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Summary: Clancy
Review: Up to page 173 so far after 2 months picking it up and letting it down. Too slow and full of minutiae that was OK 10/15 years ago but is now well documented and passe. Does not seem to be written by Clancy. Maybe if I have the patience I will get to the ending!!
A slow read.
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Summary: Red Rabbit
Review: I have read most of Tom Clancy's novels and for some reason found this one to be one of the most boring of all of them. While Clancy can still put scenes together and craft some excellent dialogues, the suspense and intrigue wee old hat stuff. Pick it up Tom!
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Summary: Clancy- not bad, could be better
Review: Red Rabbit, by Tom Clancy, is based during the cold war and on an assassination attempt on the pope. This is his 10th novel featuring Jack Ryan, the young CIA analyst in Clancy's 1984 debut, The Hunt for Red October. Clancy has been writing for over fifteen years and prefers to write historical fiction techno thrillers. For all of the hype though, this book is nothing like his past books.
The plot of this story is very straightforward. It is 1981, and the KGB is planning to murder the pope. This plan enrages a communications officer so much that he decides to defect to warn the west about the plan. Meanwhile, Jack Ryan has moved from Washington D.C. to London so he can be a liaison between CIA and MI6. He does not know just how important he will be to this defection.
One reason for the dullness of this novel by Clancy is the slow moving, boring plot. To be concise, the KGB wants to kill the pope, a communications specialist turns traitor, and Jack Ryan moves into a new house. This plot is so simple; it bores many diehard Clancy fans that are used to action, suspense, and danger. This story has over four hundred pages of fluff and only about one hundred that actually pertain to the outcome. One example of the fluff is Clancy's illustrations of a character's thoughts for three or for pages at a time. This leads to a very slow moving plot and a lot of fluff.
Although Clancy screwed up on the plot, he did an exceptional job of characterization. He is able to describe each character in a livid and interesting way that allows you to become that character. One way that Clancy did this was by illustrating the thoughts of the characters. This shows us how the characters feel and what they believe. One character in particular that Clancy did a brilliant job of characterization on was Zaitzev, the defecting KGB communications technician. Through his characterization, we were able to learn what Zaitzev thought about other people his worries and anxieties, and his intelligence.
In conclusion, Clancy did an okay job on Red Rabbit, but it could have been better. Clancy did not do a good job on plot, but he did a stellar job on characterization. If you are still going to read this book, wait until it is in paperback or at your local library.
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Summary: Need more Jack Ryan
Review: Clancy hasn't written a good book since Executive Order. Bear and the Dragon is awful, as it this. No suspense, totaly predictable, my fifth grader could have figured it out. Clancy should be embarrassed. Sum of All Fears was one of his best. Executive Order was fantasitic. Red Rabbit was a waste of my time. I put down Patterson's "The Beach House" in favor of this. After struggling with Rabbit for 4 weeks, I finished it, then finished Beach House in 2 days. A fantastic book! I would highly recommend it, even though Alex Cross is not a character.Which brings up a good point. Ryan is only as good as Domingo Chevez, who wasn't in Red Rabbit. Maybe we have something here... I hope and pray Clancy comes up with his next book a winner!
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Summary: Successful Writers Syndrome Stikes Clancy
Review: It appears that Tom Clancy has been struck with SWS (Successful Writers Syndrome). Typical of so many successful writers, Tom doesn't appear to have to respond to an editor. He can write as much as he wants, whether or not it advances the plot or develops characterisation. You can know how the book will end by page 17 and yet still get paid lots of big bucks. Sorry, Tom. It's harder to write a short book than a long one and I don't think you broke a sweat on this one... and I'm a FAN! There may be a modestly interesting 125 page book in here but I doubt it.
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Summary: Review of "Red Rabbit" by Tom Clancy
Review: This is probably the worst Tom Clancy book I have read. It is heavily padded and is probably three times as long as the simplistic plot deserves. I'm sorry I spent the money on buying it. A great disappointment.
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Summary: the book where nothing happens
Review: Tom Clancy seems to have lost the plot so to speak, and fails to find it in Red Rabbit. Essentially *nothing* happens in this book until about page 600 or so and then it's all over in 3 pages, so save yourself a lot of time and money by reading these pages in the bookshop as you browse and then replace the book on the shelf and walk out. If you are looking for an action packed thriller this is not the book to read, instead go and get Patriot Games or Hunt for Red October.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent read, but maybe a little too realistic for some
Review: Tom Clancy has become famous for his technical aptitude, realism and plausible plotlines. This book is no exception- except it is more realistic than many Jack Ryan fans would want. You see, this book has a little to do with Ryan, some to do with Ed Foley and Mary Pat, and a whole lot about the spy trade in general, set against the backdrop of the assassination attempt on the Pope in the early '80's. I found the book to be an interesting dissertation on the suspenseful boredom that is espionage; there is little action and little heroism from Ryan (he seems to just be along for the ride, more or less). That's not the point of the story, however. It really is more an examination of the fraying of the Soviet empire and how desperate, powerful men can tilt the world toward war if not checked. Read the book, but don't expect a typical Jack Ryan thriller.
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Summary: Introspection doesn't work for Clancy
Review: Clancy fans will be disapointed in this latest attempt. Known for lots of detail (propeller cavatation, flying drones) in previous novels-he has given that up in this one. Instead almost every character has repeated periods of introspection as a substitute book filler. Believe me when I say that introspection is not what Clancy is good at.
The book is slow, the characters attempts at look back foresight are tedious (Gee, the new shortstop for Baltimore-Ripken- looks like he is going to be good).
Oh, and by the way, I apologize for the late review but I picked this book up and put it down several times before I finally waded through it. Give this book a pass.
Rating:
Summary: Nope, not this one
Review: A delicious mish mash of double entendre between those randy Foley's in Moscow. A compelling dialogue between the two Dr's Ryan. Gruff Admiral Greer and steely Yuri Andropov. You know, I actually put this book down in the middle of it (about the time Ed and Mary Pat's hand communications were going full bore) and read three old Forsyth novels, The Negotiator, The Fist of God, and The Deceiver.) I was begging to have a mole at Century House. I was crying to have one of the people around the Ryan's, whether it was the colleague, the Taxi Driver, or even the nanny, leave a note at a drop box and make a chalk mark on the wall. This one was a stinker. Come on Tom. I'm calling you out son, you can do better than this.
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