The Bear and the Dragon

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Summary: Bear and Dragon
Review: This book was really good.It was about Russia finding lots of oil and gold resources and China almost going bankrupt. China attacked Russia and the U.S. and Russia defended themselves from China. In a quick summary, China got whupped by the other 2 countries.

Rating:
Summary: A waste of paper
Review: No one has ever accused Tom Clancy of being a great writer, but in the Bear and the Dragon he hardly appears to be trying. The book is poorly edited, plot lines are dropped or added arbitrarily, and the dialogue is so bad that it has to be read to be believed. In some of his earlier books, Clancy did show that he could construct a fast-moving plot, and turn out entertainment, if not art. But at this point in his career, he can't even do that. Of course, he continues to sell well based on his earlier work, but you have to wonder how long this will continue.

Rating:
Summary: Major disappointment
Review: Have read all of the Jack Ryan and/or John Clark books and enjoyed most of them immensely. This latest, however, was a major disappointment. It continues to pull down a formerly refreshing character. I understand that reality does not always present us with perfect heroes and Jack Ryan previously was probably a bit too good to be true. I am sorry to see a character I liked becoming far more crude with each of the latest books. The Ryan character (and the personal character he exhibited) used to pull me through a lot of the technical material that went somewhat over my head. No longer. I will not likely purchase any future novels by Mr. Clancy.

Rating:
Summary: sheer disappointment
Review: Is it me or do publishing houses no longer employ people to read books for typos and plot and character inconsistencies??? I've read all of the Jack Ryan books - until this one, I loved them all. I couldn't get more than 100 pages into this one due to the errors. Sorry, Tom - great stories, NO editing!!!

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Summary: Worst Clancy book so far !!!
Review: What happened to Tom Clancy???
I have been a TC fan since the very first book and I have enjoied immensely almost every *real* TC book(not including the op center/net force series and the other co-written novels that are clearly fast commercial work).
This book is really depressing. I have read the first two hundred pages so far and I had to jump so many pages that the real content is probably less than one fourth of it.
How it is that TC has to tell us every couple of pages what he thinks (not so hard to guess and not very profund), of the US political environment and of his philosopy and ethic including areas like abortion?
Why every single american character complains every time about his position (president, vice president ...) and would rather be living with his family, flying jets, working on wall street etc. etc.?
Why the "evil characters" are so predictably and "evil" (may have described them as cardboard charcters).
I have had the temptation to drop the book many times that I almost start complaining about the fact that I am going on reading rather than doing something better...
Definitely boring.
Other review point to the fact that after the first (!) 700 pages you get 300 pages of moderately interesting stuff. I will try to get there...

Rating:
Summary: The worst Tom Clancy yet.
Review: I have read all Tom Clancy books and undoubtedly this is the worst. His books after Clear and Present Danger are deteriorating in quality. I have completed only 200 pages and could not go further. May be I will borrow his next book from the library rather than wasting a few bucks.

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Summary: Can you stand to wade through 600 words?
Review: That's about how long it takes this book to get going. I found it very hard to retain any sort of interest in the book during this, frankly rather dull, period. In my opinion, Clancy would have done better to have chopped out this entire section of the book and summarised it into nearer four or five. Also, as another reviewer noted, swearing is slightly more prevalent in this book, although that dies down after about 200 pages. Perhaps the author had been reading Andy McNab books? On a similar topic, despite getting a quick mention, the British army seem to get left behind in the fighting somewhat - as indeed do the Russians - and it unfortunately becomes a tale of America saving the day. Perhaps Clancy is taking after directors of American-made war movies? Anyhow, although the American home audience would have enjoyed it, it would have been nice for foreigners to have got a look in. And - I would have thought that Tony Blair is on TV in America sometimes - so Clancy need not have made him talk like Neville Chamberlin. All that said, once the war is going in the last 300-400 pages, it does become a gripping read and evidence of what the author can accomplish when he puts his mind to it.

Rating:
Summary: The Bear and the Dragon
Review: What a bore; his worst book ever. Clancy clearly rules his pusilanimous editors (much as does Stephen King). Book is basically ill-concieved tripe that is poorly edited. Should have been perhaps 400 pages. Aegis cruiser shooting down ICBM!!?? PLEASE! The excessive expresion of his right-wing politics does little to help the narrative (or lack thereof). An insurance salesman is now telling us how we should deal with foreign policy and it is *ugly*. Please go fishing on the beautiful Bay and relearn how to write something like THFRO.

Rating:
Summary: Filled with four-letter words
Review: I stopped reading this book after about 100 pages. Clancy (whom I thought was right-leaning) apparently cannot go 4 or 5 pages without using the "s" word or the "f" word. Even Jack Ryan regularly uses the latter (did he do that in the previous books? I don't think so). Tom Clancy has sold out.

Rating:
Summary: Disapointing at best
Review: I started reading the Bear and the dragon as I was traveling in China. Someone should tell Mr Clancy that today's China is very different from the 80's USSR... I go to China quite often on business and nothing looks slightly familiar to what was described in this book. Government workers do not go to work in gray Mao style suits.....Every thing except thir state of mind is wrong. Anyway that being said, as I read the first chapter, I knew how the book would end up. The plot is predictible, Jack Ryan thoughts are predictible, the use of technology is not even as good as it used to be in the former Ryan series. What a disapointment, Mr Clancy is resting on his laurels trying to pass out his political agenda. Instead of writting mediocre books why doesnot he run for office. He seems to have all the answers..... The book is poorly documented, poorly written, it seems to me that Mr Clancy should retire with Jack Ryan.