Sunday 30 December 2012

BOOK: Patriot Games, Tom Clancy (7/10)

Why did I read it?
The continuation of my Tom Clancy odyssey. Book two of the Jack Ryan universe.

What's it all about?
Set prior to the events of The Hunt for Red October, Professor Jack Ryan, a former marine, interrupts a terrorist attack on the Prince of Wales and his family outside Buckingham Palace. Following the attack, Ryan and his family find themselves the target of a revengeful member of the fictional ULA, a small violent, splinter group of the Provisional IRA. Ryan assists the CIA and their British counterparts as they attempt to stop the terrorists from striking again.

Should you read it?
Fans of the film or of the Jack Ryan character will enjoy this book. A shorter and easier read compared to Red Storm Rising. It differs from the previous two Tom Clancy books, in that the level of military detail is missing, replaced with far greater emphasis on both the personal nature of the story and also the intelligence community. Fresh from two books dealing with US/Soviet relations, Clancy turns to the world of the terrorist in Patriot Games, selecting the troubles between Ireland and Britain, a relationship which has always held interest on the other side of the Atlantic.

Worth looking out for the different ending to the book from the 1992 film. Clancy disowned the film adaptation after the ending was changed to give the audience more of an emotional pay-off.

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