Rating: 
Summary: Has Mr. Clancy turned over a new leaf?
Review: While I am enjoying the book so far, I enjoyed the others more. I am rather disappointed in an author of his stature using the "F" word so frequently. Occasionally maybe but not page after page. I hope that it gets better as I read further into the book.
Rating: 
Summary: reading this book is like homework
Review: This is my 6th Clancy book. I'm now at page 500 or so and just don't think I can finish it. It's like reading all his other books wrapped up into one. Nothing wrong with Clancy's ability to keep putting out quality material, but I think I've simply had enough. His writing style has become too predictable for me, and even though I don't know how the book will end literally, I do figuratively I think and, okay, maybe a bit literally too. After 500 pages I am so sick of the jumping around to different sub-plots. And trying to keep up with all the Russian and Chinese names and who's who, etc. Sheesh. In most of his other books I've read, by around page 300 it would start to really get interesting, but I don't find it here and I'm just past page 500. I think I would rather have teeth pulled than have to read one more paragraph of dialogue between Chavez and Clark. Those two are so feely-good with each other now that they're in-laws. If I read one more sentence where one of the characters in Russia is having yet another drink of Vodka (Clancy reminds you every other page that Russians like their Vodka and so do Americans who live over there) I will leave this planet. Okay, got that off my chest. I paid for the book, can't finish it....will donate to my local library. Just had to vent. But, if you're one that's never read Clancy before, then by all means dig in...I've simply read one too many.
Rating: 
Summary: Clancy cures insomnia
Review: Clancy again disappoints his readers. Please - where is the editor? Cut out 40 % and the stuff might eventually become readable. The plot is highly predictable and very thin, the characters are at best two dimensional, with some racism added. Due to its length, this book ought to be a good cure against insomnia. There is too little action, the techno stuff is also quite weak. His politcial asides are hard to stomach. TC's views on social security: Who cares? Probably the age of the techno thriller is over. Anyway: If You want to read thrilling stuff, buy McNab, Bravo 2 0 or Immediate Action.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for undiscriminating Clancy diehards
Review: What I thought I was getting when I picked up a copy of this book was a typical Clancy techno-thriller; tight, suspenseful, and satisfying, with "could-be" world conflict scenarios, high-tech weaponry and spycraft, and maybe a glimpse of Armageddon before a tidy win for the good guys.Instead what I got was bludgeoned over the head with some of the most jarring, heavy-handed conservative diatribe since...well, the last time Pat Buchanan said anything. We all know of the author's political sympathies, and generally, it's not kept me from swooping down on his new material...but in this book, it's glaring, mean-spirited, and smacks of racism and xenophobia. Even if you could care less about politics, it's distracting enough to take away from what would otherwise be a great story. The story deals with events leading to the discovery of oil and gold in a previously unexplored part of Siberia, which promises financial salvation for Russia. Unfortunately, the Red Chinese are having financial problems of their own, and aren't above a little subterfuge to take advantage of a weakened post-Cold War Russia. The United States, under the bold (and increasingly whiney - why did he run for re-election?) leadership of President Jack Ryan, catches wind of the scheme, and before you can say "Yippie-ki-ay", jumps into the fray...after 700 pages or so. The book bogs down halfway through in long, slow tracts of dialogue, and rehashed narrative. Some of the characters seemed almost parodies of themselves, particularly the Chinese ministers that are drawn so outrageously, you expect to read about them stroking their mustaches and cackling evilly. There are a few subplots that eat up too much paper, and I found I was skipping ahead quite a bit to get to some more meaty sections. Overall, the story was good, but the book really suffers from poor (and perhaps nonexistent) copy editing, repetition, and above all, the tiresome right-wing proselytizing. It's about 500 pages too long. If you're a diehard fan, by all means, read this book. If you dabble in Clancy novels, be warned: there are much better ones than this.
Rating:
Summary: Rehashing old stuff, no spark
Review: Without spoiling things, I felt that "The Bear and the Dragon" was, at times, a rewrite of "Debt of Honor" and "Red Storm Rising." Like other reviews, I think Mr. Clancy could have trimmed the book by a good 300 pages. I also did not like his extensive use of profanity. I don't recall him using so much foul language in his other books. Clancy is one of my favorite authors, but this book is not his best. It has it's moments, but most of it is quite flat and almost boring (i.e., the first 300 or so pages). I expect better, Mr. Clancy.
Rating:
Summary: Sleeping pill
Review: This is a 200-page initial review: "Not (yet) up to par." My reading habit is to go to bed and read for an hour or so. Of late I manage to prop my way through 3 or 4 pages before I drop the book. From reading some of the other customer reviews, it sounds like I have 700+ pages to go before the action picks up to classic Clancy pace --- final rating will be when I finish the book; ETR is 15 Apr 01. . . . :-(
Rating:
Summary: Embarrassing to read
Review: What was embarrassing was that the author reveals so much about his mind in this book--and it isn't pretty. When even a minister is supposed to think gutter-language thoughts at one point, it was clear that no one at the publishing house edited this book. Plus he tells us what seems like 10 times (maybe really only three times, but by then it seems like 10) the same rumors about Mao Tse-Tung's personal life. There is a reasonably interesting plot here. If you could remove every 4-letter word and bedroom scene to get to the heart of the story, the book would shrink by about one-half and might not be so bad. In its current form, anyone who doesn't use 4-letter words in every fourth sentence of every conversation is going to feel overwhelmed after a while. I certainly did, and I found myself just skimming over the dialogue after a while, watching for what might actually be important to the story. Perhaps this is a good argument for electronic books that you could manipulate and read in the form you want. If I could have in advance, I'd have put this in a Word document and done a host of "delete alls" on every 4-letter word I could think of. Then there might have been a mildly decent (albeit mildly racist) book left over. Even then, of course I'd have had to put up with his defense of Jack Ryan's smoking habit and other oddities... So I agree with most of the other reviews. What a big disappointment this book was, even if it had the usual exciting plot elements. I don't plan to buy any more of Mr. Clancy's books.
Rating:
Summary: Retire Ryan or Retire Clancy
Review: what a disappointment! the only reason I finished this book was I paid full price for it. stupid me. the theme in this book sound interesting, but, by 565th page, I just found it ridiculously laughable. china invaded siberia of Russia and US sent troops to help defend? how the hell clancy could come up something like that. didn't make any sense at all. worst, clancy tried to create his own evil empire, China, to replace the Regan version, Russia. But he just failed to do his research on modern chinese life, culture and society. A lot of things he described the chinese are outdately wrong. obviously he relied on his own personal imagination to create this chinese background w/o any basis of facts. that's just plain lazy. then he casted this evil empire image on the whole chinese civilization, you can call him racist, I would rather think he is just retardedly flawed in his logic. I think it's time for clancy to retire the Ryan character (it's getting old and boring) or the readers should retire clancy.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Clancy Page Turner
Review: This is one great adventure story. It's timely. It's controversial. It's politically incorrect. What more could we want?
Rating:
Summary: His worst book yet
Review: Like most TC readers I have read all his previous books and looked forward to this release. However early on in the reading of the Bear and the Dragon I found myself pushing to get through the book. There is little to no character development and little to no excitement. Phrases are repeated throughout the book that feel like they were cut and pasted verbatim from earlier chapters or from other works (The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reicht). Not that there is plagerism going on. It's just historical reference, but it should have been expanded on and made unique to this book. Nothing breaks the enjoyment of reading as much as noticing the writing. Various times in the book there are severe errors in descriptions of technology - most notably in the areas of the internet. These areas made me cringe in their extreme ignorance on the basics of domain names, email, modem speed and the like. For instance we are expected to believe that in China one can connect to an ISP at 57000 bits per second. First off we can barely do that here in our country and then you would not be connecting at that speed, but would probably connect at a number based on 1024 (i.e. 48128 or similar). in fact i believe that there are limits in a 56k modem that keep the connections below 50k. We are also expected to believe that the CIA also connects via a dial up! It takes 3 minutes for the laptop to send the email and it also takes 3 minutes to receive it at CIA headquarters. Perhaps she really is using AOL to get her most secret encrypted email, but that is stretching belief quite a bit. Also - no one who uses computers calls them 'puters. How about "PC's" next time Mr. Clancy? Okay, I'll admit that this is all nit picking, but the reason that TC is so great is the attention to details as the story is crafted. If the suspension of belief is broken while reading, the story has problems. I also found the plot very heavy handed. I felt like this is a political message about China and abortion. Not that I disagree with his beliefs but everyone has the same opinions in TC's government. Anyone who opposes his view are cast as "tree huggers", commies or gays and are quickly cast aside. This book is just too much propaganda for TC's political views. It lacks realism and is just a plain disappointment. Sorry.
| 
