posted
Well, I am currently about halfway through "THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON", which by count, is the 10th book in the Jack Ryan Series (counting "Rainbow Six", even though Ryan isn't in that one at all).
The first bit of "THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON" is quite ... well, below Clancy's standards. Even the latter half isn't that great. Clancy usually weaves his plot lines a lot better, and this one seems to have a very simple A->B->C plot.
Let me digress just a bit. (Warning: SPOILERS!)
"PATRIOT GAMES", although the second book in the Series, takes place before "HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER." In it, Jack Ryan, an ex-CIA analyst and an instructor at Annapolis, is lecturing in London when he interupts an attempted IRA assassination on a member of the Royal Family. Jack gets knighted, his family is attacked, everything turns out okay.
"HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" (great movie, BTW), takes place when the Soviets inform the U.S. that one of their nuclear sub captains had gone renegade in a new-class of submarine that utilizes a "silent propulsion" drive to make itself "invisible" (think a cloaking device). While the US Echelon works with the Soviets to try and sink the sub before Cpt. Ramius starts WWIII, Ryan thinks that Ramius is trying to defect ...
"THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN", again brings Jack Ryan to the forefront as he attempts to rescue the CIA's top spy in the Soviet politboro. It also introduces "John Clark", an ex-Navy SEAL who is a top CIA operative.
"CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER" involves the U.S.'s often bungling War on Drugs. The President (unamed -- modeled on Bush, perhaps? The movie version thinks so, in any case) loses a friend to the drug war, and launches an illegal military operation to bring down the drug lords. When the troops are cut off due to political wrangling within the CIA, it's up to Jack Ryan to get them out with the help of John Clark.
"SUM OF ALL FEARS" -- this time, a terrorist organization smuggles a nuclear bomb into Denver, to blow up the Superbowl (anyone else catch Bill Clinton's cameo as a police officer?). When they are successful, Pres. Fowling (the previous President's successor, who apparently resigned or was impeached following the events in CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER) thinks the Soviets are responsible, and both sides brace for nuclear war ... (and Jack Ryan is again the only man who can stop it).
"WITHOUT REMORSE" is a flashback book, going back to the events that shaped John Clark into the man we know in Clancy's other books. He wages a war against the drug dealers who killed a woman close to him, and is pursued by none other than Lt. Ryan -- the father of Jack Ryan -- who is a Baltimore Police detective.
"DEBT OF HONOR" -- a tradewar with Japan quickly turns into a shooting war as high ranking Japanese officials twist and scheme, disabling an American Aircraft Carrier and sinking two subs; at the same time, Pres. Durling (Fowler's successor), kicks out his VP and wants Jack to take over the job. As Jack is inaguarated as VP, a Japanese civilian airliner captain flies his jet into the capitol building ...
"EXECUTIVE ORDERS" -- takes place right after "DEBT...". Ryan is now the President, and he faces two crisis: one, the government has been completely destroyed -- nearly every elected official died when the capital was destroyed; and an assassination in Iraq yields a new (well, old) enemy when Iraq and Iran merge ...
"RAINBOW SIX" -- John Clark and Domingo Chavez travel to England, where they and other NATO members form an elite special ops group, who quickly earn their baptism under fire as a domestic US group devises their own deadly plan to solve the world's problems ...
Okay, now that that's done with ...
Clancy has always shown a bit of partisanship in his novels. In "Rainbow Six", he is clearly against extreme-enviormentalists (but then, when they're that extreme, who wouldn't be?).
But, until "BEAR AND THE DRAGON", his references have always been very underkey and understated. This latest novel isn't much more than a political statement with a story framed around it (and while its an intereasting story, that's what it comes across as being).
Of course I don't agree with all of the statements that he's making. Some of them I do. I just find it blatant in this book, and even those who *agree* with what he says I'm sure find it the same way.
-He's anti-homosexual, made clear by a line in the novel when Ryan, talking about a Chinese minister's sex tastes, says, "at least he likes girls and not boys" (or something to that effect).
-He's pro-guns, referenced by a line from Jack to Adler (I think), but I forget the exact line.
-He's anti-Chinese ... this is pretty much the whole book, BTW. While he does attempt to show their point of view, the Chinese characters all seem painted in shades of black and white without any gray.
-He's anti-abortion. Again, this is throughout the book, as the story begins with a Catholic priest and a Baptist minister in Beijing be killed while trying to stop an abortion in a Chinese hospital. There are other lines, and Ryan says at one point that he wants to take the power from the Federal Govm't and give it to individual states to make the choice.
Anyway, that's about all I could find of that.
I'm still enjoying the book, although its the worst of the Series, IMHO. I don't think he spent as much time writing this as he has on previous books, and I hope the next book is a LOT better! There's a quick Q, though: Ryan can only be President in one more book, IMHO, then how will he continue the Series? Maybe with Robbie?
(Er: let's try and keep this clean. Mostly as a discussion for Clancy's works, the politic stuff -- let's not discuss the issues themselves, I just want to know if you all feel that he's sort of putting his poltics into play in this novel more than in others?)
posted
I hate to say this, but there's a classic literary criticism mistake involved in your evaluation:
One of the first rules they taught us in my first lit. crit. class was "Don't assume that the author agrees with his characters."
An author can write a novel where the main character is a homicidal sociopath, and holds the view of one, but that doesn't mean the author agrees with him. All it means is that the author is utilizing proper characterization.
No mater WHAT your personal beliefs are, if you write a book about a conservative, military-bearing , honest man, you'd have to give his character conservative, militaristic, honest views. If you write a book about a liberal, generous, compassionate wiccan woman, you'd have to give her views that mesh. If you don't, you're not a good writer.
------------------ "Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master
So -- is Clancy a liberal? Or a conservative? He's written quite a few non-fiction books about the military (I'm quite fond of the Guide of a Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier, myself), so I don't think its too much of a stretch to assume he's conservative minded (although, the book does mention several character's positive views on US Military intervention throughout the world, so who really knows?)
Oh, yes -- I'm sure some will be pleased at this: he's also a Macintosh fan
Regarding "Clear and Present Danger", I don't think the unnamed president is Bush. I'm pretty sure they made it clear somewhere that Bush was a seperate president from Fowling's predecessor. But the thing is, it's almost definite that Fowling was a democrat. So SOMEONE, not a democrat, and not George Bush, won the '92 election. I'm betting on Ross Perot.
Oh, and Mr. President didn't resign. He was defeated in the '96 election by Fowling. Ryan has theorized, somewhere in Executive Orders, that the two congressmen that are Ryan's allies (their names escape me) that talked to him after the whole mess was over got him to throw the election, instead of allowing the scandal to come out.
Re: "Sum of All Fears," I did catch that. What I found amusing was that at the time the book was written, he was still governor of Arkansas.
Now I haven't read TBatD yet, being only a bit of the way into R6, so I may be mistaken on some things. But since the Chinese government was involved in two seperate attempts to practically destroy his country, and also killed several American citizens by shooting down a jet in Executive Orders, he's got good reason not to trust them.
As for giving the power to the states over abortion, he said the exact same thing in EO, no it's nothing new.
He also made a comment about gun control EO. Something along the lines of, "Why would I support tougher gun control laws? The guns these criminals used are ALREADY illegal." Works for me.
As for Ryan's presidency, since, IINM, he picked up Durling's partial term less than two years before it's end, he can still be elected twice. He's already won the 2000 election, so he can be president until 2008. Plenty of time for more books. 'Course, we are going to need a new main character eventually. Ben Goodley, maybe? Last I saw, he was the temporary NSA. Problem is there's no cold war anymore, and the US has already beaten the crap out of every possible enemy in the series. Canada, maybe?
As for his political views, he is a conservative. Quite a conservative. The dedication in EO is "To Ronald Wilson Reagan, fourtieth president of the United States: the man who won the war." He's said that Ryan's something of an alter ego. Some of the speeches the people in "Ex. Or." made are very good descriptions of conservative positions.
------------------ "You know, you--you let a wolf save your life, they make you pay and pay and pay..." - Fraser, "due South"
I haven't read some of these books in years so I tend to forget some of the details ...
Bill Clinton is a security guard/police officer at the football stadium in "SUM OF ALL FEARS" -- suffice to say, he doesn't last very long. KABLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIE!
Okay, so timeline wise, did Fowler get elected in place of Bill Clinton in '92? (Which would mean he was nominated for the Dem ticket in '92) -- of course, in this universe, Billy-Boy is a cop, so ... or did Fowler get elected in '96 after defeating whomever was elected in '92? ::re-reads:: Ah! I got it. So we got Mr. Clear-And-Present-Danger President ... wait a sec, I'm lost again ...
Argh. Timeline stuff I hate. Ok ... (correct me if I'm wrong...)
George Bush is defeated in the '92 election -- perhaps in this timeline, George decided *not* to run for re-election, or another Republican won the Primary? Either way, Bill Clinton probably didn't run for President.
So, whomever wins the '92 election is the President in "CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER" ... he gets hit with the scandal and ... a) resigns b) is forced out c) throws the election ...
And so, FOWLER gets in ...
Fowler was a Dem who sorta lost it, and resigned/was forced out following the showdown in "SUM OF ALL FEARS" (he threw the election? I didn't catch that at all). Didn't his VP -- Roger Durling -- take over as President? That would make Durling a Democrat too. Durling's VP gets the boot after a Clintonesque affair, and Durling nominates ... Ryan. A Republican. Well, I must say, I do like Clancy's universe better, especially if a Dem will nomiate a Republican for a coveted post like VP! Seems these guys worked out the whole partisan thing. Or am I wrong about Durling being Fowler's VP? I need to re-read "SUM..." at some point ...
Tom, please publish a chronology ...
Oh, I might have to go back and read it again, but I think Tom's got a reference to US intervention in Kosovo in "TB&TD", but I've been reading it off and on for several weeks now, so I might be mistaken.
Oh, yes. India was a bit of a threat in "EO" ... why not bring them back? I'm sure that Indian Prime Minister would be itching for a rematch ...
Ack, and on a side note ... I've counted at least 3 instanced in "TB&TD" where Ryan compares the Russians to the KLINGONS ...
posted
I recall some tidbit somewhere that one of his next books would be Chavez-oriented. Which wouldn't be all that bad, I guess, just as long as he doesn't come off as 'Lou Diamond Phillips'-ey as R6.
------------------ "Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world." - Dave Barry
posted
I wouldn't mind seeing some more books focusing on "Rainbow Six" ...
Hey, does Clancy have an official site? Or is there a site that posts interviews with him? Damn, I wanna know about the next Jack Ryan book ...
Oooh ... here's a thought ... Ryan could get put in charge of the CIA after he leaves the Presidency ... there have been other Presidents who have stayed politically active after they left the White House.
And, does Ryan seem like the guy who would *want* to serve another term? Hell, I was surprised enough he ran for re-election!!!!
Bill Clinton wasn't a guard. Bill Clinton was the name of an FBI officer investigating the explosion. He just happened to be standing nearby when the guard that survived the explosion gave him his clipboard, which was a vital clue to figuring out what had happened.
As for the timeline:
'92: Mr. President wins. He's not Bush, and he's not a Democrat. That means either another Republican won the primary (Buchanan?) and the election, or Perot won the election. Or maybe Bush won, died, and Quayle became president...
'96: Mr. President looses to Democrat Fowler. It's possible that Mr. President threw the election. As far as I know, we've never been told. Either way, he lost.
Sum: Fowling resigns three days after the conclusion of the book, realizing that he nearly murdered over a million people by ordering a nuclear attack on Iran. VP Durling becomes president.
Debt: Durling's VP Kealty is forced to resign in a sex scandal (he was innocent, but did it for the good of the party). Ryan is nominated to replace him. Durling is killed, two minutes after Ryan (NOT a Republican, a registered independent that supports the GOP in general; kinda like me) is sworn in as VP. Ryan becomes president. If this was after January 20, 1998, Ryan can be elected twice.
2000: Ryan apparently wins the election, making his first election to public office.
As for your last question, if he was willing to run for election (not re-election, as he was never elected in the first place), there's no reason to think he wouldn't run again.
------------------ "You know, you--you let a wolf save your life, they make you pay and pay and pay..." - Fraser, "due South"
posted
Hmmm. Some reason I thought Clinton was a cop or guard ... oh well ...
Ah! Thanks for clarifying that timeline for me. Buchannan as President? Why am I scared?
Well, I can see Ryan running once for President ... after all, the government still needs to be rebuilt ... but would the guy really want to do it again? Clancy is quite firm that Ryan *hates* the job ... I can see Jack doing it for the "good of the country", but only if it wasn't going along very well ...
Eh, who knows. There are reasons that Jack would run again, and reasons that he might decided not to.
I like his choice for VP too, by the way. Now, if we follow tradition with what Ryan likes to do with his VPs ...
Kealty was innocent? I have *got* to read that book again -- I thought he was guilty, and had raped those women? Oh, well. I need to read this whole series again when/if I get the chance too ...
posted
Well, he claims he was innocent, and everyone seemed to accept it. Apparently, he didn't rape the woman, per say. She did consent, and she claimed it was because he drugged her. As it turns out, she just had an alergic reaction to the brandy, or something. Thus he did not drug her, and thus it could not be considered rape. Either way, he resigned, decided to cause a bunch of trouble, then shot himself in the foot.
Just who does Ryan choose as his VP, anyway? Just curious.
------------------ "You know, you--you let a wolf save your life, they make you pay and pay and pay..." - Fraser, "due South"
posted
I'll give you his United States Secret Service codename and let you figure it out for yourself (so that those who don't want to know, can skip over it without realizing who it is, unless they recognize it too, because, frankly, its sort of a giveaway, but...)
"Tomcat"
***
Ah, yes, that whole subplot about how he was supposed to be President of the U.S. -- now, that I do remember. I was also dissapointed about how the subplot with the so-called "freedom fighters" and their cement-mixer filled with manure ended -- it was built up through the whole novel to end at a ... truck stop? Ahhhh ... c'mon, no decent shootout? =(
Er, can anyone else confirm that the "Dr. Gregory" in "TB&TD" is the same as the one from "CARDINAL..." or was it "SUM"? I can't remember. Hard enough keeping track of all his subplots -- or recurring characters!
I wouldn't mind seeing that Coast Guard Lt. Commander again, though -- he seemed like a pretty decent fellow. And Bandereko is back, too!
posted
Well, red herrings only function if it's a mystery. We tend to know everything in advance, except how everything is going to connect and work out. For example, we the readers knew which USSS agent was the traitor LONG before everyone else did.
I didn't find it particularly funny.
Perhaps it was a commentary on how easy it'd be to build a BIG bomb? But what did they intend to do with it? I never was clear on that. Where could they park the thing that the explosion would take out Ryan?
------------------ "You know, you--you let a wolf save your life, they make you pay and pay and pay..." - Fraser, "due South"
Maybe they thought they could park it close enough to the White House to blow it up ... is Pennsylvannia Ave. closed in EO? I know last New Years Day I tried walking down part of Penn Ave very early in the morning (1 am or so) and a couple of really *big* guys with bulges on their waists told me to go another way ...
Or they could've driven it up near the Executive Building, abandoned it, and blown it ... or maybe just hoping for an opportune moment?
Honestly, they probably didn't know *what* they were going to do ... but I bet you they woulda been surrounded by a bunch of Service agents with those cool MP5s before they got too far.
I actually agree with Omega (...I know, I know, I'm agreeing with him...) in that this aspect of the story seemed a bit weak. I guess maybe it was just to show how all these different domestic and foreign enemies would react to what happened ... but I didn't care much for how it ended.
Although ... how much of a blast radius could it have had? McVeigh took out a large chunk of Oklahoma City with his bomb ... I guess I don't find it that hard to believe that those two nuts coulda parked it close to the White House, jumped out, and detonated it ...
They probably wouldn't have gone far, and as soon as the USSS saw two guys running away from a cement mixer, I'm sure they woulda cried "foul" and had Jack on his helicopter getting the hell away from the White House ... so maybe these two were going to drive next to the White House and do a little kamikaze action?
Printer-friendly view of this topic
