Tom Clancy

Don't take my word for it (although it's a nice gesture sometimes), but the Clancy FAQ has a definitive chronolgy listed both in the published order and in the storyline order. That list at fantastic fiction can only lead me to believe that somebody is either not doing their job, or just plain didn't read any of the books, probably a bit of both.

If you want to read a great Clancy book I would strongly recommend reading RED STORM RISING, even though it is not technically a "Jack Ryan Novel," it does present the most plausible scenario for a coventional WWIII to ever come out of the Cold War, as well as being a brilliant and fast-paced action novel, it's only drawback is an abrupt ending meant to mirror the kind of realistic ending a War of that type might have after everything else that occurred in the book. But it isn't limited in any way, there are great battles between submarines, surface warships, tanks, aircraft, and infantry. It really is extraordinary, and I may have to re-read it first before I beging the large project of re-reading all of the other books (but it will be well-worth it!).

Whatever you do, DO NOT read any of the Op-Center, NetForce, or Power Plays books. Tom Clancy did not write any of those books, even though his name is on the cover. You will be wasting your time and wondering why you didn't avoid them altogthor. I'll have a comprehensive pst about all of that garbage pretty soon, as soon as I can compose my thoughts without getting too angry.

Some series I don't really consider a "series" because there is no plot connection between the books, they just have recurring characters and sometimes reference events in the previous stories. It's a lot like the difference between the Odd and Snow books; SEIZE THE NIGHT very specifically continued the story started in FEAR NOTHING, whereas FOREVER ODD seemed more like an "episode" in the ongoing life of Odd than a continuation of ODD THOMAS. The Jack Ryan books can technically be read separate from the others because they are more in the vein of the Odd books, and King's Dark Tower books need to be read in order to be understood. I've read a few of Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels, and they can be read on their own as well. I assume the Alex Cross books and Harry Potter books are the same way. Really, anything that is considered a "volume" or is denoted as "Book One" or "Book Two" should be read in order.

The other thing to consider is that an ongoing story usually must be finished, especially if you have already devoted a lot of time to reading the previous books. But you can stop reading somthing like the Alex Cross books whenever you want, if you feel like it.

Technothriller series rarely have an ongoing story. Sometimes there is a recurring villain, who is pitted agianst the recurring hero, and that could be considered as an ongoing story. But for the most part, the publishers like recurring characters because they want readers who are familiar with them to keep buying the next book, while new readers feel compelled to go back and read the backlist, thereby spending even more money. What is even more rare is a good thechno-thriller writer who writes stand-alone books with new characters all the time. Cowards. They're afraid people will see how unoriginal their writing really is.

RAINBOW SIX is excellent. It could technically be read as a stand-alone book because it doesn't really fit into the Jack Ryan books. R6 is mostly about anti-terrorism, written before 9/11, but in the vein of the Jack Ryan storyline, terrorism was already a big threat the America. The team is set up and run by Mr. Clark, a recurring character in the other books who was pretty mysterious until Clancy wrote his backstory in WITHOUT REMORSE (you might want to read it first to understand Clark a little better, it's also very good). Ding Chavez is the other major character, introduced originally in CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. RAINBOW SIX is probably the most-action filled and fast-paced of all the "Ryanverse" books, next to WITHOUT REMORSE. John Clark was portrayed (badly) by Willem Defoe in the film version of CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, and again played (very well) by Liev Schrieber in THE SUM OF ALL FEARS. One of the really great characters in all popular fiction finally gets a starring role in his own book, and it's a good one.