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Asheley T.'s Reviews > Patriot Games
Patriot Games (Jack Ryan, #1)
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After losing my Dad recently, I watched the entire Jack Ryan series on Amazon all the way through over about 36 hours. Sleepless nights and such. But it was so good that I ended up watching it again with my husband. Then I went out and grabbed this book. (FYI, the show is not based on any particular book according to the show creators, so I don't feel like I spoiled anything by watching first.)
I love Jack Ryan. I love how he loves his wife and daughter. He has this feral-like need to protect them, and he isn't interested or tempted by other women. (I hope it stays like that throughout the series.) Jack Ryan is an ex-marine who ends up working for the CIA in a very roundabout way. I love the beginning of the book, how Jack is vacationing in London with his family when he finds himself thwarting an attack on the Prince of Wales and his family. Ryan finds himself a hero with the Royal family and the rest of the country, but when his injuries heal and he returns to America, he brings trouble to the US, out for revenge.
What I didn't really enjoy is the trouble that he brought back. I just couldn't muster enough interest in the bad guys. There are so many of them, their part of the plot is so complicated, and they even involve outside terrorist agencies in what they are doing. Just so much terrorism-speak, it got muddy and boring.
It seemed like Tom Clancy really disliked the bad guys. I noticed that he gave them no redeeming qualities or sympathies whatsoever. They do not have anything to identify with at all. They don't speak fondly their wives or their mothers or their children. They don't hesitate for even a second or have second thoughts. They are just flat-out bad guys with no redeeming qualities. Even the way they dialogue with one another is very stilted and almost harsh. Very interesting. (This was a definite contrast from the show, because they gave the bad guys at least some humanity with their perspectives.)
So I liked this one, but I didn't love it. There were parts that were exciting and heart-pounding, but that feeling certainly didn't carry throughout the entire length of the book. I'll read/listen to more from Clancy and Jack Ryan, but I'm not in a huge hurry to do so.
Audiobook Notes: Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators, but I don't feel like this is one of my favorites from his audio collection. Maybe it was because of the accents that he used for the Irish and British characters? Or maybe it was because I just didn't feel his enthusiasm with this story like I have with some of his other work. It was good, but just not a favorite.
This is a good introduction to Jack Ryan's character and still totally worth the use of a credit. My husband is now reading the book without the audiobook and it is taking him forever to get through it. I'm glad that I listened to it, but I'm not completely sure that the Clancy series is a re-listen series for me.
Title: Patriot Games by Tom Clancy
Series: Jack Ryan #1
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Publisher: Random House Audio
Length: 22 hours, 2 minutes, Unabridged
I love Jack Ryan. I love how he loves his wife and daughter. He has this feral-like need to protect them, and he isn't interested or tempted by other women. (I hope it stays like that throughout the series.) Jack Ryan is an ex-marine who ends up working for the CIA in a very roundabout way. I love the beginning of the book, how Jack is vacationing in London with his family when he finds himself thwarting an attack on the Prince of Wales and his family. Ryan finds himself a hero with the Royal family and the rest of the country, but when his injuries heal and he returns to America, he brings trouble to the US, out for revenge.
What I didn't really enjoy is the trouble that he brought back. I just couldn't muster enough interest in the bad guys. There are so many of them, their part of the plot is so complicated, and they even involve outside terrorist agencies in what they are doing. Just so much terrorism-speak, it got muddy and boring.
It seemed like Tom Clancy really disliked the bad guys. I noticed that he gave them no redeeming qualities or sympathies whatsoever. They do not have anything to identify with at all. They don't speak fondly their wives or their mothers or their children. They don't hesitate for even a second or have second thoughts. They are just flat-out bad guys with no redeeming qualities. Even the way they dialogue with one another is very stilted and almost harsh. Very interesting. (This was a definite contrast from the show, because they gave the bad guys at least some humanity with their perspectives.)
So I liked this one, but I didn't love it. There were parts that were exciting and heart-pounding, but that feeling certainly didn't carry throughout the entire length of the book. I'll read/listen to more from Clancy and Jack Ryan, but I'm not in a huge hurry to do so.
Audiobook Notes: Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators, but I don't feel like this is one of my favorites from his audio collection. Maybe it was because of the accents that he used for the Irish and British characters? Or maybe it was because I just didn't feel his enthusiasm with this story like I have with some of his other work. It was good, but just not a favorite.
This is a good introduction to Jack Ryan's character and still totally worth the use of a credit. My husband is now reading the book without the audiobook and it is taking him forever to get through it. I'm glad that I listened to it, but I'm not completely sure that the Clancy series is a re-listen series for me.
Title: Patriot Games by Tom Clancy
Series: Jack Ryan #1
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Publisher: Random House Audio
Length: 22 hours, 2 minutes, Unabridged
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Reading Progress
August 29, 2018
–
Started Reading
August 29, 2018
– Shelved
September 20, 2018
–
Finished Reading
