Rating: 
Summary: A thrilling, but unlikely premise, with flat characters.
Review: Tom lets a little more than usual of his political views dominate the tone of this book, in which Mr. Clark leads a multi-national (ergo the code name "Rainbow") anti-terrorist squad who are dispatched to a rash of incidents.Tom does his usual fine job of entertainingly detailing the technical aspects without becoming pedantic, and the plot is well-woven as it spans continents, governments, ideologies, and big business. Maybe Tom was worried that we might feel some sympathy for the main villains in this novel, because he goes overboard to paint them and their cause so one-dimensionally. Likewise, the Rainbow team seems to contain straight-shooting John Wayne clones who know no doubt or fear. Perhaps to combat this stereotype, Tom goes out of his (and the plot's) way to detail the rich educational background of several of the soldiers. I was never concerned for the good guys' safety, or worried that a bad guy would get away with anything. Without re! vealing any details of the plot, I think that it hinged on some pretty unlikely situations. Good fiction doesn't ask for too much suspension of disbelief, and in the past, Tom has required almost none from his readers. Now, it seems he is starting to write for ditto-heads who'll swallow anything on the way to the shoot-out scene where Gun Control (i.e., Hitting Your Target) is practiced. I have to fault Putnam and Sons for the sloppy proofing done on the copy. Some embarrassing typos stick out, and Tom is guilty of overused similes that also distract the reader. Loyal TC fans (I'm one) will enjoy Rainbow Six nonetheless (I did), but if they are like me, they will derive more enjoyment by re-reading his other works and begin counting the days until his next offering.
Rating: 
Summary: Rainbow Six: The Good, the Bad, and the Misogynist
Review: Clancy takes an interesting new approach in Rainbow Six by having his main characters Clark and Chavez leading a sanctioned counter-terrorist agency. This, I think, is a pretty clever way for Clancy to differentiate the settings, showcase his knowledge of international terrorism, and write what he's best at: action sequences from several points of view. The idea of biological based terrorism, while not new, appears here with a few different twists than, say, in the work of Robin Cook or Michael Crichton. The Shiva folks are almost humorous in their pathetic excuses for genocide. The overarching plot has a lot of appeal, and for anyone who is into Clancy, this will probably be good fun. However, I'm bothered by two aspects of characterization. The first is with John Clark himself. Part of what made him *so* interesting, especially compared to the eternal Boy Scout Jack Ryan, is that Clark is a study in contrasts and shades of gray. Back in Without Remorse, what made hi! m so memorable was the fact that he was doing terrible things (for pretty good reasons) and that he *struggled* with his conscience. He was all too human, and he appealed to me. Now, poor John's getting to be pretty black and white. I can understand this on one level: he's older and has different responsibilities, for starters. But if this is the case, I think the development should have been more gradual. Scanning back over some other books feeaturing Clark, I don't really see this happening. Yet suddenly in Rainbow Six, he's rather dull, much to my disappointment. The other problem of characterization is with women characters. When is Clancy going to start creating some females who are different than his basic two archetypes, the Superwoman who can bear young, stitch eyeballs and yank out bullets, cook perfect potroast, and be demure or strong depending on what the man needs; and the Real Stinker, whose goals include cruelly using uninformed and helpless human test subject! s and manipulating anyone and everyone with her devious min! d and lucious body? Sure, there are some precious past exceptions, but I was truly disappointed not to see any change in the way Clancy writes women. Having children is certainly an admirable goal, but Clancy needs to realize it isn't the #1 desire of all women, whether they have alphabet soup after their names or not. One last nitpick, and this could be an editing error: see p. 584, line 15: meat from the offspring of a buffalo and a bovine is commonly known as "beefalo."
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Clancy has moved from an adventure novelist to a right-wing loonie standing on soapbox spouting his views. His book lampoons the Constitution, the environmental movement, individual rights, the press, non-smokers and gun laws. In between shot outs, he tries to rewrite history and show off his "technical knowledge". I wish he would have left his political agenda at home and gotten an editor, who would have trimmed the book by a couple hundred pages.
Rating:
Summary: Verbosity Monstrosity
Review: I will likely always be a Clancy fan based on the strength of his early work like "Hunt for Red October" and "Red Storm Rising." Unfortunately, his recent work is horrible in comparison and "Rainbow Six" is no exception. I found the plot to be alternately painfully obvious and incoherent. Clancy has never been a master of character development and I find that he's at his worst when he relies heavily on established characters. John Clark and Domingo Chavez were interesting when they were introduced in Clancy's work but, by now, they are tired caricatures of themselves. "Rainbow Six" drove me to root for the terrorists in short order. I might not consider character development (or even plot integrity) so important if Clancy would only concentrate on action sequences which is what he does best. It is a cruel fate indeed to be forced to endure over 700 pages of ham handed sanctimony in order to enjoy a small handful of action se! quences. If you enjoyed his most recent novels like "Debt of Honor" and "Executive Orders", you will undoubtedly enjoy "Rainbow Six." However, if you long for Clancy's early years and find his recent work all too easy to put down, you will be as profoundly disappointed in "Rainbow Six" as I was.
Rating:
Summary: Unsatisfied
Review: I received my copy on Friday, and finished it on Saturday. I have read most of Tom Clancy's books, but I must say that Rainbow Six was a disappointment...the action was good, and that is about it. The plot and the characters could have used a little more work. Overall, I was left unsatisfied. Not to say I won't buy his next book, but I hope it turns out better than this one did.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT AS USUAL, BUT MAYBE GETTING A LITTLE PREDICTABLE...
Review: I love a new Clancy book, and this one is no exception. But two things bothered me. One: I found this one's plot less of a surprise, maybe I've just gotten into the characters. The second thing- the one that really bothered me- was that I caught a research MISTAKE (pg. 640) on Clancy's part -all be it in an area totally out of his field. Mr Clancy, a blanket Appaloosa is the following "Blanket - refers to a horse which has a solid white area normally over, but not limited to, the hip area with a contrasting base color. " (Quoted from the Appaloosa Horse Club registration page). Most people won't notice, but anyone who knows App's will be dissappointed that Mr Clancy didn't do better research on this excellent breed of horse I give the book 4 stars but suggest he stick to the military stuff and leave the mammals to Michner!
Rating:
Summary: Clancy keeps me reading up late again...
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Rainbow Six because John Clark and Ding Chavez are "let's get the job done" operatives who have already proven their abilities in previous books. They do so again in Rainbow Six. Also, Clancy successfully weaves the lives of Mrs. Clark and Dr. Chavez into the plot. From the opening chapter to the last, I couldn't put the book down because of non-stop action. Once again Clancy is ahead of the curve in analyzing current trends in world politics. This book focuses on an anti-terrorist response team led by John Clark and "spooky" enough, two violent acts of terrorism were recently committed in Africa against U.S. embassies. Hopefully the larger implications in the book regarding worldwide germ warfare will not become reality although Clancy makes it seems just too easy. In addition, Rainbow Six tackles the different viewpoints regarding environmental issues and although no solutions are presented to the political debates, it bec! omes clear that terrorism is not the path to better days. Rainbow Six is a thriller and one of Clancy's best works!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Top Notch. Once again Mr Clancy proves he is the master of his genre.
Rating:
Summary: Great story! POOR proof reading!!
Review: Having read all of Clancy's novels to date I must admit this is a great story. If you liked, "Patriot Games," I think you will really enjoy "Rainbow Six." My big problem with this latest Clancy fancy isn't the story! It is the POOR proofreading. Alas, they have become complacent. Spelling errors abound, important story line foul-ups and yes, folks, grammatical errors. I am most aghast that Mr. Clancy would let this document go to press with his name on it!! The title should be "Needed: Proofreader." Please advise your publisher to get on the ball and hire some English-capable people.
Rating:
Summary: Tom Clancy only gets better with each book...
Review: RAINBOW SIX is a nicely crafted work. Tom Clancy has made, John Clark and his protoge (now son-in-law) Domingo Chavez, the central figures attempting to save society from the depredations of terrorists. The terrorists are unleashed upon Europe as part of a greater plan by a group intending to save the planet from man, by exterminating him, except for selected members of "The Project". The story flows well from beginning to end, with the reader getting the feel of being in a an anti-terrorist group. Most of the time any such unit is training or watching its target, striking quickly and leaving before the last echo fades. The mindsets "The Project" are explored as well, with the reader being left with the clear message that those who play God may be judged by him sooner rather than later. BRAVO ZULU, Tom!
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