How to read all ‘Jack Ryan’ books in order

The Jack Ryan character is one of the most seminal characters in modern-day novels, especially thrillers. Created by Tom Clancy and first appearing in The Hunt for Red October — released in 1984 — the character has been the main character in tens of novels. He has also appeared in films and television and was most recently played by John Krasinski in the Amazon Prime Video series, Jack Ryan.

The character has worn many different suits over the years from being a CIA analyst to being the President of the United States. If you are a fan of John Krasinski’s portrayal or a fan of the other portrayals by Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin, and Chris Pine, you might want to get started with the novels. So let’s take a look at every Jack Ryan novel, give you a place to start, and tell you just how many there are.

How many Jack Ryan novels have been released?

There are three categories of Jack Ryan novels, ones that feature Jack Ryan as the main character, ones that feature his son, Jack Ryan Jr., as the main character, and ones that feature John Clark as the main character. Therefore it is hard to nail down how many John Clark books there are as they all take place in the Ryanverse. They were also not all written by Tom Clancy himself either, as the novels continued after his death in 2013. With all that being said, we are going to give you a list of every novel appearing in the Ryanverse, whether or not Jack Ryan is the main character.

Every book in the Jack Ryan Ryanverse

1. The Hunt for Red October was written by Tom Clancy and released in 1984.
2. Patriot Games was written by Tom Clancy and was released in 1987.
3. The Cardinal of the Kremlin was written by Tom Clancy and released in 1988.
4. Clear and Present Danger was written by Tom Clancy and released in 1989.
5. The Sum of All Fears was written by Tom Clancy and released in 1991.
6. Without Remorse was written by Tom Clancy and it was released in 1993.
7. Debt of Honor was written by Tom Clancy and released in 1994.
8. Executive Orders was written by Tom Clancy and released in 1996.
9. Rainbow Six was written by Tom Clancy and released in 1998.
10. The Bear and the Dragon was written by Tom Clancy and released in 2000.
11. Red Rabbit was written by Tom Clancy and released in 2002.
12. The Teeth of the Tiger was written by Tom Clancy and released in 2003.
13. Dead or Alive was written by Tom Clancy with Grant Blackwood and released in 2010.
14. Against All Enemies was written by Tom Clancy with Peter Telep and released in 2011. While it does not feature any other major characters and is a standalone novel, it is still in the Ryanverse.
15. Locked On was written by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney and released in 2011. 
16. Threat Vector was written by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney and released in 2012.
17. Command Authority was written by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney and released in 2013. Command Authority is the last novel Clancy wrote before he died. 
18. Support and Defend was written by Mark Greaney and released in 2014. This was the first novel in the Ryanverse not to be written by Tom Clancy.
19. Full Force and Effect was written by Mark Greaney and released in 2014.
20. Under Fire was written by Grant Blackwood and released in 2015.
21. Commander in Chief was written by Mark Greaney and released in 2015.
22. Duty and Honor was written by Grant Blackwood and released in 2016.
23. True Faith and Allegiance was written by Mark Greaney and released in 2016.
24. Point of Contact was written by Mike Maden and released in 2017.
25. Power and Empire was written by Marc Cameron and released in 2017.
26. Line of Sight was written by Mike Maden and released in 2018.
27. Oath of Office was written by Marc Cameron and released in 2018.
28. Enemy Contact was written by Mike Maden and released in 2019.
29. Code of Honor was written by Marc Cameron and released in 2019.
30. Firing Point was written by Mike Maden and released in 2020.
31. Shadow of the Dragon was written by Marc Cameron and released in 2020.
32. Target Acquired was written by Don Bentley and released in 2021.
33. Chain of Command was written by Marc Cameron and released in 2021.
34. Zero Hour was written by Don Bentley and released in 2022.
35. Red Winter was written by Marc Cameron and released in 2022.
36. Flash Point was written by Don Bentley and is scheduled to be released in 2023.

So there you have it, all the books that have been released in the Jack Ryan Ryanverse so far. If you count every book in the Ryanverse so far there are a total of 35 books in the series with the 36th book due for a 2023 release. If you get rid of the standalone book which does not focus on Jack Ryan, Jack Ryan Jr., John Clark, or any other major character, the series contains a total of 34 books.

Of course, you can narrow it down even further by removing all the editions in which John Clark or Jack Ryan Jr. appeared as the main character and that shrinks the list by around 10 books. But because Jack Ryan becomes the President he is still present in the series even if he is not the main character. We have been getting a steady stream of Jack Ryan novels since 2014, at a rate of two every year. At this rate, there will be 50 books in the franchise in 2030. 

Pick up Flash Point when it comes to bookstores in 2023 and watch Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime Video.