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Debt of Honor (Jack Ryan Novels)
by Authors:
Tom Clancy
Mass Market Paperback
Razio Yamata is one of Japan's most influential industrialists, and part of a relatively small group of authority who wield tremendous authority in the Pacific Rim's economic powerhouse. He has devised a plan to cripple the American greatness, humble the U.S. military, and elevate Japan to a position of dominance on the world stage.
Yamata's motivation lies in his desire to pay off a Debt of Honor to his parents and to the country he feels is responsible for their deaths: America. All he needs is a catalyst to set his plan in motion. When the faulty gas tank on one Tennessee family's car leads to their fiery death, an opportunistic U.S. congressman uses the occasion to rush a new trade law through the system. The law is designed to squeeze Japan economically. Instead, it provides Yamata with the leverage he needs to put his plan into action. As Yamata's plan begins to unfold, it becomes clear to the world that someone is launching a fully integrated operation against the United States. There's only one man to find out who the culprit is: Jack Ryan, the new president's National Security Advisor.
Debt of Honor (1994) is a novel by Tom Clancy. It is a continuation of the series featuring his character "Jack Ryan". In this installment, Ryan has become the National Security Advisor when the Japanese government (controlled by a group of corporate tycoons, called the Zaibatsu) goes to war with the United States. In an attempt to cripple the U.S. Navy (as part of a grand plan involving China and India to radically alter the global power balance), the Japanese attack American submarines and ships and occupy American-held Pacific islands. Simultaneously, the Japanese cabal engineers the collapse of the American stock market. Thus, America is both economically and militarily at a disadvantage, which Japan hopes to exploit.
Again, with the derring-do of various parts of the armed forces, under the wise direction of the President (with Ryan's advice), the U.S. prevails over the forces of evil.
After the real-life September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, the book will be largely be remembered for its disturbingly prophetic conclusion, in which an embittered Japanese airline pilot crashes his Boeing 747 into the U.S. Capitol building during a joint session of Congress with the President attending. This paves the way for Ryan, who has just been appointed Vice President, to become President in the next book, Executive Orders.
Average Customer Rating:
Debt of Honor Rings True
Debt of Honor has the political and military insider knowledge that other authors can't compare too. Tom Clancy goes inside the system and explains everything in layman's terms. His personal knowledge of the military makes the novel accurate, but his writing style doesn't let you put the book down until the last page is finished. With this combination of knowledge and writing, Debt of Honor proves itself to stand beside Clancy's other novels, Rainbow Six and The Hunt for Red October. The has familiar characters such as Jack Ryan, a character starring in previous novels, along with John Clark and Domingo Chavez.
The book follows the story of Jack Ryan, the president's National Security Advisor, as he attempts to stop a war with Japan due to a single auto accident. The clever writing and suspenseful action combines to create very entertaining reading. Though Clancy won't stun the world with a literary "classic," he will deliver one of the most compelling novels of today. Everything in Debt of Honor will strike you as eerily plausible, from an attack on the American economy to Japan's secret nuclear weapons program.
Debt of Honor should not be mistaken as a book selling off the Tom Clancy name, such as the Op-Center series. Besides global warfare, the ideas are original and exhilarating. The novel was actually written entirely by Tom Clancy, which makes it a definite read. This book is recommended for any Clancy or action fan.
Another great Clancy...
Among other reasons, one thing that makes Tom Clancy stand out from most other authors is his ability to innovate. Plotlines that have rarely been explored before but are not only plausible but realistic.
Due to mistreatment of the gas tanks in a popular Japanese car, a major safety defect causes a normal traffic accident to end the life of several Americans including one entire family. This starts a chain reaction that ultimately ends trade between the United States and Japan. The damage done to Japan's economy allows one businessman, Raizo Yamata to organize an attack on the United States' military and economy sparking an eventual war. In the middle of this mess, as you would have guessed, is the new National Security Advisor Jack Ryan.
The action doesn't really get kickstarted until the fourth or fifth chapter and some of the middle chapters are chocked full of fluff. While this book could have probably been written in about 650 pages (rather than 990), the plot rings true and the cliffhanger ending will amaze you. Especially now...and remember that this book was written in 1997....pre-9/11.
This book is very much worth your time, but only if you plan on reading the follow-up, Executive Orders, as soon as you finish the last page of Debt Of Honor. Buy them both at the same time because you will NOT want to wait!
Too lengthy...
Just like the other Clancy's books, this book is too lengthy. Could Clancy consider cutting his books a bit? I am not talking about the technical stuff. I am talking about getting rid the scenes which have no use and serve no purpose. The scenes are too disconnected. Each scene is too short. Sometimes just two small paragraphs. You just can't get into it. Why doesn't Clancy put Jack Ryan in the middle and make everything go around him more?
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DVD's
Debt of Honor Rings True 
Too lengthy... 
