Helpful Score: 2
I stayed up late finishing it. Compelling read. The final note from Tom Clancy tells how worried and amazed he is that it would be relatively easy for a rich and secretive person to fabricate a hydrogen bomb, given some access to raw materials, as in the novel. Engrossing, entertaining, _and_ made me think - the best traits in a spy novel. I have not yet seen the movie.
My only objection: it's too long (~900 pages). It suffers from sub-plots that are developed and then thrown away after interacting briefly with the main story line. It all ties together, but some of the ties are too weak and coincidental to be interesting.
My only objection: it's too long (~900 pages). It suffers from sub-plots that are developed and then thrown away after interacting briefly with the main story line. It all ties together, but some of the ties are too weak and coincidental to be interesting.
Helpful Score: 1
An object lesson in over-powered politics. A satisfying, but disturbing, ending. Clancy is also very good in the genre that I call hardware novels--good, that is, in that the plot and characters do not suffer for it.
Helpful Score: 1
A very exciting addition to the Ryanverse. Clancy provides another thrilling Ryan adventure with many of the favorite characters in addition to the Ryan family: Clark, Ding, Mancuso, Jonesy, etc. There is a major flaw - Clancy goes into extensive and sometimes mind-numbing detail about the technical specifications of nuclear weapons that are not relevant to the plot. If you skim through these passage, it is a very enjoyable read.
Helpful Score: 1
Quite a fast paced, good read. Much better than the movie.
