Patriot Games

Patriot Games is a thriller novel by prolific espionage and military science writer Tom Clancy. Published in 1987, it is a sequel of sorts to his novel Without Remorse and is chronologically the first in the Jack Ryan series, the main protagonist in many of Clancy’s novels. In 1992, a film adaptation of the book premiered in theaters starring Harrison Ford as Ryan.

Jack Ryan is a teacher of Naval History at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. During a working vacation with his family in London, Ryan is caught in the middle of a terrorist attack by the Ulster Liberation Army (ULA), a sinister splinter group of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) fighting for Irish independence from Britain. A former Marine, Ryan rushes to the aid of the attack’s target, a car that is carrying the Prince and Princess of Wales with their baby son. He foils the attack and is wounded in the process. One of the terrorists, Sean Miller, is later arrested.

Ryan recovers from his wound in London and is knighted for his heroic efforts. Meanwhile, the ULA rescues Miller before he is transferred to a maximum-security prison with the help of Libyan terrorists. Back in their training camp in North Africa, Miller vows to get revenge against Ryan.



Ryan returns to Annapolis to continue teaching, confident that he and his family are safe from the ULA. However, Miller convinces his superiors to launch an attack on American soil both as an act of revenge and as a way to reduce Irish-American support for the IRA, who they will frame for the attack. The assassin assigned to Ryan is apprehended before he can reach his target, but Miller chases Ryan’s wife and daughter Sally in a car chase. Seriously wounded, they are evacuated by helicopter to the hospital.

After the attack, Ryan agrees to join the CIA as an analyst to gather more information about the previously disregarded ULA. To best protect his family, he decides he ought to put his skills to use uncovering as much as he can about terrorists to prevent further attacks. With the CIA, Ryan pieces together a profile on the ULA to determine what they want: Marxist rule over all of Ireland rather than independence for only Northern Ireland as the IRA wants.

Ryan’s success makes operations difficult for the ULA, but they plan one more attack on American soil. The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Ryan at his house, presenting another opportunity for an attack. With the help of a domestic terrorist group, the ULA attacks the Ryan house. The Secret Service, Ryan, and the Prince kill some of the terrorists, but the ULA kidnaps the royal family as well as Ryan’s family. The local police, Marines, and sailors from the Naval Academy assist Ryan as he chases after the terrorists, who, after a water chase, are cornered and apprehended. Ryan is tempted to kill Miller for the terror he has caused his family, but he restrains himself.



After the attack, Ryan and his family go to the hospital to witness the birth of his son Jack Ryan, Jr.

While many books in the espionage genre explore the moral ambiguity of their antagonists, Patriot Games is notable for not depicting the terrorists sympathetically. As such, hatred plays a major role in the narrative. The ULA remorselessly attacks to achieve its mission of a Marxist Ireland, channeling their hatred for Britain. By the end of the book, Ryan hates Miller and the suffering he has caused his family enough to kill him. However, deciding not to stoop to the level of the terrorists, he lets law enforcement dole out justice.

The book also supports the idea of international cooperation when it comes to combating terrorism. When Ryan joins the CIA, his first goal is to eliminate the threat to his family. However, the more he learns about the ULA and terrorist groups in general across the world, he understands that to protect his family is to protect all Americans, which is to protect all innocent people across the globe. To keep terrorist attacks at bay, there will have to be cooperation between intelligence agencies in different countries. As a start, Ryan allies with British intelligence while at the CIA.



The book was commercially successful, debuting at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List and selling over one million copies. The book also received generally positive reviews from critics, who applauded the action scenes and engaging plot, even if it is implausible.

Author Tom Clancy was extremely disappointed with the film version of Patriot Games, claiming that very few scenes corresponded to his book. Still, several of his books were later made into movies including more installments of the Jack Ryan series.