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Natasha Mulhearn
The late Tom Clancy was the undisputed master of the techno-thriller. For decades, he charmed readers with his intricate plots and deep understanding of military technology and espionage. His passion for all things martial shines through in his work, particularly in his description of geopolitical conflicts and the nuances of intelligence operations. His books can get quite farfetched, and sometimes the descriptions are overbearing, but he certainly knew how to spin a yarn.
Brisk plots and tons of actions keep the novels speeding along, making the author a reliable purveyor of genre entertainment. Although he passed away in 2013, his estate has enlisted a series of authors to keep his legacy alive by telling new stories set in his fictional universe, meaning that his characters will be around for a long time to come. Those looking to try out Clancy's work ought to begin with the novels most recommended by the users of Goodreads, the book review website. Here are Clancy's ten best books, according to its users.
"Bad money drives out good." Set in the early 1980s, this Jack Ryan novel revolves around a Soviet intelligence officer who plans to defect to the West, bringing with him information about a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II. Ryan, working for the CIA, embarks on a high-stakes mission to thwart the KGB's deadly plans.
Although excessively long at some 640 pages, Red Rabbit packs the usual thrills fans expect from Clancy. It also benefits from a refreshing tonal shift in the sections that focus on Ryan and his family trying to settle into their new life in London. Finally, the inclusion of a real-life assassination plot against the Pope helps to ground things a little and make the story more believable. It's not the best Jack Ryan book, but Clancy's discussion of espionage is interesting, as is his depiction of life in Russia before the Wall came down.
"How could a man lead without vision?" Jack Ryan, now the Deputy Director of the CIA, faces perhaps his greatest challenge yet when a lost Israeli nuclear bomb resurfaces. It threatens to upend the peace negotiations underway, which appear to be on the brink of a breakthrough. As tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union escalate, a Palestinian terrorist group plans to use the bomb to spark a conflict that could lead to World War III.
Once again, Clancy takes real-world issues and gives them the pulpy, techno-thriller treatment. Some story elements are over-the-top, of course, but there's also a lot that stands out here, like the terrifically devious antagonist Elizabeth Elliot. She is the National Security Advisor and paramour of the president and uses her influence to smear, undermine, and sabotage Ryan at every turn. Additionally, this book features Ryan at his most pacifistic, seeking to prevent conflict at all costs.
"The more highly placed a man is, the more noble his actions must be." The Cardinal of the Kremlin is Clancy's tale of palace intrigue at the highest levels of the Soviet Union. The story centers on a high-ranking Soviet officer, code-named Cardinal, who has been a long-time asset for the CIA. As the Soviets develop a new laser defense system that could tip the balance of power, the CIA must extract Cardinal before his cover is blown. Jack Ryan, still finding his footing in the intelligence world, is tasked with orchestrating this dangerous operation.
The novel may feel dated now since it's quintessential Cold War stuff. There's espionage, warfare (much of it in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan), a brewing coup, and a rising rebel threat. However, this will be what some readers appreciate about it as well. The book also benefits from featuring less technical jargon than most Clancy books, so it feels more like an actual story and not an instruction manual.
The book is thoroughly ridiculous, but also a ton of fun. The American presidency naturally lends itself to popcorn entertainment. It's a whopper too, clocking at approximately 1358. There's a sprawling cast of characters and action aplenty, including battles on land, air, and sea. This could all be overwhelming and wearisome (and for some readers, it will be) but Clancy's skillful plotting holds it all together. The result is a wacky, epic mess, but also one of the most compelling Jack Ryan adventures of all.
"A wise man knows his limitations. And a bold one seizes opportunities." The Hunt for Red October was Clancy's breakout novel, quickly becoming a bestseller and paving the way for all the books that would follow. It introduces readers to Jack Ryan while also serving up a juicy plot involving a Soviet captain who decides to defect to the United States with his advanced nuclear submarine, the Red October.
Although the detailed descriptions weigh down the narrative, The Hunt for Red October ultimately succeeds thanks to its layered and carefully constructed plot. Clancy clearly tapped into the Reagan era zeitgeist, where Cold War fears still ran high. In the process, he also laid the blueprint for the techno-thriller, one that would be emulated endlessly by other writers and by Clancy himself, to varying degrees of success. Here, at least, the formula was still fresh, making this one of the author's most gripping stories.
"Sometimes, the only way to win is to fight dirty." Rainbow Six focuses on an elite multinational counter-terrorism unit led by John Clark, a recurring character in Clancy's universe. The plot kicks into gear when Rainbow finds out that a radical environmentalist group is planning to unleash a deadly virus to "cleanse" the Earth. Clark and his team must race to prevent a global catastrophe, as seemingly every obstacle gets in their way.
Rainbow Six is a grand-scale story, not quite as gigantic as Executive Orders but still hefty at 740 pages. Its weaknesses include underdeveloped characters and a premise ripped from a lesser Bond novel, but the plentiful action scenes go a long way toward compensating. It clearly connected with audiences, since it debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestseller list. It also spawned a video game franchise and there is a film adaptation in development with Michael B. Jordan slated to star.
"The only real difference between a wise man and a fool, Moore knew, was that the wise man tended to make more serious mistakes." In this one, Ryan finds himself embroiled in the US government's covert war against Colombian drug cartels. When a close friend of the President is murdered by cartel assassins, the US escalates its efforts to combat the drug trade, leading to a series of secret military operations. Ryan, now Deputy Director of the CIA, realizes that his colleagues are hiding their unsavory actions from him.
Here, again, Clancy draws on actual reports of intelligence agency skullduggery and secret wars but spices them up with political drama and elements from crime thrillers. Most reviewers appreciated this, declaring it to be one of Clancy's best novels. The narrative structure is also commendable, neatly weaving together countless subplots; indeed, Ryan doesn't even appear until about 100 pages in, indicating just how much story there is here.
"A conscience is the price of morality, and morality is the price of civilization." While on vacation in London, Ryan heroically intervenes in an attack on a member of the British royal family, thwarting the plans of an IRA splinter group. His actions make him a target for the terrorists, who seek revenge by attacking his family in the United States. Ryan's struggle to protect his loved ones while assisting in the counter-terrorism efforts forms the core of the novel.
Patriot Games's appeal lies in its straightforwardness. This is a classic tale of good versus evil, with little moral ambiguity among the characters. Sure, this means it doesn't rise to being great literature or anything, but it's still solid genre entertainment. The novel is also intriguing as a time capsule from an era when the international landscape was perhaps more tense but less complex, and the line between friend and foe was not as hazy as it is today.
"Those desperate men have control of atomic weapons." Red Storming Rising is one of only two Clancy novels not set in the Ryanverse, the other being SSN. It envisions a scenario where the Soviet Union, facing an energy crisis, launches a surprise invasion of Western Europe to secure oil supplies. The resulting conflict escalates into a full-scale war between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. Notably, this is a World War III tale in which nukes are never used.
Clancy's passion for military history and strategy is on full display here. Indeed, most commentators praised the accuracy of the military elements, calling Red Storm Rising one of the more realistic depictions of a US-Soviet showdown. Specifically, he dives deep into tactics and planning, as well as dense descriptions of different units, weapons, and vehicles. For this reason, the book lent itself well to gaming, producing both a video game and a board game.
"It was still Death, living in the mind of a man." Without Remorse is John Clark's origin story. It alternates between two main storylines: Clark's vendetta against drug dealers who murdered his girlfriend and his involvement in a covert operation to rescue American POWs in Vietnam. He grapples with his conscience as he goes about his bloody work, with the flashbacks explaining how he became the grizzled warrior that he is.
This is probably Clancy's best book in terms of characterization. Rather than treating the characters as pieces on a chessboard who exist primarily to serve the plot, he fleshes Clark out and makes him three-dimensional (at least by the author's standards). Clark drives the story, rather than the other way around. There's also a little more exploration of the themes, with Clancy claiming that the book's central question is "What is justice? And how is justice applied?" Sure, Without Remorse is overlong and a little melodramatic, but it delivers in terms of escapist thrills.
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