Holy smoke! Looks to me like there are currently 32 Jack Ryan books out. I am not sure how many Tom Clancy had much if anything to do with. The first five are
Looks like there are 27 Reacher novels out, plus some short stories and novellas. Another minority view, perhaps, but while I have liked virtually all of them, even though I realize I am often reading the same story over and over again, my recollection is I really liked the first book, then the next few, in parts, seemed pretty clumsy, especially the "romantic" scenes. Then for a few books Child seemed to refrain from much romance for Reacher. But then the quality of the writing seemed to get better across the board, and Reacher became more a a fleshed out human being, although with Reacher that is going to be a bit of an exaggeration. Reacher is definitely a guilty pleasure for me. But, personally, for me chapeau for a series I pretty much have enjoyed reading after the first three or four books. The prose is nothing all that polished, but still . . . .
By comparison, I would say that Connelly's Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer books are near literature. And I have liked all of those books. They seem like books about human beings and the quality of the prose is excellent. As David Foster Wallace said; "“Fiction’s about what it is to be a f**** human being.” I think that fits those books, but not the Reacher or Ryan books so much. (Maybe a couple of the Ryan books.) I wish I could write English sentences as well as Connelly generally does.
- The Hunt for Red October (1984)
- Patriot Games (1987)
- The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988)
- Clear and Present Danger (1989)
- The Sum of All Fears (1991)
Looks like there are 27 Reacher novels out, plus some short stories and novellas. Another minority view, perhaps, but while I have liked virtually all of them, even though I realize I am often reading the same story over and over again, my recollection is I really liked the first book, then the next few, in parts, seemed pretty clumsy, especially the "romantic" scenes. Then for a few books Child seemed to refrain from much romance for Reacher. But then the quality of the writing seemed to get better across the board, and Reacher became more a a fleshed out human being, although with Reacher that is going to be a bit of an exaggeration. Reacher is definitely a guilty pleasure for me. But, personally, for me chapeau for a series I pretty much have enjoyed reading after the first three or four books. The prose is nothing all that polished, but still . . . .
By comparison, I would say that Connelly's Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer books are near literature. And I have liked all of those books. They seem like books about human beings and the quality of the prose is excellent. As David Foster Wallace said; "“Fiction’s about what it is to be a f**** human being.” I think that fits those books, but not the Reacher or Ryan books so much. (Maybe a couple of the Ryan books.) I wish I could write English sentences as well as Connelly generally does.
