Rating: 
Summary: Good, but tells us the end is near for the Jack Ryan saga
Review: The story was good. However, again, Clancy could have written either a shorter book by eliminating things about the characters that we did not care about, or he could have written more to the story to make it more interesting. Clancy probably made this one as short as it was because of the past remarks people have made about his book, saying he inserts things that have nothing to do with the story.
This time, I completely understood the story even with the background on the characters. That's what made me stay interested in it. But, I do have the feeling he is running out of ideas and that is why he wrote this story occuring before "Clear And Present Danger", and long before Jack Ryan becomes POTUS. There just are not too many more ideas you can have these days with recurring characters.I hate to say this, but I think Tom Clancy needs to write one more, perhaps at the end of the presidency, or maybe at election time, but making sure Ryan is not reelected.
Rating:
Summary: It grabbed my interest but I already knew most characters
Review: If you have not read at least most of the other John Ryan books don't read this one first. Even though in the chronological timeline it occurs third, without the emotional investment in the characters it probably wouldn't be worth reading. I actually liked this book much better than Bear/Dragon which I considered to be a good 300 page story wrapped in 700 pages of history & essays and Rainbow Six which was a series of action vignettes separated by forgettable bridges. But I realize that I like it because it fleshed out some characters that have already met in the previous books. The story flows and you keep turning the pages; you know nothing serious will happen because you know the future. The whole thing is over before you realize there is no there there. It's not a techno thriller. There isn't much action, suspense or mystery. It does fill a gap in Ryan's life story and his ongoing guilt trip over smoking. The next book is suggested to be another caper before Red October, I hope it is less concerned with his smoking and has more action, suspense, technological magic and surprises. I consider it worth reading but not until 2 or 3am.
Rating: 
Summary: Wait for the paperback.
Review: Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later - after the disappointing _The Bear and the Dragon_, Clancy has sunk even lower with the bizarrely flawed _Red Rabbit_. Clancy's shortcomings (cardboard characters, unconvincing dialogue, trite political preaching) have always been acceptable in the face of his terrific plotting and edge-of-your-seat action sequences. Not this time. The story moves along at a slow pace, there is little to no action, and Clancy barely even provides conflict. Instead, he annoys the reader with repetitive pap.
Longtime Clancy readers will grow tired of being constantly reminded that Mary Pat Foley is a "cowboy", Caroline Ryan is a "doc", and that the thought of his wife slicing into someone's eyeball gives Jack Ryan the heebie-jeebies. Clancy has also decided that if he is to refer to a psychiatrist as a "shrink" (and he does it quite a lot), he must spell it "pshrink", so we'll know what he means.
The book overflows with anachronisms. Ryan apparently bought Starbucks stock a good eight years before the company was formed, mourned the loss of a football team that hadn't relocated yet, "thought outside the box" long before anybody else did, and coined the phrase, "been there, done that, got the t-shirt". All this in 1982.
I found myself annoyed with the Ryan family while reading this - their interaction seems even more shallow than usual in this book. Apparently, the estimable Dr. Caroline Ryan cannot understand that intelligence officers aren't supposed to discuss their work with their families. She comes off as a little bit silly sometimes - certainly not like a woman who can operate on eyeballs like few else in the world, play a dazzling if somewhat mechanical piano, deal seconds like a Las Vegas cardsharp, and charm heads of state while bringin' home the bacon and fryin' it up in the pan.
The plot revolves around a real historical event - the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul. Of course, we all know how that came out, and Clancy doesn't rewrite history here. Unfortunately he doesn't even make the event very exciting. I don't wish to provide a spoiler. Rest assured that Jack Ryan, in an extremely unlikely denouement, saves the Pope and the day.
I did enjoy parts of this book, particularly the Foley sections (a book about Ed and Mary Pat would be very welcome), and the Russian defector's story. The espionage passages were satisfyingly realistic and provided the only tension in the book.
I am a big Clancy fan, and up until now have eagerly purchased his books as soon as they were released (not those "Op Center" things, just the novels). The last two books have been disappointing enough to make me check the reviews before buying future Clancy offerings. _Red Rabbit_ is by no means a terrible book, it's just that one expects more of Clancy, especially now that he's a well-established author - or is the phrase "firmly entrenched"? I hope not.
Rating: 
Summary: Clancy's on his pulpit
Review: This book could have been 250 pages shorter if Clancy had focused on the story and not repeating, over and over again, Jack Ryan's history, likes, dislikes, adventures, wife's job, Catholic upbringing, past jobs, and his dislike for "Martians" (anyone east of the iron curtain).
It became ridiculous when he told someone "Pal, the name is Jack, not Sir John." for the 20th time. Did Clancy write this in short spurts over a few months and forget he already covered that joke?
The story itself could have been pretty good, but the narration was all over the place. Clancy actually takes four pages to describe a concert Ryan attends in Budapest. Do we really need four pages to find out that Ryan doesn't "get" classical music?
Clancy also spends dozens of pages telling the reader what the real world is like and what different political parties, goverments and people should be doing to make the world safe for American democracy.
Forget this clunker of a novel. Wait for the Reader's Digest condensed version, They can easily cut it in half and have a really good book to sell.
p.s. I'm not a prude, but what happened to Jack Ryan's mouth? Everyone in this book swears like a rabid stevadore. The only one's who broader vocabularies are the 4-year-olds.
Rating:
Summary: Some reading hints for this disappointing book
Review: I was disappointed by this long Clancy book. I did notice his writing begin to slip with Rainbow Six, but at this point, I think he's done for. Still, I'll probably keep reading his books like many others. Here are two hints to save time when you read this book. 1. This is a great opportunity to try your speed reading. I promise you that no passage in this book needs to be read carefully.
2. As soon as you see Cathy Ryan in the book, skip the section altogether (these sections have no relevance whatsoever and repeat things we all know from prior books). Depending upon how quickly you read, this could save you an hour or so. Hopefully, Tom Clancy's next book reverses this trend.
Rating:
Summary: Very Poor
Review: If any writer on the planet submited this book to every publisher on the planet, they would have gotten a thousand reject slips. This is not only Clancy's worst, it is the worst novel I've read in several years, and I read fifty to sixty per year. I think Clancy needed the money, maybe had some bad investments, and banged out this nonsense to get it. This book could have been cut to fifty pages, and could have been an opening chapter to some other book. NOW, watch- the paper back will have great reviews: "action packed page turner, kept me up all night..." They all lie, big time.
Rating:
Summary: DULL !!!
Review: I counted only 3 shots fired in the entire book, and only at the end. Of course, I could have dozed off and missed a few.
Rating: 
Summary: Ryan in the backseat
Review: For those afficionados of spy tradecraft, this is one of Clancy's best.
As for me, the highlight was Clancy's decision to develop some other characters from previous novels and introduce some new ones to carry forward the plot.
While Ryan is in there along with wife in London, he has been marginalized so the discerning reader can skip over the sections in which he does appear without losing any of the meaty plot line which is classic Clancy.
It is an apt cliche to say that this is a page burner with enough plot twists to make for an entertaining read that goes too fast.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read, But Not a Great One
Review: Red Rabbit is the latest novel from Tom Clancy, and although it's less intricate than his others, readers should enjoy it just the same. In this installment, set in the early 80's at the height of the Cold War, Jack Ryan has just been posted to London by the CIA. Ryan, and a cast of other characters familiar to Clancy fans, uncovers a plot to assassinate the Pope. The balance of the book details various operational and intelligence activities that ensue, as Ryan and the good guys try to figure out how to use their information without risking the sources that have provided it. Red Rabbit weights in at a hefty 600+ pages, not unusual for a Clancy novel, but departs from Clancy's usual "formula" in that it's a little less complex. The number of subplots, and their complexities, have been reduced. To me, this novel offered a little less suspense than prior editions; I just didn't find the unexpected plot twists that I've grown used to. Finally, the premise -- the plot to assassinate the Pope -- just didn't seem as compelling as some of his past stories. Still, Clancy is a superb storyteller, and Red Rabbit doesn't lack for Clancy's unique flavor. I found the novel thoroughly enjoyable, and finished the whole thing in about a day and half. Clearly, an average showing from Clancy beats most everything else out there. I can highly recommend the novel, although some readers may find it less pleasing than prior efforts.
Rating:
Summary: Save some time and just read this
Review: Save some time and just read this: While sleeping the sleep of the just he looked at his wife, the eye cutter, and asked himself, "How many divisions does the Pope have?" which made him realize that little girls give the best hugs. Suddenly he recalled that the KGB had roasted a traitor alive and made a film of it so he decided to buy some Starbucks stock before it was available. Then the Pope didn't get killed. Now read it again and again and again.
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