Clear and Present Danger vs The Sum of All Fears: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Ryan, Clark, Jack Ryan, Intelligence service, Spies, Spy Fiction
Clear and Present Danger
“The room was still empty.”
The sudden and surprising assassination of three American officials in Colombia. Many people in many places, moving off on missions they all mistakenly thought they understood. The future was too fearful for…
vs
The Sum of All Fears
Peace may finally be at hand in the Middle East -- as Jack Ryan lays the groundwork for a plan that could end centuries of conflict. But ruthless terrorists have a final, desperate card to play; with one terrible act,…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Clear and Present Danger is the quickest read — about 12 hours vs 16 for The Sum of All Fears.
- Clear and Present Danger has the widest readership — 145784 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Clear and Present Danger | The Sum of All Fears | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (145784) | 4.1 (67817) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (221) | 3.8 (164) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (739) | 4.5 (646) |
Reception
| Clear and Present Danger | The Sum of All Fears | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 145784 | 67817 |
| Editions | 42 | 47 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 19853 | 16456 |
| Reading it now | 2262 | 2389 |
| Written reviews | 1180 | 1128 |
| Wikipedia attention | 39863 | 7120 |
| Pages | 656 | 914 |