The Bear and the Dragon

Rating:
Summary: Is there an editor in the house?
Review: There's 300-400 pages worth of book here, max. The rest is either pointless or exists only to provide a pulpit from which Clancy may espouse his political views. Some of the writing is downright sloppy. It reads as if Clancy was getting paid by the pound and forgot to run it by an editor.

Rating:
Summary: The non-stop thriller - a bit different this time
Review: Another adventure featuring United States' President Jack Ryan, this one is he's best EVER! Tom Clancy wrote the book that will keep readers turning the page late at night, and even with the almost thousand of pages we are used to on Clancy's book, this one, better than every other, does not makes the reader feel tired a single page. At least, not until the characters seem a little bit from early books.

And, even better, the amazing character John Clark is in this tale too, what only makes it even better. This is a book for fans, readers who enjoy the genre or anyone who cares for a wonderful book! Go with a little bit of precaution, anyway.

Marco Aurelio.

Rating:
Summary: Weak, weak effort.
Review: My wife is not a Tom Clancy fan. She typically takes that same condescending attitude towards Clancy that I reserve for her liking of Krantz or Steele. I mention this because I put Tom in the same category as Danielle or Judith. You read their stuff not because you expect to be enlightened, but because they are fun to read, and typically not to taxing on the brain pan.

So with great pleasure I sat down around 6pm last night and began to read "The Bear and the Dragon". At around 11, my wife looks over and sees that I'm almost 2/3 the way through the book. She knows that I'm not a graduate of Evelyn Wood and asks: "How can you be so far along?" I reply that typically Tom spins at least on subplot that I usually have no interest in, and on the first go through I skip over subplots that I don't like. I tell her that the trouble with his latest is that in this book, I pretty much have no interest in any of the subplots.

There is no heart in this book. When Clancy was at war (declared or undeclared) with the Russians, you could tell that under it all he had respect for the Russians. They were a worthy opponent, and even though we always won, it wasn't in the bag from the get go. In this one, there is no respect for the "ChiComms". I think I counted repeated use of 10 different racial references to them. Clancy also used a number of irritating Star Trek" references ("what would Commander Spock do?" "The Chinese are Klingons").

There is some good stuff in here. The battle scenes are typical Clancy. The ending is exciting but very hackneyed, abrupt, and unsatisfying.

On the whole, I think there are 200 pages of great stuff and 750 pages of boring filler. In other words, the exact opposite of what you typically get in a 1,000 page Clancy novel.

I wish he'd spent less time in Moscow, in Beijing, and more in Siberia and drawing out the ending.

I'd also like someone to explain to me why Chet needed to get Ming to install the "Trojan Horse" in the computer after he sold it to he. Why not install it before it was delivered? Oh well....

Rating:
Summary: What Happened?
Review: "What Happened?" sums up my thoughts after finishing "The Bear and The Dragon". What happened to some of the characters at the end, the editing, the plot, Tom Clancy as an interesting author?

I don't want to rehash what many other reviewers have already written - but come on - hire an editor with a #2 pencil & a good eraser, cut about 400 pages and maybe a decent book will emerge.

Rating:
Summary: A notch down from Clancy's best...but still entertaining
Review: I, like many of the reviewers who have already submitted their thoughts, am a huge Tom Clancy fan. Well, let me clarify: I am a big fan of his nonfiction and his Jack Ryan novels - not of the franchised "OpCenter"/"NetForce"/et al. that he doesn't write but sticks his name on. So, I was one of the throngs eagerly anticipating "The Bear And The Dragon".

Mr. Clancy's typical pattern in the Ryan and Ryan-related novels is to build a wide-scale story, then blend it all together bit by bit into a dramatic and fast-moving finale. The style is no different here. He has an extraordinary knack for being able to write what seem to be unrelated "side stories" in the course of the general plot that wind up relating somehow to the broader picture at a later date. He is, for better or worse (depending on your viewpoint), on his game in this latest installment.

Also, with most of his novels, the pace seems slow at the outset, then shifts to breakneck speed in the last 200-300 pages. In some respects, that was also done here, with a couple exceptions. I found the first 100+ pages to be a very fast read. Then it slowed down for another 100 or 150 before picking back up for a similar amount of pages, until finally hitting that last 200 pages blitzkrieg.

Like some who have reviewed already, I was both surprised and a little put off by the dramatic increase in the sexually-related subplots, innunendo, and references. This seemed totally out-of-character for Mr. Clancy, moreso because instead of a small dose of it we got near-overload measures that popped up all the way to the last sentence of the book. Initially, in regards to the spy subplot, it was okay, but it just escalated to the point of being far too much and also unnecessary.

The conclusion also seemed a bit rushed, and, unlike his previous novels, didn't seem to leave much "open" for the next Ryan adventure. It is an interesting parallel, then, to have Mr. Clancy describe Ryan as drained and not knowing what his next decision is while at the same time rushing to a rather awkward conclusion that wasn't entirely satisfying.

I have never had a problem with the length of Mr. Clancy's novels, for the simple reason that they are great "escapist" works that you can savor for longer than a couple of days. So, I was initially not bothered by the 1000+ pages. But, I would submit that if he had cut out the numerous sexual references (as mentioned above), some of the tedious China-U.S. diplomatic meeting scenes, expanded the climatic battle, and fleshed out the conclusion more, the 1000 pages would have been of better overall value.

If there is one wish for the next Jack Ryan novel, it is that is is a real barn-burner. And the first step towards that, in my opinion, is for Mr. Clancy to pay heed to the reviews from his die-hard fans (like myself). Otherwise, he does run the risk of falling towards the path of mediocrity. Some previous reviews have put him there already; I disagree. "The Bear And The Dragon" is, overall, a fun read. It has a good storyline, a great batch of characters, and did entertain. For that reason, criticism aside, I do rate it "4" stars. It is not Mr. Clancy's best work ("Hunt For Red October", "Cardinal Of The Kremlin", and "Clear And Present Danger"), but at the same time is not anywhere close to his worst. That inglorious title is still jointly held by "Without Remorse" and "Sum Of All Fears".

Rating:
Summary: Not Up to Snuff
Review: I'm afraid, no, I know, Tom Clancy is slipping. He's been my favorite fiction author since 1984, and even part of the reason I'm in my current job. However, for the last few installments, his work has been slipping, and with "Bear" he's finally over the precipice. As many other reviewers mention, the plot is recycled, and to me the portrayal of the Chinese antagonists is jingoistic at best, if not outright racist (not that I think the PRC government is on our side, but I simply expected a better work from Clancy--his analysis of the Russian mindset had so much more to it). In addition, his reputation was made on his excruciating attention to detail, and this appears to be slipping as well. I could go on and on . . . The four star rating for comparison to other authors; on a Clancy-only scale I'd give it about a 2.

Rating:
Summary: Disapointed with more than just the story.
Review: Having gotten about 100 pages into this book, I had come to Amazon to see what other readers thought. It seems that at least some of you agree with me that this book is a disapointment. I'm sorry to say that this will be the first Clancy book I won't finish.

And it's not just that the story is lacking (which it is, more on that later). My biggest gripe is the foul language. When I first read Hunt for Red October, I was relatively young, and one of the things I liked about Clancy was his ability to tell a good story withouthaving to use gimmicks like sex and profanity to keep you reading. I've noticed it increasing recently - Rainbow Six had just a little, for example - but it feels like there is more swearing in one (small) chapter of this book than in both of his first works combined. And it was the quality of those books that have kept me reading, until now.

Now, about the story. It's just a feeling, but this one feels cramped. In earlier books, I got a feeling of expansiveness and connectedness between all of the characters. Not here. Also, in the past I was hooked by the second or third chapter. Now, who cares? I'm sure it would be relatively entertaining to go through the rest of the story, but is it worth it?

The feeling I get is similar to the one I got reading Chrichton's post-Jurassic Park books. They read like movie scripts (which they are). And that's what this feels like. If I want poinless sex and profanity, or if I want a weak, stripped-down story that has to make up in bangs what it lacks in substance, then I'll go see a movie. Hollywood puts out plenty of crap like this.

Rating:
Summary: The most disapointing one of Clancy's
Review: I haven't read all of Tom Clancy's books but have got familier with the Ryan, Clark characters in the last few ones and got to like them. It was very difficult to get through the first half of this book and found it very repetitive on Ryan's (Clancy's??) political views. It was getting very annoying to read Ryan's ongoing whining about how he doesn't want to be the President. I am a Chinese and as I read the conversation parts of these Chinese characters, it is not all that farfecthed, the pharases they use are actually quite realistic (besides mixing up the language of Cantonese and Mandarin). But the mixing up of the difference between Chinese and Japanese social etiquettes (Chinese don't bow to one another as Japanese do)more than a few times does annoy me.

The second half of the book does start to become exciting to read and as a matter of fact, I couldn't put it down... only when I get to the end, it was very disappointing.

I agree with most readers that it dragged too long. Too repeitive on certain subjects (moral/ethical/political views) Just as it was getting interesting towards the end, it was abrubtly ended.

I hope Mr Clancy would read all the readers' comments and do a better job next time. He had created some interesting characters in the past and would be nice to write some good stories about them.

Rating:
Summary: Is Clancy loosing it?
Review: I have been an avid Clancy reader ever since Red October. The suspense was so great that I could not put the book down and read it in one sitting. I have bought every book since, and in hard cover!

But Bear and Dragon was a great dissapointment. It did not even get interesting until after I turned over 700 pages. The long rambling background the first half of the book was a total waste. What happened to the great suspense and action?

And the last 200 pages were too short and incomplete. Worst yet was the close.....there wasn't any!

Rating:
Summary: Mad as hell and not (buying) any more!
Review: I've been a Clancy fan since Red October, which I loved, and I've enjoyed many of his books since. But he is on a downward spiral, with quality decreasing in direct ratio to length. His characters, who used to be human beings with real lives and conversation, are now cardboard cutouts who mouth military jargon and acronyms, and talk about a WWII macho myth of honor and courage which few of them ever demonstrate. Even Jack Ryan has become a puppet, and many the older characters (e.g., Bart Mancuso) have lost all their juice.

TC's plots used to be gripping and complex (I was disappointed that the movie of Red Oct. left out so much of the book), but they have degenerated into a disjointed melange of military strategy and weapons deployment that I can't bring myself to care about. Perhaps there is a reason that none of Clancy's recent books have made it to the screen.

Bear/Dragon certainly doesn't deserve its length -- a real waste of trees. I'm 58 years old, but I found the newest Harry Potter book much more interesting, fun and worthwhile than this doorstop.

I'm sorry to say that this is the last time I will hoodwink myself into buying a Clancy opus. I read just one of the counterfeit, ghost written fakes of the Op Center series before realizing that I had been taken for a marketing ride; it's taken longer, but I have arrived at the same conclusion about his (purportedly) personally written "novels."

You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool me any longer.