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Summary: Paid by the word?
Review: With "The Hunt for Red October" I became a Tom Clancy fan. I agreed with all of the glowing reviews. And the next several books (and movies) also entertained me.However, after 50 pages of "The Bear and The Tiger" I concluded that Mr. Clancy must be getting paid by the word. After 183 pages I realized that he is trying to gain favor with the Catholic Church. His constant moralizing and preaching so clouds and distracts from the story line that one has trouble keeping one's place. He has Jack Ryan, who should personify competance, whining, and being bitter. If the book were edited to @250 to 300 pages it might be very enjoyable. Unfortunately it is 1028 pages of mostly preaching, moralizing, and patronizing text. Don't waste your time.
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Summary: Clancy's 1000 page editorial
Review: I have been an avid Tom Clancy since Hunt for Red October, but I'm afraid I've read my last of his works. I expected a technically-laced thiller, what a got was a conservative diatribe. I hate being preached to by extremists on both sides via the endless media blitz throughout the course of a normal day, let alone during my leisure time. I had to endure right-wing editorials on abortion, labor unions (they're actually conservatives and just don't know it), social security, the environment, tobacco (it's not actually bad for you unless you drop a lit one in your lap while driving), to name a few issues. We finally got the 'Tom Clancy' we all know and love in the last 200 pages. But even this scenario is getting old. While being relieved the editorializing ceased briefly I got the distinct feeling I had read this before. The story was ridiculous, implausible, and tortuous to read. The Sum of All Fears left me breathless at the end. The Bear and the Dragon had me breathing a sigh of relief that it was over. Please Tom, save the editorials for the papers, get back to writing novels.
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Summary: The last Tom Clancy book I'll ever read
Review: This is the book that will finally force me to stop buying Tom Clancy. There are only two principal problems with "The Bear and the Dragon:" the writing and the story. One gets the sense that Clancy writes in a fashion that would have made the old Soviet Union proud: pound out twenty pages of production per day no matter what the quality. How else to explain ten pages of verbatim sermons given by two tertiary characters - an event that barely moves the story forward? I'm willing to accept some clunkiness - if you've read other Clancy books, you expect it just like you expect the clear good guy / bad guy dichotomy - but over 1,000 pages of it was unbearable. Even worse, there's nothing really exciting or surprising going on. The plot is telegraphed well in advance, including the grand finale threat to the US. Even if the page count were chopped in half, there would be no avoiding this uninspired plotting. For the last thirty percent of the book I found myself flipping pages, wishing it were over so I could move on to something better. If you like this genre, James H. Cobb and Larry Bond do it much better.
Rating:
Summary: The Bear and the Dragon
Review: This is first Clancy book that I could not only put down but also the only one I didn't care whether I picked it up again or not. The story moved so slowly and some parts had so little to do with the plot I got bored reading. I could only recommend this book to someone having trouble sleeping at night. I will have a difficult time convincing myself to buy his next book.
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Summary: Perspective
Review: I have read numerous reviews and my feelings are both "with you" and "against you", but in the final analysis.... #1. You have to keep in mind that this is fiction, not the real world.....that is why all of us are Clancy fans. #2. Yes, it was kind of long and probably could have been condensed somewhat, but Mr.Clancy's claim to fame is refining his very intriguing characters to the best of his abilities.....and I would doubt anyone who is a true technocrat would say that he has not lived up to his superb abilities. #3. My bottom line.....GREAT----Very lively read and simply let your imagination run wild----as a intellectual excercise---at the starting point of the battle and continuing, draw yourself a map and plot for yourself the actual war stategy for both sides----FUN!
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Summary: Time for Jack Ryan to retire
Review: This is not one of Tom Clancy's best. Jack Ryan's inner dialogue gets very tiresome after the third or fourth time. One of the biggest elements missing form this book is the element of surprise. In his past books, we didn't know what was the master plan that connected all the characters together. In this book, you know from the get go. I think it's time to retire Jack Ryan and move on to a new main character. Wait for the paperback if you are a die hard Clancy fan.
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Summary: Once Again The Master Does It
Review: Tom Clancy's The Bear And The Dragon was an action-packed book, full of military and political actions, real scenes, excellent writing and basically good material. The detailed way Tom Clancy writes adds to the true feeling of being there. The storyline is complete in every aspect, from the locations to the weapons and people. Overall, I would describe this book as great, detailed, action-packed and addictive!!
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Summary: Another Great Jack Ryan Story
Review: I thouroughly enjoyed this book! It's your typical Clancy story packed with great detail. He brings back many of the folks we have become familiar with including the Rainbow crew. The first 100 pages are tough due to all of the characters Clancy introduces. I especially hate when the Russian characters all seem to have at least two different names. Too much to keep track of. As usual, it picks up speed and I couldn't put it down. I've ready everything Clancy has put out (except for his co-author stuff) and can't wait for the next one!
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Summary: A Review of The Bear and The Dragon
Review: The novel, The Bear and The Dragon, by Tom Clancy is an extremely enjoyable story. It is written in much the same way as his other novels. Clancy uses several different and seemingly unrelated subplots in order to draw his story to a conclusion. One section of a chapter could be devoted to a CIA agent in Beijing, China, and the next section could jump to the investigation of an assassination in Moscow, Russia. As the story progresses, the different sections are strung together by several different methods. Clancy's novel is also extremely factual. The vast majority of his settings are real places and his events are compared to non-fiction events from past history, so as to give the reader something to compare the event to. Another positive aspect of this fiction is the great detail in which Clancy describes the characters in the book. Not only does the reader have a superb idea of the characters' physical traits, but each characters thoughts and mannerisms are examined until the reader gets the sense that he knows each character as a real person, not just an imaginary figure. One aspect of the book that could turn readers away, however, is the great detail in which the violence and gore are described. Clancy goes further than explaining the facts of the killings by elaborating on severed parts of the body and detailing the faces of dead men in a way that an actual image of the men is transposed into the reader's mind. Another negative point of the book is the usage of ethnic slurs, offensive to both minorities and Caucasians. Clancy uses the term " slanty eyes" more than once to refer to Oriental people and in the same sense referes to white people as "round eyes." The final aspect of the novel that could be offensive is Clancy's repeated references to sexual organ and participation in sexual activity. One entire subplot of the story is dedicated to a CIA agent who uses sex and seduction to pull top secret information out of a secretary. Several statements made by characters in the story also refer to the reproductive organs. I found the novel, The Bear and The Dragon, to be immensely enjoyable. Clancy shows a dedication to making the book and its characters as realisitc as possible, and as a side effect, the language, thoughts, and actions of the characters are not sugarcoated. This book could be equally enjoyed by both men and women. If you like a novel that pays extensive attention to detail and is extremely true to the real world and real-life actions of people, then The Bear and The Dragon, by Tom Clancy, is the perfect book.
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Summary: First Clancy I COULD Put Down
Review: OK, I admit it, I anxiously await each new Tom Clancy novel to be published (no, not op-center or net-force or the non-fiction works - just the fictionalized novels). This was the first one I COULD put down and not finish in 1-2 readings. I was able to read a couple chapters at a time over a week or so. At 1000+ pages and 60+ chapters, its almost mandatory. The plot was classic Clancy, lots of technology, espionage, sub-plots and characters - (the Chinese and Russian character's names are so similar that I found myself going back a few times to see who was who), but sufficiently exciting to keep my attention over a week's period of time. The first 75% of the book sets up the last 25% which describes the inevitable "war" chapters - definitely exciting reading. This book continues to portray the government of the People's Republic of China as the "bad guy", continuing the theme started a few novels ago, but not generalized to include the population as a whole. Deep cooperation and an alliance with Russia is also a primary theme. Finally, we get to see a very interesting (and realistic?) portrayal of Jack Ryan as a seasoned POTUS (President of the US). Enjoy the book, and the frequent reference to Japanese sausage!
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