Tom Clancy

[Goober]

I was just wondering, since nobody seemed to mention it, what you guys thought of Executive Orders?

The idea was nice, and I enjoyed the first part, but it was much MUCH too long. That's one thing I don't like about Clancy: he makes his stories much longer than they "should" be.

I agree. I got halfway through then put it down. It started to annoy me, but I can't remember why, its been a few years.

 

[casca]

What I like from Tom Clancy is his books series on the different groups in the military like: Marine, Carrier, Armoured Cav, Airborne, etc. These books are both good and informative.

 

[canadianblue]

Well, I would have to agree on the point that Tom Clancy makes way too long books. I only finished about 3/4 of Rainbow Six, and got half way through some other ones. Here are the books I have read.

OP-Center Line of Control
OP-Center State of Seige
SSN
Net Force Breaking Point
Net Force Point of Impact
Red Storm Rising
The Hunt for the Red October

the books that were only about 300 pages long I had no trouble reading them. I really have'nt read much since I started high school. But I think I'm gonna start reading more of Clancy's books once again.

Strangely enough Net Force Point of Impact was pretty interesting and a good read, they tried to bust some guys selling an illegal drug over the internet that would turn basically any human being into a raging beast, and the drugs would cause murders and rapes.

Red Storm Rising was by far the best Tom Clancy book I read.

 

[armyrules]

Some Tom Clancy books that I have read are Debt Of Honour, Executive Orders, Patriot Games, R6, Clear and Present Danger and I thought they were all well written. But I thought that R6 focused too much on detail. What do you guys think?

 

[Johnny_H]

I enjoyed Red Storm Rising but there was something that didn't quite sit right with me, I cant put my finger on it but somethin in that story didn't seem believable. I wish i was knowledgeable enough to explain this, but really its just a gut feeling i had while reading it.

 

[T.I.M.]

I know what you mean.  I had the same feeling.

I think it's the fact that the war isn't. . . apocalyptic. . . enough.  All in all it's a pretty tame war for a clash between the Warsaw Pact and NATO.  General Hacket's "The Third World War" has a (brief) global conflict with much wider scope and a great deal more devastation.  That book felt a bit closer to the mark for me when I read it.

Of course the problem you run into with a WWIII book is how to prevent it from becoming another after-the-bomb novel by chapter 2.  But I felt that "Red Storm Rising" was pretty tame in its war, even within those restrictions.  Still liked it though.

 

[jerrythunder]

Hey Everyone, since this is an off topic list i hope this is where i can write this:

I just finished reading Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. This book is pretty good except for some small parts that i didnt like. Tom Clancy is a good author, Except for that he is Pro-American. I prefer Frederick Forsyth to him any day. Especially his book The Avenger.

 

[baboon6]

All I can say is- I loved his books when i was 15. Now i 'm 29 and I think they're a bit silly. i feel like I've growen up and he hasn't.

 

[jerrythunder]

very good read, one and all, (I used to read them in class when I got bored with the teacher) I especially like the Rainbow six books,

Hey, There are more than one rainbow six books? there is a sequil?

 

[FredDaHead]

Hey, There are more than one rainbow six books? there is a sequil?

Actually I think there are two tomes because, like 99% of Clancy's books, he drags the story on too long to fit it in one book.

 

[jerrythunder]

Does anyone know what book that would be?

 

[vercingetorix]

        "Hunt for red October"...first and LASt good clancy book!!

        Hey Ghost Walk, I'm going to use that quote,( let me know if you got it form someone else)

"Tom Clancy is what I refer to as a Military Pornographer" hehehe that had me in stitches for a while.

        "Patriot games" was O.K. but really dived at the end. 
 
        But then he made, "Red Storm Rising" HOLY HORSE CRAP!!!! is the best way to describe this typed diahrea.  This book stank like horse shit on a hot day.  Icould just picture the 5 star american generals jerking off to it while they read it.  The first 500 pages wern't bad, but the last two hundred were absolutly horendous.  I had to confide in a friend of mine, who is an admitted clancy-aholic, and tell him that I couldn't finish the book, because it was soooooooo boring.  He said to pick it up again and finish it because it got good at the end.  I lost trak of how many submarine encounter/kills he describes, last count I had in the book was about 30!!!! It's a fricken book, 3-4 woluld've sufficed, but over 30...and in Clancy-like detail!!!! For the love of god, someone needs to put a magnet on that man's portable lap top to prevent him from finishing his next book!!!!!!!
   
AHHH. o/k/, sorry for al;l those out there who like Clancy, but I just had to get that off my chest....I'm going to grab a beer!

 

[chalk1]

All I can say is- I loved his books when i was 15. Now i 'm 29 and I think they're a bit silly. i feel like I've growen up and he hasn't.

    I know the feeling. They're fun reads, but there's some sort of substance that's lacking. If you want to try something by Clancy that's a little different then take a look at "Without Remorse". I'm not saying it's the best of his novels, but you do get a rare look at Clark's past. It really helps you to understand how Clark develops psychologically through time.

 

[Kalatzi]

Stay away from "Teeth of the Tiger" I picked it up from a discount bin to see what he'd been up to.
What a mistake, :boring:  really lousy plot, bad characterisation etc etc
I got the sense that the publisher was paying him by tthe word
Used to be a fan of his earlier stuff. Agree with the other posters, he just doesnt seem to have kept up
as someone else posted Military Pornography

 

[17thRecceSgt]

I think Red Storm Rising was one of his best writes.  I am about to start Shadow Warrior, the one on Spec Ops.  Hope it was worth the $2.00 I spent at the flea market for it  ;D

 

[armyrules]

I really ejoyed Red Storm Rising a really quick read I found anyways. I hope you enjoy the book Mud Recce Man, and what a great price!!

 

[Centurian1985]

I liked his early stuff, but a lot of his spin-offs (Op Center, Net Force, etc.) are just plain stupid.  Some of that stuff just does not work that way.   I also find that many of his characters are either silly or highly improbable, i.e. the traditional Private with a degree from Yale or Harvard who after one year in the military is equivalent to a Delta Force soldier - not just one of them but a whole team worth.  I mean, there's stretching the truth for a story and then just plain BS.  You might as well be reading Mack Bolan.

(Buddy of mine on TQ5B/6A course back in late 1980's pretending to do a locker inspection:  "What the hell is this? Is that Mack Bolan? You read Mack Bolan?  Good man, you'll go far in this army...")      

 

[17thRecceSgt]

I never got into the Netforce, Politika or any of those...I have however managed to pick up most of the "good" books in hardcover for $5 a piece, in very good conition, at local flea markets.  Hard one to find is...original Hunt for Red October...

Sum of All Fears was the last one I read...ironic this summer in a way...

 

[TCBF]

"I think it's the fact that the war isn't. . . apocalyptic. . . enough.  All in all it's a pretty tame war for a clash between the Warsaw Pact and NATO.  General Hacket's "The Third World War" has a (brief) global conflict with much wider scope and a great deal more devastation.  That book felt a bit closer to the mark for me when I read it."

-  Try "Red Army", by Ralph Peters.  This was NOT a happy read for a Cdn crew commander in Germany in 1988!

As for Clancy,  HFRO and SOAF were good.  HFRO became a good flick as well.  Hollywood got all wobbly on SOAF.  No balls. 

 

[17thRecceSgt]

"I think it's the fact that the war isn't. . . apocalyptic. . . enough.  All in all it's a pretty tame war for a clash between the Warsaw Pact and NATO.  General Hacket's "The Third World War" has a (brief) global conflict with much wider scope and a great deal more devastation.  That book felt a bit closer to the mark for me when I read it."

-  Try "Red Army", by Ralph Peters.  This was NOT a happy read for a Cdn crew commander in Germany in 1988!

As for Clancy,  HFRO and SOAF were good.  HFRO became a good flick as well.  Hollywood got all wobbly on SOAF.  No balls. 

The one Ben Affleck played Ryan, correct?

So far for the ones made into movies, I liked Patriot Games.  That or Clear and Present Danger...