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Jason M. Reynolds
Jason M. Reynolds is a staff writer for the Times-Gazette.
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End of literary era: Tom Clancy dies

Posted Wednesday, October 2, 2013, at 1:25 PM

You anticipate encountering the unexpected at times in the news business, but every so often, a piece of news just totally shocks you.

That very thing happened to me minutes ago. Tom Clancy, author of "The Hunt for Red October" and many other bestsellers, has died at age 66. No cause of death was given.

Clancy was one of my earliest contemporary literary heroes. While I loved reading military accounts in high school, they mostly were old books written by World War II vets based on their wartime experiences. But then I picked up the recently published "Red October," and my literary selections changed.

For years, Clancy was the master of the military and political thriller. He could spin a yarn like no one else, and reading about the Jack Ryan character kept me entertained for countless hours.

It seemed the ending of the Cold War dried out some of Clancy's creative juices, as some of his more modern tales did not convey the same power as his earlier stories. But I will always read "Red October" and recall the days of the Cold War when a nuclear war with the Soviet Union seemed possible.

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  • I wish I could rule out nuclear war, but...

    Yes, I enjoyed Clancy's books and had heard nothing of him being in ill health. All I could find was that he died after a brief illness at Johns Hopkins.

    Guess it does not really matter. It is just sad to lose such talent.

    -- Posted by stevemills on Wed, Oct 2, 2013, at 2:10 PM

  • The way the news approached the short notice of his death, led me to think. he had a heart attack or aneurysm ...I guess we will know soon. With books going so digital, I sure hope more people go to reading, and Clancy was a great artist of word and pen...nowadays I see so many folks with a "Kindle" in their hands,I even know some who can't put them down. I have watched "The Hunt For Red October" about 3-4 times, because I'm a Sean Connery freak..in a lot of cases, reading the book (or in these days, a Kindle) they say, is much better then watching the movie...I personally like movies better, but a book gives you so much more, into what the author intended....I think I will add a "Kindle Fire" to my Santa wish list this year...I sure do need to read more, if nothing else...it will get me away from commercials.

    -- Posted by chefgrape on Wed, Oct 2, 2013, at 3:17 PM

  • If your primary purpose is reading, you'll be much better off with the Kindle Paperwhite. The Kindle Fire is much more versatile, of course, for web surfing, and movies, and games and what have you. I love my basic Kindle (the entry-level model -- I bought it for $79 a year and a half ago, although I think it's only $69 now).

    -- Posted by jcarney on Wed, Oct 2, 2013, at 8:09 PM

  • Thanks for the info John...I would have had no clue....I'd kinda like to have a tablet, so I can have the best of surfing and reading....I played around with moms tablet trying to read email, and it took me forever to find the right icon to click, once I got to yahoo mail...they are not as user friendly as my laptop windows 7, but need something to play with, while I wait on appointments....that would be a great time to blog.

    -- Posted by chefgrape on Wed, Oct 2, 2013, at 8:21 PM

  • In that case, the Kindle Fire would be what you want.

    -- Posted by jcarney on Wed, Oct 2, 2013, at 9:27 PM

  • I have a fancy tablet and a kindle paperwhite. The tablet collects dust because I use a computer so much for work, but I use the kindle paperwhite daily. It is a pleasure reading on a kindle, and the paperwhite version is great if you primarily read late at night in bed and don't want to bother your spouse with a lamp. You might also find lots of distractions (games and web browsing) using a tablet that keep you from reading.

    -- Posted by Oliver Klozzoff on Thu, Oct 3, 2013, at 12:02 PM

  • I am an avid words with friends player...thanks mostly to my family (got 4 games going with mom now)...but at the same time, I sure would like to read more also...thanks for the information...I guess a tablet would be my best bet...now to just figure out which one...I like my Acer laptop...they have a 68gb tablet...but the new Samsung is getting great reviews....I've never been an apple user...maybe its even time for some apple...I'm guessing any of them has reading apps.

    -- Posted by chefgrape on Thu, Oct 3, 2013, at 12:56 PM
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