Tom Clancy

This article is about Tom Clancy the novelist; for the member of the Irish folk band The Clancy Brothers, see Tom Clancy (singer)

Tom Clancy

Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (born April 12, 1947), who writes under the name Tom Clancy, is an American author of political thrillers heavily based on intelligence and military science concepts; his name is also a brand for similar books written by other authors. His earlier books have a definite focus on the Cold War.

While the literary merit of his books is disputed by many professional authors and reviewers (who regard Clancy's prose as pedestrian), most have been bestsellers. Fans of his work appreciate the well-thought-out plots and the apparent attention to technical detail in military matters (helped by extensive contacts in the US military, perhaps encouraged by the uniformly favourable view of the American law enforcement and military communities portrayed in his work), although some other elements of his stories (e.g. computing and biology) are less well-researched.

In the year 1998, Tom Clancy attempted to purchase the Minnesota Vikings, and had a purchase agreement in place, but the deal fell through when his divorce settlement significantly decreased his net worth. He is currently the Vice Chairman of Community Projects & Public Affairs for the Baltimore Orioles.

Recently, Tom Clancy has criticised the US-led invasion of Iraq, citing it as proof that "good men make mistakes". Battle Ready, his latest book, is a collaboration with another war critic, retired Marine General Anthony Zinni. Clancy also had heated arguments with Richard Perle [1] (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5053682/) [2] (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/25/1085461759852.html?oneclick=true).

Contents

1 Biography

1.1 Video games

2 Fiction

2.1 By publication date
2.2 By series chronology

3 Non-fiction

4 See also

5 External links

Biography

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears have been turned into commercially successful films with actors such as Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck as Clancy's most famous character Jack Ryan. As with most series of movie adaptations of popular novels, there is great controversy amongst fans concerning the (non-)canonicity of the movies, most of which take fairly extensive liberties with the series' plotlines.

In recent years, his novels have become more political, showcasing many of his conservative, neoliberal, pro-military, anti-abortion, and law-enforcement beliefs. In Executive Orders, Jack Ryan becomes President of the United States. Some of Ryan's policies include a new way of fighting the War on Drugs and tax reform (with a flat tax). Some Clancy fans have objected to this focus on politics rather than on the military subjects for which his earlier novels are famous. Nevertheless, his books have continued to sell briskly, perhaps due to momentum from his previous popularity. He returned, somewhat, to his earlier approach with The Bear and the Dragon, which starts off as a political novel, and metamorphoses into a war procedural about 2/3 the way through.

Clancy has written several nonfiction books about various branches of the US armed forces (see non-fiction listing, below) Clancy has branded several lines of books with his name that are written by other, acknowledged authors following premises or storylines generally in keeping with Clancy's works:

These are sometimes referred to by fans as "apostrophe" books; Clancy did not initially acknowledge that these series were being authored by others, only thanking the actual authors in the headnotes for their "invaluable contribution to the manuscript".

In 1997 Tom Clancy signed a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. (both part of Pearson Education), that paid him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books. He then signed a second agreement for another US$25 million for a four-year book/multimedia deal. Clancy followed this up with an agreement with Berkley Books for 24 paperbacks to tie in with the ABC television miniseries "Tom Clancy's Net Force" in an agreement worth US$22 million bringing the total value of the package to US$97 million.

Video games

In 1996, Clancy co-founded the computer game developer Red Storm Entertainment and ever since has had his name on several of Red Storm's most successful games. Red Storm was later bought by publisher Ubisoft Entertainment who continues to use the Clancy name. These games series include:

Rainbow Six — based on the novel of the same name
Ghost Recon
Splinter Cell — recently spawned a line of books under the pseudonym David Michaels

All of the games bearing the Clancy name have been very successful spawning several sequels and expansions.

Fiction

(All but one of Clancy's novels feature Jack Ryan and/or John Clark.)

By publication date

The Hunt for Red October (1984)
Clancy's first novel. Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced missile sub of the Soviet fleet. Movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius.
Red Storm Rising (1986)
War between NATO and USSR The basis of the submarine combat game of the same name, this is Clancy's only novel to date not set in his Ryaniverse. He co-wrote it with Larry Bond.
Patriot Games (1987)
Chronologically first book featuring Ryan. Ryan saves the Prince of Wales from terrorists, who go after Ryan and his family. Movie (1992) stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, and has a fictional lord instead of the Prince of Wales.
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988)
First appearance of John Clark. Secret anti-satellite lasers (SDI), high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks.
Clear and Present Danger (1989)
Drug war in Colombia. Ryan and Clark finally meet; first appearance of 'Ding' Chavez. Movie (1994) stars Harrison Ford as Ryan and Willem Dafoe as Clark.
The Sum of All Fears (1991)
Israel loses a nuke, which terrorists use to foment war between US and Soviets -- averted by Ryan in a cliffhanger. Movie (2002) stars Ben Affleck as Ryan, and changes identity and motivation of the terrorists.
Without Remorse (1993)
Chronologically first book featuring John Clark. Set during the Vietnam war, tells how Clark became a CIA agent. Jack Ryan's father has a key role; Jack Ryan has a tiny cameo.
Debt of Honor (1994)
Clark and Ding help Ryan avert (win?) a war with Japan; a Japanese pilot avenges his son's death by crashing his airliner into the US Capitol, killing the entire Congress, Supreme Court, and all but two White House officials, which segues into...
Executive Orders (1996)
Sequel to Debt of Honor. Ryan, propelled into presidency, survives press hazing, assassination attempts and biological warfare -- Clark and Ding trace the virus to a Middle Eastern madman, and the US military goes to work.
SSN (1996)
Follows the missions of USS Cheyenne in a future war with China precipitated by their invasion of the disputed Spratly Islands. Also not a Ryaniverse book, SSN is actually a loosely connected collection of 'scenario' chapters in support of the eponymous computer game.
Rainbow Six (1998)
Released to tie in with the computer game of the same name. John Clark leads elite anti-terrorist unit and averts worldwide genocide attempt by environmental fanatics. (Jack Ryan is mentioned, but does not appear.)
The Bear and the Dragon (2000)
War between Russia and China, Ryan recognizes independence of Taiwan and US Air Force helps Russia defeat Chinese invasion.
Red Rabbit (2002)
Back when he was a humble CIA analyst, Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate the Pope.
The Teeth of the Tiger (2003)
Features the rise of Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan Jr, as an intelligence analyst for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency, following the retirement of Jack Sr. from the Presidency. Note: This is the last book of the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy.