The IBIC Guide to Books By Tom Clancy

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Remarks from the IBIC Editor's Journal

December 25, 1994

As I suggested in the Dec. 18 What's New for Book-Lovers, I think Tom Clancy's DEBT OF HONOR (G.P. Putnam's Sons) raises two key questions:

On reflection, I think the answer is that this is his best book since THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. I'd still rate RED OCTOBER as his best book. In fact, I think that, regardless of what you think of the merits of RED OCTOBER as a novel qua novel, we should acknowledge that RED OCTOBER is an important book in the history of publishing and reading in the late 20th century. It's important, and enduring, in the same way as classics like THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (Baroness Orczy) and CAPTAIN BLOOD (Rafael Sabatini). Fifty years for now, or a hundred, RED OCTOBER will seem somewhat dated; but, like PIMPERNEL and CAPTAIN BLOOD, it will still be immensely enjoyable for readers open-minded enough to accept it on its own terms, as a crackling good story.

I don't think that mid-21st century Clancyphiles will recommend DEBT OF HONOR as the ideal first book for a friend unfamiliar with the Grand Master of Politico-Military Thrillers. But I think that many of those who enjoy Clancy now and then will regard DEBT OF HONOR as a favorite in the ouevre. It's an impressive book. Not many authors have the skill to put together a 766-page thriller that is paced as skillfully as this one.

As for the mechanics of the wish-fulfillment plot, I will say only that I found them adequately credible, with one major exception. I do not wish to give the story away, but I think it is safe to say that the development of the plot represents a major career move for Clancy's protagonist, Jack Ryan, and that at the end of the book I found myself thinking of another series of somewhat dated and tendentious (but still very enjoyable) politico-military thrillers. The HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER series has become ... ADVISE AND CONSENT?!

It remains to be seen whether Tom Clancy has become Harry Houdini.



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Editor's Recommendations, Summer 1996

In this inaugural edition of IBIC's Featured Books, I'd like to draw your attention to several titles which have helped to shape my life and thinking.

  • When I was around fifteen, I came across Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's science fiction novel, INFERNO. This '70s remake of Dante's classic describes science fiction writer Allen Carpentier's descent into Hell. It's still a very fresh, accessible take on the classic. What a great movie it would make!
  • The Niven/Pournelle INFERNO immediately inspired me to read the original Divine Comedy. I've read a number of translations over the years, but my favorite is the one by Dorothy Sayers (INFERNO; PURGATORY; PARADISE). The notes are excellent, and Sayers had such a knowledgeable and witty mind that reading her prose is a pleasure in itself. (For those interested in a more contemporary translation, I should mention that Robert Pinsky received excellent notices for his 1995 THE INFERNO OF DANTE : A NEW VERSE TRANSLATION; it's a very handsome book.)
  • I also want to tell you about the late Henry Fairlie's THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS TODAY, which probably did more than any other single book to galvanize me into a lifetime interest in Christianity that led me, eventually, to faith. Ironic, because Fairlie was a self-proclaimed agnostic socialist! But reading between the lines of this insightful and deeply feeling book, one realizes that the love of God cannot have been far from Fairlie's heart.
  • Finally, I should draw to your attention a more recent acquisition, the very handsome NIV STUDY BIBLE (10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) from Zondervan, indexed and bonded in leather in IBIC's theme color, burgundy (black and brown are also available). The notes to this Bible are amazing. They appear to provide you with a very substantial portion of what you need to know to have an intelligent layman's appreciation of the linguistic and historical issues involved in understanding Scripture.

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