Novel

Debt Of Honour

by Tom Clancy

Published by Harper Collins Publishers 1995
I chose this book because the blurb seemed interesting and I have heard of Tom Clancy before so I thought I should give one of his books a go.

TEXTUAL CONVENTIONS

This book is a continuous prose about rising tensions between the USA and Japan. It also tells many sub-stories which intertwine as the story unfolds. It is written in third-person, with the focus jumping across many different characters and also some descriptions of events which describe no characters in particular but instead describe events. eg the stock market changing.

LITERAL COMPREHENSION

The story takes place in modern times and is told from the perspectives of various political figures in both the American and Japanese governments, businessmen, lawyers, factory workers, journalists, CIA field officers and military commanders from both countries. One of the Japanese businessmen, Yamata, is very proud of his country but is worried that they will never grow because Japan is so small and has little resources. He wants war and has a lot of influence in his country, and a plan. Japan has begun construction of nuclear missiles. In the United States, two Japanese made cars blow up due to faulty engines. Outraged by the incident, the US government puts into place the 'Trade Reform Act'. Which limits the import of Japanese products. This cause a major economic downturn in Japan and the value of the Yen drops rapidly. The Prime Minister of Japan resignes to avoid disgrace and a new candidate, one with open hostility towards America is put into an almost definite position to become his replacement. Meanwhile, all Russian and American nuclear missle are being disarmed in an agreement by the two countries to end the fear of nuclear war between the two countries. Near Sri Lanka, a group of Indian war ships are patrolling the coast and seem to be attempting to find the location of an American Carrier Battle Group. The Americans are suspicious that the Indians plan to invade Sri Lanka to gain a good base to attack Australia for the room and resources. In the Pacific; a practice battle against Japan and America is going well until two Japanese vessels launch six torpedos into two American ships. On Wall Street; foreign nations are making a run on the American Dollar and the Dow Jones drops a staggering 500 points and many traders begin to sell. The American economy is now dropping. But the upside, economically, is that the 'Trade Reform Act' means that more jobs in manufacturing are made. So the American economy is in complete confusion and the President is called back from Russia where ceremonies are underway celebrating the disarming of the missiles. As well as the attack on the US ships, the Japanese have invaded the American owned Marianas islands. Japan is now at war with the US. The Tamul Tigers increase activity and a US admiral fears that the Indians may use it to increase military presence in Sri Lanka and take control.

MAIN PROBLEMS

- Wall Street in Turmoil

- Marianas Invaded by Japan

- Pacific Fleet Crippled
- Fear of Indian Invasion of Sri Lanka

SOLUTION SO FAR

- Because the stock market crashed, the computer systems failed and no records were made. Jack Ryan comes up with the idea to restart trading as if it had never happened.

Main Characters

Jack Ryan - US President's National Security Advisor -

Raizo Yamata - Japanese Businessman - bought a big investment company and practically crewed it over to cause the stock market crash - dislikes USA - family killed in WW II

President Durling - President of the USA - Under stress with all of the problems

Mr Goto - Prime Minister of Japan - dislikes USA

Mr Burroughs - US citizen trapped on Marianas

Mr Oreza - Ex Coast Guard - also on Marianas - sending information to US coast guard

Ding Chavez and John Clark - CIA Operatives in Japan

Chet Nomuri - Japanese-American CIA operative in Japan

CONTEXT

I don't think the author, Tom Clancy has had any experiences similar to those in the book. Although, it does have similarity to the Battle of the Pacific in WW II. He obviously does a lot of research and many sequences display proficient knowledge of economics, military organisation and equipmant, politics and diplomacy. These parts of the book are so complex they often leave me confused.

INTERPRETATION

I havn't read the whole story so I would like to ask Yamata why he is invading and attacking the Americans. It had not been revealed yet and many other characters is the story are thinking the same thing. A lot of the complicated paragraphs explaining Wall street and money were sonfusing and I wish I could understand them more. I would like to ask Tom Clancy for hints about writing novels and how he does it. I want to write a novel one day, unlikely as it is. It would be cool to ask him about how he made it and how he managed to be so thourough with his research and language skills.

SYNTHESIS

Tom Clancy has purposely not included any real people in his book to avoid "insulting" them by making them do certain things in the book. All of the characters are made up, even the president has a different name and character. All of the locations are real but he is never racist in his writings. A lot of the events mirror the Battle for the Pacific in World War 2 with the sudden Japanese attack.

EVALUATION

The story is very complex and I actual feel mature and smart when I read it because it's not a silly childish book, it's a serious, intelligent book written by and adult for adults. I haven't read the whole book yet but the plot is developing well and I can't wait to see any twists Tom Clancy can make. I don't really relate to any characters fully but I think I have a similar determination to get the job done like Jack Ryan. I have learnt a lot by reading this book. I kind of understand shares, trading and the economy now, but I've still got a while to go. I understand how complex politics are and that war isn't as simple as I used to think it was. I haven't really changed my opinion on anything in the book, I still want the war to really start, not because I'm sadistic or anything, but because it would be really interesting to read, especially with Tom Clancy at the helm. One particular part of the story that stood out to me was when the Japanese started attacking the US ships in the Pacific. He really displayed the feeling of confusion by the US sailors and this was the point in the book when it started to get more interesting and the pace started to get faster. Overall, I am enjoying reading this book because i have never read something quite so mature and complex. I can't wait to see what happens next.

CREATIVE

Beause the book is so long, there are probably a lot of scenes that could be and would have to be removed to make it an appropraite length. One scene that introduces Chavez and Clark taking down an African drug runner seems a bit random because the drug runner seems to have nothing to do with anything in the rest of the story. This book probably isn't directed to young readers. It is too complex and the topics within it are more adult in nature.