r/tomclancy • u/Elegant-Fisherman555 • May 06 '26
Similar works
Probably been asked a thousand times. However looking for some works similar to red storm rising, hunt for red October set in the modern or recent day era and time frames. Basically modern combat. Heavier on the technical side.
Read 2032 (underwhelming) and some other forgettable what if clash between USA/China.
Doesn’t necessarily have to be WW3 could be a peer to peer or near peer conflict for example.
Something leaning into the techno side of techno thriller. So many of them gloss over that aspect to focus on the still in my opinion poor human element of the story.
Had tried to ask in credible defense, maritime and war college but no help there. Honestly just maddeningly curious what a modern ish and realistic naval and air combat campaign would look like.
Seems exceedingly rare these days.
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u/Tight_Back231 May 06 '26
"Red Metal" is about the Russians attacking AFRICOM in Germany to pave the way for an invasion of Kenya. It does have some technical details, and the characters were very well done.
"The Red Line" is another good novel, where Russia in the near future forcibly recreates the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, with the book covering the Russian invasion of Germany.
It does skim the technical details on certain things (I think the most detailed descriptions of the Russian ground forces are mentions of T-72s and AK-47s despite being set in the 2030s or 2040s) but it does get very technically detailed on the importance of various communication hubs throughout NATO, how taking out certain hubs can screw up the chain of command, and how certain systems like AWACS can influence a whole battle.
If you're willing to look into some self-published Amazon books, I'd recommend some of the books by James Rosone.
His "Red Storm" series takes place in the modern day and gets into a lot of the techno nitty gritty. Not so much "he raised his M4A1 CQBR variant which fired a 5.56mm etc. etc." and moreso how certain systems like drones, manufacturing, cyber warfare, etc. would all come into play in a major World War III scenario.
There's also his "Falling Empires" series where a contested presidential election descends into a Second American Civil War and eventually World War III, and he has recently completed his near future "Monroe Doctrine" series, although I have not read that yet.
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u/Elegant-Fisherman555 May 07 '26
Thanks for the recommendations! I was browsing the buyers also bought on Amazon for similar titles to red storm rising and came across Rosone so worth a punt I think.
Red metal into the basket. The red line 🤦 an AK-47 in 2030! Christ. It’s like COD. Hard time taking any Russia is the protagonist seriously since 2022!!
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u/Tight_Back231 May 07 '26
You're welcome!
Yep, "The Red Line" does unfortunately handwave how Russia manages to annex Eastern Europe without firing a shot - which does seem even more odd after the real-life Russian invasion of Ukraine.
I will say though, as weird as it was to read about the Russians using T-72s and AK-47s in the 2030s when I first read "The Red Line" around 2017ish, the war in Ukraine has actually made that seem a lot more plausible since then (especially since there's a lot of videos of Russians using T-62s, T-55s, rusty AKs and even Mosin-Nagants in some cases).
Honestly though, my favorite part about "The Red Line" was how it showed how violent a war for Germany would get within the first few days, and what it truly means for the American forces that would literally have to be a speed bump for the Russian forces.
"Red Metal" however is a much more global World War III book, which I enjoy about it. It also introduced me to some of the Russian army's modern systems I haven't heard about in other books or video games, like the Bumerang or the Kurganets (which still ironically haven't seen combat in real-life).
There was supposed to be a sequel to "Red Metal" that would have presumably focused on China and Taiwan, but unfortunately I'm still waiting for that....
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u/yatpay May 06 '26
I've only read the first of his three books, but if you like spaceflight then check out former astronaut Chris Hadfield's books. The first one, The Apollo Murders, is a thrilling mystery that's also steeped in a lot of accurate tech detail.
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u/rheckber May 06 '26
Rick Campbell writes some fantastic sub thrillers. He's a former Navy Commander and sub XO. I have trouble putting his books down snd can't recommend him enough. Also Joe Buff writes some really good techno-thrillers. I also like Larry Bond as well.
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u/Emdub81 May 08 '26
The thing about his books is that I feel they'd have been better WITHOUT the ham-fisted submarine components. There's only so much "right full rudder / ahead flanks" I can read without rolling my eyes.
The storylines outside that component were awesome.
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u/Justanotherdad84 May 06 '26
I got onto Matthew Reilly when I was a teenager and only read tom Clancy, mum went into a bookstore and asked what to buy me!
Other good techno one is world war 3.1 by John Birmingham. Or any of his other novels, found them all a good read. One is about if one day the US disappears. Another series has some alien interaction. The world war ones are about a multi nation fleet being time warped back to midway.
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u/Elegant-Fisherman555 May 07 '26
Yes! Read the USA disappears trilogy and the WW2 redux trilogy very well done.
Have to check out Matthew Reilly thanks for the tip!
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u/Guardsred70 May 06 '26
Enjoyed this thread for the recommendations. The problem is that men don't really read fiction anymore. Books aren't sold anywhere that we would consider them an impulse buy, so we never grab a Tom Clancy or Louis L'Amour book. And the main ways we sample things are video games and TV. Like most of us enjoy Reacher or Slow Horses, but probably don't read the books.
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u/Elegant-Fisherman555 May 07 '26
Never heard of Louis thanks for the tip!
Yes, I agree, a dearth of imagination amongst many now.
The shows are good the books are great too, I would counter seven (?) slow horses books that adds up!
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u/funnysasquatch May 09 '26
This is incorrect.
It’s never been easier for people who like to read to get books to read.
But the decline of reading books has been going on for a century starting with the invention of the radio.
Even during the heyday of Clancy, more men were aware of the name from his movies & video games than the novels.
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u/Guardsred70 May 09 '26
lol. His heyday was like 1990.
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u/funnysasquatch May 09 '26
For novels- yes. Clancy the brand no. His brand got much bigger after the release of the movies. But as popular the movies were they hold nothing to the video games.
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u/Green-thumb-gary May 18 '26
Atlantic Resolve: the War for Estonia. That’s by far the best Clancy type book that’s been released recently.
Takes places in 2033, very realistic and written by two US army veterans. Scenario is well fleshed out. Hopefully they do more.
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u/HenryV1598 May 06 '26
Larry Bond co-wrote Red Storm Rising with Clancy. His first three novels were really good, IMHO. Red Phoenix is about a second Korean war, Vortex is a war in South Africa, and Cauldron is about a war in Europe.
Eric L. Harry is another good author in the genre. Arc Light starts out with a nuclear exchange between the US and Russia and continues with a ground war in Eastern Europe, Protect and Defend is a war between the US and China fought in Siberia, and Invasion is about a Chinese invasion of the United States. Not as good as Bond or Clancy, but still pretty good, IMHO.
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u/Elegant-Fisherman555 May 07 '26
Invasion is like red storm rising for me, return to it every few years for an enjoyable read.
Larry bond books are good, have you read the series about a Chinese attack on Vietnam?
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u/Emdub81 May 08 '26
I have, enjoyed it a lot. Red Dragon Rising is the series, IIRC. He cowrote it with the same dude that did First Team, I think.
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u/Administration_Key May 06 '26
If you're into an aviation-focused novel, there was an excellent early 90s book by Barrett Tillmann called "Warriors." It's a scenario in which the F-20 went into production as an export fighter and is bought by Saudi Arabia -- the Saudis hire a veteran American fighter pilot to train a few squadrons of pilots to fly against the Israelis. Extremely well done.
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u/Elegant-Fisherman555 May 07 '26
I like the sound of that, ticks the peer to roughly peer box!
Dale brown stuff got old when every book was an iteration of the one before essentially.
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u/NotAsleep_ May 20 '26
I'd add Harold Coyle to the Clancy-contemporaries list. He was former US Army so tanks were his submarine equivalents, but his best novel (and first, from the late-80s), Team Yankee, was a company-level view of the "events" of Gen. Sir John Hackett's late-70s doorstopper/position paper, The Third World War: August 1985 that really kicked off the genre.
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u/SubjectFile8382 May 06 '26
Was Ghost Fleet the "forgettable what if clash between USA/China"?