It is fall. Years before the defection of a Soviet submarine
will send him hurtling into confrontation with the Soviets, historian,
ex-Marine and CIA analyst Jack Ryan is vacationing in London with his wife and
young daughter, when a terrorist attack takes place before his eyes.
Instinctively, he dives forward to break it up, and is shot. It is not until he
wakes up in the hospital that he leans whose lives he has saved -- the Prince
and Princess of Wales and their new young son -- and which enemies he has made
-- the Ulster Liberation Army, an ultra-left-wing splinter of the IRA.
By his impulsive act, he has gained both the gratitude of
a nation and then enmity of hits most dangerous men -- men who do not sit on
their hate. And in the weeks and months to come, it is Jack Ryan, and his
family, who will become the targets of that hate.
Sweeping from England to Ireland to America with
ever-growing momentum, its suspense steadily intensifying as Ryan must summon
all the skills and knowledge at his command to battle back against his nemesis,
Patriot Games gives us a remarkable set of characters in the most desperate
struggle of their lives. As with Tom Clancy's two previous triumphs, it is both
a marvel of the storyteller's art -- and, as the headlines attest,
frighteningly real.
This was a reread of a book I read when it first came out
and several times since then. It starts with a bang as Jack, on a working
vacation in London with his family, witnesses a kidnapping attempt on the royal
family. His instinctive reaction stopped the attack and put him in the bullseye
of revenge.
One of the things I enjoy most every time I read this
book is the deft mixture of action, darkness, and humor. The opening attack
sucked me into the story and kept me on the edge of my seat as Jack rushed into
action. Clancy's descriptions are vivid enough that I can picture the events as
they happen. The confusion at the scene felt realistic, and I could feel Jack's
worry that he'd end up "stuck like a pig" when the good guys showed
up. I always laugh at the scenes in the hospital as Jack deals with the doctors
(including his wife) and other medical personnel. The scenes with various law
enforcement personnel show Jack what he inadvertently got involved in and
reveal his razor-sharp mind as he processes what he learns. The scenes with
multiple royal family members are good, but my favorite is when he helps the
prince work through his feelings about what happened. Though not particularly
realistic, it is still a great scene.
As the book continues, we get the viewpoints of both the
bad guys and the good guys. Jack and his family return home, secure in the
knowledge that the bad guy is in jail and terrorists have never attacked on
American soil. But the tension ramps up as the bad guy escapes and assorted
good guys get a bad feeling about what might happen. Jack is lured into the
CIA's sphere as he tries to get a handle on the group behind the attack. Their
fears are realized when Jack's wife and daughter are nearly killed in an
attack, and only luck prevents Jack from being attacked too. I ached for Jack
as he dealt with his feelings of guilt and fear by getting more involved in the
case. Jack goes through a lot of self-examination as he tries to reconcile his
need for justice with the anger and desire for revenge that he also feels.
The tension builds as the book follows the terrorists as
they make plans for their next attack. The attention to detail and insights
into the various players' motivations were intriguing. At the same time, we see
the good guys trying to assemble the puzzle pieces in time to stop whatever is
planned.
The final confrontation was a nail-biter. It started
easy, with the royal visit and some amusing banter between Jack, Robby, and the
prince. The chaos of the attack was described so vividly that I felt as though
I was there. The escape by boat was exciting, and their arrival at the Academy
was tense but also had a few lighter moments. The pursuit of the last of the
bad guys had me on the edge of my seat until it was all over. Jack faced a
crossroads in his life, and it was interesting to see how he handled it. I
loved the ending.
One of my favorite lines is as the Superintendent asks
Robby who is aboard the ship: "Chief Znamirowski and the duty boat section,
Captain Peters and some Marines, Doctor Ryan, and, uh, Captain Wales, sir, of
the Royal Navy" "Is that where he is?..."
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