Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Hamlet

2011-09-29T12:51:46Z

DaleSR: /* Quotes and Lines */

'''''Hamlet''''', perhaps [[William Shakespeare]]'s most famous play, was written {{years ago|1600}} years ago. It is a [[tragedy]] about incest, [[revenge]], [[madness]], [[homicide]], and [[suicide]].

The title character is the son of a murdered king, who appears in ghostly form to the young prince.<ref>[[Harold Bloom]]: "When we first encounter him, Hamlet is a university student who is not being permitted to return to his studies. He does not appear to be more than twenty years old, yet in Act V he is revealed to be at least thirty, after a passage of a few weeks at most." [http://www.princehamlet.com/chapter_1.html]</ref> The dead king accuses his brother, Claudius, (young Hamlet's uncle) of murdering him.

As Prince Hamlet investigates, he faces a conspiracy involving schoolmates Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; [[Ophelia]]'s father [[Polonius]]; and even his own mother.

Hamlet's quest to avenge his father's murder destroys his own life and the lives of everyone close to him but a visiting college friend (Horatio).

Under normal circumstances, it would be [[treason]]ous to make any accusations of the king. It is only because of Hamlet's position as the son of the Queen that he is able to voice his suspicions. That, and his pretense of being "mad with grief" over his father's recent death. He betrays his suspicions in front of his mother and (step)father in an angry tirade and is watched closely from then on.

Polonious, the king's adviser, thinks that Hamlet is behaving strangely out of his love for Ophelia and orders her to break off her relationship with Hamlet.

Hamlet wonders why his mother would betray her husband and marry his brother only two months after his death. He grows indecisive ("To be or not to be") and unsure about the ghost's story. He comes up with an idea to stage a pantomime play to confirm or deny the story.
[[Image:Ophelia 1894.jpg|right|thumb|''Ophelia'' by John William Waterhouse.]]
:"The play's the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King."

During the play, he makes a nuisance of himself, commenting on the action and teasing Ophelia with [[double-entendre]]s, but he gets confirmation of the ghost's accusation when the King sees a scene showing a man poisoned in his his sleep and clasping the widow in an adulterous embrace. The King orders them to stop the play and storms out.

Hamlet confronts his mother (Queen Gertrude) in her bedroom, not knowing that the king's adviser Polonius is hidden behind a wall hanging. Hearing a movement, Hamlet kills the hidden spy; when he discovers that it is his girl friend's father, he hides the body in another part of the castle.

Ophelia, already upset over the sudden end of the courtship, becomes distraught after learning Hamlet has killed her father and drowns herself.

Hamlet's only friend in the play, his school friend [[Horatio]], is the only major character who is not killed. When Hamlet is behaving strangely (it might not be an act), he tells Horatio, "I am only mad north by northwest" and "There's a method to my madness".

==Synopsis==

Hamlet's friends among the castle guards see a ghost that looks like the dead king.
The King announces his wedding to Gertrude, widow of King Hamlet and father of Prince Hamlet. Her attempts to cheer him up fall flat, and in a soliloquy he accuses her of incest. His friends tell him about the ghost.
Laertes, son of the king's adviser Polonius, is leaving on a trip. He tells his sister Ophelia not to get too involved with Prince Hamlet; so does her father, so she promises to break off the relationship.
Hamlet goes and sees the ghost, who tells him the new king murdered him. He tells Hamlet to avenge his death but not to hurt Gertrude. Hamlet doesn't tell his friends what he heard.
Polonius dispatches a servant to spy on Laertes, and Ophelia tells her father that Hamlet burst into her room and scared her.
The King and Queen send two schoolfriends of Hamlet to spy on him. They disagree on why Hamlet is acting strangely. The Queen says it is because of their over-hasty marriage, but the king prefers the story that Hamlet is lovesick over Ophelia, which is what Polonius thinks. They hide while Hamlet comes in and starts insulting Polonius. The schoolmates come in and question him, but Hamlet is suspicious and reveals nothing. Actors come in, and Hamlet has Polonious hire them. The famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy is about his internal struggles: he hates his uncle, he's angry at his mother but he's worried that the ghost might be a demon sent to trick him, so he has the idea of using a play to prove the King's guilt. The plan works brilliantly, as the king is forced to end the play out of his overwhelming grief. Hamlet loudly celebrates his triumph in front of the King and Queen. After his celebration, Hamlet goes to kill the King in one of his personal chambers. Hamlet finds the King praying, and decides not to kill him then, lest his sins be forgiven and he be sent to heaven. Hamlet then goes to his mother's quarters, at the request of his friends. The Queen reprimands him for celebrating at the time of the King's grief. Hamlet counters by unleashing his pent up anger at his mother's incest and lack of sadness for the death of Hamlet's father. When a noise comes from behind a tapestry, Hamlet sticks his sword through, thinking he has stabbed Claudius. Instead, he discovers that he has killed Polonius. After the verbal assault, the Queen realizes her own foolishness and vows to no longer sleep with the King.

==Movies==
Major film versions of the play have starred [[Laurence Olivier]], [[Mel Gibson]], and [[Kenneth Branagh]]. (While both Olivier and Branagh directed and starred in their versions, [[Franco Zeffirelli]] directed the one with Gibson.)

Laurence Olivier's black-and-white 1948 film won four Oscars; best actor in a leading role, best art-set direction, best costume design and best picture. Olivier's performance was considered an unapproachable ideal and remains so. It co-starred Basil Sydney as Claudius, Eileen Herlie as Gertrude, Terence Morgan as Laertes and Jean Simmons as Ophelia.

Mel Gibson's 1990 version uses modernized English and attempts to portray a grittier, tougher Hamlet. The film was nominated for two Oscars. It co-starred Alan Bates as Claudius, Glenn Close as Gerturde, Nathaniel Parker as Laertes and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia.

Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version is 4 hours long as it includes the complete, unabridged text of the whole play. The film was nominated for four Oscars. It co-starred Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Julie Christie as Gertrude, Michael Maloney as Laertes and Kate Winslet as Ophelia. It also included well-known actors in cameo roles such as [[Charlton Heston]], John Gielgud, [[Billy Crystal]] and Robin Williams.

The 2000 version with [[Ethan Hawke]] as a believably young Hamlet is set entirely in New York City, with Denmark a corporation. Julia Stiles is brilliant as Ophelia, and [[Bill Murray]] is pitch perfect<ref> "This ''Hamlet's'' effectiveness rests on an astonishing number of pitch-perfect choices, founded in Almereyda's instincts and those of the performers, many of which have the feel of being completely spontaneous. [http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2000/05/12/hamlet/index1.html Salon review]</ref>
as the king's tragically inept advisor Polonious.

The [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]] also filmed a version for television with Derek Jacobi in the title role.

While [[opera]]s based on Shakespeare are quite common, there is only one operatic adaptation of ''Hamlet'', by French composer Ambroise Thomas in 1868.

==History==
Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' was based on a long narrative tradition, beginning with Saxo Grammaticus' ''Historica Danica'' (1180-1208). His legendary story of Amlethus was adapted by French writer François Belleforest in 1576; this new version of the story included more dialogue and psychological commentary than the original. By 1589, an English-language Hamlet play was being performed. The author of this Ur-Hamlet is not known, although some evidence points towards Thomas Kyd, author of the prototypical English revenge play, ''[[The Spanish Tragedie]]''. Shakespeare received most of his Hamlet material from this narrative tradition and transformed it into the enduring work known today.<ref>David Bevington, ed., ''The Complete Works of Shakespeare,'' Update 4th ed. (New York: Longman, 1997), A43-A45.</ref>

==References in Popular Culture==
In the 1960s, playwright Tom Stoppard wrote the play ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead'', which portrays the action from the viewpoint of Hamlet's schoolfriends and expands their roles.

The progressive metal band [[Dream Theater]] had their biggest hit in the early 1990s with "Pull Me Under", a song that referenced ''Hamlet'' throughout. The song has some direct quotations from the play.

==Quotes and Lines==
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." 
-Marcellus, Act I, Scene 4

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't." 
-Polonius, Act II, Scene 2

"For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." 
-Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2

"I am but mad by north-north-west." 
-Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2

"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." 
-Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2

"To be, or not to be: that is the question. 
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer 
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, 
And by opposing end them? To die; to sleep; 
No more; and by a sleep say we end 
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks 
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation 
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; 
To sleep? perchance to dream. Ay there's the rub; 
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, 
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, 
Must give us pause: there's the respect 
That makes calamity of so long life; 
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, 
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, 
The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay, 
The insolence of office, and the spurns 
That patient merit of the unworthy takes, 
When he himself might his quietus make 
With a bare bodkin? who would those fardels bear, 
To grunt and sweat under a weary life, 
But that the dread of something under death, — 
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn 
No traveller returns, — puzzles the will, 
And makes us rather bear those ills we have 
Than fly to others we know naught of? 
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; 
And thus the native hue of resolution 
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought; 
And enterprises of great pith and moment, 
With this regard, their currents turn awry, 
And lose the name of action." 
-Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1

[http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservapedia:Community_Portal "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."] 
-Gertrude, Act III, Scene 2

"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio;" 
-Hamlet, Act V, Scene 1

"O, I die, Horatio." 
-Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2

"The rest is silence." 
-Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2

"Good night, sweet prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" 
-Horatio, Act V, Scene 2

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.sullivanet.com/misc/hamlet/haminto.htm Hamlet for the Shakespeare-Impaired]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMcqnRwhW8&feature=PlayList&p=20048A7C541C941C&index=11 Star Trek: The Conscience of the King] - a [[Star Trek]] episode
*Open Source Shakespeare - Hamlet, Prince of Denmark [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=hamlet]

[[Category:Plays of Shakespeare]]
[[Category:Ghost Stories]]

Billy Idol

2011-09-29T12:48:27Z

DaleSR:

'''William Michael Albert Broad''', better known by his stage name '''Billy Idol''', is an English [[rock music|rock]] musician.

Idol began his career in 1976 with the [[punk]] band [[Generation X]], then later moved on to a successful solo career beginning in 1981. After a break of several years he launched a comeback tour in 2005, with the release of a new album and a series of tour dates including [[Rock am Ring]].

[[Category:Musicians]]
[[Category:Male Singers]]

Billy Idol

2011-09-29T12:28:12Z

DaleSR:

'''William Michael Albert Broad''', better known by his stage name '''Billy Idol''', is an English [[rock music|rock]] musician.
[[Category:Musicians]]
[[Category:Male Singers]]

Ryaniverse

2011-09-29T12:27:36Z

DaleSR:

The '''Ryaniverse''' is a fictional universe centered on Tom Clancy's characters [[Jack Ryan]], [[John Clark]], and the other characters associated with them in Clancy's series of popular novels.

''Debt of Honor'' and ''Executive Orders'' were written before the (eerily similar) real-world [[9-11|September 11th]] terrorist attacks. Clancy's own fictional national catastrophe had a [[Japan|Japanese]] airline pilot crash his own (passengerless) plane into the Capitol--during a Joint Session of Congress--at the end of Debt of Honor), with the effect of decapitating the U.S. government. The real attack appears in his latest novel, The Teeth of the Tiger, when a doctor helps the anti-terrorist team with a succinylcholine injector pen because "his brother was a trader on the 97th floor of tower 1".

===By publication date===
One will notice that movie adaptations tend to tie up loose ends by shooting villains; Clancy's books tend to give them more inventive "just deserts."

* ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984)
*: Clancy's first novel. Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet fleet. The movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius.
* ''Patriot Games'' (1987)
*: Ryan saves the (unnamed) Prince of Wales from an Irish Republican terrorist attack in London. The terrorists later go after Ryan and his family while the Prince is visiting them; the Prince helps Ryan round up the terrorists, who by this time have committed murder in Maryland, which has a death penalty. The 1992 movie stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, and has a fictional lord instead of the Prince of Wales. The bad guys are all killed off. (John Clark later tells Jack Ryan in ''Clear and Present Danger'' that he was on the helicopter that had to turn back when attacking the terrorist camps in northern Africa.)

* ''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988)
*: First appearance of John Clark and Sergey Golovko. Secret anti-missile lasers (Strategic Defense Initiative), high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks (Major Gregory is introduced here and shown later as updating [[Surface-to-air missile]] software in ''The Bear and the Dragon''). We see how spies pass secrets and how they are interrogated in the Lubyanka Prison: no torture, but clever use of sensory deprivation.

* ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1989)
*: Drug war in Colombia. Ryan and Clark finally meet; first appearance of "Ding" Chavez. The movie (1994) stars Harrison Ford as Ryan and Willem Dafoe as Clark.

* ''The Sum of All Fears'' (1991)
*: [[Israel]] loses a nuclear weapon, which terrorists use to foment war between [[U.S.]] and [[Soviets]], which is averted by Ryan in a cliffhanger. Denver is destroyed. The terrorists are captured and demand an Islamic trial, which they get: they are beheaded with a sword in Saudi Arabia. The 2002 movie stars Ben Affleck as (a much too young) Jack Ryan, Liev Schreiber as Clark, and changes the identity and motivation of the terrorists beyond recognition, thus disrupting the timeline. This marks Clancy's first foray into nuclear physics and bomb design. The movie was intended as a "reboot" of the franchise, with Ryan a young analyst who is not yet married rather than a senior CIA official.

* ''Without Remorse'' (1993; set in 1970)
*: Chronologically the first book featuring John Kelly/John Clark, detailing Clark's life before joining the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Set during the Vietnam War, it tells about the past of John Kelly and how he assumed the Clark identity, and tells how Clark became a CIA officer. Jack Ryan's father (Emmett Ryan) has a key role; Jack Ryan has a tiny cameo.

* ''Debt of Honor'' (1994)
*: Ryan as National Security Advisor, and John Clark and Domingo Chavez as agents with Russian cover, help win a military and economic war with a nuclear-armed Japan. Golovko makes a cameo here. (Golovko calls Ryan "Ivan Emmetovich," a Russian-style patronymic meaning "Ivan the Son of Emmett.")

* ''Executive Orders'' (1996)
*: Sequel to ''Debt of Honor''. Ryan, propelled into presidency as a result of events in ''Debt of Honor'', survives press hazing, assassination attempts and biological warfare—Clark and Ding trace the [[virus]] to a Middle Eastern madman, and the U.S. military goes to work, refighting the Persian Gulf War against a United Islamic Republic comprising Iran and Iraq, with better weapons and much better results.This book marks Clancy's first foray into virology and biological warfare.

* ''Rainbow Six'' (1998)
*: Released to tie in with the computer game of the same name. John Clark leads an elite anti-terrorist unit and averts worldwide genocide attempt by terrorists who are motivated by radical [[environmentalism]] and use a modified Ebola virus as a weapon. (Jack Ryan is mentioned, but not by name due to a legal dispute with Clancy's estranged wife, and does not appear.) More virology.

* ''The Bear and the Dragon'' (2000)
*: War between [[Russia]] and [[China]]. Ryan recognizes the independence of [[Taiwan]] and the U.S. Air Force helps Russia defeat the Chinese invasion.
* ''Red Rabbit'' (2002)
*: Back when he was a humble [[CIA]] analyst, Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate the Pope. The Pope is shot but survives.

* ''The Teeth of the Tiger'' (2003)
*: Features the rise of Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan Jr., as an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the retirement of Jack Sr. from the Presidency.

[[category:literature]]

Ryaniverse

2011-09-29T12:26:07Z

DaleSR:

The '''Ryaniverse''' is a fictional universe centered on Tom Clancy's characters [[Jack Ryan]], [[John Clark]], and the other characters associated with them in Clancy's series of popular novels.

''Debt of Honor'' and ''Executive Orders'' were written before the (eerily similar) real-world [[9-11|September 11th]] terrorist attacks. Clancy's own fictional national catastrophe had a [[Japan|Japanese]] airline pilot crash his own (passengerless) plane into the Capitol--during a Joint Session of Congress--at the end of Debt of Honor), with the effect of decapitating the U.S. government. The real attack appears in his latest novel, The Teeth of the Tiger, when a doctor helps the anti-terrorist team with a succinylcholine injector pen because "his brother was a trader on the 97th floor of tower 1".

===By publication date===
One will notice that movie adaptations tend to tie up loose ends by shooting villains; Clancy's books tend to give them more inventive "just deserts."

* ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984)
*: Clancy's first novel. Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet fleet. The movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius.
* ''Patriot Games'' (1987)
*: Ryan saves the (unnamed) Prince of Wales from terrorists, who go after Ryan and his family; the Prince helps round up the terrorists, who by this time have committed murder in Maryland, which has a death penalty. The 1992 movie stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, and has a fictional lord instead of the Prince of Wales. The bad guys are all killed off. (John Clark later tells Jack Ryan in ''Clear and Present Danger'' that he was on the helicopter that had to turn back when attacking the terrorist camps in northern Africa.)

* ''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988)
*: First appearance of John Clark and Sergey Golovko. Secret anti-missile lasers (Strategic Defense Initiative), high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks (Major Gregory is introduced here and shown later as updating [[Surface-to-air missile]] software in ''The Bear and the Dragon''). We see how spies pass secrets and how they are interrogated in the Lubyanka Prison: no torture, but clever use of sensory deprivation.

* ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1989)
*: Drug war in Colombia. Ryan and Clark finally meet; first appearance of "Ding" Chavez. The movie (1994) stars Harrison Ford as Ryan and Willem Dafoe as Clark.

* ''The Sum of All Fears'' (1991)
*: [[Israel]] loses a nuclear weapon, which terrorists use to foment war between [[U.S.]] and [[Soviets]], which is averted by Ryan in a cliffhanger. Denver is destroyed. The terrorists are captured and demand an Islamic trial, which they get: they are beheaded with a sword in Saudi Arabia. The 2002 movie stars Ben Affleck as (a much too young) Jack Ryan, Liev Schreiber as Clark, and changes the identity and motivation of the terrorists beyond recognition, thus disrupting the timeline. This marks Clancy's first foray into nuclear physics and bomb design. The movie was intended as a "reboot" of the franchise, with Ryan a young analyst who is not yet married rather than a senior CIA official.

* ''Without Remorse'' (1993; set in 1970)
*: Chronologically the first book featuring John Kelly/John Clark, detailing Clark's life before joining the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Set during the Vietnam War, it tells about the past of John Kelly and how he assumed the Clark identity, and tells how Clark became a CIA officer. Jack Ryan's father (Emmett Ryan) has a key role; Jack Ryan has a tiny cameo.

* ''Debt of Honor'' (1994)
*: Ryan as National Security Advisor, and John Clark and Domingo Chavez as agents with Russian cover, help win a military and economic war with a nuclear-armed Japan. Golovko makes a cameo here. (Golovko calls Ryan "Ivan Emmetovich," a Russian-style patronymic meaning "Ivan the Son of Emmett.")

* ''Executive Orders'' (1996)
*: Sequel to ''Debt of Honor''. Ryan, propelled into presidency as a result of events in ''Debt of Honor'', survives press hazing, assassination attempts and biological warfare—Clark and Ding trace the [[virus]] to a Middle Eastern madman, and the U.S. military goes to work, refighting the Persian Gulf War against a United Islamic Republic comprising Iran and Iraq, with better weapons and much better results.This book marks Clancy's first foray into virology and biological warfare.

* ''Rainbow Six'' (1998)
*: Released to tie in with the computer game of the same name. John Clark leads an elite anti-terrorist unit and averts worldwide genocide attempt by terrorists who are motivated by radical [[environmentalism]] and use a modified Ebola virus as a weapon. (Jack Ryan is mentioned, but not by name due to a legal dispute with Clancy's estranged wife, and does not appear.) More virology.

* ''The Bear and the Dragon'' (2000)
*: War between [[Russia]] and [[China]]. Ryan recognizes the independence of [[Taiwan]] and the U.S. Air Force helps Russia defeat the Chinese invasion.
* ''Red Rabbit'' (2002)
*: Back when he was a humble [[CIA]] analyst, Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate the Pope. The Pope is shot but survives.

* ''The Teeth of the Tiger'' (2003)
*: Features the rise of Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan Jr., as an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the retirement of Jack Sr. from the Presidency.

[[category:literature]]

Ryaniverse

2011-09-29T12:24:23Z

DaleSR:

The '''Ryaniverse''' is a fictional universe centered on Tom Clancy's characters [[Jack Ryan]], [[John Clark]], and the other characters associated with them in Clancy's series of popular novels.

''Debt of Honor'' and ''Executive Orders'' were written before the (eerily similar) real-world [[9-11|September 11th]] terrorist attacks. Clancy's own fictional national catastrophe had a [[Japan|Japanese]] airline pilot crash his own (passengerless) plane into the Capitol--during a Joint Session of Congress--at the end of Debt of Honor), with the effect of decapitating the U.S. government. The real attack appears in his latest novel, The Teeth of the Tiger, when a doctor helps the anti-terrorist team with a succinylcholine injector pen because "his brother was a trader on the 97th floor of tower 1".

===By publication date===
One will notice that movie adaptations tend to tie up loose ends by shooting villains; Clancy's books tend to give them more inventive "just deserts."

* ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984)
*: Clancy's first novel. Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet fleet. The movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius.
* ''Patriot Games'' (1987)
*: Ryan saves the (unnamed) Prince of Wales from terrorists, who go after Ryan and his family; the Prince helps round up the terrorists, who by this time have committed murder in Maryland, which has a death penalty. The 1992 movie stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, and has a fictional lord instead of the Prince of Wales. The bad guys are all killed off. (John Clark later tells Jack Ryan in ''Clear and Present Danger'' that he was on the helicopter that had to turn back when attacking the terrorist camps in northern Africa.)

* ''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988)
*: First appearance of John Clark and Sergey Golovko. Secret anti-missile lasers (Strategic Defense Initiative), high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks (Major Gregory is introduced here and shown later as updating [[Surface-to-air missile]] software in ''The Bear and the Dragon''). We see how spies pass secrets and how they are interrogated in the Lubyanka Prison: no torture, but clever use of sensory deprivation.

* ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1989)
*: Drug war in Colombia. Ryan and Clark finally meet; first appearance of "Ding" Chavez. The movie (1994) stars Harrison Ford as Ryan and Willem Dafoe as Clark.

* ''The Sum of All Fears'' (1991)
*: [[Israel]] loses a nuclear weapon, which terrorists use to foment war between [[U.S.]] and [[Soviets]], which is averted by Ryan in a cliffhanger. Denver is destroyed. The terrorists are captured and demand an Islamic trial, which they get: they are beheaded with a sword in Saudi Arabia. The 2002 movie stars Ben Affleck as (a much too young) Jack Ryan, Liev Schreiber as Clark, and changes the identity and motivation of the terrorists beyond recognition, thus disrupting the timeline. This marks Clancy's first foray into nuclear physics and bomb design. The movie was intended as a "reboot" of the franchise, with Ryan a young analyst who is not yet married rather than a senior CIA official.

* ''Without Remorse'' (1993; set in 1970)
*: Chronologically the first book featuring John Kelly/John Clark, detailing Clark's life before joining the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Set during the Vietnam War, it tells about the past of John Kelly and how he assumed the Clark identity, and tells how Clark became a CIA officer. Jack Ryan's father (Emmett Ryan) has a key role; Jack Ryan has a tiny cameo.

* ''Debt of Honor'' (1994)
*: Ryan as National Security Advisor, and John Clark and Domingo Chavez as agents with Russian cover, help win a military and economic war with a nuclear-armed Japan. Golovko makes a cameo here. (Golovko calls Ryan "Ivan Emmetovich," a Russian-style patronymic meaning "Ivan the Son of Emmett.")

* ''Executive Orders'' (1996)
*: Sequel to ''Debt of Honor''. Ryan, propelled into presidency as a result of events in ''Debt of Honor'', survives press hazing, assassination attempts and biological warfare—Clark and Ding trace the [[virus]] to a Middle Eastern madman, and the U.S. military goes to work, refighting the Persian Gulf War against a United Islamic Republic comprising Iran and Iraq, with better weapons and much better results.This book marks Clancy's first foray into virology and biological warfare.

* ''Rainbow Six'' (1998)
*: Released to tie in with the computer game of the same name. John Clark leads an elite anti-terrorist unit and averts worldwide genocide attempt by terrorists who are motivated by radical [[environmentalism]] and use a modified Ebola virus as a weapon. (Jack Ryan is mentioned, but not by name, and does not appear.) More virology.

* ''The Bear and the Dragon'' (2000)
*: War between [[Russia]] and [[China]]. Ryan recognizes the independence of [[Taiwan]] and the U.S. Air Force helps Russia defeat the Chinese invasion.
* ''Red Rabbit'' (2002)
*: Back when he was a humble [[CIA]] analyst, Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate the Pope. The Pope is shot but survives.

* ''The Teeth of the Tiger'' (2003)
*: Features the rise of Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan Jr., as an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the retirement of Jack Sr. from the Presidency.

[[category:literature]]

Ryaniverse

2011-09-29T12:22:50Z

DaleSR: Both lasers were ABM defence systems, not ASAT.

The '''Ryaniverse''' is a fictional universe centered on Tom Clancy's characters [[Jack Ryan]], [[John Clark]], and the other characters associated with them in Clancy's series of popular novels.

''Debt of Honor'' and ''Executive Orders'' were written before the (eerily similar) real-world [[9-11|September 11th]] terrorist attacks. Clancy's own fictional national catastrophe had a [[Japan|Japanese]] airline pilot crash his own (passengerless) plane into the Capitol--during a Joint Session of Congress--at the end of Debt of Honor), with the effect of decapitating the U.S. government. The real attack appears in his latest novel, The Teeth of the Tiger, when a doctor helps the anti-terrorist team with a succinylcholine injector pen because "his brother was a trader on the 97th floor of tower 1".

===By publication date===
One will notice that movie adaptations tend to tie up loose ends by shooting villains; Clancy's books tend to give them more inventive "just deserts."

* ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984)
*: Clancy's first novel. Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet fleet. The movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius.
* ''Patriot Games'' (1987)
*: Ryan saves the (unnamed) Prince of Wales from terrorists, who go after Ryan and his family; the Prince helps round up the terrorists, who by this time have committed murder in Maryland, which has a death penalty. The 1992 movie stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, and has a fictional lord instead of the Prince of Wales. The bad guys are all killed off. (John Clark later tells Jack Ryan in ''Clear and Present Danger'' that he was on the helicopter that had to turn back when attacking the terrorist camps in northern Africa.)

* ''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988)
*: First appearance of John Clark and Sergey Golovko. Secret anti-missile lasers (Strategic Defense Initiative), high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks (Major Gregory is introduced here and shown later as updating [[Surface-to-air missile]] software in ''The Bear and the Dragon''). We see how spies pass secrets and how they are interrogated in the Lubyanka Prison: no torture, but clever use of sensory deprivation.

* ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1989)
*: Drug war in Colombia. Ryan and Clark finally meet; first appearance of "Ding" Chavez. The movie (1994) stars Harrison Ford as Ryan and Willem Dafoe as Clark.

* ''The Sum of All Fears'' (1991)
*: [[Israel]] loses a nuclear weapon, which terrorists use to foment war between [[U.S.]] and [[Soviets]], which is averted by Ryan in a cliffhanger. Denver is destroyed. The terrorists are captured and demand an Islamic trial, which they get: they are beheaded with a sword in Saudi Arabia. The 2002 movie stars Ben Affleck as (a much too young) Jack Ryan, Liev Schreiber as Clark, and changes the identity and motivation of the terrorists beyond recognition, thus disrupting the timeline. This marks Clancy's first foray into nuclear physics and bomb design.

* ''Without Remorse'' (1993; set in 1970)
*: Chronologically the first book featuring John Kelly/John Clark, detailing Clark's life before joining the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Set during the Vietnam War, it tells about the past of John Kelly and how he assumed the Clark identity, and tells how Clark became a CIA officer. Jack Ryan's father (Emmett Ryan) has a key role; Jack Ryan has a tiny cameo.

* ''Debt of Honor'' (1994)
*: Ryan as National Security Advisor, and John Clark and Domingo Chavez as agents with Russian cover, help win a military and economic war with a nuclear-armed Japan. Golovko makes a cameo here. (Golovko calls Ryan "Ivan Emmetovich," a Russian-style patronymic meaning "Ivan the Son of Emmett.")

* ''Executive Orders'' (1996)
*: Sequel to ''Debt of Honor''. Ryan, propelled into presidency as a result of events in ''Debt of Honor'', survives press hazing, assassination attempts and biological warfare—Clark and Ding trace the [[virus]] to a Middle Eastern madman, and the U.S. military goes to work, refighting the Persian Gulf War against a United Islamic Republic comprising Iran and Iraq, with better weapons and much better results.This book marks Clancy's first foray into virology and biological warfare.

* ''Rainbow Six'' (1998)
*: Released to tie in with the computer game of the same name. John Clark leads an elite anti-terrorist unit and averts worldwide genocide attempt by terrorists who are motivated by radical [[environmentalism]] and use a modified Ebola virus as a weapon. (Jack Ryan is mentioned, but not by name, and does not appear.) More virology.

* ''The Bear and the Dragon'' (2000)
*: War between [[Russia]] and [[China]]. Ryan recognizes the independence of [[Taiwan]] and the U.S. Air Force helps Russia defeat the Chinese invasion.
* ''Red Rabbit'' (2002)
*: Back when he was a humble [[CIA]] analyst, Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate the Pope. The Pope is shot but survives.

* ''The Teeth of the Tiger'' (2003)
*: Features the rise of Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan Jr., as an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the retirement of Jack Sr. from the Presidency.

[[category:literature]]

Ryaniverse

2011-09-29T12:21:54Z

DaleSR: Not really a hijack

The '''Ryaniverse''' is a fictional universe centered on Tom Clancy's characters [[Jack Ryan]], [[John Clark]], and the other characters associated with them in Clancy's series of popular novels.

''Debt of Honor'' and ''Executive Orders'' were written before the (eerily similar) real-world [[9-11|September 11th]] terrorist attacks. Clancy's own fictional national catastrophe had a [[Japan|Japanese]] airline pilot crash his own (passengerless) plane into the Capitol--during a Joint Session of Congress--at the end of Debt of Honor), with the effect of decapitating the U.S. government. The real attack appears in his latest novel, The Teeth of the Tiger, when a doctor helps the anti-terrorist team with a succinylcholine injector pen because "his brother was a trader on the 97th floor of tower 1".

===By publication date===
One will notice that movie adaptations tend to tie up loose ends by shooting villains; Clancy's books tend to give them more inventive "just deserts."

* ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984)
*: Clancy's first novel. Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet fleet. The movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius.
* ''Patriot Games'' (1987)
*: Ryan saves the (unnamed) Prince of Wales from terrorists, who go after Ryan and his family; the Prince helps round up the terrorists, who by this time have committed murder in Maryland, which has a death penalty. The 1992 movie stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, and has a fictional lord instead of the Prince of Wales. The bad guys are all killed off. (John Clark later tells Jack Ryan in ''Clear and Present Danger'' that he was on the helicopter that had to turn back when attacking the terrorist camps in northern Africa.)

* ''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988)
*: First appearance of John Clark and Sergey Golovko. Secret anti-satellite lasers (Strategic Defense Initiative), high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks (Major Gregory is introduced here and shown later as updating [[Surface-to-air missile]] software in ''The Bear and the Dragon''). We see how spies pass secrets and how they are interrogated in the Lubyanka Prison: no torture, but clever use of sensory deprivation.

* ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1989)
*: Drug war in Colombia. Ryan and Clark finally meet; first appearance of "Ding" Chavez. The movie (1994) stars Harrison Ford as Ryan and Willem Dafoe as Clark.

* ''The Sum of All Fears'' (1991)
*: [[Israel]] loses a nuclear weapon, which terrorists use to foment war between [[U.S.]] and [[Soviets]], which is averted by Ryan in a cliffhanger. Denver is destroyed. The terrorists are captured and demand an Islamic trial, which they get: they are beheaded with a sword in Saudi Arabia. The 2002 movie stars Ben Affleck as (a much too young) Jack Ryan, Liev Schreiber as Clark, and changes the identity and motivation of the terrorists beyond recognition, thus disrupting the timeline. This marks Clancy's first foray into nuclear physics and bomb design.

* ''Without Remorse'' (1993; set in 1970)
*: Chronologically the first book featuring John Kelly/John Clark, detailing Clark's life before joining the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Set during the Vietnam War, it tells about the past of John Kelly and how he assumed the Clark identity, and tells how Clark became a CIA officer. Jack Ryan's father (Emmett Ryan) has a key role; Jack Ryan has a tiny cameo.

* ''Debt of Honor'' (1994)
*: Ryan as National Security Advisor, and John Clark and Domingo Chavez as agents with Russian cover, help win a military and economic war with a nuclear-armed Japan. Golovko makes a cameo here. (Golovko calls Ryan "Ivan Emmetovich," a Russian-style patronymic meaning "Ivan the Son of Emmett.")

* ''Executive Orders'' (1996)
*: Sequel to ''Debt of Honor''. Ryan, propelled into presidency as a result of events in ''Debt of Honor'', survives press hazing, assassination attempts and biological warfare—Clark and Ding trace the [[virus]] to a Middle Eastern madman, and the U.S. military goes to work, refighting the Persian Gulf War against a United Islamic Republic comprising Iran and Iraq, with better weapons and much better results.This book marks Clancy's first foray into virology and biological warfare.

* ''Rainbow Six'' (1998)
*: Released to tie in with the computer game of the same name. John Clark leads an elite anti-terrorist unit and averts worldwide genocide attempt by terrorists who are motivated by radical [[environmentalism]] and use a modified Ebola virus as a weapon. (Jack Ryan is mentioned, but not by name, and does not appear.) More virology.

* ''The Bear and the Dragon'' (2000)
*: War between [[Russia]] and [[China]]. Ryan recognizes the independence of [[Taiwan]] and the U.S. Air Force helps Russia defeat the Chinese invasion.
* ''Red Rabbit'' (2002)
*: Back when he was a humble [[CIA]] analyst, Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate the Pope. The Pope is shot but survives.

* ''The Teeth of the Tiger'' (2003)
*: Features the rise of Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan Jr., as an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the retirement of Jack Sr. from the Presidency.

[[category:literature]]

Tom Clancy

2011-09-29T12:20:40Z

DaleSR:

'''Tom Clancy''' is a [[military-thriller]] and [[near-future]] [[science fiction]] writer. His best known works include the [[Ryaniverse|Jack Ryan novels]] and [[Tom Clancy's Net Force]].

He is known for his [[conservative]] political beliefs, and is also a part owner of the [[Baltimore Orioles]]. <ref>http://www.nndb.com/people/504/000022438/</ref>

==Books by Tom Clancy==
*''The Hunt For Red October'' (1984) - introduces [[Jack Ryan]] as a CIA analyst who gets caught up in the biggest field operation in decades when a highly respected Soviet navy sub captain decides to defect.
*''Red Storm Rising'' (1986) - fiction about [[World War III]]. Does not include Jack Ryan.
*''Patriot Games'' (1987) - the back story of [[Jack Ryan]], former marine lieutenant who stops a terrorist kidnapping in [[London]], and is then himself targeted by the terrorists.
*''Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988) - "Cardinal" is a spy passing Soviet secrets to the US. Partly set in [[Afghanistan]] during the Soviet occupation.
*''Clear and Present Danger'' (1989) - Central America and drugs are the focus - distrust of reporters and politicians is a theme.
*''The Sum of All Fears'' (1991) - [[Israel]] loses a nuke, which is then used by terrorists on an American city.
*''Without Remorse'' (1993) - origin of the [[John Clark]] character.
*''Debt of Honor'' (1994) - what if [[Japan]] invaded a US island? (ends with a 9/11 style attack on the US Capitol).
*''Executive Orders'' (1996) - continues where ''Debt of Honor'' left off, with Jack Ryan bumped up to President of the United States, just in time to deal with a new threat in the Middle East.
*''SSN'' (1996) - based on a video game. Set on the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Cheyenne during a war with China.
*''Rainbow Six'' (1998) - [[John Clark]] leads an elite counter-terrorist group - biggest challenge is global eco-terrorists.
*''The Bear and the Dragon'' (2001) - "Bear" is Russia, "Dragon" is China. Ryan invites Russia to join NATO following a Chinese invasion.
*''Red Rabbit'' (2002) - a Soviet defector seeks to prevent the assassination of a beloved religious leader
*''The Teeth of the Tiger'' (2003) - Clancy tries to keep the franchise going with Jack Ryan's son

==References==
<References/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clancy,Tom}}
[[Category:Novelists]]