Rating: 
Summary: Tedious
Review: My first hopes on reading this book is that Jack Ryan wouldn't be as terrible as he was in _The Bear and the Dragon_. And, in that respect, _Red Rabbit_ is a better book. This book has occasional profanity, but none of the repeated gratuitous gutter profanity and sex of _The Bear and the Dragon_. Nor does this book revel in racial stereotypes and insults. Women have a largely decent role. There's less ranting against immorality -- although there are frequent reminders of how holy and pure the Catholic Church is -- "its policies rarely, if ever, strayed from love and charity" -- which we know isn't true.
There are portents of the future -- this Jack Ryan likes to drink (always 3 drinks) the day before a dangerous action, and when leaving a dangerous action (the exfiltration and the attempt on Pope's life). But this Jack Ryan doesn't get roaring drunk when he's needed, like he'll do later as President.
Clancy hits us over the head with reminders of Jack's bravery in the ULA attack on his home covered in _Patriot Games_ -- there are at least twelve different recaps of that attack in this book! And there are at least seven virtually identical bits of dialogue where we're reminded that Jack was knighted for his actions against the ULA, but doesn't like to be called "Sir John." For some reason Clancy repeatedly clobbers us with the cutesy "pshrink" spelling -- at first I thought it was a term for psychiatrists specially trained to work with spies, but no, it's just a cutesy spelling you might find in a pre-teen's diary.
There are some puzzling inconsistencies for someone who CAN (or could) write a good book, as Clancy. If the Russian, Zaitzev, was so concerned about the Pope, why did he insist on waiting until he was brought to the West to reveal that time-critical information? The "Operation Mincemeat" part of the plot served to hide the fact that Zaitzev had defected, but it greatly increased the risk that his escape would be discovered, and stopped, before Zaitzev was safe in the West. It also seems that the specific identity-hiding pre-burning of the discovered bodies could well be obvious to any doctor who examined the bodies of a "KGB employee" and his family. Zaitzev's presence in the West is a crucial secret to be closely held, but Ryan needlessly mentions it to his fellow operatives in Rome as a bit of casual conversational filler.
Clancy does a good job fitting his story around historical facts. The writing isn't up to par with the earlier books, but it's good. The "techno" part is missing, in favor of supposed political analysis, and a bit of tradecraft and gossip. The main distraction, unfortunately, is that we KNOW this Jack Ryan will eventually become a simple-minded jingoistic irresponsible racist President.
Rating:
Summary: If you suffer from insomnia...
Review: I have to say, when I saw the book, my hand went to my wallet. Now I wish I had read some reviews first. Very tedious, Mr. Clancy as usual, spends way to much time on detail after detail,instead of getting to the action. Of course in this book there is no action. Each time I picked it up, I was drifting off to sleep by the fifth page. Hey Tom, stop pontificating on your politics in your character's thoughts. Better yet, get new characters, instead of Mr. Clean Marine, who says "love ya babe" every third page! Gentle reader, do yourself a favor, and skip this one, or if you must, borrow it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Paper
Review: As many other Clancy fans said before, I should have read others reviews first. However, being a loyal fan of past books, I unknowingly bought it and wasted a long weekend on it. For a 600 page book, the plot was thin and predictable. Unfortunately, some one in Hollywood will try to make a movie out of it and bore us all over again. Clancy fans, DO NOT BY THIS BOOK! It will tarnish anything that he writes in the future. PS - There should be a "No Star" Choice for this book
Rating:
Summary: The book that never stops
Review: Tom, what were you thinking?! Apparently, endless prattle and relentless character self-examination has replaced the research and plot development Clancy is (was?) noted for. Repetative, boring, and far too long. This 600+ page tome could easily be condensed into a 200 page afternoon read. Perhaps the Reader's Digest version will be palatable. If you like LeCarre, you will notice some similarities; right down to some historical references oft used in many of his works. Unfortunately, Clancy seems to have lost the gift for making his characters likable and interesting. Did I mention that Red Rabbit is repetative?
Rating:
Summary: Don't Through Me in the Briar Patch
Review: Thank god for Jack Ryan. Now I can sleep again knowing that he is there to protect me, and the world, and the Pope! Clancy must be hungry or he needs money to support his failing stock in the Baltimore Orioles (he is a part owner). Maybe Jack Ryan could save the failing Orioles, what a relief that would be. There is more suspense in what the Orioles will do during a game that what was in the entire text of Red Rabbit. I kept waiting for something suspenseful to happen but I should have know that as long as "Superman" Jack Ryan was on the scene, there would be no suspense. Jack would solve all. A second rate story contained in 618 pages. TRY AGAIN TOM. YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT.
Rating:
Summary: Long awaited - Utterly disappointing
Review: As exciting and predictable as watching grass grow...
Rating:
Summary: Red Rabbit
Review: If this had been Tom Clancy's first book, it would have been his last. Clancy must have had some unpaid bills so he decided to sling out some hash.
The characters in Clancy's books have gotten more coarse in their language. And even though this book's story is to have taken place before Hunt for Red October, Jack Ryan is very gung ho; this differs from the somewhat obsequious Jack Ryan in Hunt for Red October.
One of the worst things in this book is the repetition of theme, thought, and word from very distant (geographically, socially, governmentally, and culturally) characters. For example, three people, one of whom is the author, use the term "aesthete" to describe an individual. I have not done a word count, but I'd be willing to bet the cost of a good sandwich that Clancy has never used that word in any of his previous works of fiction. Maybe he got a thesaurus for Christmas.
I have truly enjoyed reading Clancy's fiction--'til now. Reading this book was like watching Namath with the bum knees, O.J. with San Francisco, or Ali in his last bouts. I will re-read Clancy's previous works, but if I was on a desert island with one book, Red Rabbit, it would only make for good kindling; not good reading.
The one positive note about this book is that I caught up on some much needed sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Clancy Strikes Out
Review: One of a dozen books I've bought over a lifetime of reading that I felt was a total waste of money. I've tried to give this dud to several used bookstores and they wouldn't take it. They already had more than they would ever sell.
Rating:
Summary: Shame on you Tom
Review: What a disappointment. I was left wondering who wrote this book for Tom. Since his last book, Tom has discovered the "F" word and use of it (a lot) adds absolutely nothing to the story. Tom Clancy on the cover used to be reason enough to put money on the counter. I shall wait for the reviews on his next one. Move forward Tom. Have a new person be a player with President Ryan. Then let the man leave office, retire and go away. Please, no more looking back.
Rating:
Summary: It's coming... it's coming... it's coming... Nope, never did
Review: Clancy must have written this one from left-over notes and in a few spare moments here and there. Lot's of opportunities for the suspensful plot twists and turns of his early novels, but it never happens here. We do get a lot of detail about what the characters have for breakfast and how difficult the transition is for Ryan's "eye-cutter" wife to operate in Britain vs. the USA. A big disappointment for Clancy fans.
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