R.I.P
Posted on 10/03/2013 6:01:20 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The easiest point to make about Tom Clancy, who died on Tuesday at the age of 66, is that he was a mediocre writer who penned books with noxious political messages. But he was more interesting than that, even if only as a totemic cultural figure. I haven't read any of his nonfictional output, which mostly deals with military matters, especially the physical details of American military hardware. (Sample title: Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship.) But Clancy will be best remembered for the series of books he wrote about Jack Ryan, the C.I.A. agent from his creator's hometown of Baltimore who eventually becomes president of the United States. (Don't ask.) Four of the books were eventually turned into pretty effective Hollywood movies, which starred (in order) Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford (twice), and Ben Affleck. A fifth, with Chris Pine as Ryan, comes out over Christmas.
The first thing to note about the Jack Ryan novels, and one of the things that made them notable as middlebrow fiction, was their sheer bulk. This no doubt accounted for some of the pride I felt in finishing them at age 16. To even try and describe the structure of a book like Clear and Present Danger would be a feat, but if I managed to do so you might think that I was outlining Middlemarch. I doubt that Clancy intended his books to ape great, sprawling 19th century novels....
(Excerpt) Read more at newrepublic.com ...
“The easiest point to make about Tom Clancy, who died on Tuesday at the age of 66, is that he was a mediocre writer”
Probably one of the most well known and beloved authors in American history being slimed by a journalist who NOBODY reads. This is barely worth registering.
Clancy made close to a billion dollars through his books, movies and games, IIRC. Wonder how much Isaac has made writing?
wow.
This same site was calling for Obama to send tanks after Congress just days ago, and now they call Calncys’ opinions “frightening”.
lolz
R.I.P
He should be honored to be slimed by pukes like this....I was in the submarine force when “Hunt for Red October” came out... Clancy was HUGE in his heyday.
The Left vilifies those who are not it’s own.
The journo who wrote this screed is probably a bitter failed “novelist” with a passel of rejection slips. Never fails.
Hmmph. I always found him an excellent author, and his heroes were expressly apolitical. Jack Ryan, for example, doesn't have a declared party affiliation, but is simply a fan of honesty, efficiency, and honor in government. Oh wait, on second thought, I guess that WOULD be offensive to the kind of leftist that would pen this tripe. Never mind.
The New Republic: Idiots with a Blog.
“I haven’t read any of his nonfictional output, which mostly deals with military matters, especially the physical details of American military hardware.”
I Stopped right there, author libtard.
Real America scares the Left.
They’re scared of inanimate objects, like primitive savages. Which makes sense, because they’re like a cargo cult.
If we're pooling our money on this, I'm throwing in with you on this side. This should have been printed in green to indicate the level of jealousy in the writer.
Written like a true pointy-headed elitist.
“The first thing to note about the Jack Ryan novels, and one of the things that made them notable as middlebrow fiction ... Middlemarch ...”
C’mon, man. Middlemarch? Not Moby Dick? Not Vanity Fair? Not one of the many extremely long Russian novels of the 19 Century?
Sorry, Isaac, but your literary bona fides will need to be established before we move forward. Being a poly sci major from Cal Davis isn’t really doing much for me. Middlemarch is a very odd book to pick for comparison to Clancy’s work. I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s the only longish book you have ever read. Aside from length, there is nothing about it that brings to mind anything Clancy wrote. So, as usual, we have a leftist mouth posing as an intellectual.
Therefore, I will assume that Isaac read a long book one time, and did not like it one little bit. I can’t see any other way to read it. That said, I’m sure the Poly Sci department at UC Davis is really good preparation for literary criticism. Or not. What am I thinking? An English Lit major from Cal Davis would be just as much of a leftwing caricature, but at least he/she/it would presumably know the nomenclature.
“The easiest point to make about Tom Clancy, who died on Tuesday at the age of 66, is that he was a mediocre writer who penned books with noxious political messages.”
No, that’s not the easiest point to make about him. To do so would require proving that the political messages in the books were “noxious”. The article fails in this regard. Calling something “Ramboesque” isn’t going to cut it. Simplistic and noxious are not synonyms, and I’m doing part of the work to get that far. Demonstrating the popularity of Clancy’s books would be easier. A point about his knowledge of military hardware would be much easier. A point about Clancy’s secondary characters being mostly one-dimensional cliches would even be easier (for a non-one-dimensional critic).
Isaac Chotiner is a stupid douchebag. If he wasn’t stupid, he would still be a douchebag. If he wasn’t a douchebag, he would still be stupid.
It is a pity that this sort of thing continues to march The New Republic toward a stinking pit of irrelevance, but one does have to be responsible for the company one keeps.
Any bets on whether this wus ever served?
Sorry, Isaac, but your literary bona fides will need to be established before we move forward. Being a poly sci major from Cal Davis isn’t really doing much for me. Middlemarch is a very odd book to pick for comparison to Clancy’s work. I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s the only longish book you have ever read. Aside from length, there is nothing about it that brings to mind anything Clancy wrote. So, as usual, we have a leftist mouth posing as an intellectual.
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