Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
When Tom Clancy died last year I realized I had never read one of his books. I loved the story about how he became an author and admired his determination. I figured I owed tribute to such a prolific writer and so picked up this one to read. This is not my kind of book, but I found myself hooked. The plot is clever and the main character likeable, although not particularly believable. I thought the dialogue a bit stiff but it was a good read, if you can follow all the characters and the military jargon. A bit too violent at times for me and definitely full of military details that I didn't understand. But, I liked the book enough to want to read the sequel, although I probably won't because it is 750 pages!
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tom Clancy books were a familiar fixture in our household when I was growing up, and as I grew older and went looking for more ‘interesting’ things to read, Mr. Clancy was amongst the first ‘adult’ reads that I gravitated to. I read everything he had written up to that point, and then through the years I kept up with each new release. It has been many years since I last read the series as a whole, but over the past few months have found myself exploring them again.
My mother has been in and out of hospital over the past 6 months- and being an avid reader, I gave her a Kindle so she would have something to read while she was recuperating. Mum loves Tom Clancy, he’s among her favourite authors, so I suggested reading this series as a buddy read- but, on the days she isn’t well enough to read for herself, I read them to her. We love to discuss the details of the books after each read and even though we’ve both read the series before, it has been just as enjoyable this time around. It’s also been a great bonding experience for us, and we have really enjoyed revisiting Mr. Clancy’s work.
Jack Ryan is an analyst for the CIA and even though he isn’t the typical James Bond type action hero, he’s just as successful. Jack is more the outsmart/outthink the enemy type of hero and the situations he finds himself in are quite compelling to read. I love all the different Jack Ryan stories- they all manage to keep me interested in what is going on and completely invested in the outcome. There is always intrigue, suspense, a little mystery, drama, interesting and fully realised characters, a complex and well-developed plot with clever twists- which all blend together to produce a memorable read.
I can always count on Mr. Clancy and Jack Ryan to take me on an adventure that never gets old, no matter the situations or how many times I’ve read these books.
My mother has been in and out of hospital over the past 6 months- and being an avid reader, I gave her a Kindle so she would have something to read while she was recuperating. Mum loves Tom Clancy, he’s among her favourite authors, so I suggested reading this series as a buddy read- but, on the days she isn’t well enough to read for herself, I read them to her. We love to discuss the details of the books after each read and even though we’ve both read the series before, it has been just as enjoyable this time around. It’s also been a great bonding experience for us, and we have really enjoyed revisiting Mr. Clancy’s work.
Jack Ryan is an analyst for the CIA and even though he isn’t the typical James Bond type action hero, he’s just as successful. Jack is more the outsmart/outthink the enemy type of hero and the situations he finds himself in are quite compelling to read. I love all the different Jack Ryan stories- they all manage to keep me interested in what is going on and completely invested in the outcome. There is always intrigue, suspense, a little mystery, drama, interesting and fully realised characters, a complex and well-developed plot with clever twists- which all blend together to produce a memorable read.
I can always count on Mr. Clancy and Jack Ryan to take me on an adventure that never gets old, no matter the situations or how many times I’ve read these books.
Reading this book I remembered why I love Clancy novels. They are fast, fun, and full of guns. While not as good as Rainbow 6 or Patriot Games, this introduction to the character of John Clark is a good one.
Probably more like 3.5 stars. Overall, the story was good but there were quite a few boring or less interesting moments. I wasnt a big fan of how many perspectives and characters there were. I understand why the story constantly shifted perspectives but it caused the story to be drawn out.
I can see why people really enjoy Tom Clancy novels. He's a great writer, just writes a very long story.
I can see why people really enjoy Tom Clancy novels. He's a great writer, just writes a very long story.
I hadn't read a Tom Clancy novel actually written by him (and not another author under his brand) since probably I was in college. I really liked them back then, but my tastes have changed and expanded somewhat so I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy Without Remorse even though it's been on my radar to read for 20 years. I recently just watched the Amazon Prime adaptation with Michael B. Jordan and honestly it sucked so I assumed the book had to be better. It was time to give it a go.
The bare bones here is that this is a revenge tale and origin story for one of Clancy's most beloved characters (and my personal favorite) John Clark. The story starts with former Navy SEAL, John Kelly, doing some maritime demolition and salvage work when his young pregnant wife is killed in a car accident. This threw me for a bit of a loop because I assumed the revenge tale would be about her murder. You find out so early on that it is not it can't really be considered a spoiler. The story starts in earnest when Kelly falls quickly in love with a woman named Pam who has problems and is clearly running away from something. This eventually leads Kelly down a very dark path seeking justice outside the law.
Of course there is a lot more too it than that which I omitted due to spoilers, but honestly the biggest flaw of this book is how much Clancy should have omitted as well. The revenge arc here is quite solid even if some things about it feel a bit weird. Kelly and Pam's relationship feels a lot like instalove. Clancy isn't a strong enough writer of relationships to make this work and base a whole revenge plot around it. That being said it's still a really fun revenge plot that carries the book. The real problem is that Clancy introduces 2 or 3 other side plots that make the book really jump around from pov to pov and location to location sometimes within the same chapter. It just makes it feel very uneven. What could have been a really focused 350 page revenge thriller turns into a 750 page revenge thriller with drug smuggling, crime investigation, Vietnam POWs and a rescue operation, and Cold War espionage.
That being said I still mostly enjoyed reading about all of those plots even though it did feel a bit jumbled. Ultimately what really shined here though is really building Mr. Clark's backstory. I've read many novels in the Ryanverse where he played a significant role, and it was fun to see how he became what he is. Also, I'm always going to have a good time when a story has someone going John Wick all over the dregs of humanity. Clancy was doing John Wick 20 years before John Wick was a thing.
All in all I really enjoyed this book. This is a book you read for the action and plot. The prose and characters are nothing to write home about. They are clinical, technical, and ultimately serviceable to tell the intended story. If you are a Clancy fan, but have been skipping this one and sticking to the Jack Ryan novels (he does not make an appearance here) I would recommend you pick this one up.
The bare bones here is that this is a revenge tale and origin story for one of Clancy's most beloved characters (and my personal favorite) John Clark. The story starts with former Navy SEAL, John Kelly, doing some maritime demolition and salvage work when his young pregnant wife is killed in a car accident. This threw me for a bit of a loop because I assumed the revenge tale would be about her murder. You find out so early on that it is not it can't really be considered a spoiler. The story starts in earnest when Kelly falls quickly in love with a woman named Pam who has problems and is clearly running away from something. This eventually leads Kelly down a very dark path seeking justice outside the law.
Of course there is a lot more too it than that which I omitted due to spoilers, but honestly the biggest flaw of this book is how much Clancy should have omitted as well. The revenge arc here is quite solid even if some things about it feel a bit weird. Kelly and Pam's relationship feels a lot like instalove. Clancy isn't a strong enough writer of relationships to make this work and base a whole revenge plot around it. That being said it's still a really fun revenge plot that carries the book. The real problem is that Clancy introduces 2 or 3 other side plots that make the book really jump around from pov to pov and location to location sometimes within the same chapter. It just makes it feel very uneven. What could have been a really focused 350 page revenge thriller turns into a 750 page revenge thriller with drug smuggling, crime investigation, Vietnam POWs and a rescue operation, and Cold War espionage.
That being said I still mostly enjoyed reading about all of those plots even though it did feel a bit jumbled. Ultimately what really shined here though is really building Mr. Clark's backstory. I've read many novels in the Ryanverse where he played a significant role, and it was fun to see how he became what he is. Also, I'm always going to have a good time when a story has someone going John Wick all over the dregs of humanity. Clancy was doing John Wick 20 years before John Wick was a thing.
All in all I really enjoyed this book. This is a book you read for the action and plot. The prose and characters are nothing to write home about. They are clinical, technical, and ultimately serviceable to tell the intended story. If you are a Clancy fan, but have been skipping this one and sticking to the Jack Ryan novels (he does not make an appearance here) I would recommend you pick this one up.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was SO much darker than the others in the Jack Ryan universe.
John is one of my favourite characters so it was really cool to learn his backstory.
The ending was perfect.
Can’t wait to read more Clancy!
John is one of my favourite characters so it was really cool to learn his backstory.
The ending was perfect.
Can’t wait to read more Clancy!
2.5-3.0
Way too many subplots that it threw me off multiple times. Enjoyable enough, although maybe a little too overlong.
Way too many subplots that it threw me off multiple times. Enjoyable enough, although maybe a little too overlong.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol
Great Tom Clancy story introducing John Clark, who I've run into in other Clancy books. Had a hard time putting this one down.