Ryanverse

By publication date

Books in the order in which they were written:

• The Hunt for Red October (1984)
• Patriot Games (1987)
• The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988)
• Clear and Present Danger (1989)
• The Sum of All Fears (1991)
• Without Remorse (1993)
• Debt of Honor (1994)
• Executive Orders (1996)
• Rainbow Six (1998)
• The Bear and the Dragon (2000)
• Red Rabbit (2002)
• The Teeth of the Tiger (2003)
• Dead or Alive (2010, with Grant Blackwood)
• Against All Enemies (2011, with Peter Telep)
• Locked On (2011, with Mark Greaney)
• Threat Vector (2012, with Mark Greaney)
• Command Authority (2013, with Mark Greaney)

By chronological order

In the order in which they occur in the storyline (and when they occur):

1. Without Remorse - Starts late 1970, in Hurricane Camille's aftermath. Continues the following spring, in 1971. Epilogue is titled "February 12, 1973".
2. Patriot Games (Begins in 1981 and continues through summer 1982, based on a reference to Ryan's age, which is 31 at the beginning of the novel) - Roughly fits with a reference to the Princess of Wales's first child being a baby and a few months old, Prince William was born in 1982. Discrepancies include the reference to a van having a likely year of manufacture of 1984. The subsequent events of Red Rabbit would seem to push its date back to 1981, rather than 1982.
3. Red Rabbit - (Presumably starts in the spring of 1982 as Jack Ryan, Jr.'s age in the novel is given as 6 months, although the main action explicitly starts on August 15) - Discrepancies between 1982 in the Ryanverse and in actual events, aside from the date of the attempt on the Pope's life, include: the actual death of Mikhail Suslov in January 1982, frequent references to "Transformers" which did not appear until 1984, the fact that the Orioles played the Phillies in the World Series in 1983, the Baltimore Colts' relocation to Indianapolis not occurring until 1984, and a reference to "Coke Classic" which did not debut until the summer of 1985.
4. The Hunt for Red October (1984) - However, the calendar used is for 1982 and Ryan is spending his first Christmas in London, having arrived in the previous novel.
5. The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1986) - The first chapter is set in January and states that Ryan is 35 years old. It also has references to the other books set earlier. For example, the Foleys have been in Moscow for almost four years.
6. Clear and Present Danger (1988) - The book refers to Jack's age as 40. Troops are sent into Colombia to fight against the Medina Cartel and reduce drug shipments to America.
7. The Sum of All Fears (1990–1991) - Israel partially cedes sovereignty over Jerusalem to the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, and the city becomes a United Nations protectorate policed by Swiss Guards. Residents of Jerusalem can choose between either Vatican, Israeli or Islamic judicial law. Denver is devastated by a terrorist nuclear explosion. The book occurs after the Persian Gulf War and before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is implied that both events occur at the same time in the Ryan universe as in actual history (of the Soviet Union dissolution), 1991. In the earlier chapters it states that it had almost been two Novembers since President Fowler had been elected, making the beginning set in 1990. The video game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six puts the atomic detonation in Denver as having occurred in 1989.
8. Debt of Honor (1995–1996) - The U.S. and Russia destroy all of their ballistic missiles. After crippling the U.S. economy and becoming a nuclear power, Japan invades and takes the Marianas Islands; the United States and Japan fight a brief war, which the Japanese lose (they are subsequently denuclearized); an embittered Japanese pilot and proponent of the war crashes a 747 into the United States Capitol Building immediately after Ryan's confirmation vote for the Vice President, killing most of the House and Senate, the President, all nine Supreme Court justices, the senior military establishment (including the JCS), and most of the Cabinet; Ryan is left in charge of a gutted government. The end of the book occurs eleven months before 1997 presidential inauguration. Of interest, but not crucial to the plot of this or further books is that North and South Korea were said to be unified at some point between The Sum of All Fears and this book.
9. Executive Orders (1996) - Saddam Hussein is assassinated; Iran and Iraq merge forming the United Islamic Republic; the UIR launches a biological attack on the U.S. using the Ebola virus; the United States launches the Second Persian Gulf War against the UIR and defeats them; the Ayatollah is killed in a smart-bomb attack by the U.S.
10. Rainbow Six (1999–2000) - events are based on the Sydney Olympics held in 2000, RAINBOW — an elite counter-terrorist force — is created and engages terrorists across Europe. Ecoterrorists plan to create a genetically-enhanced virus based on Ebola and cancer cells, which they plan to use to wipe out much of the world's population.
11. The Bear and the Dragon (2002) - Russia is admitted to NATO; China and Russia fight a major war, in which the U.S. intervenes on its NATO ally's side. It implies that the British Prime Minister is Tony Blair. Ryan has won election as president (2001-2004) but does not stand for reelection. His vice president Robby Jackson runs in 2004, but is killed just before the election giving Edward Kealty a "default" victory.
12. The Teeth of the Tiger (2006, based on the age of Jack Ryan, Jr.) - The U.S. is now engaged in a global war on terrorism, in response to the September 11 attacks, which occurred in the Ryan universe as they did in the real world. It is mentioned that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq occurred in the Ryan universe continuity, and that the Jerusalem Treaty signed in The Sum of All Fears was not entirely successful as some Israelis and Palestinians continue fighting each other.
13. Dead or Alive (2007, based on Jack Ryan's announcement that he would run against Ed Kealty for President "in the coming year") — The Umayyad Revolutionary Council (the Ryan universe version of Al-Qaeda) and its leader "The Emir" (based on Osama bin Laden) plan a string of major attacks on the U.S. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue, as in our timeline, and President Kealty is in the process of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. A character decoding encrypted messages explicitly refers to the date as May 2010, but this must be seen as a contradiction in the Jack Ryan continuity as Ed Kealty is a one term president (2005-2008).
14. Locked On (2008, based on Jack Ryan Sr.'s campaign for re-election) - Jack Ryan Sr. is running for president against incumbent Edward Kealty, who wants to serve a second term (2009-2012). The election happening in this book requires the events take place in 2008.
15. Threat Vector (2009, explicitly stated as six months after the previous novel) - Ryan Sr. has been sworn in as president of the United States after having been elected the previous year.
16. Command Authority (2010, explicitly states that Ryan Sr. is in the second year of his second presidential term) - it is implied the novel takes place about five months after the events of Threat Vector in the springtime. Based on the timelines of previous books, the 'Thirty years earlier' chapters must still take place in 1983 (and are therefore actually 27 years earlier).
17. Support and Defend (2014)
18. Full Force and Effect (2014)
19. Under Fire (2015)
20. Commander in Chief (2015)
21. Duty and Honor (2016)
22. True Faith and Allegiance (2016)
23. Point of Contact (2017)
24. Power and Empire (2017)
25. Line of Sight (2018)
26. Oath of Office (forthcoming November 2018)

Main characters in the Ryanverse

The key characters in the Ryanverse include:

• Jack Ryan: Born in Baltimore in 1950, earned an NROTC commission in the U.S. Marines at Boston College. Medically discharged at the rank of 2nd Lieutenant following a helicopter crash, he worked as an investment broker briefly and made a fortune. He was later recommended to the CIA, where he rose rapidly through the ranks, eventually becoming a Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Following by a short period as Vice President serving under Roger Durling. Durling is assassinated (with most of the government) at the end of Debt of Honor, and Ryan is sworn in as President of the United States and serves two terms and deals with international crises in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.
• John Clark: Born in Indianapolis in 1944 as John Terrence Kelly. he joined the Navy during the Vietnam War and became a Navy SEAL who participated in several special operations. After his first tour of duty, Kelly left the service, and he met and married his first wife, Patricia who was subsequently killed in a car accident when her car went under a tractor/trailer unit. she was pregnant at the time. Kelly returned to active service when he was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Special Activities Division (Special Operations Group). At the same time Kelly fought a personal vendetta against organised crime in the US that resulted in a need to fake his own death and change his name to "John Clark". While recovering from injuries sustained in his battles at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he meets his future second wife, nurse Sandra "Sandy" O'Toole, and they eventually had two daughters, Patricia Doris and Margaret Pamela. Clark works as Jack Ryan's personal driver and bodyguard for a time, and they work together in a number of situations, and when Ryan becomes President of the United States he instructs Clark to undertake a number of covert operations, and he later gives Clark a pardon all unsanctioned activities that Clark had undertaken.
• Domingo “Ding” Chavez: Born in Los Angeles, California in 1968, he joined the U.S. Army to escape street life, and was recruited to be a member of a secret CIA-run anti-drug operation in Colombia, where he first meets his mentor, John Clark. Over time he completes at least two advanced degrees and becomes fluent in English, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Persian. Chavez is shown to have a somewhat cocky attitude, being younger than his mentor, John Clark. He appears vengeful at times, however, he is not shown to be a ruthless, cold blooded killer such as some of his contemporaries. In Debt of Honor, he is sickened after being forced to use a high-intensity light to blind the pilots of Japanese AWACS planes coming in to land, causing the aircraft to crash. He later marries John Clark's daughter, Patricia, and they name their child John Conor Chavez. Clark and Chavez lead multiple operations for President Ryan.

Presidents in the Ryanverse

A total of five presidents are explicitly shown in the Ryanverse (although Red Rabbit takes place during the Reagan Administration, Reagan does not make an appearance as a character):

• The unnamed man referred to only as "the President," first introduced in The Hunt for Red October; he remains in office through The Cardinal of the Kremlin, and Clear and Present Danger. At the end of the last novel, he runs for reelection and is defeated.
• J. Robert Fowler, former governor of Ohio, who defeats the incumbent at the end of Clear and Present Danger and is in office during The Sum of All Fears. After his failure to handle the Denver crisis nearly results in nuclear war, he resigns from office at the end of the novel.
• Roger Durling, Fowler's vice-president, former governor of California and a Vietnam veteran with service in the 82nd Airborne Division. Durling replaces Fowler when the latter resigns, and is the President in Debt of Honor, completing Fowler's term as President. At the end of the novel, he is killed along with most of the government when a Japanese jetliner is crashed into the Capitol Building.
• John Patrick Ryan is confirmed as Durling's new vice-president at the end of Debt of Honor, and is sworn in as President when Durling is murdered on the same day. His claim to the presidency is contested by Durling's former VP Edward Kealty, but the courts eventually rule in Ryan's favor. He remains in office in Executive Orders, Rainbow Six (though he never appears) and The Bear and the Dragon.
• Robert Jefferson "Robby" Jackson succeeded Ryan as President of the United States after Ryan retired (as described in The Teeth of the Tiger), with Ryan believing he could leave the country in Robby's capable hands. After serving out the remainder of Ryan's term, Robby campaigned for his own re-election. While travelling in Mississippi, however, Jackson was shot and subsequently assassinated by a 67-year-old man who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan; Duane Farmer. Farmer was taken alive and swiftly executed for his crimes.
• Edward Jonathan Kealty: Durling's former vice-president, replaced by Jack Ryan after a sex scandal. During Executive Orders, he tries to steal the presidency from Ryan by claiming that he never actually resigned, but those allegations are tossed out by U.S. courts. After Ryan leaves office and Jackson is assassinated, Kealty is elected President in his own right, a position he holds in The Teeth of the Tiger though he is never seen.^[4]

It should be noted that in later books there are nevertheless multiple references to both the Reagan Presidency and the George H.W. Bush Presidency as if they had happened.

Some of the key characters have been portrayed in the following movies and television series:

Films

Television

It was announced by Deadline that Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland will be working with Michael Bay and his production company Platinum Dunes and Paramount Television on a Jack Ryan TV series for Amazon.^[13][14] On April 29, 2016, Deadline announced that John Krasinski will star as Jack Ryan in the series.^[15] On August 16, 2016, Amazon Studios announced they had given a series order for a 10-episode first season of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan.^[16] On November 4, 2016, Abbie Cornish was cast as Cathy Muller in the series.^[17] On January 6, 2017, it was reported that Morten Tyldum will direct the pilot.^[18] In February 2017, it was announced that The Americans director Daniel Sackheim would direct multiple episodes and produce the series.^[19] The series, said to be inspired by the Harrison Ford Jack Ryan films, premiered on August 31, 2018.^[20] Four months earlier, Amazon had renewed the series for season two, which is set in South America.^[21]

Video games

Many video games based on the Ryanverse have been made, some based on the novels, some on the films, some on the spin-offs.

• The Hunt for Red October (1987): Based on the book The Hunt for Red October. It was released for the Atari ST, Amiga, Apple II, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64 and IBM PC. The player must navigate the Red October towards U.S. waters while avoiding the Soviet Navy. The game is a combination of submarine simulator and strategy game.
• The Hunt for Red October (1990): Based on the movie The Hunt for Red October. It was released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and ZX Spectrum. The game features five action sequences including jumping from a helicopter and navigating submarines through deep channels and avoiding from many obstacles.
• The Sum of All Fears (2002): Based on the movie The Sum of All Fears. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, and the GameCube. It is a tactical first-person shooter where various mission must be completed including saving hostages in a Charleston, West Virginia television station, and shutting down the operations of a West Virginian militia.

List of games

A South Korean-only PC game called Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Take-Down – Missions in Korea was created for the South Korean market by KAMA Digital Entertainment. The game boasted South Korean Rainbow operatives and weapons with a different story and interface. It was not sold outside South Korea.