Without Remorse by Tom Clancy Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Without Remorse
Book Review: A remarkabe action novel.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read this piece three years ago,while serving my first year in the israeli defence force . Looking back at this stage of my life I can say honestly that I was very young, naive ,and "green" . Things have changed greatly ever since, but some remain the same . This book came at a very confusing time for me : I wasn't satisfied with my service and thought of other options ,one of them was the Israel Marine Commando - our version of the Navy Seals. This book actually had helped me make up my mind to dismiss this option. Don't get the wrong impression. It's a must read .The first 100 pages are the best I've ever read. The story is so thrilling ,it's hard to put it down .It made me realize how terrible the status of the women in our society was and still is. I actually cried out loud in pain while reading . Those days were exetremly violent in Israel ,every monday and thursday I'd read about a woman being slaughter ,and felt the urge to do something ,to fight those killers,to punish them like Kelly punished the murderer in the book. In regard to the Commando dilemma ,I realized they make a killer out of a man. I descided I don't wanna kill anybody . It's not my way. Eventually ,the issues the book deals with are somber and very important to disscuss ,but my space here is limited. I would like anyone with interest in this subjests to contact me for further discussion. And please read it, it's an experience that is hard to forget.Book Review: A snappy good novel, one of the best.
Summary: 4 Stars
"Without Remorse" is one of Tom Clancys odd novels, to me anyway. Unlike "Red Storm Rising" or "Politika", the book doesn't revole over many characters in the same boat. This book does skip around a lot, but focuses manly on one man, John Kelly. The book, in its basic sense, is about a man who's girlfriend was killed by drug dealers, and he feels he must seek revenge. I liked this book because it had the main character, Kelly, in the minds of the other characters. Some of Clancy's other books have a character that is present in over three of his books as a recuring character. It is nice to have a book that isn't hinged on the end of the world by the Russians or Arabs. It is a tale of lost love, with a hint of military action we have grown to love. "Without Remorse" is an excellent work that gets my approval.Book Review: A surprising classic by the author of adventure/war novels
Summary: 5 Stars
"Without Remorse" is not a book you would expect from Tom Clancy. Yes, it is adventurous and action packed. Yes, it is full of the intrigue and drama you have come to expect from Tom Clancy. However, if you read this book and see it only as another in his collection of Jack Ryan/John Clark novels, then you have only scratched the surface of this intriguing addition to American literature that I believe may join the ranks of the classics.
We are asked to consider some very deep questions, and Clancy makes some very poignant observations on American culture and perseverance. He uses the continuing, and contrasting metaphor of a Vietnam mission (POW rescue) with the rescue of prostitutes within drug-ridden American streets to show that while we cannot change the world, we can salvage some small bit of it... albeit, not the part we set out to save in the first place. Along the way, Clancy makes us face questions about the existence of moral absolutism... is there an absolute wrong? Is there absolute right?
Consider: POW's are brutalized, mistreated and without hope. Held in high regard within the military they are clearly worthy of redemption at any cost. However, in other circles, their worth is questionable. To the Vietnamese, they are the enemy. To certain self-serving bureaucrats they either "took their chances" and better not interfere in the peace process, or are tools to be used and cast away once their worth is expended. In contrast, the prostitutes are tortured, and used within a brutal drug gang. The members of this gang are every bit as cruel as the North Vietnamese. The prostitutes are seen as valueless human beings except by the few whose lives they touch directly. They too are used, only to be cast away once their worth is expended. Yet, both touch the lives of John Kelly (aka, John Clark). Even the life of John Kelly is a dichotomy. It is in stark contrast to John Clark. Kelly is an unambiguous hero of the war. He is a decorated rescuer of a naval flier, assists the police, and is a happily married man. He becomes John Clark. Capable of ruthless elimination of human beings, he struggles to retain his moral compass and along the way requires the audience to ask such important questions like, "Is it right to kill a few that are guilty, to save several that are innocent?"
Clancy's overriding message is one of American perseverance. Both his adventures at home and abroad lead to initial mission failure; however, Kelly/Clark manages to salvage something good from each. The author contrasts Clark's ability to salvage a compromised covert mission by capturing a Russian officer when the unexpected opportunity presents itself, with the ability to save several of the women being brutalized in the drug ring, while also eliminating the drug ring, its distribution and processing centers. In fact, it could be argued that the Kelly/Clark missions actually accomplish more through their failures than their planned success ever could. The POW rescue mission does ultimately lead to the return of the POW's while also exposing an important leak at the White House. The domestic mission does more than just avenge the death of an innocent... it prevents several more, exposes a corrupt policeman, and destroys and entire drug organization arm.
There is a cost... and Clancy shows this through the moral struggle that Kelly/Clark has and his recurring comments on how quickly and easily it is to transition from Vietnam to the streets of America... that there is so little difference, and so little distance between them. This war/peace transition is a metaphor to the struggles between Kelly and Clark, between law and order, and vigilantism. What is the right and the wrong of what Kelly/Clark does? In the end, Kelly dies and Clark is born. But does that represent a moral defeat of Kelly? There is much more to this book than meets the eye. I recommend it to more than just the casual reader of Tom Clancy and "spy/war" novels. Those looking for a true literary experience will also enjoy reading beyond just the words. My last comment is that if this book is ever made into a movie, it deserves the directorship of a Stanley Kubrik not a George Lucas!
Book Review: A violent and ultimately pointless romp
Summary: 1 Stars
As a child, I read and enjoyed Red Storm Rising, Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and Cardinal of the Kremlin. (I thought that Sum of All Fears was pushing it.) But Without Remorse is quite another story. Here Clancy reveals himself to be a real facist. Certainly the victims of Kelly/Clark's rage are not innocents, but they are pointless executed, and the book doesn't even take the time to explore the effect that this has on Clark or really give him any kind of depth. In Lethal Weapon, we only know that Riggs's wife is dead, this alone is enough to make him suicidal and add considerable depth to his character. In Without Remorse, the love interest's death is only exploited to give Clark an excuse to kill everyone. I found Clancy's obvious animus towards liberals and women distasteful and his lack of respect for human life and even a sense of the impact that taking another person's life has on your own--well, it is truely baffling to consider how a man who is marginally an intellectual can be that primative. He falls short even of the mark that his other novels set. One is better off with any of his previous works, especially Clear and Present Danger or Cardinal of the Kremlin.Book Review: Absolutely the best Clancy book yet!
Summary: 5 Stars
For Clancy lovers, the names Clark and Ryan are not new. What is new, though, is this book, which strays from Ryan completely, and gives readers the background of Clancy's most mysterious character. This book, in my opinion, is nothing like any of the other Clancy tales to date. It was published right in between some of Clancy's most popular books, yet has nothing to do with any of them. It takes place in the Washington/Baltimore area and Vietnam and is a great thriller. There is no technical mumbo-jumbo that is typically found in Clancy's works. It's all action of the best kind. If you have never before read one of Tom Clancy's books, I highly recommend this one as your first. It's a great book that will be enjoyed by all and read over again.. I've already read it twice!! Enjoy!