Rating: 
Summary: Has Clancy Peaked?
Review: The book shelves are filled with very successful authors who have sold mega-quantities of books and whose new releases go to the top of the best seller lists on their name value alone, before the latest issue is even read. Tom Clancy has become (over the years) just such an author, and many of us who have enjoyed his work would say "rightly so." His latest book, however, is more of a slow, dreary tome than a fast-paced exciting novel. At over 1000 pages, it is too long by a factor of at least two. I remember, when I was younger, there was a wonderful adventure writer named Allistair MacLean, who I came to love for books like Guns Of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare etc. After years of great success he began to take the success for granted and his books seriously degraded in quality, he became depressed, drank heavily and, ultimately, died. I'm not suggesting the same path for Mr. Clancy, but hopefully this disappointment will be a lesson that will put him back on the right path. The real problem is that he may have "boxed" himself into a very difficult corner. Having Jack Ryan as President dramatically reduces the ability of his lead character to be at the center of the action. How he resolves this dilemma may ultimately determine his future success and whether this series must inevitably end and another series or unrelated individual novels must be solution. If you have something better to do, carry around all those wonderful memories of Clancy's earlier books rather than these 1000 pages. They will be much lighter and infinitely more rewarding.
Rating:
Summary: Clancy needs a good editor
Review: Few books, especially novels, are worth reading that are over 1000 pages long. This novel would have been much better at 500 pages. To be cut, would be the endless descriptions of Ryan, our newly elected President, thinking and talking about social security, abortion, balance of payments and other Clancy thoughts on government and Washington policy or the lack thereof. Who cares what Clancy thinks on these subjects. Give us a good read, lots of action and plausible reality. We get enough of the rest on talk shows and in The New York Times
Rating:
Summary: The dragon ;and the bear
Review: I am 200 pages into the book. The development is slow. Reminds me of L Ron Hubbards Battle Field Earth, a 350 page book expanded into 1000 pages. I have bought all oof Clancy's books in hard copy, this may be the last if I finish this one. So far, very disapointing.
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Clancy Needs An Editor
Review: I am female and an avid Clancy reader. He is one of the authors that I buy the hardback. It usually takes me 3-4 days to read his books, however, I am now on week #4!The story is okay, I didn't mind the politics, I didn't even mind the preaching. What I did find appalling is the over use of the "F" word and every other nasty thought or joke phrase concerning sex or the male/female anatomy. I believe that Jack Ryan would start to smoke on the sly. As much as he hates his job, he probably needs the smokes. But, the Jack Ryan that I have read about in all of the other books would NEVER have talked like he did in Dragon. I should have known when I got to page 16 and saw what Jack said that this was really going to be a bad book. In the past couple of months I have wondered why we had not seen a new Clancy novel, I wish we had not seen this one yet. It desparately needed more work. However, if you are like me and enjoy Clancy, Jack Ryan and the gang -- you will buy this. Don't say you weren't warned!
Rating:
Summary: Half way through....
Review: I've always loved the TC/Jack Ryan books up until Rainbow Six which seemed like it was based on a video game. This book has a very compelling story line but the dialogue is so inane I have trouble keeping a straight face as I read each page. Clancy seems to think that by adding the F-Bomb and the dick comments that the conversations will seem more realistic and cover up his inability to present normal human conversation. Pathetic moments include: When President Jack Ryan says for 10 millionth time "...GODDAMN IT call me Jack not Mr President! " The repeated use of the SS codenames for the first family and cabinent members is so lame with lines like "SWORDSMAN says to SURGEON..." or that dope Mark Gant ("he's good with computers" - duh) who in the middle of tense trade negotiations starts berating a fellow diplomant and attacks the guy's penis size...unbelievable...and worse yet "SWORDSMAN" thought it was great? Ugh! This is such a lame book...but of course I'll finish..hopefully this is the end of the Jack Ryan books.
Rating:
Summary: Ghost writer??
Review: Clearly Tom Clancey did not write this book. The plot was painful, the ending easily predictable by page 200 and it seemed like every major plot turn was repeated over and over. There were a huge amount of typos in the book which makes me wonder if Clancey ued an editor at all. This book reads more like a classic Clancey rip-off then the real thing. For the first time in a long time all of the hero's in this novel have no fatal flaw, this book reads like it was custom made for the silver screen. His refrences to Clinton, who has never exsited in the Clancey world, throw you right out of the story and his politcal rhetoric is getting quite old. I believe that if Clancey wants to change the world he should do so in one of his fine non-fiction books. How many times do we need to read that Ryan hate politics Anybody else out there wish he died on that cruiser? For the first time in all my reading of Clancey's work I was actually hoping that Ryan would die.
Rating: 
Summary: Bear and the Dragon Drags On
Review: All of his books are too long and this one is waaaaaaay to long. In the past, I didn't care because I would just scan through much of his rambling because the bottom line was the books were enjoyable. But this one is boring. Once the action finally starts, around page 750, the passages are wordy and without any real imagination. Does Clancy get paid by the word? Lastly, we all know he is a conservative Republican but the inclusion of his political views so many times was uncalled for. The writer of "Patriot Games" and "A Clear and Present Danger" is taking himself way to seriously has apparently killed the Golden Goose.
Rating:
Summary: Save your time!This novel is a bomb!
Review: I no longer have RED STAR RISING with which to compare this novel, but it is my recollection that this is merely a rewrite of it with only the names of the characters and countries changed and the military equipment brought up to date! I feel cheated! I won't read Clancy ever again!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Offensive language, sexual content, shallow Ryan
Review: I found the book to be full of offensive language and more explicit sexual content than I am willing to endure. I have been a Jack Ryan fan since Hunt for Red October. I put this book down because of the f-word and other swear words occuring many times per most pages and because of the sexual detail. I also find that Jack Ryan has become less interesting and highly shallow as President. Where has the intelligent and courageous hero we all grew to love gone?
Rating:
Summary: As always, the dialogue is the Achilles' heel...
Review: I know a person shouldn't read Clancy expecting sparkling dialogue but COME ON! Man, there were way too many excruciating scenes where I could barely keep reading the page due to the rolling of the eyes those scenes brought on. Jack Ryan has always been pretty hard to take. (As just one example off the top of my head, does anyone else remember the verbal clangers with the Prince of Wales in 'Patriot Games'? Ewww. It stopped me short in my rereading of that book a couple of years ago.) But as he rose in the government ranks he has had less and less to actually _do_ so we seem to get to hear more and more of his Boy-Scout-with-Tourettes ramblings. Plus we all get subjected to the itchy feeling that Tom Clancy is using his francise to push his own political beliefs (hey, I know its his book to write as he pleases but it still feels kind of cheap). Still the man can draw a plot and that kept me slogging to the (ironically, for a 1026 page tome) too-quick ending. Mr. Clancy, if you know your strength is in techno-plot and you are going to publish a 1000+ page book I wish the pacing would be such that the interesting stuff that shows off your strength occupies more than 10 or 15 percent of the novel! Of course what do I know, I am not a hugely successful novelist. Overall I found the book disappointing but if you are a Clancy fan it still has the elements... but the better elements seem to be waning.
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