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this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2025
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Ha ha, Tom Clancy. I always found that phenomenon rather curious. I honestly tried to read one of his books pressed into my hands, but I just couldn't. At the time, the comparison that came to mind was pulp like the Mack Bolan books - something I remember kids reading in elementary school and after I read one or two, I think I was kind of done. I think when someone who I didn't really know as a reader per se excitedly loaned me their Tom Clancy novel (I think it was Hunt for Red October) I was more into Stephen King and various fantasy/sci-fi stuff and reading Clancy seemed like it was just Mack Bolan for older people...
The thing about the Mack Bolan books was that I found it as if they pepped up the Hardy Boys a bit and plopped them down in a James Bond/ Cold War universe, but the stuff read much the same way as far as style.
Which is now hilarious to think about this association -> Hardy Boys -> Mack Bolan -> Clancy/Ryanverse since all of those series used ghost writers or other "authorized" authors to continue the cash cow...stuff I have found rather meh has made billions so I cannot say I exactly blame those running the scheme.
Anyway, I would not be surprised at all to find that someone like Patel (and honestly a lot of people in the Tacoverse) are fans of Clancy's work.
I can’t say for certain they are but I’m of the same generation as him and grew up around conservatives that considered that type of “America at any cost” media to be sacred texts.
When you scratch the surface on it, it’s all just thinly veiled jingoism in a glossy suit. Hence homeboys desire here to have a “cool guy” jacket with unearned valor on it.
It’s 100% about the optics at the photo op after the real work has been done by someone trained and qualified.