Tom Clancy Dead: Celebrated Thriller Author Dies At Age 66

[Capetan Mihali]

Gave us some good books, and some good videogames. RIP.

And lots of movies spun off of his books.

I see you left out the "good" qualifier...

[KRonn]

I've read a few of Clancy's books, not too many. They usually had the US doing so well vs the adversary, in one book the adversary was a resurgent Japan under a group of leaders who usurped the government, or gained power in some way. Others about Irish terrorism back when that was going strong.

Some of the movies/books were good thrillers IMO, and Affleck and Harrison Ford made good John Ryan characters.

[KRonn]

Gave us some good books, and some good videogames. RIP.

And lots of movies spun off of his books.

I see you left out the "good" qualifier...

Yeah, I liked all of the movies spun off the books.   

[grumbler]

Yeah, I liked all of the movies spun off the books.    

I thought that, with the possible exception of The Hunt for the Red October, all of the movies were better than the books they were based on.  I think Clancy's characters work better with the more limited exposure they have in movies.

[derspiess]

My biggest disappointment with the Hunt for Red October movie was that they left out the part with Jack Ryan flying (as a passenger) in a Sea Harrier.

[Ed Anger]

One Ping only.

[Berkut]

I thought almost all of his early stuff was excellent.

His later stuff just freaking fell off a cliff though. He went from outstanding to terrible in a astoundingly short span.

[Berkut]

The Hunt for Red October (1984) - Excellent
Red Storm Rising (1986) - Excellent
Patriot Games (1987) - Very good
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988) - Excellent
Clear and Present Danger (1989) - Good
The Sum of All Fears (1991) - OK
Without Remorse (1993)  -Very good/Excellent
Debt of Honor (1994) - Poor
Everything after this ranges from Poor to utter crap, with the weight being towards utter crap.

[Darth Wagtaros]

I thought almost all of his early stuff was excellent.

His later stuff just freaking fell off a cliff though. He went from outstanding to terrible in a astoundingly short span.

I think he started outsourcing it to Ghost writers and such.  They were beyond awful. 

[derspiess]

I guess due to dumb luck, I trailed off on reading his books right when they took a turn for the worse.

Actually, I remember reading the back cover for whatever book it was where Jack Ryan became president and Congress gets all blowed up, and thinking it was a silly premise that didn't interest me.

After that I read Rainbow Six and I think that was about it.  Rainbow Six was pretty decent.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I guess due to dumb luck, I trailed off on reading his books right when they took a turn for the worse.

Actually, I remember reading the back cover for whatever book it was where Jack Ryan became president and Congress gets all blowed up, and thinking it was a silly premise that didn't interest me.

After that I read Rainbow Six and I think that was about it.  Rainbow Six was pretty decent.

Executive Orders.  I read the entire Jack Ryan series, Red Storm Rising, and the first three Op Center books.  Op Center killed it for me.

[11B4V]

The Hunt for Red October (1984) - Excellent
Red Storm Rising (1986) - Excellent
Patriot Games (1987) - Very good
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988) - Excellent
Clear and Present Danger (1989) - Good
The Sum of All Fears (1991) - OK
Without Remorse (1993)  -Very good/Excellent
Debt of Honor (1994) - Poor
Everything after this ranges from Poor to utter crap, with the weight being towards utter crap.

One of my favorites.

[Caliga]

The Hunt for Red October (1984) - Excellent
Red Storm Rising (1986) - Excellent
Patriot Games (1987) - Very good
Clear and Present Danger (1989) - Good

I agree with you on all of the above except Patriot Games might also be 'Excellent'.  I haven't read any of the others.

[CountDeMoney]

Ugh, the end of Patriot Games sucked.  Talk about wrapping up a plot in a fucking hurry.

Personally, I loved Clear and Present Danger.

[grumbler]

The Hunt for Red October (1984) - Excellent
Red Storm Rising (1986) - Excellent
Patriot Games (1987) - Very good
Clear and Present Danger (1989) - Good

I agree with you on all of the above except Patriot Games might also be 'Excellent'.  I haven't read any of the others.

I thought patriot Games was only good (the movie was much better).  I couldn't finish Cardinal of the Kremlin.

I just found the Jack Ryan character boring as hell.  The wife character had some moments, but Jack was just a vehicle for the action (which is why I thought the character worked for the movies even when it didn't for the books: in almost every movie like this, the main character just serves as a vehicle for the action).

Just reading about the one where Japan attacks the US to reclaim Guam was enough to turn my stomach.  I'd rather study Timmay's alt-hist than Clancy's.