Rating: 
Summary: Had me on the edge of my seat
Review: Always like Tom Clancy and couldn't put this one down. Plot took a lot of twists and turns and was very scary. Everybody should read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: If only all terrorists were as stupid as these
Review: Clancy fans should enjoy this counter-terrorism novel that's inspired a line of video games. And the doomsday scenario that's the heart of the book is interesting and exciting (until the very end). Some problems:
1) The terrorists are aggressively stupid. I could take down most of Rainbow Six's bad guys with a pop gun and a half-empty packet of Kool-Aid. The supposedly brilliant villains are hired by a former KGB agent. The villians then proceed to a) Lock themselves in a building, b) leave all doors and entrances unbarred, c) walk out of the buildings expecting transportation waiting for them and d) get gunned down. You would have expected the Russian to pull one of his hires aside and say, "We might need to change our thinking -- locking ourselves in the bathroom hasn't sparked the revolution."
2) The characters (save for Popov) are thin, and often serve as mouthpieces for Clancy's views on the media, the environment, military life, and the government. The main villains, in particular, talk at academic-paper length. I thought a Brookings seminar would erupt during a few battles.
3) The ending is lame. Clancy's strength has always been his action sequences, and the battles, even noting the stupidity of the terrorists, are exciting. The doomsday scenario is great, if implausible and dependent on things working perfectly at one location in the entire world (The stock market must have affected EvilCo's travel budget). But Clancy's heroes save the world in 100 pages of the worst payoff in his career. I won't spoil the ending, but it's hard to spoil a climax that doesn't come off.
Still, if you can tune out Clancy's editorializing, and accept the stupidity of the terrorists, Rainbow Six chugs along at a decent pace. It will help you pass time in the airport, at least.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome Book
Review: I thought the book was great, Some of the reviews considered the book too discriptive. I personly like the fact that every detail is explained and history given. I learned quite a bit from the book.
Rating: 
Summary: What a huge disappointment
Review: I used to like Tom Clancy's books. But it seems to me, and a lot of other people, that the newer stuff is just crap.
Where do I start with this one? The characters were two dimensional, they heroes were more like superheroes that could do nothing wrong. The story if so repetitive it borders on funny. The villian is an oxymoron, he's the president adn CEO of a corporation, yet he's a tree-hugger. And to make it worse, he has an idea for world domination that looks more like something out of a bad James Bond movie. Then to top it off, Clancy obviously didn't do his research when he was writing, because he seems to have forgotten that when it's summer in the US and England, it's winter in Australia.
Overall, the book is lacking and seems to be on the collapse of a once good writing career. If you want to read a book written by someone who knows how to write an anti-terrorism unit book and not as long, go get OMEGA FORCE: THE GHOSTS OF WAR.
Rating:
Summary: Certainly a page-turner
Review: I very much enjoyed reading this book. After reading "Without Remorse", I picked up this book and rarely put it down. I would recommend this book to any reader, especially those who enjoy the action portions of Clancy books more than the political.
Rating: 
Summary: Clancy's gone off the deep end
Review: I'm a great fan of Clancy and have read every one of his novels, however I've always harbored doubts about his mental stability. With this book, there are no more doubts and it becomes pretty clear that he's slipped over into the deep end. I don't have any brief for radical environmentalists either, but to concoct a plot where they're conspiring to use an engineered virus to exterminate the entire human race in order to save the planet? This is too much. The best parts of this book are the accounts of the military actions executed by the Rainbow Six team against three terrorist missions in the early chapters. These scenes are top-notch vintage Clancy, but since they are only indirectly related to the main storyline, they too only add to its disjointed nature. As always with Clancy, character development and dialogue are pretty shallow. The climactic action at the end of the book where Rainbow Six takes down the eco-crazies in an effortless turkey shoot comes across as little more than a childish revenge fantasy on Clancy's part, wholly unworthy of the warrior ethos he generally represents in his work. Clancy was a his best in his early books where plot and character were incidental to the military action. He's trying to do it the other way around now, and he's out of his depth. He's still fun to read, but he could use a strong editor rein him back into his zone of competence.
Rating:
Summary: Clancy's finest work in years!
Review: In RAINBOW SIX, we see the return of John Clark as the lead character in a typical heavy, meaningful plot that Clancy has done on a level above any other author for many years. The theme of the book, and the video games that have followed, is a multinational counter-terrorism unit called Rainbow, with John Clark running the show. One reviewer stated that this is the typical "Americans are the best..." plot, but it's really not. Rainbow is formed by members of several countries, including the United States, England, Germany, and Israel. It's not just a United States dominated unit. From the opening pages on, Clancy paints a brilliant picture of life on Earth in a post-9/11 world...and then you realize that this book was written and published in 1998! The ability that Clancy has shown to be ahead of his time in his plots is just another example of his brilliance. This is reflected again in an earlier Clancy novel, DEBT OF HONOR, from 1996, where in the climax we read through a scene frighteningly similar to the events of 9/11/01. RAINBOW SIX, while thick at 740 pages, is really a fast read. Clancy interweaves multiple storylines and more than a handful of characters into an overall story that truly has you thinking about the world around you by the time you finish. With action sequence after action sequence, the book rarely hits a lull and keeps you enthralled to the point that you're disappointed to set it down. One nice part of it all is that the book shows that there are left-wing extremist crazy people out there too...all the insane ones aren't right-wingers as most in the media will lead you to believe. Great books make you think. With that in mind, RAINBOW SIX is a great book by one of the greatest authors of our time. Now...let's get that movie into production.
Rating: 
Summary: a must read novel for anyone interested in spec ops
Review: Rainbow Six is an extremely well crafted story of international terrorism and the elite warriors who exist to stop it. Tom Clancy's understanding of international politics, military, and governmental agencies is amazing. Rainbow Six left me wondering how any fiction author could possess such a profound level of knowledge. Clancy accurately portrays his subject matter down to the most minute detail. RS does not read like the script to a brainless action movie. Clancy intelligently presents all aspects of spec ops, including the bureacratic/political side, intelligence gathering, logistical considerations, tactics, and strategy. Anyone with serious interest in military matters will greatly appreciate the authenticity and attention to detail.
I've seen a few recurring complaints regarding this book in the other reviews. I would have to agree that Clancy is not the most talented character writer. Certain important characters, such as John Clark and Dmitry Popov are well developed and interesting. The minor characters in the Rainbow squad are also well written for their supporting role in the story. Clancy truly captured the mentality and work ethic of Spec Ops troopers well. At the same time, a lot of the minor characters just seem to blend into each other. Different people seem to possess the same mannerisms. This is forgiveable to a point, but Clancy probably takes it too far. But the truth of the matter is that Clancy's power as a writer is fueled more by his scenarios than his characters. When two Rainbow members are killed in an ambush, it seems distant and uncompelling. Clnacy does not take the time to portray the team's mourning the loss and honoring their fallen comrades. In fact I don't believe he even specifies which two troopers were killed. Despite this flawed moment, the Rainbow story is still an extremely well crafted Spec Ops story. I disagree with those who say the idea of fanatic environmentalists posing such a serious terrorist threat is implausible or ridiculous. Reality is sometimes stranger than fiction. Clancy's environmentalists don't seem any less likely to me than Hitler's Third Reich, Islamic fundamentalism, or Heaven's Gate. When you unite a group of people in some form of fanatic ideology, the results can be frightening. The fanatics in Rainbow Six had a radical goal (as do all fanatics) and with a major American corporation backing them up, they had the means to attempt to carry it out. This doesn't seem implausible to me.
Rating:
Summary: Rainbow Six = Excellent
Review: This book was basically about an anti-terrorist group in England that were all recruited because they are the best of the best. This group works hard to get to the best they can be and there skill are put to the test when a terrorist hires other terrorist gropus to take hostages at various parts of the world. In the meantime the same terrorist is creating a deadly disease and testing this disease on random homeless people they find on the street.
The good points of this book is the action and close inspection to detail. The details in this story are really accurate and you can tell that the writer researched his information well. Another point that is good is his style of writing. You aren't just reading from the perspective of the anti-terrorist group or from the terrorists, you get a view from both sides.
Some points that I didn't really like is how it gets confusing at some points. I read this book before and I didn't understand some of the things because its very military. But after enlisting into the military and learned a lot I read this again and I understood it a lot better.
I would recommend this book to anyone that is into action books or military books. It is a good read and it will keep you entertained the whole time you read it. Although some points of the story are confusing the book is generally an easy read.
Kevin Adams
Rating:
Summary: Long, dull, bloated mess
Review: This book was surprisingly bad. Clancy's flair for telling an exciting story took a vacation on this one. The basic plot isn't very interesting to begin with and then he fills the book with pages of exposition on the environment and government and I felt like I was at a lecture, not reading a novel. The terrorist plots the group foil along the way to the main story are poorly executed. The team never misses a shot or takes a misstep while the bad guys are like Keystone cops. When you get to the main story, your boredom turns to laughter. It was like Simon Bar Sinister on the old Underdog cartoon and his plots to "ruuullle the world". Clancy has written some classic thrillers. Go re-read one of them.
|
