Tom Clancy related question

phoenix80

Banned
I have never read Tom Clancy's books before (have seen quite a few of his stories in movies and played video games based on his stories thou) but I am wondering which one you'd recommend if I wanted to start reading his stuff.

Thnx:cowb:
 
I like his older series of books...

Red Storm Rising - My all time favorite, I have read the book at least seven times and I also hav eit on MP3 so I listen to it when I drive to work. Yes, it's like watching your favorite cult classic movie over and over again....

Every other book that he has written is in the Jack Ryan Universe...

Patriot Games
The Hunt for Red October
Clear & Present Danger
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
The Sum of All Fears
The Bear and the Dragon (Newer)
Red Rabbit (Newer)
The Teeth of the Tiger (Newer)

I have red all of those. There are others that I have not yet read.

Most of his older books are set in the 1980s which is a time period that I just love. Also it shows how the USSR was an evil empire.

I'm trying to get all of his books on MP3 so i can listen to them while driving.
 
Tom Clancy Novels are, in my opinion, some of the best written war novels I have ever cracked open. He writes stories that just seem to suck me right into them, and I forget about everything else around me for awhile.
I agree with the previous post, I would start with Red Storm Rising, and work my way up thru all of the Jack Ryan series.
Enjoy!
 
Every other book that he has written is in the Jack Ryan Universe...

Patriot Games
The Hunt for Red October
Clear & Present Danger
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
The Sum of All Fears
The Bear and the Dragon (Newer)
Red Rabbit (Newer)
The Teeth of the Tiger (Newer)

Not all of his other books are in the Jack Ryan universe. Debt of Honor and Rainbow Six were also written by him and make no mention of Jack Ryan.

As for recommendations, I have to say Rainbow Six and Hunt for Red October. Some of his other co-written ones are pretty good too, such as the Net Force series, the Op Center series and the Power Plays series.
 
Up until after Rainbow Six, I'd say he's a very good author of suspense, but I find that a lot of his works can lose a casual reader in the jargon and sometimes unnecessary details. From the Hunt For Red October through Rainbow Six, I'd say he's an excellent author. After that, it gets slightly repetitive and possibly more jargon-filled.
 
The only book by Clancy I've read is Rainbow Six. I didn't care for it, very dry and boring for looooong stretches between the action. Also, the story was just too weird to suspend my disbelief. Environmentalists that want to kill everyone on the planet. Riiiight...

Edit: Did you know, Tom Clancy actually made a mistake in Rainbow Six? He called an MP-5/10 an MP10.
 
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I would say- Clancy is good when he describes how the American Armed Forces ot Intel community work.
When he touches the Soviet or Russian affairs - he is full of ****!
It was understandable during the Cold War, when information on the Soviet Union was scarce.
However, it was just bad preparation or carelessness on his part to go with the same very weak understanding of what was going on inside the USSR at current level of human contacts between our countries and the Internet!
There are millions of russian-speaking immigrants in the US right now. Many of them had served in the Soviet Army, some had risen in the ranks up to full colonel(Captain in the Navy). It's a shame that Mr. Clancy(an he is not alone in his ignorance!) couldn't use their experience or had not taken his time to get on the Internet and read numerous Russian Web sites.
Just one example - in his book "Red Rabbit" the hero - Soviet KGB kryptologist is going to take vacation in Hungary. So, he takes his leave, asks his KGB travel department to book tickets to Budapest for him and his family. Why he wants to go to Budapest. His wife wants to go to some opera or concert...From there, they defect to the British via Jugoslavia.
Ha-ha-ha!
He could have described such event when talking about some Brit or German, but not the KGB officer in the 80s!
1. Each Soviet citizen must have applied for the EXIT visa to go abroad, so the State could decide whether your reason to go is good enough.
2. Then he had to apply for the Hungarian visa
Of course, if he would be sent to serve in Hungary in his KGB capacity, all these formalities will be done without him even noticing. But this was his private business, not the state's.
3. It was NO WAY that his family would be allowed to travel with him abroad! They should have stayed home as hostages - just in case of defection! This rule has been in place for ordinary citizen - how it could be avoided for such throve of highly classified information?
4. Even the tickets(providing he would jump all the previously described hurdles) couldn't be bought how Clancy has described it. It was not in America!!
He would get a voucher, then he would go to the train station and stay in line to a special ticketing office for military. And he would rather be able to book tickets on a special military train that was serving to move officers and their families serving in Hungary(Southern Army Group) to and from the Soviet Union, not on the "civilian" train

Another example - "Hunt for the "Red October".
It was completely unthinkable for a son of the "enemy of the people", moreover, a Lithuanian by origin, even to get into the Naval Academy, and to become the CO of the best Soviet Submarine - even less plausible.
I am speaking from experience - I was trying to get there and I had been told that I had not pass a security check - I had relatives abroad.
And I had very high marks from my HS and references
One more thing that turned me off on Clancy -it was his flip-flop on the Moslem militants. In one book - they were the heroes(against the Soviets in Afganistan). The next book they are the worst villains
 
One more thing that turned me off on Clancy -it was his flip-flop on the Moslem militants. In one book - they were the heroes(against the Soviets in Afganistan). The next book they are the worst villains

Just like real life.

Edit: If you're an American that is. :D
 
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Goodness me was it so long ago! I remember the cold war lectures, aim for the tank with the pennant and hold the line till the Yanks get here! Yep my fav writer too!
 
Books

Larry Bond help with Red storm rising and is one of his best. The first two or three books from Larry Bond are very good as well. Never read "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" and the "The Sum of All Fears" I tried a few times just couldn't get into, I like the beginning but he me lost after that. I rate his books better then his movies overall movies have time limits.
 
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top 3 for me


red storm rising
Without Remorse
rainbow six



debt of honor & executive orders also very good
 
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