Without Remorse

It's been quite awhile since I've read a Clancy novel. In ways this lived up to my fond memories and in ways it fell short.

What I like is the technical aspects and political intrigue. This novel is set in the Vietnam War era, and seems to represent the general perspectives of both vets and civilians in the US in the 70s. I even appreciate the personal struggle of Mr Kelly in this book.

What I don't like begins with how the story begins. Maybe I lived a sheltered life, but the idea of picking up a random stranger on the road and having sex with them within 24 hours seems like a stretch, let alone falling deeply in love within a week. (This is all within the first couple of chapters setting up the story, so I didn't consider it a spoiler.)

I also struggled with the choice to become a vigilante. While I've enjoyed superheroes who become vigilantes, in a setting that is supposed to be true to life, it feels wrong. We have justice system for a reason and I don't like the idea of a one man judge, jury, and executioner.

One smaller complaint that wouldn't seem as big of a deal in a stronger story is how weak and stereotyped some characters are.

Clancy novels come with a certain amount of swearing. If you don't like swearing, don't bother with Clancy. I get it, he's portraying the natural language of people in a certain culture. Still, a book with this much swearing would have to be extraordinary in story to get a five star rating from me. Just my opinion, but I believe dialogue can sound real without all the swearing.

This was an audiobook, so a quick note on the audio. At first I had a hard time focusing on the reader, but as I stuck with it, I got onto the same wavelength and followed the reader easily. Only complaint is the recording doesn't always give an obvious break when changing scenes, which was challenging in an already complex story. I didn't always remember characters as I went along. But, I got the point of it, in the end.

Executive Summary: I found this book good at times, and tedious at others. It rounded out to be a so-so thriller overall.

Audiobook: Much like the other Clancy books he's narrated, Michael Prichard does a fine job, but nothing spectacular. He speaks clearly and with good volume. He doesn't add anything extra to the story nor does he detract from it. Audio is a decent option here.

Full Review
This book is largely split into two parts: Military/CIA thriller, and domestic vigilante action crime drama. I much preferred the former to the latter.

The beginning of this book was a drag. I guess it was meant to give you sympathy to John Clark's one-man crusade, but I mostly just found it soured me on the whole subplot. I guess it's important to explaining how John Kelly became John Clark, but if anything it made me less interested in his origin story.

The parts of this book I enjoyed most were the parts where John was acting as John Clark. The planning and execution of a dangerous and daring mission where his expertise is the make or break point for success or failure. That was what I picked this book up for.

Part of my issue may be the timing. I had just finished another Tom Clancy book not that long ago, and probably wasn't ready for a second so soon, but my hold came in from the library so I decided to go ahead anyways.

At this point, I'll be taking a break from Clancy for awhile. We'll see if I'm the mood again in a few months.