Ryanverse


Ryanverse refers to the fictional universe created by Tom Clancy featuring Jack Ryan and other characters, such as John Clark and Domingo Chavez.

Novels

The first book written to feature Jack Ryan was The Hunt for Red October.

By publication date

Books in the order in which they were written:
In the order in which they occur in the storyline :
  1. Without Remorse - Starts late 1970 in the aftermath of Hurricane Camille and 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 boy and a few months old, since 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 5 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 Baltimore Orioles played against the Philadelphia 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 Medellín Cartel and reduce drug shipments to America.
  7. The Sum of All Fears - 1990–1991. 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 event in 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 Rainbow Six puts the atomic detonation in Denver as having occurred in 1989.
  8. Debt of Honor - 1995–1996. The end of the book occurs eleven months before the 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
  10. Rainbow Six - 1998. Events are based on the Sydney Olympics held in 2000.
  11. The Bear and the Dragon - 2002. It is explicitly mentioned multiple times that the ending of Debt of Honor occurred fifteen months before the start of this book, putting the timing somewhere between 1997-1998. However, this seems to be an oversight by the author. Rainbow exists and is discussed as well, denoting that Rainbow Six is this book's predecessor both chronologically and by publication date.
  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 and its leader "The Emir" 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.
  14. Against All Enemies - 2008
  15. Locked On - 2008, based on Jack Ryan Sr.'s campaign for re-election. Jack Ryan Sr. is running for president against incumbent Ed Kealty, who wants to serve a second term. The election happening in this book requires the events take place in 2008.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. Support and Defend - 2010. The Campus is on operational stand down following the events of Command Authority. Dom Caruso is stated as being 32 years old. Brian's death is mentioned as taking place over two years earlier. Ethan Ross had worked at the White House for three years under two administrations.
  19. Full Force and Effect - 2010, based on the ages of John Clark and Ding Chavez. It is implied that the Vietnam operation takes place several months after the events of Command Authority and approximately one week after the end of Support and Defend. It is mentioned that Clark's torture in Locked On took place two years ago. Choi tells Ri, and it is also mentioned in a conversation between Ryan Sr. and Arnie Van Damm, that Ryan has two years of his presidential term left.
  20. Under Fire - 2010. The novel appears to take place in late winter: it was sleeting in Washington and fake snow spray was used in Edinburgh. It is stated that the Forth Road Bridge tolls were reintroduced in February and that the seaside tourist season is three months away. However, the timelines of the next two novels set this sometime in late summer or early autumn.
  21. Commander in Chief - 2010. It is explicitly stated that the novel takes place in October and the events of Full Force and Effect are implied throughout the book as taking place several months ago. This is contradicted by mentioning that the events of Command Authority took place 'a year earlier', Jack Ryan Jr. had worked for The Campus for five years, and John Clark's age is 67. It is also noted that Jack Ryan Jr. had known Ysabel for one month. The continued mention of October and the approaching winter indicates Under Fire and this novel is set at the end of 2010 - Duty and Honor also indicates that this is the case.
  22. Duty and Honor 2011, based on the mention of the Lyon attacks taking place in January, at the same time Jack Ryan Jr. was on probation from The Campus. It is also noted this novel takes place several months after the events of Commander in Chief, therefore confirming that Commander in Chief and Under Fire actually took place in the last quarter of 2010.
  23. True Faith and Allegiance
  24. Point of Contact
  25. Power and Empire
  26. Line of Sight
  27. Oath of Office
  28. Enemy Contact
  29. Code of Honor
  30. Firing Point

    Characters

Main characters in the Ryanverse

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

Presidents in the Ryanverse

A total of five presidents are explicitly shown in the Ryanverse :
Ryan then runs for a second full term as a Republican candidate, eventually defeating Kealty by a narrow margin. As of 2018, he is the current president in the Ryanverse.
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.

The Campus

Beginning with The Teeth of the Tiger, Ryanverse novels feature off-the-books intelligence organization The Campus while featuring Jack Ryan, Sr. as more of a background character. They follow his son Jack Ryan Jr. and fellow colleagues on several counter-terrorism missions. Hendley Associates, a private trading and arbitrage company, serves as a legitimate cover for the organization, or the "white side". They fund The Campus's intelligence operations by stock market trades influenced by captured intelligence data, thus removing federal oversight and allowing free rein in the Campus's operations.

Characters

Films

First film series
Second film series
  • The Sum of All Fears : Directed by Phil Alden Robinson, and starring Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Bridget Moynahan, and Liev Schreiber. The film was a commercial success and received mixed reviews from critics, some criticizing Affleck's performance, others praising Freeman's characterization.
    • Third film series
  • : Directed by Kenneth Branagh, and starring Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightley, and Len Kudrjawizki. The film was a commercial success and received average reviews, with praise for Branagh's direction, and the performances of the cast, citing both Pine and Branagh for special mention for their performances.

    • 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. On April 29, 2016, Deadline announced that John Krasinski will star as Jack Ryan in the series. 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. On November 4, 2016, Abbie Cornish was cast as Cathy Muller in the series. On January 6, 2017, it was reported that Morten Tyldum will direct the pilot. In February 2017, it was announced that The Americans director Daniel Sackheim would direct multiple episodes and produce the series. The series, said to be inspired by the Harrison Ford Jack Ryan films, premiered on August 31, 2018. Four months earlier, on April 24, 2018, Amazon had renewed the series for season two, which is set in South America, and it was renewed for a third season on February 13, 2019.

    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.
    In addition Tom Clancy created a multi-media franchise about a fictional international counter-terrorist unit called "Rainbow". The franchise began with Clancy's novel Rainbow Six, which was adapted into a series of tactical first-person shooter video games.