Tom Clancy

 Sad news today that Tom Clancy has passed away. There was a time in the mid 90s where I pretty much just reread his books repeatedly. Creating my interest in espionage fiction which pretty much lasted up into the disintegration of the genre around 9/11. Yes sure he wasn't much of a stylist and as the series continued Jack Ryan became far too all-knowing and powerful in spite of that he could tell a story. Even with the tendency to make the villains into whatever cardboard cutout the GOP was currently angry or frightened of [lesbian KGB agent?] I would put Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears and Without Remorse up against just about everything else in the genre. Particularly "Remorse"as a tour de force revenge plot.  I drifted away when he just stamped his name on others work and when all of the Ryan relatives came out of the woodwork. Now I'm worried since these always seem to happen in sets of three.