''Patriot Games'' is a

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

novel, written by

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

and published in July 1987. ''

Without Remorse ''Without Remorse'' is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 11, 1993. Set during the Vietnam War, it serves as an origin story of John Clark, one of the recurring characters in the '' Ryanverse''. ''Without Remorse ...

'', released six years later, is an indirect prequel, and it is chronologically the first book featuring Jack Ryan, the main character in most of Clancy's novels. The novel focuses on Ryan being the target of Irish terrorist group Ulster Liberation Army for thwarting their kidnapping attempt on the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It debuted at number one on

the New York Times bestseller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

. A

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

, starring

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

as Ryan, premiered on June 5, 1992.

Plot

An attempt to kidnap the

and

and their infant son occurs on the Mall in London. The attack is orchestrated by the Ulster Liberation Army, a splinter group of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

. However, Jack Ryan intervenes, incapacitating one attacker, Sean Miller. During the gun battle, Ryan is wounded by John Michael McCrory as they exchange gunfire. McCrory is killed and Miller is arrested. While recovering, Ryan is honored by the British government and is

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. Meanwhile, Miller is sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnapping attempt; however, his ULA compatriots led by Kevin O'Donnell free him while he is being transported to a maximum security prison. Their Libyan allies aid them in escaping to their secret camp in the North African desert; Miller vows revenge on Ryan. Ryan returns to teach history at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, confident that the ULA will not attack him in the United States. Unbeknownst to him, Miller had persuaded O'Donnell to launch an operation in the U.S. aimed at targeting Ryan and his family, and had recruited the assistance of an African-American domestic terrorist group known as "the Movement" to do so. Though primarily for revenge, the operation is also designed to reduce American support for the rival PIRA, which is to be blamed for the upcoming attack. The assassin sent to kill Ryan is intercepted before he completes his task, however his wife, Cathy, and daughter, Sally, are seriously injured when Miller causes their car to crash on a freeway; they are transported to the hospital for treatment. After the attack on his family, Ryan returns to

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) as an analyst. Later, the Prince and Princess of Wales visit Ryan at the Ryan's Maryland home. However, this provides another opportunity for the ULA, once again recruiting the services of "the Movement". They launch a sneak attack on the Ryan home to kidnap the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as Ryan's family. Although several guards around the house are killed, Ryan, his friend, Robert "Robby" Jackson, and the Prince dispatch several terrorists. The local police, the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

, and U.S. Naval Academy sailors prevent the remaining terrorists from escaping the country. Ryan tries to kill a cornered Miller, but is restrained. After the ULA terrorists are apprehended, Ryan arrives in Annapolis for his son,

Jack Ryan, Jr. The Ryanverse refers to the fictional universe created by author Tom Clancy centering on the character Jack Ryan. It also features other characters such as John Clark and Domingo "Ding" Chavez. The Ryanverse has since expanded to include The Ca ...

's birth.

Characters

* Jack Ryan: History teacher at the

; later an analyst for the

. * Dr. Caroline "Cathy" Ryan: Ophthalmic surgeon at the

Wilmer Eye Institute The Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, also referred to as the Wilmer Eye Institute, is a component of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Ophthalmologist William Holland Wilmer opened the Wilmer Eye Institute in 1925. Its home was com ...

, which is part of the

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a Private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Ho ...

; Jack Ryan's wife. * Olivia "Sally" Ryan: Jack and Cathy Ryan's daughter. *

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

* Special Agent Daniel E. "Dan" Murray: Legal attaché for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

at the

United States Embassy in London The Embassy of the United States of America in London is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the United Kingdom. Its office is located in Nine Elms and is the largest List of diplomatic missions of the United States, American embassy ...

. * James "Jimmy" Owens: English police officer specializing in anti-terrorism operations. * Robby Jackson: Fighter pilot and instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; Jack Ryan's friend. * Sean Miller: Operations officer for the Ulster Liberation Army (ULA). * Kevin Joseph O'Donnell: Leader of the ULA. * James Greer: CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. Personally recruits Ryan into the agency. * Marty Cantor: Admiral Greer's assistant, later replaced by Ryan. * Sergeant Major Noah Breckenridge: Security section chief and head firearms instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. * Padraig "Paddy" O'Neil: Representative for the

in the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

. * Dennis Cooley: Rare bookshop owner; agent for the ULA. * Geoffrey Watkins: Liaison between the British

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

and the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

; revealed to be the ULA mole that secretly passed information to O'Donnell through Cooley. Commits suicide after Miller, O'Donnell, and other ULA terrorists get arrested. * Alexander Dobbens: Member of an African-American domestic terrorist group referred to as "the Movement"; assisted the ULA in their operations in the United States.

Themes

''Patriot Games'' was notable for subverting the moral ambiguity of the antagonists in espionage novels by

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...

Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton ( ; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, D ...

, and

Robert Ludlum Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 Thriller (genre), thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original ''Bourne (novel series), The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copi ...

. According to Marc Cerasini's essay on the novel, "Clancy's sensible revulsion toward the terrorists is so strident and intense...that it verges on the physical." He added that "the author's understandable disgust toward his villains is '

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

', for there is not a shred of sympathy for these Irish 'patriots'." The novel is also said to be inspired by the

gothic horror Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean m ...

genre in the depiction of the ULA as "twisted political misfits" who practice political violence in the vein of

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

and his "family", as well as other gothic elements like the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Development

Clancy started working on ''Patriot Games'' in 1979, along with other novels which would later be published: ''

The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutt ...

'' (1984) and ''

The Cardinal of the Kremlin ''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' is an espionage thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on May 20, 1988. A direct sequel to ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984), it features CIA analyst Jack Ryan as he extracts CARDINAL, the agency's h ...

'' (1988). He says of his passion for accuracy and detail: "When I was in London, researching ''Patriot Games'', I spent 20 hours walking around the Mall with a camera, clipboard and tape recorder, just choreographing my opening chapter, to make sure it would happen exactly the way I wrote it. Later, when I took my kids there, I could tell them, 'This is the tree that Jack Ryan hid his wife and daughter behind, and that's the road where the bad guys escaped.' I feel a moral obligation to my readers to get it right. In the insurance business, you have to pay attention to details or a client could lose everything. A doctor has to, a cop, a fireman, why not a writer?" Although he was criticized for doubling down on technical details in the novel, Clancy considers ''Patriot Games'' to be his best. Discussing the final scene where Jack Ryan lets the primary antagonist Sean Miller live instead of killing him, Clancy remarked: "Of all the letters I got on ''Patriot Games'', not one said, 'He should have killed the little bastard.' Personally I'd have done it. You harm my kids and I'll blow you away. You don't touch my kids. But I'm not Jack Ryan. He has to be in control. He plays by the rules."

Reception

Commercially, ''Patriot Games'' debuted at number one on

for the week of August 2, 1987. It has since sold over 1,063,000 hardcover copies by the next year. Critically, the book received generally positive reviews. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised it as "a powerful piece of popular fiction; its plot, if implausible, is irresistible, and its emotions are universal." However,

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

's verdict is mixed, stating that "Exciting shoot-outs and chases, and lots of Royal wish-fulfillment; but without naval authenticity to bolster the prose, Clancy is a fish out of water."

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted as a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

, which was released on June 5, 1992. Jack Ryan was played by

and Sean Miller was played by

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...

. The film is notable for being the sequel to the previous movie ''

'' (1990), although the order is the opposite in the books. Additionally, the Prince and Princess of Wales were replaced by Lord Holmes,

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

and the Queen's cousin, as the ULA's primary target. ''Patriot Games'' spent two weeks as the No. 1 film, eventually grossing $178,051,587 in worldwide box office business. It has garnered generally positive reviews, and earned a 73% "Fresh" rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on 33 reviews. Conversely, the movie was criticized by Clancy for deviating too much from the source material, stating that "I don't like eating dirt, and I won't eat any from these guys." "There is only one, maybe two, scenes in the shooting script that correspond to a scene in the book," Clancy later added. "They have a movie called ''Patriot Games'' that uses my characters—but it's not my story." He eventually asked for his name to be removed from the film's promotional materials, and in an apparent countermove, entered negotiations with the same team at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

to sell the rights to his other novel ''

The Sum of All Fears ''The Sum of All Fears'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on August 14, 1991, as the sequel to '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1989). Main character Jack Ryan, who is now the Deputy Director of Central Intellig ...

'' (1991). By the time the film was released in 2002, the author had cooled off on the idea of having his books made into films.

Notes

References

{{Jack Ryan fiction 1987 American novels 1987 science fiction novels American science fiction novels American thriller novels American crime novels Techno-thriller novels Prequel novels Novels set in Wales Novels about terrorism Novels about kidnapping Novels about nationalism Novels about the United States Marine Corps Works about the Irish Republican Army American novels adapted into films Science fiction novels adapted into films Ryanverse Novels by Tom Clancy G. P. Putnam's Sons books