quote:

Originally posted by IrishWind:


Another author to consider is Larry Bond. He co-wrote Red October and Red Storm Rising. His first three books: Red Phoenix, Vortex, and Cauldron are very much like Red Storm Rising.

Thanks I will check out Larry Bond. The books after his death just don't do it for me.

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Originally posted by Blackmore:

quote:

Originally posted by hberttmank:
The Hunt for Red October

I read them in order as they came out but stopped when the collaborations started and after his death.

this is the way to do it,

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Originally posted by MikeNH:
I guess I may be the odd man out but Bear and the Dragon is my favorite of his second only to Without Remorse.

I liked Bear and the Dragon - thought it was a good plot - but it did drag. I think Clancy always wanted to fill a book with all the military knowledge he'd attained through his research and various sources but this time his editors weren't able (or allowed) to rein him in.

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Originally posted by Blackmore:

quote:

Originally posted by MikeNH:
I guess I may be the odd man out but Bear and the Dragon is my favorite of his second only to Without Remorse.

I liked Bear and the Dragon - thought it was a good plot - but it did drag. I think Clancy always wanted to fill a book with all the military knowledge he'd attained through his research and various sources but this time his editors weren't able (or allowed) to rein him in.

You do have a point and there is a bit that makes The Bear and the Dragon special to me. First, it was the first Clancy book I read. And as I was traveling all the time for work back then, he had a captive audience as that was before planes had Wi-Fi. Haha.

But his details do get heavy. I learned more about the stock market and economics in general from Debt of Honor than any class I took in school. And I believe he took like 12-14 pages to describe the detonation of the nuke in Sum of All Fears.

My favorites are (roughly in this order):

Red Storm Rising - The way he manages to portray the overall view of the conflict while still maintaining the individual unit detail along with character development across a broad range of AOs is masterful.

The Hunt for Red October - Just a fantastic, detailed thriller, with much more depth and plot than the movie (although I enjoy that as well, for what it is).

Without Remorse - Probably the darkest of Clancy's books, it explains a lot about the origins of John Clark and his connection to the rest of the characters in the series. Clancy really makes you sympathize with the guy, and you don't much care for pimps, drug dealers, or politicians by the end of it.

Clear and Present Danger - You could watch the movie and read this book and barely realize that they're supposed to be the same story line. There is a lot more plot and character development, as well as entire groups of sub-characters that get left out of the movie. It's an enjoyable read and explains the connections between a lot of the different re-occurring characters in the series.

The other original Clancy books are all pretty good, too, but these are my favorites. The newer ghost-written stuff can be entertaining, but lacks the depth of his original work.

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Originally posted by 92fstech:

...The newer ghost-written stuff can be entertaining, but lacks the depth of his original work.

+1000. I've read many of the newer books, and they don't come close to the original Clancy material. I just finished "Point of Contact" by Mike Maden. Summary: Jack Ryan Jr kicks ass! He's a combination of Navy SEAL, Ninja warrior, FBI HRT, and Delta Force. Oh yeah, he's a great financial analyst too.

They're OK reads for long flights, but I always have low expectations.

Agree with all the comments about the ghost written books. Mediocre at best. I have read most or all of them primarily out of laziness when I just didn't feel like looking too hard for my next read.

Red Storm rising is my absolute favorite. Second would be Cardinal of the Kremlin. Third is Hunt for Red October. All outstanding. Least favorite of the actual Clancy books would have to be Clear and Present Danger. I liked it but not nearly as much as the others.

Thanks for all the feedback. I just finished Without Remorse and Clear and Present Danger sounds the most interesting to me, so I’m going to move on to that one.