His work for the CIA is brilliant, cold-blooded, and efficient, but who is he? In a harrowing tour de force, phenomenally best-selling author Tom Clancy shows how an ordinary man named John Kelly crossed the lines of justice and morality to become the CIA legend known as Mr. Clark. It is an unforgettable journey into the heart of darkness, without mercy - without remorse.
©2009 Tom Clancy (P)2010 Random House
"Story is great - Narrator is horrible"
Two stars overall because the narrator is so bad that I am losing the storyline because my mind wanders away... I think Tom Clancy is a great author; however, to listen to this narrator is killing me. It is taking me much longer to finish this book solely because I have such a hard time listening to the narrator's monotone voice. I can not tell when one story line stops and another picks up.There is no emotion in the narrator's voice as if he has never read that book before. I would have to say this is my second book on audible and if it wasn't for the fact that the first one I read was wonderfully narrated I would have cancelled my audible account it is that bad...
I loved reading for years, but now I've become so attached to Audible I'm finding reading tedious. Is that a bad thing?....
"Great Characters, Great Plot"
Set in the latter days of Viet Nam, this is the novel that explains exactly who "Clark" is and what made him so well regarded and ruthless in the Jack Ryan novels, (principally "Clear and Present Danger." I highly recommend this novel!
"This should be your first Clancy book!"
This should be your first listen of a Clancy book and should have been the first book made into a movie. Evil meets it's match with John Kelly!
"Great listen!"
What a great story! Tom Clancy does it again, writing superbly! Definitely recommend this audiobook, and it is well worth the credit!
"Monotonic, monosyllabic reader ruins it"
Would not recommend. This reader takes what could be an exciting listen of a good story and makes it boring. The droning saps all incentive to use your imagination on the characeters, settings etc.
"Start here if you are new to Jack Ryan."
After starting the Jack Ryan series with Dead or Alive I thought I would try starting the series from the beginning, now there is a series view but this is the one that starts Jack Ryan out. He is not a character in this story but at Boston College, or just going to start at BC.
But John Clark begins in this book and he is a strategic character to the entire series, even when you don't get a mention of him he is there and you know it. But this is where it all starts, and this is where I wish I had started the series.
In my humble opinion the series should be started here, Without Remorse then follow along to Patriot Games, then Red Rabbit (one of the two of the series I won't buy because of the price being twice the other books). Hunt for Red October next then Cardinal of the Kremlin and Clear and Present Danger. Sum of all Fears next, though Hollywood added some drama that is not part of the book in the movie and the movie sucks for me now. Debt of Honor next then Executive Orders and Rainbow Six. Coming back to the stretch is Bear and the Dragon then Teeth of the Tiger and Dead or Alive and Locked On.
Without Remorse does give you the start and basics of the Jack Ryan universe and the over arching story is really founded in this book. Great Read and a fair narration, easily worth the time and credits.
"Couldn't even listent to it - horrible narrator"
While the content of books is very subjective the narrators are not. This is the first book in many years of being a Audible client that was just horrible. I couldn't listen to it as the narration was so poor. This is one that I should receive a credit for on my account. Yes - it was that bad and I wasted my money. I couldn't really rate the story, although I enjoy all of Clancy's books, because I couldn't get through it.
"Narrator is terrible"
I would have cast Lou Diamond Phillips - Michael Prichard sounds like he never read the book beforehand and is bored.
"This book was ruined for me"
I read this book years ago and loved it. One of my top ten for sure. But the monotone way Michael Prichard reads makes the book so difficult to follow that it loses all of the great detail that I loved so much. From chapter to chapter you can't figure out where you are or who is talking. You miss a lot while trying to figure it out. I thought his voice and voice inflection was good for the main character John Kerry, but everyone else sounded just like him. When I read it myself, it was heart wrenching and then victorious, hearing it read it was just so-so and didn't stir much emotion for me at all.
"Great beginning, mediocre reading"
If you're a fan of the Jack Ryan universe, this is an awesome book. It tells the origins of special agent John Clark. Jack Ryan doesn't appear in this book, but if you're read other books about Clark, it's quite a treat to find out where he came from and what his emotional past is.
The reading of this book is mediocre. The speaker has a good voice, but doesn't differentiate the character's voices at all. It can make things a little confusing when there is a lot of dialogue between two or more characters. The newer books in this series are much better narrated.