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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Within these 760+ pages there’s a somewhat ok 200 page story. There’s a huge amount of literary “meat byproducts” and other fillers. It also contains some really basic military rank structure errors which really surprised me coming from Tom Clancy, who seems to have a very detailed understanding of many military issues, terms, structure and weapon systems. I only really finished it out of a sense of duty and giving it every opportunity to improve based on other Clancy stories, all the while hoping it would get better.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
I've not read a Tom Clancy tome for quite a few years, so thought I would dive back into his world of politics and intrigue.
As this particular title was written in 1994, I had to suppress many a chuckle at the technology being described as state-of-the-art and cutting edge! Ooh - someone has a laptop and a fax! So, I dialed my mind back 30 years and all was well.
It is, as I expected, a fast-moving Jack Ryan action-packed feast. The United States is under threat, Japan is the evil doer, but there are other bad actors behind the scenes making the situation even more fraught. The stock exchange is being attacked, US owned islands being invaded but who is really behind this onslaught and what are their motivations?
Can Ryan, now appointed as the National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, work out who the real enemy is, and can he act in time to stop an international disaster that may result in nuclear war?
An oldie but a goodie.
As this particular title was written in 1994, I had to suppress many a chuckle at the technology being described as state-of-the-art and cutting edge! Ooh - someone has a laptop and a fax! So, I dialed my mind back 30 years and all was well.
It is, as I expected, a fast-moving Jack Ryan action-packed feast. The United States is under threat, Japan is the evil doer, but there are other bad actors behind the scenes making the situation even more fraught. The stock exchange is being attacked, US owned islands being invaded but who is really behind this onslaught and what are their motivations?
Can Ryan, now appointed as the National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, work out who the real enemy is, and can he act in time to stop an international disaster that may result in nuclear war?
An oldie but a goodie.
The last decade of Tom Clancy's life must have been very frightening for him. He found himself in a world rapidly demobilizing from the Cold War, where spending enormous sums of money to secure nebulous degrees of security was going out of vogue (he needn't have worried--the War on Terror has found a plethora of new ways to waste money on the illusion of safety); a world where a woman might credibly accuse a man of sexual assault and see some measure of justice; a world where it was no longer acceptable for a white man to assume the inferiority of those of other races. 'Debt of Honor' is a novel written by a man who knows history is passing him by, and who is absolutely terrified of it.
In a lot of ways, this seems like the kind of thing Sean Hannity would keep by his bedside for cold, lonely nights--Jack Ryan is a man's man, who served in the Marines, made a ton of money on Wall Street, and never met a foreign policy problem he couldn't solve with a Tomahawk cruise missile. However Tom Clancy ALSO wants you to know how smart he is, so he might drop the occasional passing reference to how a particular character is just like a German military figure in 1939, or how this particular secret mission harkens back to the previous use of the P38 Lightning combat plane. If you aren't versed in those particular bits of WWII arcana, then too bad, commie!
Clancy also isn't shy about putting his words in his characters' mouths, so dig in for periodic lectures about the meaning of honor, or how America is the only truly optimistic nation in the world, or the role of confidence in financial markets. He'll also let you know that kids today are pansies, that life was better when you could tell a secretary how great her ass is, and how liberal, diplomats, and gay people are threats to America. (I haven't read a Clancy novel before this one in over a decade, but I can think of three different times in his books that gay people are downright treacherous).
But hey, if you're over 40, white, and desperately insecure about your place in a changing world, this might be the doorstop for you.
In a lot of ways, this seems like the kind of thing Sean Hannity would keep by his bedside for cold, lonely nights--Jack Ryan is a man's man, who served in the Marines, made a ton of money on Wall Street, and never met a foreign policy problem he couldn't solve with a Tomahawk cruise missile. However Tom Clancy ALSO wants you to know how smart he is, so he might drop the occasional passing reference to how a particular character is just like a German military figure in 1939, or how this particular secret mission harkens back to the previous use of the P38 Lightning combat plane. If you aren't versed in those particular bits of WWII arcana, then too bad, commie!
Clancy also isn't shy about putting his words in his characters' mouths, so dig in for periodic lectures about the meaning of honor, or how America is the only truly optimistic nation in the world, or the role of confidence in financial markets. He'll also let you know that kids today are pansies, that life was better when you could tell a secretary how great her ass is, and how liberal, diplomats, and gay people are threats to America. (I haven't read a Clancy novel before this one in over a decade, but I can think of three different times in his books that gay people are downright treacherous).
But hey, if you're over 40, white, and desperately insecure about your place in a changing world, this might be the doorstop for you.
Not sure how to rate this. The last 100 pages or so, when the battle with Japan happens, totally rocks. The fall of Wall Street and the 700 pages of build up, to allow Japan to attack the US, totally overkill that dampened my enjoyment of the book.
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
I am in total shock. I can't believe this book just ended there, like that?!
There was a lot of good character development in this, a lot of great action, and twists and turns.
Quick note: the audiobook narrator's voices for non-American characters were cartoonish and stereotypical, bordering on mildly offensive. I wish that wasn't the case, but here we are.
Why do I continue reading books that, while fictional, feel way to real and relevant to today's global political climate?
On to the next one...
There was a lot of good character development in this, a lot of great action, and twists and turns.
Quick note: the audiobook narrator's voices for non-American characters were cartoonish and stereotypical, bordering on mildly offensive. I wish that wasn't the case, but here we are.
Why do I continue reading books that, while fictional, feel way to real and relevant to today's global political climate?
On to the next one...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, War
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia
It's a spy/military thriller. The graphic CWs are expected. To a point, some of the xenophobia is too.
The minor warnings are there because the non-American characters (especially those of Japanese descent), while overall seemingly genuine, have moments where they feel cartoonish and almost stereotypical. The audiobook narrator chose voices for them that felt borderline offensive at worst. I'm not sure how others might take to that, but it's still there.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes