Rating: 
Summary: From someone who hasn't...er...won't read the book
Review: This is depressing and a little silly to have to do, but I'm going to write an Amazon.com for a book that I have not and will not read.TC has lost me as a reader. I can already feel the disappointment welling up inside of me as I thumb through the negative reviews -- all of which I expected. When TC made an airplane crash into the Capitol Building, I thought he'd lost it. His subsequent novels proved it, and I disliked each successive work more and more. Whatever happened to the strategy and suspense of Red Storm Rising (my first TC read) and Hunt for Red October? TC, are you just an angry conservative now? Using your publisher to express your views? Have you picked up on the fact that, DUH -- no one has turned one of your novels into a movie since Patriot Games? Do you visit Amazon.com and READ the reviews by real people? Sounds like readers are suggesting you go out and stand by the water like you do in your book photograph. Take off the hat and bomber jacket. Jump in. Take Jack Ryan with you. While you're drowning in the depths of your failing career, I'll find a better book to buy.
Rating:
Summary: finally finished it
Review: Clancy has taken a medeocre 300 paged novel and expanded it into a horrendous novel of over 1000 pages. This is his worst to date and is the last of the hard cover editions of his books I will buy. He is still an interesting read but the development is so slow you start losing interest. Just think back to the hunt for red october or red storm rising. This was clancy at his best. Now he has used up the genre and should develop new and interesting characters not the same cast of characters that can do no wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Looks like this dragon lost its fire
Review: I had waited the two years necessary for the next installment of Clancy's writing with baited breath, eager to find out what had happened since I last had an opportunity to spend time in his novels. Unfortunately, I will not be waiting so eagerly next time. This book stunk. Clancy was terribly unfocused. Characters would state a single line of text, only to go into 2-3 pages of retrospect about what that person thought or background on that person's reason for existence. It got so long and uninteresting that I actually read three other books (Preston/Lincoln novels - very good!) while in the middle of "The Bear and the Dragon". Another reason I felt this book was horrible was the action didn't really start until around page 780 (of a >1,000 page book). And even then, the war scenes that so impressed me in Clancy's last books were dry, unimaginative and very slow moving. Hardly worth the wait! Finally, I don't remember Clancy's other books being so foul mouthed and lacking in morals. Hardly a page goes by without multiple uses of the "F" word, and to top it off, the last sentence of the book brought rather disgusting imagery to mind. For Clancy's next book, please do something original. I am tired of how much Ryan hates the presidency. Do something original - this series is DONE!
Rating:
Summary: Awful, Just awful.
Review: If one wanted to read Mr. Clancy's views on everything from Social Security to proper discourse between nations in the new world order, then this is the book for you. If you already follow news or get a daily paper and don't feel like being preached to for eight or nine hundred pages, then move on.
Rating:
Summary: The Boor and the Drag-on
Review: The last Tom Clancy book I will ever buy. After 100 pages I've ground to a halt. I can't take it any more. Tom, do yourself a favour: hire an editor. Hire 10 editors. Better yet, get yourself copies of JK Rowling's 'Harry Potter' books. Written for children, but light-years ahead of anything you can do.
Rating:
Summary: What a waste!
Review: I don't want to just pile on here like everyone else, but this book was such a monumental waste of time I'd feel remiss if I didn't say something. Much like the other reviewers here I'm a big fan of Clancy's earlier works. However, I'm beginning to lose faith in what was once one of my favorite writers. In "The Bear and the Dragon", I found most of the dialogue to be tedious and repetitive. The plot line wanders along with all the purpose of a random Arctic ice berg. Look out Titanic fans! If you value your time even in the slightest do yourself a favor, pass on this book and wait for more reader reaction before picking up Clancy's next tome. I wish I'd had the foresight to do so this time around.
Rating:
Summary: Yawn yawn....booooring
Review: As an old Clancy/Ryan fan, this one just didn't make the cut. Tired storyline, much too long. About 1/3 of the book is editorializing about the presidency and about "evil" China - no place for all that waffle in a novel of this kind. I waded through to the end, but it was barely worth it. Of all the Ryan novels, this has got to be the worst. Certainly not worthy of all the others. Sad to see.
Rating: 
Summary: Give me Strategy and keep the Partisan Politics
Review: Don't get me wrong, I did read the latest book from cover to cover, and could not put it down. I did get tired of Jack Ryan's extra conservative political views. I guess it should be expected since he is Catholic and he is President now. I miss the old days when he could be a neutral player and a great good guy, but when he complains about evolution, abortion, and gay rights, I get kind of tired of it. I hope that the next book tones it down. There were pages that I skimmed right through, because they were boring details that did not add to the plot or excitement. I love TC books, but this was not anywhere near as good as W. Honor or Rainbow. I hope that the trend reverses itself and that I look forward to rereading his newer books as much as I do his older ones.
Rating: 
Summary: Gone is the accurate data of the early Clancy
Review: This book is o.k. if you just want to keep up with the continuing Ryan saga. I'm an active duty service member, though, and the problem is the sloopy basic research about weapons systems and the paper-thin caricatures based on real people. Clancy, with the help of Larry Bond and others, did incredibly detailed research that produced "Hunt For Red October" and "Red Storm Rising" that were pleasing for the professionals to read and interesting in terms of both story-line and technical detail for the civilian reader. This book doesn't live up to that early standard, continuing the downward spiral in terms of both technical and tactical accuracy that started with, at least, "Executive Orders." A casual read of Popular Science or Popular Mechanics would reveal that the Darkstar UAV is designed to, and can, reach targets from Guam (or probably Alaska to cover Siberia). So, why deploy it (taking up cargo space) to the theater. A check of Janes would reveal that the AH-64 Apache is armed with a 30mm cannon, not the 20mm cited in the book. The Chinese ICBMs also receive the wrong designation that might have been a typo that wasn't caught. Sure, these seem like minor nit but this kind of error wasn't generally found in Clancy's earlier works. It makes me wonder how much of this he really writes himself, anymore, vice letting the "Research Staff" do the writing, too, as is the case with the terrible OP CENTER series. It's also reflective of an arrogant attitude-"It's Clancy so it'll sell even if the accuracy isn't as good anymore." BTW, I wonder if Clancy and the editors ever thought of including.....A MAP of the area where the war is fought.
Rating:
Summary: Think of it as a year of a decent television series
Review: Let's be a little more diplomatic. Clancy is focusing on size first. Lots of stuff happens. If you like diversity of topics, and a lot of it, you'll be pleased. Clancy is like a television writer. Not too deep, plenty to read, you'll still learn a lot, like always. For all those who wanted War and Peace, I have a pretty simple suggestion. Me personally, I take months to read Clancy books. I give myself an hour or so, once or twice a week, and the experience is enjoyable. The point of a thousand page book is not to finish it in a week. A work of this size is meant to accompany you through a season or two. Be warned, though... Clancy books are basically unedited, straight from the man's typewriter. There are some ill effects. Tom Clancy repeats himself a lot in this book. Tom Clancy repeats himself a lot in this book. Everybody calls computers: 'puters. Everybody knows that an ICBM drops 7-8 times faster than a rifle bullet flies through the air. Everybody compares Chinese to Klingons. There are as many references to the 'd' word and 'sausage' as there are paragraph breaks. And yes, everybody uses the word: puke. Ryan doesn't reflect much deeper than: why the 'f' am I here? And Ryan does this a lot. So Clancy doesn't read his own stuff... the dude just keeps typing... fair enough. I could have given a more literary review of this work, but that's not what you are here to read, is it? ;) You're at this page, you're gonna drop the [money], and you know I'm right. Click the order button and get on with it.
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