Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: Come on, Tom---you can do better than this. A bottle of Geritol will help your next effort.
Rating: 
Summary: not Clancy's best
Review: I expected somewhat more from this book. It's not bad at all, the writing is solid (though TC is falling back to his old habit of using the same cliche 4 times instead of 4 different cliches once each), and (thank goodness) this book doesn't have the continued existence of the world hanging in the balance (as all of Clancy's recent work seems to have). But it doesn't have that certain spark that characterized Clear and Present Danger, Hunt for Red October, and some of Clancy's other books.Basically, take a look if you're a serious fan of Clancy's fiction, or if you're interested in the psychology of high-level murderers. But if you're just dabbling, it's not worth the price.
Rating: 
Summary: The journey is _more_ than half the fun
Review: I keep thinking that Mr. Clancy has finally exhausted the possibilities in this universe, and then he goes back and pulls this "rabbit" out of his hat. A very tightly written book, that fleshes out the Foley characters (whose most prominent previous appearance was in "Cardinal of the Kremlin"), and offers a very plausible chain of events leading up to the 1981 assassination attempt on John Paul II. While one could argue that there was limited suspense at times, I beg to differ. Since all the main characters make appearances later in the timeline of this universe there is little supsense as to who lives and dies or how a given event turns out. That's kind of a gimme. The real intrigue in this book is how Mr. Clancy creates a plausible chain of events to put all the pieces in place prior to critical plot points. The ends are pretty much predetermined; it's the trip that makes this book worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: A little short on action
Review: I have read all of the Jack Ryan books and the two John Clark books. I have enjoyed or really enjoyed all of them. The Bear and the Dragon seemed a little weak. This one seemed a little weaker. There was not really much tension. It never seemed like any of the characters were really in any real danger. **Warning, spoiler** In Tom Clancy's books, his characters often comment about how things never seem to go as planned in the real world. Obsticles are thrown at the characters and they have to figure a way around them. In this book, a plan was decided on and everything went as planned. No KGB agents seeing anything that the good guys would have preferred to have kept hidden. No suspicious border guards. Not even something as simple as a flat tire. There is only one thing that doesn't go as planned but anyone who remembers the events that this story is based around will know what is coming in that instance. Another thing that I found curious was that Yuri Andropov and Leonid Breznev(sp?) are mentioned by name and have speaking roles, while Ronald Reagan is never mentioned by name. Things he said and did are referred to but his name is never mentioned. Not a big deal, really, but I found myself wondering why it was done that way as I was reading the book. Also, there was a little bit of repetition in the book. Some of the same stories and anecdotes, such as origins of phrases and/or traditions, were repeated. I kind of remember that being the case in the Bear and the Dragon as well, but I could be wrong (I had to pick that one up and read a few pages before I remembered anything about it). All in all, it was an OK read, but it may be time to retire the Jack Ryan character. I would like to see more John Clark books. I was a little disappointed that he did not make an appearance in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Lumbering is the Word!
Review: Tom Clancy's novels have been called encyclopedic in detail and this one is no exception. In Red Rabbit he returns to some of the characters in Cardinal of the Kremlin to a time just before the action in that book takes place. The Soviets are plotting to assassinate the current Pope back in the early 80's (sound familiar), and over what seems like hundreds of pages we get to see the Western characters, most interestingly, the husband and wife spy team, the Foley's, find out about the plot. This is supposed to be a Jack Ryan prequel, but as in several of Clancy's previous books, Ryan is the least interesting character (I've never understood how someone as accomplished in so many different careers as he is can second guess himself at every turn!) In Clancy's best books he interweaves the drier backroom maneuvering with some action-packed adventure in the field. In this one everyone seems to have a backroom they are locked in, and we only ever see them leave to get a drink...in one scene, comically, during surgery! Three stars for the behind-the-scene details and the Foleys; no stars for the lack of action, Jack Ryan, and the cringe-making dialogue.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing But Still Interesting
Review: I have always been a big Tom Clancy fan and wait with tremendous anticipation the publication of each of his novels. Lately, however, I have grown disenfranchised with Mr. Clancy and have found it harder and harder to get through his books. This book was no exception and I struggled to get through this book, though for different reasons than his last couple of Jack Ryan novels. Mr. Clancy is a talented action writer and his mastery of the techno-thriller novel has been widely and justly praised. Unfortunately, Mr. Clancy is also a talented researcher and political thinker, and he tends to assume that his audience is equally interested in the minutiae of these subjects. Ever since Red Storm Rising (co-authored with the under appreciated Larry Bond) Mr. Clancy's books have been growing thicker and thicker to the point that one often despairs of the number of trees necessary for just one print run of his books. Regretfully this increase in girth has not always been to the benefit of the story. Fortunately for his readers, Mr. Clancy is an excellent action writer and his novels are generally filled with enough action or blistering political tension that you are able to digest the odd 50 pages here and there of political or military analysis. Two fine examples of this are The Sum of All Fears and his last offering, the Bear and the Dragon. The Sum Of All Fears offers one of the most suspenseful and thrilling stories he has ever drawn up which covers about 500 of the 798 pages of the book. The rest is filled with the sometimes mind numbing detail of the process of assembling a terrorist nuclear weapon. Similarly, the Bear and the Dragon offers up a fine political suspense drama for about 600 of the 1028 pages of the book. The remainder are filled with long political dissertations on the morals of the political process, party politics and just about anything else President John P. Ryan might care to muse about for 100 pages or so while pondering his next decision. Ironically, this book is one of Clancy's shortest efforts in many years coming in at just 618 pages (not the 896 pages erroneously reported in the Amazon info section) and does much less delving into the thinking of the President or the minutiae of the technology involved. Unfortunately, the trimming process seems to also have cut deep into the action in the book resulting in lots of interesting information on how a CIA station works and what a defection is like but very little suspense. Indeed, since you know the outcome of the primary plot point before you start reading the book it is difficult to stir up any feelings of excitement even when the action does get going in the last 50 pages or so. This book is very similar to The Cardinal of the Kremlin in that it is almost entirely about the process of espionage and defection, which in the real world frequently have very little action indeed. I cannot recommend this book as his best, but I will continue to read Mr. Clancy's books because even his bad books are interesting and his good books are wonderful. I would recommend a reread of Without Remorse or Rainbow Six, two of his best more recent works, before investing any time in this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Re-read an old Clancy instead
Review: Perhaps deadened by the numerous Clancy-sponsored, 'insert author's name here' Op-center paperbacks (or his non-fiction backgrounders on military topics), Clancy forgot the critical element of excitement in this one. Set back in the early '80s, we observe a very linear, very boring story play out over 600 pages--600+ pages you'll never get back. There were hundreds of opportunities for the plot to take an unexpected, interesting turn, yet in every case, everything went according to a dull plan. I finally realized that no twists were ever coming about 75 pages from the end and agonizingly paged through to the ending very disappointed. Here's a plot as exciting as the one in Red Rabbit: Cops learn of a bank robbery plot. They set up bugs in the hideout and overhear the plan. Police hide inside the bank to catch robbers. Robbers enter the bank. Police catch robbers. The End. Re-read an old one of Clancy's novels instead.
Rating:
Summary: Red Rabbit is not one of Tom Clancy's better efforts!!!
Review: I have just completed Red Rabbit, which I must say was not an easy task. I am sorry to say that this novel is just plain boring. It slow and the usually "edge of your seat" suspense, Mr. Clancy is famous for, is just not there. Red Rabbit takes place shortly after the events of "The Patriot Game", but before the events of "The Hunt for Red October". The story deals with a Russian plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II. I think the main problem with novel is that we all already know how the story ends. Mr. Clancy in this novel has taken actual historical events and tried to weave a fictional tale around it. I feel he has come up short. This topic would have been better served by one of Mr. Clancy's non-fiction works. I am also disappointed that Mr. Clancy has chosen another prequel to re-introduce his characters. Patriots Games, explored Jack Ryan origins, "Without Remorse" showed us how John Kelly became Mr. Clark, and "Red Rabbit" deals with Bob and May Pat Foley. It is time to move forward. After 9/11, this novels topic is a safe one, and that is why he may have chosen it. However, Mr. Clancy, safe is boring and we expect more. I can only hope his next novel will deal with more current events. I sadly can't recommend this book. It is really the first Clancy novel that I wish I hadn't bought.
Rating:
Summary: Decent
Review: I work in a bookstore and was able to previw this before it came out. It was an acceptable clancy book, but I was hoping for a sequal to Rainbow six, or an new world wide conflict scenario like Red Storm Riseing. The jack ryan series were great, but since he became president, he cant do as much cool stuff. Also I hate it when I know the outcome of the ending.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: About as exciting as Tolstoy (and as wordy). Clancy can't seem to let the cold war go (if he actually wrote this book). The only interesting parts are about Mary Pat and Ed Foley.
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