Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre work despite an interesting premise
Review: Clancy appears to have decided not to put a great deal of effort into his latest work, borrowing liberally from one of his first efforts, _Red Storm Rising_. Unfortunately, this book doesn't quite match up to that earlier work. This is a long book, not just in the number of pages, but in the feel. Unlike most of his past efforts, it's in no way a page turner, but instead you read on simply to get to the end. And when you get there, be prepared for disappointment. After setting up an interesting premise, Clancy wraps everything up more neatly than most Christmas presents. The only plus to the work is the characters long time Clancy readers have grown to know so well--they remain generally the same, and are fun to follow, but their talents could be much better used. Perhaps it's time for Clancy to start a new series, as he appears to be tired of dreaming up new problems for Jack Ryan.
Rating: 
Summary: Clancy is a master storyteller
Review: This is another winner by Tom Clancy. The plot is convoluted, with several different stories going on at once, and each one captures you. Clancy moves back and forth from one to the other, and interconnects them skillfully. Amazon's editorial review pretty well covers it. Clancy is the master storyteller. He has no peer when it comes to action stories and contemporary situations. He has done his research. His characters live and breathe, and his situations are plausible and well-drawn. This is a big book--over 1,000 pages--but it will hold your interest to the end. Joseph Pierre
Rating: 
Summary: Oh well...
Review: Spell-checking his German would have helped. Getting some of the details right would have been helpful as well. The book is VERY good yarn (thus the three stars), but it's also annoying in it's nationalism (let's call it chauvinism) and stereotypes that border on rascism. Warning: Members of the political left and citizens of non-NATO states might feel offended.
Rating:
Summary: Well, I can't share this one with my teens.
Review: I'm not even finished with the book, but felt compelled to write an online review. I have read all (except Rainbox Six) of Clancy's books and thoroughly enjoyed them and passed them along. If the character's names were changed and someone had asked me to read this book and tell them who wrote it, Tom Clancy would not have come to mind. I have always loved the fact that Mr. Clancy wrote exciting books, that didn't have all the language and sex in them that this one did. I sincerely hope this is not a new trend. I can't pass this one along....
Rating: 
Summary: I disagree with the negative reviews
Review: I devour all of Clancy's books as soon as they come out. I agree that Rainbow Six was less than his best effort, but this one ranks up there with Debt of Honor as far as I am concerned (My favorite Tom Clancy book is Sum of All fears, and nothing has come close to that). The dialogue is somewhat contrived, but I have always fond that to be the case. What I like about this book is that it brings back the white-knuckle action and the sense of reality that makes me have to put the book down to realize that we aren't actually at war. I again found myself up until 3 in the morning racing through the last third of the book. This book is also full of the usual military techo-toys that keep us one step ahead of the unsuspecting foes.
Rating:
Summary: Predictable
Review: This book wasn't too good. I guess it was trying to be realistic talk, but I got pretty tired of all the "slant-eyes" remarks. The sausage stuff was not clever or witty, it was just kind of gross. I don't think most people reading this kind of book (mostly men) want to read about some guys "Japanese Sausage" over and over and over again.
And the whole last part was predictable...everything in the last couple of hundred pages could've been predicted by about page 500--I knew what was going to happen with the hunter guy, I knew what was going to happen with Clark and all that followed their actions, almost exactly what was going to happen, and the aftermath was also totally predictable.
Rating: 
Summary: My Last Clancy
Review: I've read every Tom Clancy fiction title, but this will be the last. Aside from the many oversights in editing, I'm simply disappointed to see what has happened to my favorite characters. Good ol' Jack Ryan, formerly a regular guy (despite his wealth, intelligence, hero status, and Harrison Ford good looks), now shamelessly preaches about "treehuggers," Roe V. Wade, Liberals in Congress, White House hanky-panky and whatever else irks Mr. Clancy. Other valued characters, including Robby (V.P.) Jackson and George (Trader) Winston, have become similarly obnoxious. Whether one agrees with the politics or not, this is not why we read Clancy "thrillers." I would agree with a previous reviewer about the possibility of a ghost writer here; I'm sure it was Rush Limbaugh.
Rating:
Summary: Isn't the Gore/Bush race enough politics for this year?
Review: Okay, I normally get through a good book in a week, with one this long, maybe 2-3 weeks, but it's been 5 weeks since I started this book & I'm only on page 191 (out of 1000+). This book reads more like a political statement than a novel (e.g., abortion, foreign affairs, the economy - & remember I'm not even 200 pages in yet). A suspense thriller is not the right place to get up on a soapbox Mr. Clancy. Your views, and your need to express them so strongly in your book, is making you predictable, sir. And being able to surmise the trend & tone (if not the events) of the rest of the story is the last thing I want from this type of book, especially with 800 pages left.
Rating:
Summary: A very long book
Review: I have to admit that I have always had a hard time finishing Clancy's books, although I love reading them, but there's just so much detail and it goes on forever. This book covers a very interesting subject and that kept me going, because this time, the characters weren't that interesting. And it is a very long book. I'm sure it was a lot of work to write this novel and I respect that, but sometimes it seems as if an editor should have just ripped out this section and that paragraph. Anyway, if you have some time to spare then this book might a great way to enjoy a good read. In comparison I just read a brand new 400-page thriller by a new author which covers a similar topic of nuclear terrorism, and it's fast-paced and I read it in less than 2 days, which is the highly recommended new high-profile megathriller by Alec Donzi called "The Consultant."
Rating:
Summary: More is Not Better
Review: Having read all of Clancy's fictional books I must say that while each becomes larger they are not becoming better. More pages but no more story. It seems as if Clancy has attempted to incorporate ever character from each of his prior books, even when they are not needed. Was The Rainbow Six Team needed here or was that a veiled attempt to sell more of the Rainbox Six book and games? Too many sub-plots that wither on the vine. Better development of fewer sub-plots would have improved this novel. I agree with another reviewer, The Bear and the Dragon lacked an effective editor, clearly the spell checker in Clancy's computer is defective. Unfortunately, Clancy has risen to the level where most will buy his books without reading the reviews -- something I will not do in the future.
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