Tom Clancy RIP

[JRS]

R.I.P. Tom Clancy

I have read quite a few of his books over the years but I have to say that The Hunt for Red October was and is one of my favorites from his works. He certainly brought something new to the genre for sure..and one might say he created one of his own(or at least a sub-genre).

 

[The Old Mixer]

Listing to all the recent commentary on the tv and radio about Tom Clancy's death has made me want to check out his Jack Ryan stories. What is the recommended reading order? Apparently the publication order isn't the chronological order

No, but reading it in the publishing order is fine. The stories aren't that interconnected.

Still, if you wanna go by timeline:

Red Rabbit
Patriot Games
The Hunt for Red October
The Cardinal of The Kremlin
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum Of All Fears
Debt of Honor
Executive Orders
The Bear And The Dragon
Dead or Alive
Threat Vector

These are all the books where Ryan is either the main or a prominent character.

Do you spoil yourself reading in chronological order? You know like watching the Star Wars prequels first, spoils the who is Vader reveal

I don't know that I'd recommend reading them chronologically, but I can't think of anything specific that would be spoiled.

However, if one is going to read the Ryanverse, one might as well go whole hog. That list leaves off the books in which John Clark was the main character. Without Remorse takes place before any of them, a "prequel" book telling Clark's backstory. College-age Jack Ryan makes a brief appearance, and his father plays a major role.

If you'd prefer to go publishing order, it doesn't hurt to read Patriot Games before Red October...it's chronological, and the two books were being worked on during the same period...so it's not really a prequel, just a couple of consecutive Ryanverse books that were released out of order.

EDIT: Also, regarding the list above, Red Rabbit takes place between PG and THFRO.

 

[diankra]

And, FwIW. Red Rabbit doesn't entirely fit as an add-in to the existing contuinuity. Read in publication order works best.

 

[Keith1701]

RIP, Tom ~~~ You will be missed.

 

[Mr Light]

I would skip Red Rabbit and Patriot Games as they are subpar prequels to the main series. I recommend:

The Hunt for Red October: amazing debut
The Cardinal of The Kremlin: my favorite Clancy novel
Clear and Present Danger: I'm less interested in a Columbian drug war but it's well done
The Sum Of All Fears: too long, too many subplots, but good
Debt of Honor: this one's excellent
Executive Orders: ridiculous long and stuffed with unnecessary subplots
The Bear And The Dragon: pretty good finale to the saga, I didn't bother reading after this.

Red Storm Rising, an out of continuity World War Three story, was quite thrilling as well.

 

[Llama]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think I'll start with The Hunt for Red October and see if I enjoy it - most people rave about this book, so I think it should be a safe bet

 

[Starkers]

Oddly one I've still never read!

 

[Mr Light]

I just realized if you only do the main books (October to Dragon) it works as a 7 parter just like Harry Potter! Bear and the Dragon does serve as a pretty good summation of the entire series and all its storylines.

 

[Turtletrekker]

RIP, sir.

I was at a Geeks Who Drink trivia event last night and team names used or considered were "Rainbow Six Feet Under", "The Hunt For Red October Fest", "The Sum Of All Beers" and "Footloose and Clancy-free"

Some might question this, but no disrespect was meant toward Mr. Clancy, of course. A tribute, it was.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I would skip Red Rabbit and Patriot Games as they are subpar prequels to the main series.

I have to disagree. I don't consider Patriot Games to be a "prequel" for the reasons that I've already stated...and whether one reads it before or after Red October, it definitely plays an important role in the Jack Ryan mythos, and its events are referenced in Red October and throughout the rest of the series. It's not a shoehorned-in retcon written a couple of decades after the fact like Red Rabbit.

 

[Mr Light]

While Patriot Games is certainly referenced many times in the series, it is a small one person narrative and not a global spanning war epic the way the rest of the books are.

 

[Admiral2]

Listing to all the recent commentary on the tv and radio about Tom Clancy's death has made me want to check out his Jack Ryan stories. What is the recommended reading order? Apparently the publication order isn't the chronological order

No, but reading it in the publishing order is fine. The stories aren't that interconnected.

Still, if you wanna go by timeline:

Red Rabbit
Patriot Games
The Hunt for Red October
The Cardinal of The Kremlin
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum Of All Fears
Debt of Honor
Executive Orders
The Bear And The Dragon
Dead or Alive
Locked On
Threat Vector

These are all the books where Ryan is either the main or a prominent character.

Do you spoil yourself reading in chronological order? You know like watching the Star Wars prequels first, spoils the who is Vader reveal

No. Most of the books are self-contained stories and only Debt Of Honor makes clear what you'll see in the next book.

Also, I missed one. "Locked On" comes between Dead Or Alive and Threat Vector. I tend to confuse LO and DoA for various reasons and LO ends up getting dumped out of my memory.

If you'd prefer to go publishing order, it doesn't hurt to read Patriot Games before Red October...it's chronological, and the two books were being worked on during the same period...so it's not really a prequel, just a couple of consecutive Ryanverse books that were released out of order.

1. The first published work is Red October.

2. The second published work (with a whole new publisher) is Patriot Games.

3 The events in PG are referenced as past events in RO.

Parse it all you like, but that's the textbook definition of "prequel."

EDIT: Also, regarding the list above, Red Rabbit takes place between PG and THFRO.

No it doesn't. Red Rabbit depicted Ryan's early work for the CIA. PG events take place at a time when he'd already been living and working in London for a significant period.

 

[garak1]

Rest in Peace, Mr Clancy.

Your works were amongst the few non-science fiction books that I read in my teens. The books were a treasure trove of information on all manner of topics, but with an obvious focus on the military. These books broadened my horizons like nothing else during my youth.

As a young man, I held a desire to join the military, but for a variety of reasons was never able to do so. Your books helped me live out a dream that could never be a reality, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

When I went through my darkest times at high school, I could always go home and read a Clancy book about Ryan and Clark battling the Soviets, Colombians or Arab terrorists. The positive and principled approach you embodied in these characters inspired me to always do the right thing.

I agree with previous posters regarding 'The Bear and the Dragon' as being a fitting finale to a magnificent saga of storytelling. From humble beginnings in 'The Hunt for Red October' to worldwide success and renown, I believe that this book closed the Jack Ryan saga.

With your books, particularly the thrillers of the 1980s to 1990s, you have achieved a degree of immortality that few can ever aspire to.

Mr Clancy, you will be missed, but never forgotten.