SILENT OPTION

Rating:
Summary: Great book but...
Review: I will make this short and sweet...

If you want to know what seals go though with training, and carry out missions its a great book...it just can get a little confusing with all the abreviations.

Rating:
Summary: A good way to kill your time, but it may kill your brain also
Review: If you want a no-brainer book with lots of action, lots ofblood & lots of sex, than this book is for you. Because this bookhas a lot of those elements, but nothing more. It offer absoluatly nothing new concerning the tactic, the technology or the thinking of special operation. It seems that all the female agents in the world only use sex to collect intellence. So, if you want only sex & blood, this is your book. Otherwise, avoid this.

Rating:
Summary: Good first half, tied to a plot aimed at Joe Six-pack
Review: This is definately a dual-personality book. The training and background information is wonderful and gives excellent first-hand insight. In fact, I could have been perfectly satisified if the book finished with the deployment of the team. While it is obvious what characters will survive the training - this is but a minor flaw to the first half.

However, then there is the rest of the book. Where our wonderfully square-jawed superman hero fights against someone that only he seems able to stop. The women are little more than hookers, while the bold American men stride through obstacles that nobody else can handle - characterization takes a drop and realism takes a back seat to flights of fantasy. I really hate to see such a transparent plot jacked into what could have been an excellent book.

Rip out the last half of the book and you have a good story and some over-the-top, but acceptable characters. Taken as a whole........well, it's a poor read. Still, if you are a fan of Clancy's later books (where everyone is incompetant except our brave perfect and god-like heroes) then you should be able to muddle through.