Rating: 
Summary: Not a thinking book, good for passing time
Review: I forgot it on the train in London after 300 pages. I was inititally upset, but had absolutely no desire to purchase it again. Sorry Tom, but you blew this one. Where is the twisted plot that uses the 150 pages for plot foundation and another 800 to unwind? It read more like a Grisham...not a thinker, just a time passer.
Rating: 
Summary: Clancy back to form
Review: Despite some small flaws, this book shows that Tom Clancy is back to form - and it is a great relief to have him back in person after some Op-Centers and Power Plays. Halfway into this novel, it becomes a real page-turner, and that's what thriller fans are looking for. The plot is not as complex as in Clancy's most recent novels which many readers will consider a shortcoming (me, too) - but it has one advantage: This book is only a brick-stone and not a giant-sized rock like f.ex. "Executive Orders" with its 1400p in paperback. Now, to the flaws: As some readers already pointed out, yes, the good guys win too easily. In this novel, I never had a doubt that the good guys will win. Well, most thrillers end like this, but the art of writing a good thriller makes the reader at least THINK that there might be a possibility that the good guys will at least have some problems. Second and last flaw: As like in all of his novels, there is also a sub-plot in this book which just slows down the proceedings and can be easily skipped: The "virus-testing" episode in the first half of the novel. This is pretty familiar territory and, well, quite boring. Just for the record: Like always, left-winged readers will hate this, so to all of them: Stay clear! All the others will find a suspenseful, fast-paced novel, better than Clancy's most recent, but not as good as his best. One last thing: The action set-pieces are terrific, and one can clearly see that Mr. Clancy had a lot of fun staging them. I had fun, too, and that's what I expect from a good novel, Mr. Clancy. Review by Oliver Naujoks, Marburg/Germany
Rating: 
Summary: A betrayal
Review: Normally I would keep my disappointment to myself, but having read some of the five star reviews, I just can't. If you've read Clancy's books, actually read them, then you've already read this one. Tom just wasn't trying. The IRA are back and attack the hero's wife and daughter - Patriot Games. Baddies using a devastating virus - Executive Orders. The evils lurking under the cover of the jungle - Clear and Present. Bad guy becoming the saviour of the day - Cardinal of the Kremlin. And there's a lot more - I don't want to ruin what little excitement in the book there is by giving away the other deja vu moments. Tom, if you can't be bothered , why should we?
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Clancy, where did you go!
Review: Just for the record, I am a big Tom Clancy fan. Having read all of his fiction works, I hope I can deliver a balanced few of Rainbow Six.Hidden within those 700 and some pages, it is possible to glimpse the outline of a good techno-thriller as only Clancy could write. Unfortunately, it seems that Mr. Clancy has forgotten how to go beyond an outline. He punches in some action sequences, takes the requisite stance for good, and provides a little commentary, but just can't seem to get beyond what should come just before the commercial break. At no time is the reader drawn to care about the characters, even though Clancy makes a heavy handed attempt by threatening the wives and children of Clark and Chavez. There is more character development in the first 20 pages of "Cardinal of the Kremlin" than in all of Rainbow Six. In regard to the politics involved, I must admit that I am in no way surprised that Mr. Clancy is very Conservative. Nevertheless, I am disappointed that he has decided to preach rather than use comparison and contrast to make his point. I understand what he is attempting to say, and even agree with him at times, but would have preferred a less simplistic and demeaning approach. One question that I was left with at the end of the book was, "Is there so little real political and philosophical conflict left in the world that Mr. Clancy must rely upon unbelievable fantasy?" Russia is teetering on collapse, the Middle East is quickly coming apart, and revolution and separatism are brewing to varying degrees on our northern and southern borders. Is there not a story in there somewhere? For those of you contemplating whether to purchase Rainbow Six, I would recommend waiting for the paperback. Better yet, try out the computer game by the same name.
Rating: 
Summary: Clancy comes through in fine fashion.
Review: As usual, Tom Clancy seems to have tweeked a few "Left Wingers" with his drawing a definite line between right and wrong. People that are so offended by Clancy's portrayal of left wing fringe groups would be better off going to their "candlelight vigils" and reading John Grisham. Once again, Tom Clancy has written a thought provoking thriller that me turning pages so fast that I didn't have time to look for "Spelling and/or Grammatical errors. As Clancy carefully weaves his plot and builds to a suspenseful climax, I'm taken to another place and time where there are real heroes. I highly recommend this to all REAL Clancy fans and I can't wait for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Stop hiding your head in the sand; this COULD HAPPEN!
Review: It was easier for me to predict what was coming next than it has ever been when reading a Clancy novel. But it's not meant to be a mystery. It's a wake up call to those who want so desperately to believe that the fall of the Berlin wall was the end of megalomaniacs willing to hurt and kill humans for their own causes. I'm currently reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I recommend it to all those who think the Rainbow Six plot is paranoid and unrealistic. Between the two wars to end all wars the European leaders, led by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, did everything they could to APPEASE Hitler who didn't want to be appeased. Hitler just wanted it all, his way! The European leaders broke their treaties with one another and GAVE Hitler both Austria and Chechoslovakia when he demanded them. Did that stop him from killing, torturing, etc. millions and millions of humans in his attempt to cleanse the world of those humans he believed were POLLUTING the world? Did that stop Mengele from EXPERIMENTING ON HUMANS??? Remember - World War I was called "The War To End All Wars" and the world really believed a Hitler was not possible and/or that he could be negotiated with and appeased. "Positive Thinking" did not work then and it won't work now. Rainbow Six six is a realistic and hopeful book. It's saying that if we remember history and stay prepared we can prevent the terrorists of our time from escalating the world into a THIRD WORLD WAR!
Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: Clancy delivers again as only he, the great master of the techno-thriller, can.
Rating:
Summary: Long, overdone, simplistic
Review: I've read all of Clancy's major novels, and this one was boring. I finished it (simply to see how the story turned out), but it took me three weeks and wasn't very enjoyable. The armed services men are great, men are strong (but can't handle babies), corporations need to be watched very closely (the're so prone to evil), and environmentalists are the enemy. These themes are all laid on over and over again. This book and Cardinal of the Kremlin will go down as Clancy failures. My copy will be available at my library used book sale for a dollar.
Rating:
Summary: Clancy Drops a Bomb
Review: In the spirit of classic Clancy novels, techno-talk that we all love, action scenes that Spielburg only wishes he could come up with, Rainbow Six is....not among them. Rainbow Six, in my humble opinion, having read all of his works, is his weakest to date. The story lines are elementary, the dialouge is forced, the action scenes, usually superb, are weak and the plot is something that could have been ghost-written by Pieznick or whoever in his bathtub. Clance; what happened, man? All that money boring you? Dulling the brain? Dishearted over the Orioles? You owe it to your loyal fans like myself; who own every one of your books and who are trying hard to not conceed #1 to Stephen Hunter. You're better than this. Don't rest on the laurels. This latest effort is stunningly mediocre.
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the paperback
Review: Quit on this book several times....finished it out of boredom.
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