Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Does anyone still read Clancy?

I read his first books, loved the Hunt for Red October, fascinated by Red Storm Rising, still can't believe they didn't make a movie out of "Without Remorse", Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger were OK, but then I grew bored. Cardinal in the Kremlin, so-so, I think Red Rabbit was my last.

I see he has another coming out, I think I'll have to skip it, anyone still a dedicated Clancy reader?

I will probably read it, I still like his style of story telling & characters.

Is Jack Ryan still alive?

Almost as old as you!

wife is a huge Clancy fan.
We've been married 22 years now, so I read old Playboy mags.......

I started out one of the biggest Clancy fans out there...until he started to get fat, lazy, and use ghost writers. The quality of work from his early stuff to the crap that was Red Rabbit was embarrassing. There was a significant drop off in the depth of detail and characters.

Never got interested in his Op-Center series.

"Does anyone still read Clancy?"

I have a shelf of Clancy's hard-backs, free for whomever'll come get 'em. They're 'way too good for the dump!

I've read every one and have just downloaded his latest on my Kindle. It bothered me to read 'Red October' because I kept seeing Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan. That was like seeing PeeWee Herman as Conan the Barbarian. Vince Flynn is another that I enjoy.

Brad Thor was recommended to me and I've read a couple but can't get into his style very much so far. Lawrence Block got me interested with his 'Hit Man' series and the Matthew Scudder books but his book 'Random Walk' was one of the suckiest books I've ever read. I think Block has exhausted every idea he's ever had.

...and hum 'Memories' while you read?

I'm afraid that's been my impression too. I just finished rereading Red October for about the fourth time, and still read every page. I've read all or most of Clancy's later books, and they just don't grab my interest the same way.

It's the same with Steven Hunter. I recently bought and read Isniper, and then handed it over to my son. Both of us agree that it's basically "gun porn". You can get only so much mileage out of detailed descriptions of bullets, loads, ballistics, and such. And like I said in the book review section here, a whole chapter lifted directly from Marty Robbins' song "Big Iron" bordered on silly.

Perhaps I'm just getting jaded and hard to please.

Paul

I still think Clancy's best book was "Without Remorse".

no, not for years.

I'd agree.

Followed by Red Storm Rising and Hunt for Red October.

I believe that character is the one William DeFoe played in clear and present danger, what a great movie that book would make, you already have the leading actor.

Red Storm Rising is one of my favorites. It's about time for me to read it again!

But in Without Remorse, the character is much younger than he was in Clear and Present Danger, so Dafoe is way too old for that role now. They tried to cast Keanu Reeves for the role years ago and the project fell apart.

Clancy only missed one thing in his premise. At the time the Russians would not have had to invade Europe. Merely massing troops would have been enough to tie NATO down and they could have invaded with minimal resistance from the West.
Great book. May be my favorite. "Red October " has to be close though.

That would be John Clark. It's too bad Hollywood went PC on THE SUM OF ALL FEARS. Guess they didn't want to upset the muzzies. The guy that played John Clark in that one was also quite good I thought. I agree that WITHOUT REMORSE has to be Clancy's best. I've got some of the Op Center and Net Force stuff and it's Ok for use as time killers.
DEBT OF HONOR strikes me as the source of the idea of the 9/1/01 strikes. Could Clancy have unwittingly given the muzzies the idea? Does make one think. I've got most of his books and reread them quite often. Even the not so ggod ones aren't boring.
Paul B.

I could let a little age gap slip by, how about you? They got the age wrong in Shooter too, but nobody seemed to mind. I thought Tommy Lee Jones would have made the perfect Bob the Nailer.