- Paperback: 768 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; (Reissue) edition (2 Feb 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006476414
- ISBN-13: 978-0006476412
- Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 10.4 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 28,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Expanding the universe of Jack Ryan and his colleagues, Without Remorse tracks the early career of John "The Invisible Man" Kelly, the ex-Navy SEAL who eventually becomes the shadowy John Clark of Clancy's other novels. Kelly is a highly decorated hero and a masterful soldier, diver and sailor. But during the first Nixon administration he suffers two tragedies that transform him into a ruthless vigilante: his pregnant wife is killed in a freak accident, and Pam, the woman he turns to in his pain, is murdered. Motivated by revenge, Kelly systematically kills the drug-dealing pimps who had so brutalized Pam and her friends. At the same time, CIA man James Greer recruits Kelly for covert operations in Vietnam.
While most of Clancy's oeuvre celebrates high-tech gadgets and clear-cut battles of good versus evil, Without Remorse focuses more on the character, struggles and motivations of its hero. Kelly's status is always ambiguous, reflecting the uncertainties of the Vietnam era, and Clancy resists the temptation of making him into a puritan. From the start, he holds secrets from even his loved ones (he won't tell Pam the origin of his SEAL tattoo, for example). While he is a killer, he believes he has justification for each death, and the CIA is more interested in his deadly talents than his criminal record.
For Clancy fans, the insights into the early history of Clark, Greer and others build a sense of realism and depth into the Jack Ryan series. As Kelly becomes Clark, Clancy underscores the sombre sense of resignation and despair that underlies much of the book: "He was working for the Agency now, so Clark was his name. It made it easier somehow." Yet, in the darkness of this moment, one can't help but reflect on what Clark and his CIA will become. It's like watching Batman donning his cape for the very first time. --Patrick O'Kelley
Review
From the reviews of Without Remorse:
‘The best in the business… he remains No 1.’
Los Angeles Times
‘Heart-stopping… the product of a master.’
Washington Post
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tom Clancy at his very very best,
By
This review is from: Without Remorse (Paperback)
I’ll admit it – I’m a big fan of Tom Clancy; his books are the type of epics you know you can start reading one day and will still be reading it 4 weeks later, and that’s before you start on his “powerplays” and others. Amongst his major novels, there tend to be two main characters – Jack Ryan and John Clark. This one’s all about John Clark, well actually John Kelly who becomes John Clark later on, and is set during the Vietnam war.The book tells how Kelly handles personal tragedy, the loss of a loved one in a brutal and horrific way. His response is pure Clancy - clinical brute force response. What sets this book apart from other Clancy books is rather than going into arguably excessive detail about the weaponry used in battle, Clancy concentrates on the character, his mind, and his attitude. As expected the book carries several stories in parallel – alongside Kelly’s problems, Washington need to find a suitable operative for a high-risk mission to Vietnam to rescue captured soldiers, and you’ve guessed it, Kelly’s the man for the job. If you like Clancy, you will absolutely love this book! The way the threads are joined is superb; I cannot recommend it enough. Oh yeah, and don’t worry about the order you read Clancy’s books – it makes no difference.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best thriller I've read for ages,
By Mikeyr101 (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Without Remorse (Paperback)
I've read this book at least half a dozen times in the last four years, and I've no doubt that I'll soon have to replace this substantial paperback due to sheer usage. This is a straightforward read and the immense size of the volume shouldn't deter the occasional reader; it's easy to get into and after the first fifty pages you won't want to put it down.It is 1970. Devastated by the recent loss of his wife, former SEAL John Kelly helps a runaway prostitute escape from her drug-running captors, and begins to fall in love with her. But in a freakish twist of fate one of the scumbags spots her - and as a material witness they dare not let her live. After a frantic chase through the city they catch up with the couple, and brutally rape and murder her. Kelly is left for dead, with a horrifying shotgun wound to the back. But Kelly is not an easy man to kill, and upon recovery he immediately sets about a new mission - a mission for vengeance... With his lethal commando training, patience and guile, Kelly begins to exact a terrible price for his loss, but not without problems. The police are slowly catching on to him, the dealers have connections, and they still hold several other women in captivity. And the Pentagon has not finished with Kelly quite yet, sending him back to Vietnam to carry out a daring rescue mission - for twenty men who are already dead... This is without a doubt Clancy's best book. Most of his other works are fictional techno/military/espionage epics weighing in at a good six hundred pages or so, but this story takes things back to basics and reads more like a old-style thriller that would do Alistair Maclean proud. At times it's hard to believe that Hollywood hasn't taken this book to the silver screen, Willem Dafoe would have been perfect considering his performance in "Platoon" and having already played Mister Clark in "Clear and Present Danger". Presumably nobody wants to be accused of espousing vigilantism, but the material is just too good to waste. This book fully deserves the Five Stars I can award it; it's one of the best reads you'll ever own. If you don't already have a copy, get one. The pages will just fly past.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All time classic Clancy,
By matthias_huehn@hotmail.com (Germany) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Without Remorse (Paperback)
This is logically the first and best novel by Tom Clancy. In this novel the myth of my greatest fictional hero, John Kelly, is created. There is no other writer in the world able to tell a story like Tom Clancy does in "Without Remorse". This book is about three stars better than some of his later novels, which I still rate as first class. If you only ever read one Clancy (I have read all his books), read "Without Remorse".
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