false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186938249m/5720.jpg 5720 34 Two years prior, Executive Orders, which thrust Jack Ryan into the Oval Office, raised the bar for its immensely popular author. This first Clancy hardcover since then, though a ripping read, matches its predecessor neither in complexity nor intensity nor even, at 752 pages, length, despite a strong premise and some world-class action sequences. Instead of everyman Ryan, its lead is the more shadowed John Clark, the ex-Navy SEAL vigilante of Without Remorse who has appeared in several Ryan adventures. Clark now heads Rainbow Six, an international special-ops anti-terrorist strike force?and, despite the novelty of the conceit, that's a problem, as the profusion of protagonists, though sharply drawn (including, most notably, "Ding" Chavez, Clark's longtime protege), deprives the book of the sort of strong central character that has given Clancy's previous novels such heart. The story opens vigorously if arbitrarily, with an attempted airline hijacking foiled by Clark and Chavez, who happen to be on the plane. After that action sequence, the duo and others train at Rainbow Headquarters outside London, then leap into the fray against terrorists who have seized a bank in Bern, Switzerland. And so the pattern of the narrative is set: action sequence, interlude, action sequence, interlude, etc., giving it the structure and pace of a computer game. A major subplot involving bioterrorism that evolves into an overarching plotline syncopates that pattern, though Clancy's choice of environmentalists as his prime villains will strike some readers as odd. All of Clancy's fans, however, will revel in the writer's continued mastery at action writing; Rainbow's engagements, which occupy the bulk of the novel, are immensely suspenseful, breathtaking combos of expertly detailed combat and primal emotion. While not Clancy's best, then, his 10th hardcover will catapult to the top of bestseller lists -- and for good reason. 5054705 book 1000 Rainbow Six total:4349|5:1222|4:1547|3:1172|2:315|1:93| 4349 16537 5230 225 3 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Feb 02 17:20:39 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 17:47:29 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Tue Jul 21 00:06:53 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 00:13:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Sep 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 12:47:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 14:57:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Sep 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 13:04:11 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 12:56:32 -0700 2009
This book is about a group of men gathered together from several European countries to be eternally o...more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Jul 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 16:07:50 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 03:33:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jul 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 14:15:40 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 19:21:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 10:43:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 09:24:05 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Jul 25 19:38:05 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 25 19:39:29 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Thu Jul 02 14:13:48 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 14:14:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 21:43:02 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 21:49:08 -0700 2008
There are a few annoying points with the writing: important plot points get repeated again and again; little details get ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 09 20:54:49 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 02 20:47:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false true Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 19 11:19:46 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 19:25:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jul 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 19:06:35 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 18:06:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 21:29:26 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 21:36:51 -0800 2009 Course our special ops troops eventually find them and allow...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Thu Dec 11 15:20:31 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 15:24:00 -0800 2008 1 Who better to do this than the most violent hero, John Clark.
He and his sidekick, Dommingo,...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Oct 27 17:48:55 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 12 16:53:04 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Fri Dec 05 18:35:04 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 18:38:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 08 15:30:41 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 15:31:50 -0700 2009
Nonetheless, it's a very fun book t...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sat Jul 25 12:26:07 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 13:25:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Feb 19 19:18:22 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 19 19:27:49 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5720