great story that's different from Clancy's other books ( )

I first read Patriot Games 35 years ago, after being blown away by Hunt for Red October. I eagerly consumed each subsequent Tom Clancy novel until he pretty much ran out of things to write about, though, like Larry McMurtry, it didn’t stop him from churning out substandard offerings.

Having pretty much run through my reading list, I elected to go back and reread the early Clancy novels, to see if they were as good as I remembered. I skipped Hunt for Red October, because I’ve seen the movie a dozen times and began with Red Storm Rising. I followed up with Patriot Games, despite having also seen the movie several times.

Many of Clancy’s novels focus on military engagement and explanation of complex military equipment. This is certainly one of his greatest strengths. He is very knowledgeable and well trained in this area. This is not one of those works.

The storyline of Patriot Games revolves around an Irish terrorist group, a more aggressive branch of the IRA. Jack Ryan, a Navy veteran and Annapolis professor stumbles upon and foils a plot to kidnap the Prince of Wales, his wife and child. In doing so, he earns the enmity of the terrorists.

As mentioned above, Clancy shines in his description of action. This novel certainly has some of that. However, this is far more dialogue driven than Hunt for Red October or Red Storm Rising, and the simple fact is, much of the dialogue is just bad, at times silly. I remember back in the ‘80s calling friends “turkeys”, but hearing the term used repeatedly by Marines and others when speaking to each other certainly does not age well.

Clancy tells a good story, sets the scene and describes action almost without peer. The more interpersonal, dialogue driven activity that takes place, the more his work suffers. ( )

I really liked Hunt for Red October, so I was looking forward to this. The beginning didn't disappoint, and was very engaging. The middle was very slow. (I hit my "this feels like pure filler" point during Ryan's plane ride home. It was very long and very descriptive -which I generally have no problem with from Tom Clancy- but had nothing to do with pushing the plot along.) And the end left something to be desired. Jack Ryan loses the intelligence and impulsive, occasional streaks of heroism he had going for him, and becomes a foolish guy who's nearly super-human. ( )

Quite different, especially the denouement, from the movie! All-in-all, and this is a rare statement from me, the movie was better. It was tighter and actually more action packed.

I drive from DC to the Eastern Shore more than a dozen times a year, so I can easily envision the cliffs surrounding the Ryan home, but the ability to traverse the grounds to get to the house with all the bad actors (and good) with guns wasn't, for me, easily understandable. And getting a pregnant women just a few days (not weeks) away from childbirth was not too realistic.

But. I'm glad I read it. ( )

4/7/22