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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Regardless of your politics, I think this is a bad book.
Tom Clancy achieved massive amounts of acclaim and cash for writing wonkish military thrillers for people who really want to know what kind of torpedo blows up the enemy sub. Somewhere between 'The Sum of All Fears' and 'A Debt of Honor' his publisher decided to let him off the leash, and the books started getting bloated. In 'Executive Orders' this means you have a political thriller where few if any thrills erupt until the last 200 pages or so. In the meantime you get to read--extensively--about Iraqi generals flying on private jets, and a couple of good ol' boys trying to car-bomb the president, and how much Jack Ryan hates his job, and on, and on, and on. There is so much wasted text here that it's mind-boggling.
I think this book also makes it clear that Tom Clancy really wasn't that bright a guy. I don't say that simply because I disagree strongly with his politics. Jack Ryan, who I have to assume exists mainly to serve as Clancy's mouthpiece, speaks with the smug certainty of a character in a novel who knows he will always get the last word. Ryan isn't just right; he's so self-evidently right that there's no need for him to defend his positions against a well-informed skeptic, or to consider other points of few. In fact I don't think there's a moment in this book where Ryan makes a bad decision, which makes for a pretty boring lead character. Jack also manages to be remarkably dense for someone we're told is one of the best American spies in history. He's furious when an off-the-cuff speech he gives about how he opposes abortion and thinks Roe v. Wade was a mistake causes outrage, but at no point does he consider that as the man who will choose nine new Supreme Court justices, he is uniquely empowered to do away with abortion. He also spends a lot of time whining about how much he hates being president, despite the fact that literally every decision he's made in his professional life has brought him closer and closer to power. I guess if the character had to engage in any introspection it might mean acknowledging that he could be wrong about things.
The biological warfare subplot, which was the main thing that interested me in the book, is rubbish. Clancy prefers to confine his learning to things that cause explosions, so his scientists characters routinely spout nonsense that wouldn't pass muster among high school biology students. This book was published the same year as Richard Preston's 'The Cobra Event,' which was a far more credible and thrilling account of a potential bioterrorism incident, so it isn't as though this couldn't have been done well. It does serve a plot purpose, however: Clancy's blinkered understanding of how viruses work allows him to posit a biological attack which fails because the virus isn't good at replicating, resulting in far lower casualties than the enemy expected. This hearkens back to 'The Sum of All Fears,' where the terrorist nuclear weapon fizzles. In Umberto Eco's essay 'Ur-Fascism' one of the defining characteristics of a fascist state is that the enemy must simultaneously be a dangerous threat and be too inept to harm the power of the state, which seems like a good fit for this particular Clancyian trope.
In short, I'd say if you're going to read Clancy, stop at 'The Sum of All Fears,' because it's all downhill from there.
Tom Clancy achieved massive amounts of acclaim and cash for writing wonkish military thrillers for people who really want to know what kind of torpedo blows up the enemy sub. Somewhere between 'The Sum of All Fears' and 'A Debt of Honor' his publisher decided to let him off the leash, and the books started getting bloated. In 'Executive Orders' this means you have a political thriller where few if any thrills erupt until the last 200 pages or so. In the meantime you get to read--extensively--about Iraqi generals flying on private jets, and a couple of good ol' boys trying to car-bomb the president, and how much Jack Ryan hates his job, and on, and on, and on. There is so much wasted text here that it's mind-boggling.
I think this book also makes it clear that Tom Clancy really wasn't that bright a guy. I don't say that simply because I disagree strongly with his politics. Jack Ryan, who I have to assume exists mainly to serve as Clancy's mouthpiece, speaks with the smug certainty of a character in a novel who knows he will always get the last word. Ryan isn't just right; he's so self-evidently right that there's no need for him to defend his positions against a well-informed skeptic, or to consider other points of few. In fact I don't think there's a moment in this book where Ryan makes a bad decision, which makes for a pretty boring lead character. Jack also manages to be remarkably dense for someone we're told is one of the best American spies in history. He's furious when an off-the-cuff speech he gives about how he opposes abortion and thinks Roe v. Wade was a mistake causes outrage, but at no point does he consider that as the man who will choose nine new Supreme Court justices, he is uniquely empowered to do away with abortion. He also spends a lot of time whining about how much he hates being president, despite the fact that literally every decision he's made in his professional life has brought him closer and closer to power. I guess if the character had to engage in any introspection it might mean acknowledging that he could be wrong about things.
The biological warfare subplot, which was the main thing that interested me in the book, is rubbish. Clancy prefers to confine his learning to things that cause explosions, so his scientists characters routinely spout nonsense that wouldn't pass muster among high school biology students. This book was published the same year as Richard Preston's 'The Cobra Event,' which was a far more credible and thrilling account of a potential bioterrorism incident, so it isn't as though this couldn't have been done well. It does serve a plot purpose, however: Clancy's blinkered understanding of how viruses work allows him to posit a biological attack which fails because the virus isn't good at replicating, resulting in far lower casualties than the enemy expected. This hearkens back to 'The Sum of All Fears,' where the terrorist nuclear weapon fizzles. In Umberto Eco's essay 'Ur-Fascism' one of the defining characteristics of a fascist state is that the enemy must simultaneously be a dangerous threat and be too inept to harm the power of the state, which seems like a good fit for this particular Clancyian trope.
In short, I'd say if you're going to read Clancy, stop at 'The Sum of All Fears,' because it's all downhill from there.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
That was a lot of book...
There were so many strong emotions that I felt all throughout this. Annoyance and frustration from seeing the political subterfuge and schemes, anger toward those carrying out hostile actions against innocent bystanders, shock and awe at the absolute ass-kicking that was dished out toward folks.
I enjoyed seeing Jack Ryan's growth as he faced struggles, tragedies, misfortunes, and threats to himself, his family, his country, and his allies.
Did this need to be such a monstrously large book? Probably not. Do I appreciate that some things seemed mundane but did serve a purpose for character growth and subtle hints to things that I'm sure will be mentioned or easter eggs for later books? Absolutely.
All of that said, I do really like to read to escape reality and this book is...very much a mashup of big events from the past 25 years all within the space of maybe a month or two? It's a lot and gods in all directions, there was some stress going on there at times lol
There were so many strong emotions that I felt all throughout this. Annoyance and frustration from seeing the political subterfuge and schemes, anger toward those carrying out hostile actions against innocent bystanders, shock and awe at the absolute ass-kicking that was dished out toward folks.
I enjoyed seeing Jack Ryan's growth as he faced struggles, tragedies, misfortunes, and threats to himself, his family, his country, and his allies.
Did this need to be such a monstrously large book? Probably not. Do I appreciate that some things seemed mundane but did serve a purpose for character growth and subtle hints to things that I'm sure will be mentioned or easter eggs for later books? Absolutely.
All of that said, I do really like to read to escape reality and this book is...very much a mashup of big events from the past 25 years all within the space of maybe a month or two? It's a lot and gods in all directions, there was some stress going on there at times lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Medical content, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gaslighting
A bit of a lull in the middle but the exciting stuff was exciting. Ended on not much of a cliffhanger but next in the universe is ..**drumroll** RAINBOW SIX. But there was biological warfare, assassination attempts, an epidemic, espionage, sleeper cells. And our favorite characters Clark, Ding, MaryPat, Skip Tyler, made appearances.
1358 pages yes 1358 of Tom Clancy and now the nightmare is finally over!!
This book took me a year to read, not because of its length but because it's incredibly boring for loooong stretches, I would set it aside for months at a time.
The beginning was good and the ending (the last 300 pages was gripping) but to get there you have to get through a 1000 pages of of the main character Jack Ryan, now president, whining and complaning about being president and the political process(if there was ever any doubt where Clancy stands, he makes it pretty obvious). Every few pages Ryan complains about the bad day he's had blah blah blah and bums smokes from people(come'on he's the pres somebody buy him a pack already!!)
Clancy threw in everything but the kitchen sink in this book, it's just too much.
This book is a perfect example of what is wrong with book publishing in the past decade. Editors (remember them?) are now afraid to say no to the big brand name authors and let them get away with some horrendus decisions. This book could easily have been cut in half and nothing missed. Or better yet made in 2 books.
This book took me a year to read, not because of its length but because it's incredibly boring for loooong stretches, I would set it aside for months at a time.
The beginning was good and the ending (the last 300 pages was gripping) but to get there you have to get through a 1000 pages of of the main character Jack Ryan, now president, whining and complaning about being president and the political process(if there was ever any doubt where Clancy stands, he makes it pretty obvious). Every few pages Ryan complains about the bad day he's had blah blah blah and bums smokes from people(come'on he's the pres somebody buy him a pack already!!)
Clancy threw in everything but the kitchen sink in this book, it's just too much.
This book is a perfect example of what is wrong with book publishing in the past decade. Editors (remember them?) are now afraid to say no to the big brand name authors and let them get away with some horrendus decisions. This book could easily have been cut in half and nothing missed. Or better yet made in 2 books.
one of the best in this series. love the more philosophical approaches to political subjects
President Ryan deserved a much better book, Tom Clancy. Not one of the better "Ryanverse" novels, I think this is the one that got me to stop reading Clancy.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated