Rating: 
Summary: Clancy doesn't know how to make bad guys
Review: Man did Clancy wreck the Chinese leaders. They are all stupid except Qian. It's totally unbelieveable. Clancy basicially makes everything work for the US and nothing for China. The missile intercept thing in the end is soooo fake and undramatic. Man if you make the enemy that dumb and give your side all the fancy toys that is 1000x better than the enemy, what do you expect? The whole book is predictable and it is way too long. Man, not one main/minor character on the good side died. Oh and Clancy did not do enough research on Chinese people. The ending with the thousands of students marching into the office is totally unrealstic. What was he smoking? There are so many soldiers in that area that there is no way those students would go there. The whole esponiage thing is also pretty sad. The US gets all the spies and all the information but the Chinese don't get any.... huh huh, at least in Debt of Honor and Executive Orders there was some spy and some people actually died..... Clancy also made the Chinese pretty generic, there were no real defining characteristics, he did little research. I mean, he just picked them and said ok, you're the bad guys. Oh this ties with how he made them all so stupid. I mean, even a high school student like me know about equilbrium price and international trade and stuff. Clancy made them all sound like 10 year olds with no knowledge... please! Oh and Clancy, please try not to make up stuff about computers. Anyone who knows anything about computers laughs at your silly attempts at making it sound really secure and bulletproof. Your grasp of quantum physics is.... 1 star at best. Oh and I'm sure the CIA doesn't use a 56K modem anymore, i think they have T3 at least or probably OC. Get on with the times man..... do better research because you can't expect your readers to just believe what you say!
Rating: 
Summary: What's the point?
Review: I'm an avid Clancy fan, but this time I just don't get it. Perhaps 1000 pages of brain-numbing dialogue, cursing and coarse sex was just too much. Clancy launches numerous themes in this book that just don't work. Nor do they peak to grabbing resolution. We have trade wars, espionage, murder mysteries, political intrigue, counterterrorism and war. . . all of which fall flat. Why? Because any one of these should take an entire book. So, endless pages of "staging" end with little satisfaction. Worse, many of his climaxes just don't work. Do we really think Marine One could land on a cruiser without the helo saying, "hey, this is Marine One requesting assistance to land?" Oh, but in the book no one knows the president is aboard the ship. Or, in just one page 100 Chinese tanks conveniently parked side by side get destroyed by a few bombs. Wow, in a small number of pages, the whole PLA is wiped out. Unrealistic. And, as others have said, how much presidential complaining and senseless opining can we take? This book is not worth $30, and it's not worth the time to read it. Tom, perhaps it's time to retire.
Rating:
Summary: B&D is Clancy's first flat-out failure
Review: Probably the moment he finished "Debt of Honor", which ends with Jack Ryan being swept into the White House following a disaster, Tom Clancy probably sat back and said to himself "NOW what do I write about! " He has decided to replace his nail-biting espionage thrillers of the 80s with a very dull, predictable yarn to the right of Rush Limbaugh laden with sexist, racist, and xenophobic rhetoic. Hmmm... "The Bear and the Dragon", not too hard to figure out by the title (and by the jacket cover description) that this will involve a conflict between Russia and China. But even that is not obvious enough for Clancy, who has one of the main Chinese characters allude to the inevitable invasion of Siberia in the first 50 pages (did I mention that there were over 950 pages remaining by the time you figure out the plot?). It's very hard to care for President Jack Ryan. His moaning and whining about how hard it is to be president seems very different from the all-business, lets-get-the-job-done hero of his previous books. Perhaps he's having a mid-life crisis, who knows? When Ryan is not sneaking cigarettes (I suspect that Clancy wanted to defy every PC idea out there, like smoking, guns, ethnic slurs, etc.) and complaining about his job, he is micromanaging all U.S. intelligence and military affairs. Of course, the mighty U.S.A. is all-knowing and all-powerful. The CIA is literally the diary of a Chinese Politboro chief and knows the Chinese's every move before they make it. Not hard to fight a enemy when it's that easy. It began rolling my eyes everytime some Chinese minister revealed a vital part of their plan, knowing that everyone else in the book would know it as well. With regards to China and U.S. trade, Clancy is just living in a fantasy world. His characters start a trade war with China after the killing of two ministers who are trying to stop an abortion (he hits all of the conservative issues in this one, folks). Booo, China bad! But the resons we're turning our back on a trade partner who helps keep Americans employed while backing a former enemy who is broke and corrupt is never explained either. The only interesting and unpredictable sub-plot (and I mean the ONLY unpredictable) involves the murder/espionage investigation in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Here the characters are human and interesting to read about. They're not the two-dimentional conservative mouthpieces Clancy has in the White House chapters nor the civilian's characture of military officers such as those of General Diggs of the 1st Armored Division. But even this if not resolved satisfactoraly... Clancy realized that he only had about 100 or so pages to go and ended the sub-plot. The big climactic war, the one you've been just waiting to start since page 50, is the biggest disappointment. Of course the U.S.A.'s superweapons tip the scales in the Russian's favor with the "hyperwar" and devistate the People's Liberation Army. The dialogue and plot suddenly seem like something from a bad, low budget B-grade military action movie. Of course the invinsible American army wipes the PLA off the face of the map with no problem, the Chinese are humiliated and devistated, and the U.S.A. and Russia (a NATO member! ) are the big heros. Perhaps the STUPIDEST premise was when a balistic missile (Clark makes an appearence in this one too) is fired at D.C. (they destroy all but one of the missiles, but of course THAT one is headed not only to the American capital but also to the only American city with a missile defense system!). In the midst of evacuating the Ryan family, Jack gets macho tough and jumps aboard the ship that is supposed to shoot down the missile to "ride it out." Oh, come on! But for me, the most disturbing aspect of the novel was the casual use of racial slurs by the fictional leaders of the free world. It seemed as if every character had no problem referring to the Chinese as "Chinks". The Russians, the diplomats, the soldiers and airmen, even the President uses this dehumanizing tactic. There is also a very patronizing attitude toward the women in the novel. Secret Service Special Agent Andrea O'Day is responsible for the safety of the President of the United States. But when she becomes pregnant, Ryan dismisses her as just a girl who is trying to be with the big boys. He even goes so far to say that because she doesn't have what he has between her legs it's impossible to be as tough as a guy. Is this 2000 of 1900? If anything, it appears that Mr. Clancy has just plump run out of ideas for his protagonist. Jack Ryan has gone from CIA analyst to Deputy Director (Intelligence) of the CIA, to National Security Advisor to President. He should either just retire and start a new generaion of characters of kill him off. Sorry if that sounds so harsh, but the demise of Jack Ryan wouldn't be too bad for me after this last tome. This racist, sexist, and completely PREDICTABLE book is a big disappointment and a weak beginning for a new decade in Tom Clancy novels.
Rating:
Summary: In the process of reading this, but people....
Review: Stop complaining about the language. This is a military techno-thriller, not some childrens story. Expect the language, and if you have to, read around it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Candidte for Reader's Digest of Condensed Books!!
Review: I join a few other reviewers who came here to find out if our thinking on the book was odd, or if the book indeed, was odd! I feel vindicated, seeing that MANY of the reviews expressed the same feelings and emotions that I was feeling. To those who categorize the reviewers as democrats or republicans, I think you're off base. All reviewers were trying to point out is that Mr. Clancy has intruded into OUR reading of a work of fiction, with his politics. If I wanted to hear Mr. Clancy's politics, I would have purchased his essays. This book is FAIR in quality, certainly not up to his usual abilities. He's written MUCH MUCH better novels. I agree with some of the other reviewers who asked, "Which Tom Clancy wrote this book?" It seems as if Mr. Clancy was getting paid by the page and decided to quit at 1000. It took him a few more pages to reach 'the end point,' but the thought here is that this would have been a terrific book at 400 pages. Take out the politics, take out the lectures (if I want to be lectured to, I can find those books in the library,) and finally, treat your readers like the adults we are. Instead of a movie contract, sign up for a Reader's Digest Condensed Book contract! Sign me "Disappointed"
Rating: 
Summary: Clancy scores again
Review: I was very surprised when I saw that the reviews for this book are mediocre. My opinion is that this is one of Clancy's best efforts, and even if you don't agree with that, I don't see how folks are saying it's one of his worst. I thought the storyline set the stage perfectly. Think it took too long? Well, did you LOOK at the book when you bought it? It's a miniature cinderblock! Of course, there's character and plot development galore, along with Clancy's usual detailed descriptions of military equipment and vehicles. And for folks who've found the politics of the characters (and through them, Clancy, to a degree) offensive, get over it. I don't think anyone is trying to argue that the events of the book would or will happen, but they COULD, given what we know about the leadership in communist goverments around the world. And the tantalizing thought that it COULD happen...well isn't that what great storytelling is all about?
Rating:
Summary: Completely Unreadable
Review: As a long-time fan of Tom Clancy, I find myself incredibly disappointed with his latest offering, The Bear and the Dragon. Weighing in at just over 1,000 pages, the book is filled with page after page of "thoughts" as opposed to good, old-fashioned dialog-"thoughts" so replete with poorly written, misogynistic, right-winged conservative diatribes that it renders the book all but unreadable. I can't help but thinking that 1) Clancy has completely lost touch with the reality in which the rest of us live, and 2) the man is simply using his novels as a pulpit from which he can preach his views and beliefs. I encourage everyone to save their money and look elsewhere for a good thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Slow reading
Review: Usually I cannot put down a Tom Clancy book but this one I can read 30 or 40 pages and then go on to something else I have to do. It is very very wordy. The text repeats itself in several of the chapters. I found myself flipping through the book trying to follow the plot to the end, I have not finished reading this book, I may never do so with the joy I had with other Clancy novels. I agree with other reviewers when they stated one gets tired of Jack Ryan griping about being president. I like the character but this is to much, not realistic. The book so far has been a disappointment. I should have purchased the audio tape, then I would have gotten the story without all the endless words of dialogue.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, Mr Clancy.....this just ain't good enough.
Review: As with all TC's books, the moment I saw it on a book shelf in Singapore, I just grab it, paid for it and rush home to consume it....and also to hell with any dates or appointments for the next couple of days or so. However I was very disappointed with this one. I have been a fan of TC since Red Storm Rising back when I was 11 years old. In fact without exposure to his books, I would not have been where I am right now. His books started my interest in reading. Trying to read his books makes me learn more English during a time when I was losing interest in learning. After his book I graduated to other non-fiction works by many other superb writers. As a indirect result of his magnificent 2nd book (Red Storm), I become a better, more productive person in my country. The book reads like an ethnic Chinese bashing book and I wonder if TC has ever been to China or even Asia. No doubt some things in the book are probably true but a lot of the facts just don't stand up correct. I mean, Singapore taking up slack in textile manufacturing? Huh? That seems like the economy here 10 years ago... And now after reading books like "Fall from Glory" by Mr. Gregory L. Vistica I begin to wonder how good are his facts are now. The Bear and the Dragon is definitely below par compare to his other books. And I just want to finish it off quick so I can start with Lee Kuan Yew's Third World to First.
Rating:
Summary: swill
Review: this is the end of the road for my reading this man's work. it was to long filled with stuffer and unintresting. the continued use of four or five names for ryan all on the same page sometimes not only felt backward but disjointed. somepages required rereading just to figure out who was being writen about potus, ryan ,jack, president ryan, swordsman as far as i can tell all these descriptions for the same character make the reading difficult. not to mention unenjoyable, as i have enjoyed all the other books (they are slowing down with the last couple)dull dull dull
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