Debt of Honor (Jack Ryan) | Tom Clancy

Debt of Honor (Jack Ryan) | Tom Clancy | Gripping from start to finish

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Debt of Honor (Jac...

	Debt of Honor (Jack Ryan) Tom Clancy Berkley, 1995 - 1008 pages average customer review:based on 206 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

In a world at peace, Jack Ryan is the President's National Security Advisor-but the wages of peace are as complex-and devastating-as war itself.

one of his best

I have read every Clancy book and this one has got to be one of my favorites. A complex tale that reads so quickly, it is an interesting, plausible tale of how one man's dedication and determination to right how he was wronged, or at least thinks so, can loose hell upon the owrld. Again, Clancy seems to know what is going to happen, or at least I think bad guys get their ideas from him.

Gripping from start to finish

I am a big fan of Clancy's novels, and although I have to say that he's had a lot of great ones, "Debt of Honor" is one of my favorites. Clancy's plot development is superb, always giving you just enough information to both keep your interest and pique your curiosity about what will happen next. As always, the tactical details and elements of setting (economic, political, etc.) are impeccable.

As to those readers who criticize Clancy for "picking on" Japanese culture or government, I've lived in Asia for several years and happen to think he's not that far from reality. But that discussion aside, keep in mind that this is a work of fiction, not a predictor of imminent political developments. The subject matter shouldn't be too much of a problem for anyone who's not a pedantic scholar of East Asian studies.

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Couldn't put it down

Debt of Honor is the next book in the Jack Ryan series, after The Sum of All Fears, and it was so much better. The book has a faster pace and the suspense builds up nicely from the beginning. The book is pretty long, more than 900 pages, but the story moves along quickly and it was very hard to put down.

In this book, a wealthy Japanese industrialist decides it's time for Japan to be a superpower and bring America to her knees. He convinces a small group of his peers to his scheme for dominance and power for Japan, takes control of the Japanese government, and goes on the offensive, first economically and then militarily. For this man, crippling the United States as a superpower is a personal revenge (that goes back to World War II and his family's death on the Mariana Islands), and it's this debt of honor he feels obligated to deliver payment by sowing chaos in America.

I read some of the negative reviews and some complained about going into too much detail on the financial side of things, how Wall Street operates, and using Japan as the main (although not the only one, India and China play minor roles) enemy was incredulous.

I didn't find reading about the financial markets and how they worked to be tedious and dull, it was quite fascinating to read how complex and intertwined the global markets were and how a disaster in one country, in this case America, could lead to a snowball effect in Europe and elsewhere. That is all very realistic and Clancy being the type of writer he is, he goes into meticulous detail about how the financial markets work. I thought the background information was necessary, because it makes more sense when you later learn about how the Japanese were able to intentionally hurt the American economy.

Then there was Clancy's decision to use Japan as the enemy in this book. Of course, if one were to compare this fictional world to our own real world, it does sound pretty crazy that a staunch U.S. ally such as Japan, a major trading partner, would suddenly become America's number one enemy. Well, if we look at a few of America's allies today, Germany and Japan are good examples of how not too long ago both countries were enemies. So while I'll admit Clancy's premise sounds outrageous, a strong U.S. ally becoming an enemy later, it's naive thinking to think it could never happen. I thought Clancy did a superb job of showing a "what if" scenario. Something that could happen as the world is always changing, leaders come and go, and no one can accurately predict who will be an enemy or an ally tomorrow.

This was a highly entertaining political thriller and Clancy sets up the story for the next book, Executive Orders, very well (there are certain parts where I could see some minor players that were introduced in Debt of Honor playing a key role in the next book). The ending of Debt of Honor ends on a major cliff-hanger so you best have the next book handy.

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great service

Very pleased with the prompt service I received when I ordered this book. Will order from you again.

Debt of Honor

I think this was one of the first novels I read by Clancy. I tried reading it several times and could not get into it, and one day I said to myself, that I will just read it through! I am glad I did. I just had to get over the size of the novel and once I did that, I became a Clancy Fan and picked up all of his novels.

The best part of Clancy is his writing style, it stays with you. I feel that I have learned something after reading the novel. I think it is this book, his explanation and description of how the economy work was simple and brilliant.

Clancy is a rare writer that crops up once every 20 years and his books are testimony to that greatness. And this book is evidence of that. I have read books written prior and after this one, and he keeps a steady consistency between them.

I recommend this book.

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