Tom Clancy Books - Techno Thrillers
By William Roby
These days, you can find Tom Clancy books at bookstores of all sizes, from airports and thrift stores to giant chain book retailers. But before his huge success sprouted in the 1980s, Tom Clancy was your typical American Everyman -- insurance broker by day, amateur historian by night. Clancy's taste for all things naval led directly to the publication of his first novel in 1984. The Hunt for Red October was an instant bestseller, earning the man who dreamed of writing a novel in college high praise from President Ronald Reagan, who said Clancy's book was "a perfect yarn" and "not-put-downable."
We don't know much about Tom Clancy besides the fact that he was born
in 1947, majored in English at Loyola College, and spent his days
selling insurance for a small Maryland company. Humble beginnings for a
man whose books would one day be turned into blockbuster movies. Since
the publication of Red October, Clancy has become known as a master of
realistic storytelling, and a current events maven who works hard to
stay a step ahead of the world stage.
Tom Clancy may be best known for "techno thrillers" -- along with Michael Crichton, Clancy's books in the 1980s defined the genre. So what is a techno thriller?
Techno Thrillers
Books in the techno thriller genre are a strange combination of spy novels and speculative fiction. The word "techno" refers to the large amount of technical detail and "hard science" contained in these books, generally technical details of military equipment and procedure. The only genre that stuffs as much hard science and tech into its pages is "hard sci-fi". Techno thrillers highlight the details and inner workings of complex systems, like politics and espionage, but still have time to include plot.
Though Crichton and Clancy are the godfathers of the techno thriller, they are hardly its only proponents. A partial list of other techno thriller authors would include:
- Joe Buff
- Larry Bond
- Patrick Robinson
- Stephen Coonts
- Dan Brown
- Cory Doctorow
The techno thriller is a particularly easy book to transform into a film. Clancy and Crichton were the first to prove this, as both The Hunt for Red October and The Andromeda Strain (Crichton's breakthrough book) were successful at the box office. Other techno thrillers by Clancy that did time in Hollywood -- Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger.
Tom Clancy books are notoriously well researched and Clancy's prose style, while not particularly artistic or well-wrought, is good enough that any new Tom Clancy book is an instant bestseller.
Here's a look at five great Tom Clancy books -- techno thrillers that will keep you turning pages until the very end.
The Hunt for Red October
Originally published by the U.S. Navy on their Naval Institute Press label, The Hunt for Red October was inspired by real events. In 1975, Valery Sablin attempted a mutiny on board the Storozhevoy, a Russian anti-submarine frigate. In the novel, a Lithuanian-born Soviet Naval officer named Marko Alexandrovich Ramius, attempts to defect to the United States along with his crew and his experimental submarine, the Red October. Fearing the impact that the sub may have on world affairs, and further disturbed by the death of his wife and the Soviet regime as a whole, Ramius and his crew must survive a heavy assault by most of the Russian navy.
The coolest techno thriller aspect of Clancy's first novel is the insight you gain into American-Soviet relations during the Cold War. Sure, the details about the experimental submarine (that runs on a "Caterpillar drive") are interesting, but they are not tackled with the ferocity that Clancy would show in later tech-inspired books.
Patriot Games
This follow-up to Red October is technically a prequel, since the events take place just before Red October and just after Clancy's later novel Without Remorse. This novel is more action-oriented even than Red October, starting off as it does with a foiled assassination attempt and an attack on Clancy character Jack Ryan's family. In Patriot Games, a fictional Irish terrorist group (the ULA) attempts various crimes against Ryan and his family, as well as against members of the Royal Family. Their purpose is to destabilize the government of Ireland.
This may be one of the least "techno" of Clancy's novels, focusing as it does on international relations and the personal life of Clancy's most famous character, Jack Ryan. Those interested in issues like domestic terrorism would love this book, though technophiles may find it lacking in the tech department.
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
This novel is the true sequel to Red October, full of intrigue, espionage, and diplomacy. In this novel, Jack Ryan is part of an American delegation to the Soviet Union just after the events of Red October. The plot is complex, involving the Strategic Defense Initiative (known popularly as the "Star Wars" program), Mujahideen warriors in Tajikistan, and the KGB and the FBI. If Clancy readers were disappointed by the lack of tech in Patriot Games, they got a treat with The Cardinal of the Kremlin. This is where Clancy's penchant for detailing military and political machinations became evident.
Little known fact -- a film of this book was proposed, starring Harrison Ford and William Shatner. Though that sounds completely amazing, the project was scrapped and will probably never be made.
The Sum of All Fears
Made into a successful film in 2002 starring Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, The Sum of All Fears was a groundbreaking work in the Clancy catalog. The novel focuses on Russian politics after the destruction of the Berlin Wall, as well as American and Soviet nuclear policy. What made this book particularly amazing is that within a week of its release, the 1991 Moscow Uprising took place, effectively dissolving the Soviet Union. Clancy is often seen as something of a prophet, perhaps because he writes about topics happening in the real world right now.
During this book, Jack Ryan will get involved with the Vatican, Palestinian rebels, and fleets of Baltimore dockworkers, all while attempting to prevent a nuclear strike on the Super Bowl that will lead the world into nuclear war. Chock full of techno thriller goodness, The Sum of All Fears is often listed at the top of Clancy's best books lists.
Rainbow Six
Made into a hugely popular video game series, Rainbow Six is an oddity in the world of Tom Clancy books in that it does not focus on Jack Ryan. The plot focuses on a fictional counter terrorist unit with the codename Rainbow. International. Intrigue abounds, with less of a focus on American politics and more of a concentration of the tactics of terrorist groups around the world.
This novel has everything that techno thriller readers love -- spy games, killer viruses, secret gold stashes, and details on the inner-workings of black ops government agencies.
The popularity of Tom Clancy books does not need to be restated. Tom Clancy's techno thrillers have sold millions of copies, including Clear and Present Danger, which sold more hardcover copies than any other book in the 1980s. Something about the techno thriller genre appeals to people across all boundaries -- is it the political intrigue? the technical details? the explosions and gun play? Whatever it is, Tom Clancy is a living master at it. His latest book, 2010's Dead or Alive, hasn't even been published yet, but odds are that it will join the ranks of Clancy's other techno thriller books on the bestseller lists.