TV: The Americans (S1) (7/10)

Why did I watch it?
I caught on to the success of this over the pond and decided to give it a go. Also, Justified creator Graham Yost is attached as showrunner, and the bloke knows his stuff.

What's it all about?

Living in Washington at the height of the Cold War, Elizabeth and Phillip are KGB agents posing as the perfect American married couple tasked with gathering intelligence. Things become complicated for the spies when Stan Beerman, an FBI Counter-Intelligence agent, moves in next door.

Should you watch it?
Another brief review here........
Matthew Rhys was tipped by some to earn an Emmy nomination for his role as Soviet spy Phillip Jennings and although he ultimately missed out on making the list, for my money he can't have been too far away. As half of the undercover couple, his performances throughout the debut season, in all manner of dodgy 80's wigs, certainly deserve some credit. I found Keri Russell to be trying to hard in her portrayal of the more resolute and dogged Elizabeth.

As far as the story goes the show starts strongly, 
driven by the stronger episodes, 'Pilot' and 'Gregory' but loses its momentum towards the end when the agent double-crossing becomes a little benign before an excellent finale 'The Colonel' closes the season on a high note.

BOOK: Without Remorse, Tom Clancy (8/10)

Why did I read it?
Time to continue Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series. Without Remorse is the sixth book in the Ryan universe but chronologically it leads the series.

What's it all about?
Tom Clancy rewinds the clock to 1969 and tells the origin story of Ryan series character John Clark. Recently returned from Vietnam, Navy SEAL John Kelly loses his wife and finds love briefly in the arms of a another woman, Pam Madden, a tortured, drug-addicted prostitute on the run from her violent drug dealing pimp. Meanwhile the CIA hire Kelly to return to Vietnam and lead a clandestine operation to rescue a group of US POWs. After Pam is taken away from him, Kelly combines the demands of his country with his own mission for violent retribution.

Should you read it?

Without Remorse is probably the most atypical of the Clancy books I have read so far. Even with the Vietnam storyline it's the most domestic, the most personal and the least military based. It's an engaging, very personal tale of one man's retribution against those who wronged him and its interesting and refreshing to have a break from Jack Ryan's learned approach to uncover the back story of the more mysterious Mr. Clark.

The Vietnam side story taking place in parallel to Kelly's Baltimore killing spree is necessary for the sake of Kelly's back story but it is the deliberate planning of his revenge in a manner to a covert operation and Detective Ryan's pursuit of the unknown serial killer that makes Without Remorse a page-turner.

BOOK: The Sum of All Fears, Tom Clancy (6/10)

Why did I read it?
Another book, another Tom Clancy Jack Ryan story. Book number five of my odyssey through Clancy's Ryan series.

What's it all about?

A nuclear missile lies missing in the Syrian desert for decades until it is discovered by a farmer before ending up in the hands of Arab terrorists, angry that a landmark Holy Land peace deal between Jews, Muslims and Christians and brokered by the US is proving successful. The terrorists recruit East German nuclear experts, themselves angry that world socialism has collapsed, to help customise the warhead for use on American soil. With that emergency approaching, Jack Ryan, now CIA Deputy Director, has to deal with problems at home and a rapidly deteriorating relationship with the current US president and his advisers.

Should you read it?
TSOAF is the longest of Clancy's Jack Ryan books so far, and at over 1000 pages (paperback version) it was a chore to read in parts, and need not have been so. The main event of the book takes place about 600-700 pages in, and the story has been well and truly set by this point. From this point on the book became a real page-turner, as the tension between East and West increased alongside increasing DEFCON levels and Ryan tries to avert the global nuclear war his shellshocked president is leading the US towards.

Clancy being Clancy, couldn't not dedicate a vast number of pages to the details of the nuclear warhead's assembly and the side side story of the submarine USS Maine seemed totally superfluous. All in all it was no wonder the film adaptation was massively streamlined.

TSOAF is probably the most personal Jack Ryan story yet, even more so than Patriot Games, as National Security Advisor Elizabeth Elliott temporarily succeeds in undermining his marriage as well as his position. This storyline is ultimately easily solved but Clancy uses it to highlight the contempt Elliott has for Ryan, which has huge dangerous consequences at the vital moment. The trouble between Ryan and his wife also parallels the escalating strife between East and West, worsening through rash assumptions and easily solved through simple communication.

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.

BOOK: Red Storm Rising, Tom Clancy (5/10)

Why did I read it?

After finishing The Hunt for Red October, I decided to begin a Tom Clancy odyssey starting with his next book Red Storm Rising.

What's it all about?

Islamic terrorists destroy a major Soviet oil production facility. Soviet oil production rates are severely damaged and anticipating that the US may take the opportunity to apply pressure with the Soviet military under supplied, the Soviets plan to invade the Persian Gulf to seize oil. First, the KGB frames Germany for a terrorist attack on the Kremlin to permit an invasion of West Germany and war with NATO. The story of what in reality becomes the Third World War is told from both sides across Europe and the North Atlantic.   

Should you read it?

Reading Red Storm Rising is like reading an account of a 20th century game of Risk taking place across Europe on land, in the air and on the seas. Tank divisions meet in West Germany, Iceland is fought over for control of the Atlantic as US convoys try to cross it to support the NATO cause. Unfortunately, once Clancy has narrated the war's outset, beginning with the Soviet KGB operation and culminating with US intelligence realising a Soviet offensive is coming, the story becomes less of a thriller and more of detailed story of modern day warfare seriously lacking in intrigue. Over 800 pages long in some editions, to be honest it became a bit of a chore towards the end. Only at the end does the story really return from the battlefield and become more interesting, even if I did find the ending slightly unfulfilling. 

BOOK: The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy (8/10)

Why did I read it?

Remembered enjoying the film a while back and thought the book would be worth a read for a bit more detail.

What's it all about?

For those that haven't seen the film, Red October is a Russian submarine captained by respected submariner Marko Ramius. Taking place during the Cold War, Ramius and his officers aim to defect to the US taking their brand new submarine with them. Independently, the US and Russsians get wind of the attempted defection and without alerting each other to their true intentions both sides race against time to locate the submarine. CIA analyst Jack Ryan gets thrown into the action as the CIA contact to the US military's mission following his theory that Ramius was attempting to defect and not launch missiles at the US.

Should you read it?

The Hunt for Red October is a really gripping pressure-cooker thriller and probably one of the best cold war thrillers out there. In comparison with the film adaptation, Clancy's original story includes a few extra sub-plots and twists as well as additional characters (US President and Russian ambassador). I never realised quite how boiled down the film version was. Clancy's additional detail and demonstrated research into the operation of submarines may put off some readers and perhaps understandably so, but I found it both interesting and complimentary to the plot.