Rating: 
Summary: Revenge without remorse....
Review: Tom Clancy has created several fictional heroes that are at the heart of his many novels. One, of course, is John Patrick Ryan, who has served his country as a Marine, CIA officer, National Security Adviser, and President of the United States. With the exception of Red Storm Rising (a book that is not set in Clancy's "Ryan-verse"), Jack Ryan appears or is talked about in every novel from The Hunt for Red October to The Teeth of the Tiger.The other major character Clancy readers have come to admire is John Clark, a man who works for the other side of the Agency as a paramilitary officer. Whether he is in Colombia using a laser target designator to help bomb a Medellin Cartel member's mansion or leading a multinational antiterrorist team called Rainbow, Clark is the type of man our government needs to use while denying his existence. But John Clark has a past wrapped in mystery, one his family doesn't know much about and is a closely guarded secret. For John Clark was once ex-SEAL John T. Kelly, Vietnam veteran, avid diver and sailor. But when Kelly's girlfriend is brutally murdered by a Baltimore drug lord's henchmen, the otherwise peacable and war-weary Kelly vows revenge. Dispensing his own version of street justice relentlessly and without remorse, Kelly must not only avoid being killed by the drug dealers, but he also has to evade the dogged detective work of Baltimore cop Emmett Ryan, a World War II vet and father of the future President. Adding to his already complicated life, Admiral James Greer recruits Kelly to participate in a daring rescue mission into North Vietnam. But when a radicalized American antiwar activist gets wind of this secret military operation, events will drive John Terence Kelly down a path that he never intended to take. Although published 11 years after The Hunt for Red October, this taut and thrilling novel is the first chapter of the long-running Jack Ryan saga. If you are just entering the Ryan-verse, read this entertaining book first.
Rating: 
Summary: First-time Reader of Clancy
Review: Without Remorse is about John Kelly and his trasformation into John Clark. Kelly is ex-Navy who ends up deeply entangled in the fate of a drug ring, while at the same time assisting in the rescue of American POWs in Vietnam. The purpose of the book is to show the reasons and depth of the transformation of the character, John Clark. The story takes place in the late 1960s in Maryland and Vietnam. This is the first book by Tom Clancy that I have read all the way through, and I enjoyed it. What I liked most about it is the central character, John Clark (Kelly). John Clark is a character who is highly skilled in covert military operations, including explosives. He is an experienced ship pilot and a man of moral character. The book is well written, and the writer is highly knowledgable about the subjects he discusses. However, there were times that I found his repitition of certain phrases annoying. Since I enjoyed this book and I liked reading about John Clark, I plan to read Rainbow Six as well.
Rating:
Summary: Liked it,... mostly...
Review: I rate this between 3.5 and 4 stars. For once, I did not read many reviews before buying a book. I only knew that this book was all about how "John Kelly" became "Mr. Clark". I have come across "Mr. Clark" on many of Clancy's books previously but he was always a bit of a strange one to me. I'm glad I read this book as it gave me a great insight into how "Mr. Clark" became what he is today. It was written in the usual Clancy's thrilling and detailed ways and I just loved that part of it. But I have a few complaints. Firstly, I did not like the way our "hero" took the law into his own hands,.. it almost spoilt the whole book for me at one stage (when he actually tortured a man to his eventual death). Secondly, I thought Clancy introduced a few unusual and out-of-character twists in the story at certain stages that seemed to distance the story from reality. For example, how John (an expert who always seem to take no chances in anything he does) took a great gamble by driving Pam through her old rough neighbourhood without even a simple disguise, and also the place where John slept in the car with Pam in the same neighbourhood where a few minutes ago they were being chased by a drug-gang.... sloppy work Mr. Clancy. Other than that it was generally a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Without Remorse
Review: Without Remorse by Tom Clancy is a wonderful novel. I would rate it with 4 out of 5 stars. The 750 pages went by fast. Once you start to read it, it is hard to put down. The main character is a military man named John Kelley. He is a navy seal, and also did other things for the military in the naval section. The book was about his struggle with losing a wife along with almost all other people that he cared about. He did many different things during the course of the book to try to get through his problems. Pam, is a prostitute that Kelley falls in love with. She is a nice woman that bad things happened too. Sandra O'Toole, Sam Rosen, and Sam's wife all work at the same hospital. All three of them came into Kelley's life at one time or another during the story. They played an important part in Kelley's life as his friends, and Sandra eventually became more than just his friend. Kelley gets shot with a shotgun and Sandra helps with his physical therapy, after the Rosen's performed surgery. All in all the story is a "RAH RAH RAH, beat em up, get revenge on the bad guys" (John Deiter) type of book. The story begins with Kelley finishing his work for the military and takes us through his loves and losses at the time. He looses his wife in a car accident, then looses his second love, Pam, because drug dealers kill her. It is jam-packed with excitement and suspense, and if you like Tom Clancy books, then this is a must read. If you are not familiar with Clancy's writing, but do like books with lots of excitement and adventure, then this is the book to read.
Rating:
Summary: First-rate book from a top-flight author.
Review: Starting in "The Cardinal of the Kremlin", readers of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels were always treated to a visit from recurring character John Clark, the mystery man from the CIA that is sent in to do the dirtiest of dirty work and always comes out ahead. The question that lingered was, "Who is John Clark and where did he come from?". Clancy brought us this book to answer those questions. The book's setting is enough to intrigue me, seeing as it was set in 1970 and I wasn't born until 12 years later! It reflects a different time period than the rest of the Clancy novels, which means a much smaller reliance on technology and more attention given to the personal aspect of the story (much like "Patriot Games"). At this point, John Clark isn't John Clark...he's John Kelly, the ex-Navy SEAL, an honest, hard-working man who has just lost his wife in a car accident. I won't go into what happens in the actual plot, but at times Kelly is forced to cross the lines of law to take necessary action, and even rejoins the service of his country. Later in the book, John Kelly assumes the moniker and the identity that Clancy readers have come to love...John Clark. There are times in the book that you can't believe some of the things that the 'good guy' is doing, but you're still rooting for him because it's part of the story and it's what HAS to happen. The character, and the plot, is extremely well written. Besides Clark, several other familiar Clancy characters are found in WITHOUT REMORSE. James Greer, Robert Ritter (from Clear and Present Danger), and a few others. Minor, yet recurring, character development is something that Clancy is an absolute master at. Even at 750 pages, WITHOUT REMORSE flies by with its furious pace and non-stop action. For an avid reader like myself it's tough for new books to be called one of my favorites, but WITHOUT REMORSE has managed to do just that.
Rating:
Summary: One of Clancy's best.
Review: "Without Remorse" is one of Tom Clancy's greatest novels. Clancy readers were already familiar with the John Clark character from several books Clancy's Jack Ryan series. "Without Remorse" explores Clark's past, following the transformation of Vietnam veteran/ex-Navy Seal John Kelly into CIA agent John Clark. This is a fascinating book, and although Clancy has passed the torch in the Jack Ryan series to Jack Jr., I'd love to see some more books featuring John Clark.
Rating:
Summary: One of Tom Clancy's Best
Review: This is one of Tom Clancy's best novels. It isn't as complicated as some of his books can be.
This novel tells the story of John Kelly and how he is transformed into John Clark, a familiar character in many of Clancy's novels.
Rating:
Summary: Not gonna Spoil the plot for you like other people
Review: Now I am a first time Clancy reader but this is the best novel I have ever read! I read a complaint that all the plots in the beginning didnt seem to have anything to do with eachotheruntil later on, but thats the beauty of it. As I was reading I started playing detective trying to figure out whats gonna happen next, and the plots took beautifully written turns that tottaly caught me off guard in the most suspenseful moments. I was already a fan of the Clancy movies but I have learned alot about the book series. I Want to read Rainbow Six next(the other book Starring Mr Clark) But Clancys Believable world gives me a need to know everything that happens in the series. Plus I can only imagine how cool itll be to see Clark make an unexpected appearance in some of the Jack Ryan Books. Anyways This Book is a great starting point because its the first book in the Jack Ryan Series (chronologically) and is all around just a Great story. Ive never had a book put such vivid images in my mind like this one did.
Rating: 
Summary: A meandering plot
Review: This novel really did not hold my interest. It starts out with a number of seemingly unrelated incidents. The author apparently knows where he is and when he is, but it would be nice if he would share that with his readers. The novel then proceeds with a bunch of parallel plots, jumping continually from one to another. That is compounded by the author occasionally telling you how to build a watch when you just wanted to know the time. Do we really need a manual on building sound suppressors for handguns? The various plots eventually start to come together but, by that time, I was losing interest and skimming over substantial amounts of material trying to get on with the story. I regret that I followed the advise of the majority of reviewers, who rated it with four and five stars, and purchased the novel. It is a skimmer rather than a page-turner, and it is not on my listing of recommended novels for other readers.
Rating:
Summary: The ugly past of John Clark
Review: John Kelly has recently returned from serving in Vietnam when his wife is killed in an automobile accident. He retreats to a solitary life but eventually begins a relationship with Pam Madden, a young hitchhiker he picked up by chance. Pam is running from a horribly abusive drug operation using the girls both as prostitutes and mules to deliver the drugs. Unfortunately, her past comes back to haunt her and John is drawn into the growing world of drugs. His training as a Navy Seal in covert operations is put to use in seeking revenge against those running the operation. It becomes even more complicated when the government comes asking for his help to free some important POWs in Vietnam. Probably my least favorite Clancy book, as the ugly world of drugs and prostitution, as well as the horrors of Vietnam, are laid out in a very graphic and unpleasant manner. I nearly stoped reading the book about 1/4th of the way through but I didn't have anything else to read! But credit goes to Mr. Clancy for an exciting story that keeps you reading in spite of the disgusting abuse and torture described. Its probably safe to say that there are no slow parts in the book and the action is spread throughout. The ending is especially exciting and explains the shadowy past of Mr. John Clark, the very serious character from many of the Jack Ryan books, and how he came to work for the CIA. My other complaint with this book is that it is rather different from the initial books that got me hooked on reading Clancy ("Cardinal of the Kremlin" and "Red Storm Rising"). This book extensively develops the character of John Kelly/Clark. I realize that's an odd thing to complain about, but I really enjoyed the more detached sense achieved by those other books. They were much heavier on the technical side of things, to the point where they were difficult to follow at times, but it gave them a sense of reality. This one mostly made me sick, although I will admit that the end was somehow satisfying.
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