Tag Archives: impressions

“Without Remorse” Impressions

I just finished Without Remorse, by Tom Clancy. It’s about one of Clancy’s more regular characters, John Clark, and is essentially an origin story.

I enjoyed the book overall, though I wouldn’t say it was his strongest. It focussed more on low-level events and characters, rather than overarching plots and events, which was kind of neat, and somewhat similar to Patriot Games.

Some of the stuff that happens in the book doesn’t quite make sense, and seem a bit convenient, rather than character-driven. This is especially true in the first couple chapters and the last couple chapters. But it’s worth overlooking those things to get at the themes and morality questions that are involved.

One thing that did really strike me about Without Remorse is that it could be adapted into a really great movie, in my opinion. So just now I did a search for it, and lookie here. Could be interesting, if it happens!

I’d recommend reading the book, but you should read the books that were written earlier first, probably.

The Sum of All Fears – Impressions

I just finished reading The Sum of All Fears, by Tom Clancy. I’ve been reading a few of those, recently; I guess I’ve been on a spy thriller kick for a while, and ever since 24 ended I’ve had to turn elsewhere for my fix.

I read The Hunt For Red October first, then Patriot Games (which actually comes before Red October, in terms of series continuity), then The Cardinal of the Kremlin, and now The Sum of All Fears. I skipped Clear and Present Danger because a) I’ve read it before, and b) I don’t own a copy at the moment. I had to try to remember what the plot of that one was, for the sake of continuity, but there were enough clues scattered throughout Sum to remind me, luckily.

Of the four sequential Clancy novels I’ve just read, Sum is by far the largest and the most politically ambitious. Each of the novels has delivered great intrigue and action, but Sum does a fantastic job of tying a series of decisions, personalities, and accidents together into a plausible and very scary climax. He doesn’t pull his punches, either (which is one of the similarities I’ve noticed between Clancy and 24, outside of 24’s really disappointing final few episodes).

At over 900 pages, it’s not a quick read, but it’s a worthwhile one if you’re a fan of the genre.

But now that I’m finished, I have choose whether to continue with the series–Debt of Honor is on my shelf–or take a break and read something else for a while. Feel free to help me out:

What novel should I read next?

  • Emma - Jane Austen (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (42%, 5 Votes)
  • The Day It Rained Forever - Ray Bradbury (25%, 3 Votes)
  • Debt of Honor - Tom Clancy (33%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 12

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