Rating:  Summary: Abysmally Bad!! Not worth the time to throw it away! Review: Will whoever kidnapped Tom Clancy please return him! Some mediocre hack with trite, cartoonish political views has stolen and replaced one of my favorite authors. Where are the intricately crafted and interesting subplots, the believable villains, the heroes who, far from perfect, have the conviction and inner strength to carry the day? Where is the wealth of meticulous research and studied, balanced points of view that, while leaving no doubt that there are situations the require extraordinary acts of violence to counter the evils of modern times, so graphically show that there is a cost to this violence, deep moral searching that precedes its use, checks and balances to its exercise that keep it a tool of last resort, and, most of all, heroes who understand that its exercise is best used when used rarely? Replaced, by a world where the most passing thought that some vague concern for the environment is a clear sign of moral decay and an unmistakable indicator of one's suitability to be recruited to mass with high tech ebola virus (I'm sure our friends in Duck's Unlimited and the Audubon Society will find this to be confusing news). Replaced, by action sequences which would bore the average Saturday morning cartoon audience, much less the thoughtful and intelligent readers drawn to "Rainbow 6" by the high quality of Clancy's previous work ( 1: Bad guys take hostages, 2: Good guys arrive and talk about what nasty critters the bad guys are, 3: Good guys use technology and superior firepower to burst in and kill all the nasty bad guys, somehow managing to avoid any hostage suffering so much as a hangnail --dispite the fact that the these are ostensibly the worlds elite terrorist operatives, 4: A grateful (whatever) bestows its thanks on the victors, who humbly note that one or two of the million bullets they shot actually missed a bad guy's head, 5: repeat until the reader is bored to tears, in my case, about 300 pages). I understand that all glory is a fleeting thing and certainly the resounding mediocrity of the Tom Clancy Brand Net Force and Ops Center novels should have been fair warning of low quality to come. I guess I still retained enough respect for the man and his previous work that I expected better of a book he ostensibly authored himself. I will not make that mistake in the future.
Rating:  Summary: Slowest Clancy Read Yet. Review: It's amazing to read the reviews of this novel and see the polar opposites. What's even more amazing are the positive reviews from long time Clancy fans. Sorry folks, I have read all of his books and this is not his best stuff. At over 700 pages, it's at least 300 pages too long and unfortunately, it's the middle 300. The plot and characters are interesting enough, but the book suffers from too much setup and background that is unnecessary (particularly the personal lives of the anti-terrorist group). I forced myself to complete this book and if it hadn't been for an extended vacation this summer, I would still be reading this book seven months later. The books pacing sort of reminded me of my dad's description of the military, a lot of "hurry up and wait". Clancy should have given this to a good editor to chop and it would have been much better. If you decide to read it, pretend you are on a long hike with no idea how far it is to your destination. That way you won't be disappointed by a real long forced march. Good luck!
Rating:  Summary: What an achievement Review: Clancy really has excelled with Rainbow Six. It gives a very broad insight to the world of counter-terrorism.His characters are very well expressed, most notably Domingo Chavez Rainbows team two leader and Dmitry Popov the former KGB agent or "spook." There is another side to the book however, a more sinister side perhaps closer to the truth than some governments would care to admit, sinister scientists planning to wipe out the earths population so as nature can breathe again. I think this book would make for an excellent film.
Rating:  Summary: Pure Tome? Not really Review: It started like most other Tom Clancy books and had the right caracters but after that it is quite different.....and I loved it. Although I liked Jack Ryan in his other novels I really enjoyed the focus and attention Tom Clancy gave to Ding and John. I am not sure I cared for the ending but I was thrilled with the book over all.
Rating:  Summary: Ranbow 6 is the most compelling book I have ever read! Review: Being a great fan of Tom Clancy's writing, I believe that this is his best novel since The Hunt for Red October. I think this is a flourishing beginning to Tom Clancy's action packed books about Navy Seals.
Rating:  Summary: Not Clancy's best work. Phase one of a new movie. Review: This book was a predictable disappointment. Clancy got himself between a rock and a hard place with the Delta Force community and elected (correctly) not to give the company store away. With a good director i.e., Tarentino, and some gang members from LA... Rainbow will make for an entertaining movie.
Rating:  Summary: Please Tom, you're boring us Review: I can take a lot of faults in Clancy _ wooden dialogue, stick-figure heroes like Jack Ryan _ even when I can't tolerate his politics (Has there ever been a drunk, a racist or a psycopath in the U.S. military?) But this one's too much. complete with Rush Limbaugh fantasy villains _ murderous environmentalists. Worse, IT'S BORING. The only reason I've read Clancy is for a quick, interesting read and a little information. But this kept putting me to sleep. Keep trying, Tom, you hit on a few _ you even made John Clark into a real person once. In this one, he's as simple-minded as Jack Ryan and he only puts in a cameo appearance anyway.
Rating:  Summary: Clancy needs to get his head back down to earth Review: Tom Clancy has a big ego and is not afraid to let it show. Just look at the back cover. This book is about three hundred pages too long. All the extra material is Clancy demonstrating his knowledge of all things political, historical, and military. There is no character involvement and very little tension. The premise and some of the plot are fascinating and very thought provoking. That is the only thing that kept me reading until the end.Bring back the old Clancy please! Hunt For Red October and Red Storm Rising are five star books. Everything since then has been on a downhill slide. Read "Arc Light" by Eric Harry if you want to be reminded of Clancy in his good old days.
Rating:  Summary: The best book I have ever read! Review: In short, this is the best book I have ever read. The characters are great and have lots of depth. The story revolves around an ex-Navy SEAL who starts up a counter-terrorist group called Rainbow. Also, The plot is gripping and I found myself not being able to put the book down for hours on end. The book starts off right, with a hijacking on a plane that keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat. Tom Clancy is a great author, and it shows through in this book. Go out and buy it today, and you will see that my statements are true.
Rating:  Summary: Awesome story, great premise, couldn't stop reading. Review: This was my first Clancy expedition and he didn't let me down. I think I'm hooked. John Clark is a great character. The kind of guy that we want out there but are afraid to unleash. The story kept me reading all night. The way Clancy layed out this global terrorism was great. An International SWAT Team...It doesn't get any better. The length was not a problem. Ignore the negative reviews and go out and get this one. If you love a coldhearted warrior with some conscience (and a sense of humor...the ending sequence) you'll love Rainbow Six.
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