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.