Plot/Subplots
Tom Clancy hadn't quite developed his fifty-seemingly-divergent-plots-converge-in-one style yet, so this one is fairly straightforward: Jack Ryan is vacationing with his family/doing research in London when he reflexively thwarts a violent attack. It just so happens the attack is by an IRA spin-off group on royals Charles and Diana (never actually named, just like Reagan in the early Ryan books), so Ryan becomes a hero to the British and at target of the terrorists. After an attack on his family, Ryan finally accepts CIA's invitation to join them and hunt down his enemies.
Beef with the Brits
As you'll recall, Clancy books process all cultural understanding through food, drink, and a handful of native phrases. He respects the Brits and even their food, except these clods cannot cook beef to save their lives. This the first of many references to beef in the Ryanverse. These Brits are also constantly drinking tea like a bunch of pansies (soccer is also for girls). Given Clancy's obsession with coffee, alcohol, smoking, and beef, I began wondering if his premature (and of undisclosed cause) death had something to do with these substances. Per the Tom Clancy Wikipedia entry, one of his associates agrees with my speculation: "John D. Gresham, a co-author and researcher with Clancy on several books, attributed Clancy's death to heart problems: 'Five or six years ago Tom suffered a heart attack and he went through bypass surgery. It wasn't that he had another heart attack, [his heart] just wore out.'"
Bad Guys
The enemy in this book is the Ulster Liberation Army, which is to the IRA like ISIS is to Al Qaeda. Their leader, Sean Miller, is a trained and committed badass, but is crazily hung up on getting revenge on Jack. His professionalism and skill cannot compete with Jack's luck and the fact that Jack is going to be in the next book. As Marxists, the ULA overcome their racism to hook up with an African American Marxist terror cell to handle the logistics of their US attacks. But perhaps the most nefarious opponent is Dennis Cooley, the antique book dealer/terror cell signals man who later joins the actual combat so he can be neatly wrapped up later. Bad guys don't tend to go to jail in the Ryanverse. The title of the book is contained in a speech by Jack's BFF Robby Jackson, which also sums up Clancy's feelings toward non-uniformed combatants: " They're playing a game, Jack. There's even a song about it. I heard it at Riordan's on St. Patrick's Day. 'I've learned all my heroes and wanted the same/To try out my hand at the patriot game.' Something like that. War isn't a game, it's a profession. They play their little games, and call themselves patriots, and go out and kill little kids. Bastards...I don't much like the Russians, but the boys that fly the bears know their stuff. We know our stuff, and both sides respect the other. There's rules, and both sides play by 'em. That's the way it's supposed to be." Honor goes to the professional, the trained man who has worked hard, honed his abilities, and plays by agreed-upon rules; the unprofessional and disorderly are worthy only of elimination.
Review
Action in Patriot Games is as you'd expect: crisp, detailed, and exciting. The book starts off with a bang, then slooooooooows dooooooooown. There are about 100 pages of this: Jack recovering uncomfortably in the hospital. Jack chews out The Prince, but then feels uncomfortable about it. Jack uncomfortably attends royal parties and uncomfortably receives royal honors. Cathy and little Sally are super comfortable being lavished with attention and special treatment when they're not shopping (babes love their shopping and luxuries!) and don't understand why Jack doesn't just chill the hell out. They see the sights of London before Ryan uncomfortably flies back to the USA, where he can finally get a decent steak, but it isn't as uncomfortable because they're on a Concorde flight.
Sean Miller being broken out of prison also frees the book from that dull stretch. Clancy presents realistic scenarios for how the organizations work (CIA, ULA, British intelligence, etc.) and how they interact. The characters still don't sound like human beings, but when weapons are out, all is well. Ryan's self-flagellating inner monologue is one of the few character-building tools Tom Clancy employs, but it tends to repeat itself. In the end, training and coordination prevail over any other factors. The author is a great lover of process - professional training, formal education, craftsmanship in assembling weapons, experience in preparing meals) - and it shows in his characters and how he steers plots. If you read this (or any of his books) as a popcorn movie with flashes of nerdy attention to detail, it's an entertaining read.
What About the Movie?
The movie actually does a good job of trimming the fat of the book. Replacing "The Prince" with "Lord Holmes" doesn't serve to make the plot any less outlandish and probably undermines the urgency of the conflict. Sean Bean is well-cast and while Harrison Ford is too old for Jack Ryan at that stage of his life and career, he's a great fit for Ryan's combination of sharp mind and everyman approach to life. We prefer Sean Miller's fate in the book, which is telling of Jack's character, but we're never against a boat explosion in a movie.
Miscellanea
While in order of publication The Hunt for Red October technically introduces Jack's BFF Robby Jackson first, Patriot Games is his real debut.
21 references to coffee, 21 references to beer, 20 references to drinks, 7 references to wine, and of course the remarks about beef. R.I.P., Tom. (Note to self: eat a salad tonight)
Anne Archer is really boring as Cathy in the movie.
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