# If I Liked Tom Clancy, I Would Also Like... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062 "2017-04-08T16:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/1 "2017-04-08T16:51:00Z")
I need some new reading material for my Kindle, and I am in the mood for something Clancy-ish. I loved Tom Clancy’s work up to _Executive Orders._ Everything after that sucked. Most everything Clancy wrote were well-written stories, technically plausible (not necessarily accurate) with plots that made sense. Any recommendations for some different authors? ---
**Author:** ![Zerc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/82dd89/32.png) [@Zerc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zerc)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/2 "2017-04-08T17:07:11Z")
I liked Larry Bond’s books. He co-authored Red Storm Rising with Tom Clancy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/3 "2017-04-08T17:07:43Z")
Larry Bond. Try his earlier stuff like _Red Phoenix_ and _Cauldron_ if you liked _Red Storm Rising._ ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/4 "2017-04-08T17:16:08Z")
Good suggestions! Cheap at $3.99 each, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/5 "2017-04-08T17:24:53Z")
Stephen Coontz has some great books in a similar vein. I enjoy them more than Clancy. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/6 "2017-04-08T17:29:06Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Stephen Coontz has some great books in a similar vein. I enjoy them more than Clancy. Prolific writer. Could you recommend one or two that were really outstanding? ---
**Author:** ![MedellinMike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@MedellinMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MedellinMike)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/7 "2017-04-08T17:52:39Z")
I haven’t read this stuff in a while, but back in the day I liked: By Harold Coyle: _Team Yankee_ - WW3 told from the point of view of a tank company fighting in Germany. Think Red Storm Rising told from a tank captain’s POV. _Sword Point_ - Russians and US fighting a war in Iran. remember reading it, but don’t remember if it was good or not. It’s the first in a series of novels following these characters to other (increasingly improbable) military encounters. By Larry Bond: _Red Phoenix_ - a 2nd Korean War. By Ralph Peters: _Red Army_ - basically Red Storm Rising told from the Russian point of view. I haven’t read or revisited any of these books for 20+ years so I won’t vouch for their quality. But I enjoyed them all at the time I was reading those same Clancy novels. Checking on Amazon it appears that at least some of these authors are still writing. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/8 "2017-04-08T21:04:06Z")
Mark Berent, if you can find him. Vietnam vet who turned his experiences into a series of novels, supposedly as a way to deal with PTSD. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/9 "2017-04-08T22:27:58Z")
…I dunno, smashing your forehead repeatedly against a flagpole? ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/10 "2017-04-08T22:33:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > …I dunno, smashing your forehead repeatedly against a flagpole? Not a Clancy fan? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/11 "2017-04-08T22:41:19Z")
I always liked Ludlum, but its not as technical. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/12 "2017-04-08T23:07:06Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > Not a Clancy fan? Well, I’m a bigger fan of ironic humour, truth be told. Clancy’s an easy target (indeed, it’s almost a sign of laziness on my part to take a shot at him) and I got slightly soured by a book with Clancy’s name on it, though he didn’t actually write it: _OP Center 6: State of Siege_, in which officials of the U.N. are not only completely useless during a hostage situation at the U.N. headquarters in New York, but actively trying to make the situation worse. That said, I once picked up #5 in the _Black Berets_ series by Mike McCray. I recommend it primarily because after forcing oneself through it, Clancy will seem a welcome relief. But more seriously, Ken Follett’s _Triple_ was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/13 "2017-04-08T23:11:06Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, I’m a bigger fan of ironic humour, truth be told. Clancy’s an easy target (indeed, it’s almost a sign of laziness on my part to take a shot at him) and I got **slightly soured by a book with Clancy’s name on it** , though he didn’t actually write it: _OP Center 6: State of Siege_, in which officials of the U.N. are not only completely useless during a hostage situation at the U.N. headquarters in New York, but actively trying to make the situation worse. > > That said, I once picked up #5 in the _Black Berets_ series by Mike McCray. I recommend it primarily because after forcing oneself through it, Clancy will seem a welcome relief. But more seriously, Ken Follett’s _Triple_ was pretty good. See, that why I drew the line at _Executive Orders_, although _Rainbow Six_ had moments. Everything after that, and especially the ones that were co-written (ghost-written via franchise?) by other authors, were crap. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/14 "2017-04-08T23:44:45Z")
> [@MedellinMike](#): > > By Harold Coyle: Coyle was my first thought. The difference is Clancy starts with the big picture but gets down in the weeds on some events. Clancy’s strength is that big picture that he fleshes out at the tactical level. Coyle was an Armor officer. His strength is down in the weeds at the tactical level which he then fleshes out with enough operational and strategic level to sustain the story. Like you point out some of that big picture can be less plausible than Clancy. They just have different focuses for their story telling. I liked Coyle better than Clancy because of that difference. I was also an Armor Officer so apply as many grains of salt as needed. 😛 I’d start with the first book in the Scott Dixon series as a trial. “Sword Point” is the story of the Soviet-US war in Iran. It’s not as deep into the weeds as Team Yankee’s story of a single tank heavy company-team. I haven’t read any of his later works after that series though. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/15 "2017-04-08T23:45:48Z")
It’s not a techno-thriller on the Clancy vein, but the best pure thriller I’ve ever read is **Point of Impact** by Stephen Hunter. Starts with a reclusive former marine sniper being asked to consult on how best to protect the president of the US from a sniper assassin, then he realizes things aren’t what the seem, and everything goes haywire. If I didn’t read the entire thing in a single sitting, it’s only because they wouldn’t let me. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/16 "2017-04-08T23:57:53Z")
John Gilstrap. Well, maybe. I think of them as kind of the same action-driven stories. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/17 "2017-04-09T01:02:55Z")
“Storming Intrepid” by Payne Harrison > **[Storming Intrepid](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1458886.Storming_Intrepid)** > > United States space shuttle Intrepid, crippled and sile… Read another of his books and couldn’t even finish it but this one is, although admittedly dated, a real page-turner which I’ve often described as the book Clancy wishes he’d wrote. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/18 "2017-04-09T02:24:41Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > It’s not a techno-thriller on the Clancy vein, but the best pure thriller I’ve ever read is **Point of Impact** by Stephen Hunter. Starts with a reclusive former marine sniper being asked to consult on how best to protect the president of the US from a sniper assassin, then he realizes things aren’t what the seem, and everything goes haywire. If I didn’t read the entire thing in a single sitting, it’s only because they wouldn’t let me. Oh, yeah. One of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/19 "2017-04-09T02:38:10Z")
W.E.B. Griffin? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062/20 "2017-04-09T02:54:15Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > Prolific writer. Could you recommend one or two that were really outstanding? Under Siege - which has nothing to do with the Seagal movie is particularly good. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-liked-tom-clancy-i-would-also-like/784062.md?page=2)