I am sure this will mean more to me than to the rest of you, and this may seem like a strange way to break a rather long silence, but I view it as a rather significant milestone:
I finally finished the Ryanverse series by Tom Clancy!………(with caveat)
As explained in previous posts, I have been making my way through the lengthy saga for several years now and since I began the series there had been no new novels, until 2010. In the past two years Clancy, with assistance from other writers, has published three additional novels, two of which extend the Ryanverse universe. I have made the decision that since these novels are not “pure” Clancy that I will consider my accomplishment complete.
Of course I plan to read the additional novels, but with the vast myriad of books and genres available I find it more difficult to restrict myself to this narrow focus.
The Ryanverse Novels, by Tom Clancy
Thank you Tom Clancy, it was a memorable experience!
Well, I don’t know how I missed it, but I did. The first new addition to the Ryanverse series since 2003, and me in the midst of catching up with the first 12 novels, and I completely missed any sort of advanced announcement or advertising for this release.
Although I was surprised by the announcement, it did cause me to self-reflect a bit on the story and writing of Tom Clancy. For those not familiar, here is a quick update:
PUBLISHED ORDER
STORYLINE ORDER
The Hunt for Red October (1984)
Without Remorse
Patriot Games (1987)
Patriot Games
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988)
The Red Rabbit
Clear and Present Danger (1989)
The Hunt for Red October
The Sum of All Fears (1991)
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
Without Remorse (1993)
Clear and Present Danger
Debt of Honor (1994)
The Sum of All Fears
Executive Orders (1996)
Debt of Honor
Rainbow Six (1998)
Executive Orders
The Bear and the Dragon (2000)
Rainbow Six
The Red Rabbit (2002)
The Bear and the Dragon
The Teeth of the Tiger (2003)
The Teeth of the Tiger
My introduction to Clancy occurred through the novel Rainbow Six, which I picked up for $1 at the local library book sale, and only then because I had heard they made a video game inspired by the plot. I was hooked and during the course of the next year I acquired the remainder of the series through similar means. After jumping around a bit in the series, reading in the order I acquired them, I was able to finally to commit myself to reading through the series following the storyline order. This change was a vast improvement in following the characters and plot themes from book to book, much the same was it is easier to follow a serialized television show when viewed from the beginning of the season throughout.
It is a unique experience to follow an author so closely and over such a large span of time to have the ability to evaluate their writing style and monitor the evolution of the author over the course of his career. To put it in perspective, Tom Clancy released his most popular novel, and the first in the Ryanverse series, The Hunt for Red October the year before I was even born.
One of the aspects of Clancy’s writing that most impressed me, regardless of which decade he was published, was his ability to allude to past of future events in books he hadn’t even written yet. Often, two characters will reconnect in a story and will reminisce for a bit, discussing events that occurred in a previous novel, but when I check the published order vs. the storyline order I discover the events the characters are fantasizing about weren’t even written yet. It is that sort of foresight that, I believe, makes this series so successful for Clancy. Perhaps many times more successful than if each novel was a standalone plot line.
Clancy’s most recent addition to modern literature is called Dead or Alive and although it departs greatly from his previous pattern of releasing a book every year or two since the mid 80′s, many are hopeful that he hasn’t lost his touch. Personally, I tend to agree with the majority of his fans assessment in that Clancy’s writing style seems to have become more commercialized of late. The early books were written during a different political environment, which I won’t pretend to be an expert on, but I think that feeling comes through those novels. There was a sense of subtlety and finesse that seems to be diminished in the books from this decade. Perhaps that is owed to the increased strain on a humans attention span and our desire for cheap action flicks. (and by the way, none of the movies do justice to the strength and nuance of the novels)
Dead or Alive seems, from the description, to be a culmination of sorts. A teaming up of the superhero characters like Jack Ryan, John Clark, Domingo Chavez, and Jack Ryan Jr. The synopsis reminds me of a Justice Leage-type story and I find myself hoping Clancy can avoid many of the clichéd themes often associated with the “team-up.”
And although I don’t know how much this will help, but I have never seen a book with its own trailer:
Dead or Alive hit shelves December 7th this year, so if you still are looking for that last-minute Christmas gift perhaps you just found it.
For me, I don’t think I will wait to find this one in the $1 book sale at the local library.
I found this video today and before the video even reached the halfway point I was already preparing my dissertation on the numerous reasons I do not fit in with the current trend of my generation and how I feel there is a large group of individuals who WERE taught valuable lessons in history and heritage. I was immediately taken aback by the sharp dichotomy between myself and the persons represented in this video. I am always amazed in how rapid the cultural values shift during the raising and educating of offspring, but this just seemed too far.
Like most of you, I was very relieved once the video reached it’s midway point, and although I am certain there are a great number of youth who would more easily connect with the first point of view I am most definitely not one of them. In my mind there are only a few situations where owning an electronic reader would prove superior to the experience of reading a proper book. The sight of black ink on the soft page, the smell of aged paper or new print and the feel of a quality bound hard cover all add to the visceral experience a reader gets from thumbing through a book.
I love to read, and although I have not written much about it on this page I can assure you it is not because I haven’t been reading. I am currently in the midst of the 11 out of 12 books in the Ryanverse saga from Tom Clancy. I have been reading through this authors works for the past 4 years at least. Between each Clancy novel I read at least one of two books from a differing genre in order to maintain my interest level in the combat fiction that is Tom Clancy. For those not familiar with the Ryanverse series, here is the roll call in storyline order:
Without Remorse
Patriot Games
The Red Rabbit
The Hunt for Red October
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum of All Fears
Debt of Honor
Executive Orders
Rainbow Six
The Bear and the Dragon
The Teeth of the Tiger
Each novel averages several hundred pages and with only a limited time for reading each evening it is clear to see why it has taken me this long to read through them all. Each is memorable though. My current read is Executive Orders and even though my first of the series that got me hooked was Rainbow Six, I still remember vital details from several years ago that provide a sort of insider knowledge into the characters.
Tom Clancy
There have been movies made of 4 of the novels from this series and I am fairly certain that the directors managed to produce these films without having read any of Clancy’s work. Each time I visit a film based on this series I am continually disappointed either by character selection and development or basic plot elements which deviate greatly from the novels. I understand the difficulties in abbreviating a 800 page novel into an amusing 90 minute film but Clancy’s novels always contain extensive plot development and meaningful action sequences born from necessity, not cheap action thrills. And I like cheap action movies!
Upon completion of Executive Orders I do have a number of lighter books taking up space on my night stand that I intend to read and I hope to have many more conversations about the content of the books and merits of publishing in general.
The Ryanverse Novels, by Tom Clancy
