's been mighty successful doing what he does. Hasn't he also published some books that are just about schematics and tech details?

Ell
 
Not any technical manuals, but he has written some non-fiction relating to specific areas of the military, including:

Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship, 1993

Armored CAV: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1994

Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing, 1995

Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1996

Into the Storm: A Study in Command, 1997

Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force, 1997

Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier, 1999

Every Man a Tiger, 1999

Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces, 2002
 
Jason, I suppose you are right. That is, being something of a "techie", and even having formulaic plots, doesn't necessarily make Clancy a bad writer. After all, there was a time when I was mad about Robert Ludlum even after I started to see that his plots followed predictable genre lines.
As has been said, Clancy's sold tons of books, and never pretended to be writing "Literature", even if he isn't my cup of tea.
 
I think Red Storm Rising is one of the only fiction books Clancy has written that DOESNT have Jack Ryan in it!!

Apart from all those silly spin off series of course, like Op Center & Powerplays
 
Hey Everyone! I am 13 years old I I am starting to get interested in the Tom Clancy books. Does anyone know of any tom clancy books that would be easier to read at my level? Thanks
 
Alex, welcome to the Book Forum. What level is your reading? Maybe if you tell us what books you've read and enjoyed, it might give us a better idea of what to recommend.

I've found that the Clancy novels I've read are pretty straight-forward and entertaining, until he gets into long and complex explanations of technical things! When he does that, my eyes tend to glaze over and I end up skimming those parts until he gets back into the action and story again. :) Maybe you could do the same?

Ell
 
Yeah, unfortunately Alex, Clancy is something of a technology-whore, so he does get very long-winded and technical at times. As Ell said, skipping these lectures will not really inflict much upon the reading experience.

Phil
 
You might also try Dale Brown. I think he is a bit more accessible, but in the same genre. Flight of the Old Dog is one of my favorite books. Also look into Stephen Hunter who writes about a sniper in Point of Impact.
 
I used to love Dale Brown, but i tried to read one of his recent ones and didnt get passed the first ten pages, his books are now more-filled with terminology than even the mighty Clancy - still his early stuff is great, Flight of the Old Dog is fantastic as Wolf said!!

Phil
 
I heard that tom clancy's net force books where written at an easy reading leval. Is that true? Also, has anyone here read Rainbow Six?
 
They arent really written by him though - those co-authoring credits should be taken with a pinch of salt - NetForce, Powerplays, Op-Center, he doesnt write for any of those series (except maybe the first of each?)

Rainbow Six is good, it is probably an easier read than the Jack Ryan books, but its still fairly heavy fare compared to some authors :)

Phil
 
I enjoyed Rainbow Six. I read most of Clancy's books when I was 13-14 and I didn't have trouble with them. I did manage to read the technological stuff, though, I found it to be interesting.

If you don't mind violence, Vince Flynn is pretty good and leaves out most of the technological stuff.
 
Red Storm Rising was his best one in my opinion. I really enjoyed how he described the equipment and how the battles progressed. He wrote about a multi-front war and wrote in such a way, that you could envision riding in the M1A1 Abrams tank, heading out to meet the Soviet T-72s.
 
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