_Red Storm Rising_ is undoubtably Tom Clancy's finest book. It depicts an all-out war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact in the mid-'80s. While the political reasoning behind the Soviet invasion is a bit far-fetched, the description of modern-day land, sea, and air combat is riveting. In contrast to some of the one-dimensional characters in Clancy's other work, this book features two unforgettable ones: Lieutenant Mike Edwards, codenamed "Doghouse", an unlikely hero who leads a squad of Marines trapped in Soviet-occupied territory, and General "Pasha" Alekseyev, who commands the Red Army with brilliance and courage in spite of his own mixed feelings.

If you like Clancy's other books, you will love this one. And if you have found some of his more recent stuff to be tedious and overly political, give _Red Storm Rising_ a try so you can see him at his best. My mom and I have very different literary tastes, but even she really enjoyed it after I convinced her to give it a shot.

_Red Storm Rising_ has no rivals in its description of modern naval combat. And only _Red Army_, by Ralph Peters, surpasses its incredible look at World War III on the ground. I just purchased the hardcover version to replaced my overused paperback. Its a classic that will be enjoyed by readers of all tastes.

"Red Storm Rising" is the type of book when after you have read it you know the only person who could of wrote it is Tom Clancy. It is the story of what the United States has spent billions of dollars to avoid: World War III.

The story takes place when Russia was known as the U.S.S.R (United Socialist Soviet Republic). The Russian economy is in dire straits and to make matters worst, an Islamic terrorist group destroys one of the U.S.S.R.'s largest oil field and refinery compounds, In which stores almost half the nations oil. Eventually Russia's Party leaders "agree" that they must seize oil from the Persian Gulf to keep their economy from falling. As a ploy the russians unleash a huge offensive campaign to distract NATO from what its real intentions are. Russia declares war and fights on all fronts. As the Russian offensive presses forward NATO forces find themselves fighting for Germany and most of Europe. Iceland is lost from the allies as a huge soviet invasion takes the island in a decisive attack and the few marines that escape find themselves playing hide and seek with soviet forces. As the NATO front lines in europe drop further and further back a trade off of victories in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans happens as the United States find themselves winning territory from the overwhelming Soviet fleets. Now the Americans must worry about what forces the russians have on Iceland which is in striking distance of America. Slowly NATO lines are brought back to past positions right before a huge Russian Offensive takes them back again. With Casualties raising on both sides each country must take drastic measures.

Rather than focusing on one specific character, Tom Clancy tells the story through many characters eyes. giving it a unique touch and enabling the reader to see things from all points of views. Tom Clancy makes the reader feel if you were actually on the front lines, fighting on the battleships or in the cockpit of each fighter. Each word adds up to the suspense and literally leaves the reader breathless. This is a must read!

Red Storm Rising Tom Clancy

Red Storm Rising is a fast paced and exciting science fiction novel authored by Tom Clancy. Although not noted on the cover or title page, Larry Bond also contributed a great deal to the story making the story more realistic from a military perspective. About the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia's attempt to over take the Atlantic so they can launch an offensive against the United States of America and other NATO countries such as Britain and Germany. First, terrorists attack a large power plant in Russia. The Russians make it seem as if someone from the "outside" attacked them so they can "counterattack". They invade part of Germany and Iceland. Taking Iceland is an important step because this allows the Russians to reach farther into the Atlantic and possibly into North America with their aircraft. This also disrupts the anti-submarine line that the Americans have across the North Atlantic. When the Russians attack Iceland, that starts a war that the Russians start so they can obtain more territory and more materials for more war campaigns. The Russians' greed causes them a great deal throughout and after the war. This book is interesting, especially if one likes wars, battles and suspense. This book is unique because the story is told through many different eyes. Tom Clancy tells the story through the eyes of the Russians and the NATO. Under these divisions, he also goes into the lives of different people in the war i.e. he tells the story through the eyes of many naval captains in both surface and underwater boats, through the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic (American), and through the Politburo (Russian, like cabinet of the president). Some of the vocabulary is hard to understand e.g. titles of names: CINC-West, Commander in Chief-West, however; after reading on, the reader can figure out what they mean. There are some Russian words whose meanings can only be guessed. Most of the many characters are very believable. Although there are many characters and the story is told from multiple points of view, one can figure out most of the characters attitudes and descriptions throughout the book. Red Storm Rising is a science fiction book about the dangers of greediness and war. Since the Russians are greedy and want more land and materials such as oil and coal, they become desperate and end up loosing, since they are already in need of many things before the war, they are even more needy because of the war. Although the book is long, I enjoyed it because of the war scenes and suspense of not knowing 'what will happen next'.

As US/Allied forces this very day are engaging in military operations against Iraq, the emphasis is not only on victory but on the minimization of casualties, both military and civilian. This book discusses several approaches to the latter, via the use of "non-lethal" weapons, and some of these may in fact be employed in Operation Iraq Freedom. The discussion is fascinating, and one can only hope that future technological developments will make war less probable because of the ideas expoused by the author. In the foreword to the book, the author lets Tom Clancy remind the reader of the unique American viewpoint on warfare. Americans, because of the nature of the government in which they have chosen to create and participate, have always been reluctant to go to war. Every soldier is precious, indeed, human life is precious, and is not to be taken lightly. It is therefore not a surprise that precision-guided and non-lethal weapons have and are undergoing intense development in the last two decades in the United States. Hopefully this attitude will continue in this, the best of all centuries. The author seems confident that it will, and indeed we are fortunate to have individuals in the U.S. military who have his attitude and share his philosophy.

Some of the more interesting technological developments in non-lethal weaponry discussed in the book include: 1. Electromagnetic weapons: man-portable laser weapons, blinding weapons, isotropic radiator weapons, pulse weapons, stun guns. 2. Chemical non-lethal weapons: antimateriel chemical agents, superacids, pheromones. 3. Acoustic weapons, such as pulsed periodic stimulus, which causes perceptual disorientation in the individual.

John Alexander's FUTURE WAR gives us a definitive look at emerging non-lethal weapons technology. Colonel Alexander draws on his years of experience in law enforcement and as a Special Forces soldier as well as his work in weapons development at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He gives us more than fascinating descriptions of exotic gadgetry and its applications. He explains how a convergence of political and technological factors gave rise to new threats and how non-lethal weapons can counter these threats while reducing loss of human life (and minimizing adverse political and public relations consequences). He tells us about the origins, evolution, and capabilities of these weapons and how they can be used singly and in combination to thwart bad guys, rescue victims, and send loud, unambiguous messages to decidedly unfriendly governments.

Colonel Alexander's descriptions of actual and hypothetical applications are relevant and engaging: stopping a saboteur from poisoning millions of Americans, rescuing students held hostage by gunmen in a suburb of Denver, destroying the infrastructure of an unfriendly Central European government, and toppling troublesome dictators. Indeed, because they are so compelling, one wonders if these "hypothetical" scenarios are entirely fictional. There's plenty of material for nail-biters: home made bombs and land mines, grisly tortures and massacres; chemicals of incredible lethality; warheads delivering unstoppable combinations of deadly diseases to sleeping cities.

Alexander is no Pollyanna. He views non-lethal weapons as supplements to, rather than replacements for, our conventional arsenal. He does not pretend that non-lethal weapons never cause fatalities, but he does convince us that these are minimal, compared to those caused by conventional weapons. Alexander recognizes that some of these weapons are expensive and many will remain outside of the reach of the average police department, and he cautions that without considerable training these weapons will not be deployed properly. Furthermore, he acknowledges that as presently enacted, some of our laws and treaties may make it difficult to deploy certain non-lethal weapons. He gives us a particularly penetrating analysis of how some of these weapons run afoul of public opinion. (The same person who doesn't mind pounding the enemy to smithereens with artillery may be reluctant to accidentally blind an enemy soldier with a laser.)

This book is strongly endorsed by many prominent, high-ranking military officers. No doubt, some of their favor was shaped in part by Colonel Alexander's reputation as a professional solider and his hard work in behalf of national defense. But these endorsements also reflect the fact that Alexander has done a great job of presenting a very controversial multi-faceted topic. He treats non-lethal weapons as SYSTEMS that are dependent upon international politics, law, public opinion, and strategic and tactical considerations as well as "gee whiz" technology. Alexander tells a very difficult and important story about science and people, and we should rejoice that this story is available to the general public.

One of my first introductions to John Alexander was running across his name on the World Wide Web, and he was depicted as a rather sinister, if not evil figure - because he was involved in developing non-lethal weapons....

I didn't get it.

Yes, in an ideal world we would need no weapons of any sort, but meanwhile, back in our less-than-perfect reality, the idea of weapons that temporarily incapacitated someone, even if they had a small chance of permanently injuring or killing them, compared to a bullet, which had a very large chance of permanently injuring or killing them, seemed like practical and humanitarian progress to me.

Future War is a detailed and sophisticated treatment of the vital subject of non-lethal (or at least usually non-lethal) weapons and the need we will increasingly have for them in our imperfect world that makes me wish there were more "sinister" people like Alexander around! This is not a simplistic, good guys versus bad guys book, but it does give us the information we and our leaders must have to deal with the future.

This book combines two of Tom Clancy's best stories into one volume: The Cardinal of the Kremlin, a spy novel about the Cold War and the Star Wars program, my personal favorite, and Red Storm Rising, the classic story about a war between NATO and the Soviet Union, which has several plots and non-stop action once the war gets started, which happens quickly. If you don't already have the books, buy this volume now.

if you loves espionage, The Cardinal of The Kremelin is a book that you won't be able to stop reading. The book deals with Clancy's main character-Jack Ryan and his pursuit of a Russian's intellengce agent. The book is capivating because it has a suspenseful plot and has great charcter organizations. The books start out slowly in the first two chapters, but it picks up and the action is non-stop. The middle and ending of the book is magnificient. This book makes your mind race with anticaption and excitment because you just want to know what Jack Ryan's every moves are. One of Clancy's best works in the espionage, spy's books that he has written. A great book that should be read by everybody, who loves to read books.

Although written about a period of recent history that is over for all intents and purposes, the books give a very realistic view of the art of war (both cold and hot), and the possible consequences even for those who feel that they are well prepared. The books give us food for thought as we bask in our supposed security as the premier world power in the years to come. Once you read these books, you need to ask whether we are really prepared to counter a seerious threat to our national security. On the other hand, the books are full of suspense ( as are all of Clancy's novels) and are hard to put down. I had to go to work without sleep after reading Red Storm Rising, as I could not put it down!

If you've never read any other Clancy novel, read "Without Remorse."

In typical Clancy fashion, Without Remorse is a lengthy novel filled with great characters, lots of suspense, and more! But it breaks from the Clancy norm in that it's not as intricately detailed, technically-speaking, which makes it a great book to recommend to 1st-time Clancy readers.

For those who have read other Clancy novels, and therefore may be familiar with the main character, John Clark... or if you've seen the movie "Clear & Present Danger" or the more recent "Sum of All Fears" and recall Clark (played by Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber, respectively)... Without Remorse gives you the story behind the deadly CIA operative.

Not that I don't thoroughly enjoy the Jack Ryan series, but the Clark character is mysteriously intriguing and telling his history is Clancy at his best. It's my favorite Clancy novel.

The Clark/Ryan continuity has held my interest from my first go at Red October... this one lived up to the rest...it might even be the best thing Mr. Clancy has written. But that said, I've re-read everything else at least once... Red Storm Rising has gets dusted off about once a year. This one I have never cracked again after the initial read (which was virtually a single sitting). Why? It is not a pleasant book. John Kelly gets a few brutal reality checks in this chapter of his life, which brings us to understand him as Clark in his later interactions with or main series hero, Jack Ryan. The extent, nature, and grimly authentic language used by Clancy setting the grisly tableau of Kelly's new-found and harshly lost love... It is simply not a book I have felt the urge to experience a second time. But it is still amazing. Gripping, enthralling, and wrenching.

"Without Remorse" is not a book you would expect from Tom Clancy. Yes, it is adventurous and action packed. Yes, it is full of the intrigue and drama you have come to expect from Tom Clancy. However, if you read this book and see it only as another in his collection of Jack Ryan/John Clark novels, then you have only scratched the surface of this intriguing addition to American literature that I believe may join the ranks of the classics.

We are asked to consider some very deep questions, and Clancy makes some very poignant observations on American culture and perseverance. He uses the continuing, and contrasting metaphor of a Vietnam mission (POW rescue) with the rescue of prostitutes within drug-ridden American streets to show that while we cannot change the world, we can salvage some small bit of it... albeit, not the part we set out to save in the first place. Along the way, Clancy makes us face questions about the existence of moral absolutism... is there an absolute wrong? Is there absolute right?

Consider: POW's are brutalized, mistreated and without hope. Held in high regard within the military they are clearly worthy of redemption at any cost. However, in other circles, their worth is questionable. To the Vietnamese, they are the enemy. To certain self-serving bureaucrats they either "took their chances" and better not interfere in the peace process, or are tools to be used and cast away once their worth is expended. In contrast, the prostitutes are tortured, and used within a brutal drug gang. The members of this gang are every bit as cruel as the North Vietnamese. The prostitutes are seen as valueless human beings except by the few whose lives they touch directly. They too are used, to be cast away once their worth is expended. Yet, both touch the lives of John Kelly (aka, John Clark). Even the life of John Kelly is a dichotomy. It is in stark contrast to John Clark. Kelly is an unambiguous hero of the war. He is a decorated rescuer of a naval flier, assists the police, and is a happily married man. He becomes John Clark. Capable of ruthless elimination of human beings, he struggles to retain his moral compass and along the way requires the audience to ask such important questions like, "Is it right to kill a few that are guilty, to save several that are innocent?"

Clancy's overriding message is one of American perseverance. Both his adventures at home and abroad lead to initial mission failure; however, Kelly/Clark manages to salvage something good from each. The author contrasts Clark's ability to salvage a compromised covert mission by capturing a Russian officer when the unexpected opportunity presents itself, with the ability to save several of the women being brutalized in the drug ring, while also eliminating the drug ring, its distribution and processing centers. In fact, it could be argued that the Kelly/Clark missions actually accomplish more through their failures than their planned success ever could. The POW rescue mission does ultimately lead to the return of the POW's while also exposing an important leak at the White House. The domestic mission does more than just avenge the death of an innocent... it prevents several more, exposes a corrupt policeman, and destroys and entire drug organization arm.

There is a cost... and Clancy shows this through the moral struggle that Kelly/Clark has and his recurring comments on how quickly and easily it is to transition from Vietnam to the streets of America... that there is so little difference, and so little distance between them. This war/peace transition is a metaphor to the struggles between Kelly and Clark, between law and order, and vigilantism. What is the right and the wrong of what Kelly/Clark does? In the end, Kelly dies and Clark is born. But does that represent a moral defeat of Kelly? There is much more to this book than meets the eye. I recommend it to more than just the casual reader of Tom Clancy and "spy/war" novels. Those looking for a true literary experience will also enjoy reading beyond just the words. My last comment is that if this book is ever made into a movie, it deserves the directorship of a Stanley Kubrik not a George Lucas!

Captain James Winters is accused of committing a murder he didn't commit. His own agency seems set to take him down for this crime, and it's up to the Net Force Explorers to prove that he didn't commit the crime of murder.

This is an excellent book that kept me interested throughout the story. There isn't as much action as other Net Force books, but the story is good and there's enough action to keep you reading.

This one is worth the money, buy it today, you won't be disappointed.

The Net Force Explorers are furious! Their caption, James Winters is being suspended after being accused of murder! Now the Explorer's will do anything to prove his innocence. But not only will they have to investigate a recent murder, they will also have to delve into the past of Captain James Winters - which includes the unfortunate death of his wife that took place four years ago. The Explorer's will also have to watch their backs because someone wants to make sure that secrets are left in the dark, and will do anything to keep it that way...

The NFE series are a great Young Adult fiction series, especially those with a love for computers and the Internet. Since the Net presented in the books have no boundaries, you will never know what to expect next. But there IS one thing you can come to expect: stories that have plenty of twists and turns, having the whole plot well balanced with mystery, excitement, and adventure. And sometimes, there's a good romance! The Net Force Explorers include Matt Hunter, Megan O'Malley, Leif Anderson, Andy Moore, Mark Gridley, David Gray, Maj Greene, and P.J. Farris. Occasionally other characters are introduced though they show up rarely.

"Private Lives" is one of my favorite NFE books! The reason as I stated is because two of my most favorite NFEs are the main characters in this story: Megan O'Malley and Leif Anderson. Meg is very much the tomboy and is an expert martial artist. With her stubborn personality, she's the type of person who likes to get things done. Leif Anderson comes from a wealthy family so he is constantly teased from Meg about being 'a rich kid playboy'. He and Meg are called the 'troublemakers' because put together Meg's recklessness and Leif's hacker skills, the two seem to always look for trouble.

"Private Justice" has a great plot, one of the best I've read. Already having read many of the books, I too at the beginning felt as angry as the NFEs felt when Captain Winters is put on suspension! And the ways the kids 'reacted' to this was hilarious! The bantering between the characters are well-written and at some points I was laughing so hard! It's also very obvious to everyone that Leif likes Meg so the light bantering between the two of them is cute! The only problem I have with the story is the ending was too abrupt. It was a bit startling for me when I finished reading the last page and I turned the next page expecting at least another chapter. I felt a bit disappointed not to read more about Leif and Matt since we left them at an interesting point in the story. Ah well, the rest of the story made up for the slight disappointment at the end.

The series is for Young Adults and I strongly recommend only older kids read it since there are many occasions where a few bad words are sprinkled here and there. Not that bad but still in a way a bit annoying to have them in the book. But I still highly recommend it for older kids for I'm sure you'll love it! The books can stand alone though I strongly recommend you read in order since in later books there are some referrences to earlier stories. Favorite part:

"Now I get it," Leif said. "Things are getting out of hand, so you call in your pal the scamologist to see if he can't come up with something - what? Clever? Devious? Certainly something that Captain Winters would never approve of - if he heard about it." Now this explains to you what kind of kids the NFE deals with. ;)

capt james winters is accused to commiting a crime he didnt commit, and his life long devotion to upholding the law, seems to stand for nothing when it comes to throwing him in jail and not looking back. so its up to the netforce explorers to help him. this book was action packed, so much so it kept me away from my family and friends because all i wanted to was to rewad on!!! and to be my favorite out of the entire netforce series, the ony bad thing about it was that the book was not longer, but a great book never the less. i have read this book at least 8 times. it is definatly not to be passed up!!!!!

I am a Tom Clancy fan. I have read most of his material, and I have always found his books entertaining. "Cardinal of the Kremlin" is no exception. Probably the most true spy novel in the Jack Ryan series, "Cardinal" has all of the elements that make an exciting story; mystery, intrigue, honor and vengeance. Clancy takes the time to develop his characters, explaining why each of them has chosen the path they are on, instead of just throwing an exciting scenario at you and letting you figure it out. I also like the way Clancy incorporates characters from previous books, like Captain Ramius from "The Hunt for Red October". Also if you plan to read more of Tom Clancy's work in the future, take note of the brief appearance of "Mr. Clark" because you see much more of him in the books to come. Many believe that this is Clancy's best work, but I disagree. It is a very good book and I would recommend you read it, but I think Clancy's best book is "Without Remorse."

The book The Cardinal of Kremlin is one of the most fast action book I've read since The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. This book has parts that makes me feel compassion to the character Colonel Misha Filitov and hatrad toward Colonel Ventin who tortured Misha and another CIA agent. This book has the action I need, because I always have pictures in my mind about the things that they act and how they tried to accomplish their missions. During the parts where Project Bright Star was been attacked, I found out that Colonel has some power but he had a GREAT reponsibily towards the engineers. He was right about that the project Bright Star can be repair, but the engineers life could not be repaired. So because of his bravery and GREAT responsibly, he saved Bright Star and its engineers from the Afgan Freedom Fighters. I have recommended this books to most my 8th grade classmates and teachers. I think that Mr.Clancy is a great man with great ideas and imagination.

this was the 2nd book i read by Mr.Clancy, the first having been RAINBOW SIX, which i was somewhat dissapointed with. After hearing other peoples opinions in regard to Tom's work, i decided to read one of his older novels, which was a very smart thing to do. Now i read this book in the year 2001, which is about 10 years after the fall of Communist Russia. Having read this after the demise of the Soviet Union, this still very exciting and gripping.
The plot is basicaly a race between the two superpowers for the ICBM missle defense system-- besicaly what Regan called "Star Wars." Now without giving away to much info in regard to the plot, there is a former Soviet tank commander, (three times hero of stalingrad i believe) who is currently working for the CIA to spy on the Russian's progress of thier missile defense system. He goes by the alias, CARDINAL, and is the CIA's most vital agent in this race for star wars.The book itself largely deals with espinoage (Human Intelliegnce specificaly) and Mr.Clancy gives great attention to the craft of spies. Overall this is one great book, filled with detail, action and a great plot.

So ok, we all know that Jack Ryan is a good man. So good that throughout this book, he engages in a tedious inner-battle as to whether or not he should be devoting his time and energy to the CIA, indirectly helping bring the terrorists who attempted to kill his wife and daughter to justice. In the real world, people like Jack Ryan would be itching to get their hands on coldhearted killers who put their family's lives on the very brink of disaster. Yet Ryan is troubled because his intense data analyses are helping bring killers like these to a secret justice that they deserve? No, I don't think our boy Jack Ryan would care what happened to low life thugs like Sean Miller if it were real life.

But it's not real life, and other than a warped sense of guilt, Jack Ryan performs well to serve Clancy in this great book. Great story, good characters, a little bit of action, lots of political insight, and a great stretch of reading in-between. I liked it, definitely not my favorite of Clancy's, but it was good nonetheless. Hope this review helps!

Jack Ryan is a former Marine turned history teacher. He is in England with his family when ULA terrorists attack a car. Ryan remembers his training in an instant and disarms one terrorist before killing another. After Ryan recovers from his own injuries sustained in the battle, he learns that the people he saved were the Prince and Princess of England. This earns him hero status in England and everything seems to be fine until the terrorists turn their sights on him. The terrorists plan attacks on both Ryan and his family. Their first attack fails but nearly leaves Jack without a family. After this Jack vows to protect his family forever, by any means necessary. Patriot Games is filled with action and energy from the virst page to the last, from the first assassination attempt to the raid of the Ryans' house. Clancy builds an extreme amount of suspense in all of the battles, and leaves them about until the very end. The book is also very factual. Clancy uses many real places and people in the novel to give it an authentic effect. The book gives many accurate details as concerns customs, military procedures, and firearms. The book is very detailed as related to characters and scenes. Clancy uses vivid imagery when describing places and objects. He also uses allusions to relate chaarcters in the book to real people. Patriot Games is a book that can be enjoyed by anybody that likes to read action-packed, suspenseful stories. Because of the attention paid to detail relating to guns and the armed forces, this novel might be more fully appreciated by a person in the area of law enforcement or armed services.

On vacation in London, Jack Ryan stops a terrorist attack by the Ulster Liberation Army on the Prince and Princess of Wales and their infant son. When the leader of the attack escapes from custody, Ryan and his family become targets. To defend them, Ryan goes to see his old friends at the C.I.A. and tells them he wants back in. The climax of the book is another attack on the terrorists at Ryan's own home where the Prince and Princess are dinner guests. "Patriot Games" is an atypical Tom Clancy novel in that is the Jack Ryan book least reliant on cutting edge technology, dealing more with the consequences of Jack's choices for his family and his career.

In is interesting to read this 1987 book knowing that filming it turned Tom Clancy against selling the movie rights of his books to Hollywood (although apparently the powers that be can have their own way with the Jack Ryan character). The problem, of course, was the final scene. In the film, Harrison Ford's character kills Sean Miller at the end of an exciting fistfight on a speeding boat. In the book, Jack Ryan does not shoot his gun at the fatal moment so that he can tell his newborn son, "Your father isn't a murderer." Clancy's conservative inclinations are well known, but forcing him into a fascist stereotype really misses the point, especially when it tries to make his hero some sort of a reactionary.

"Patriot Games" takes back several years before the events described in "The Hunt for Red October," where the Sir John Ryan backstory is certainly alluded to at a couple of points. I wondered if maybe Clancy had simply written this novel first but could not get it published, yet one of the strengths of his work over the years has been the detailed backgrounds on the various characters (the best examples are probably Red Wegener and Ding Chavez in "Clear and Present Danger," where the complete backgrounds are given although one is a minor character in the novel and the other goes on to be a main supporting character). One of the reason I always liked this book is because of the pure audacity of making members of the Royal Family main supporting characters, especially Prince Charles, who has continued to pop up from time to time.

This is the book where Clancy dropped the annoying subtitles used in his first two novels. In retrospect "Patriot Games" is a much more intimate novel than what is follows. Certainly the threat is much more personal, targeting Ryan and his family. With Clancy's tendency to tell stories where nuclear war is a distinct possibility, this becomes an atypical effort, similar to "Without Remorse," which supplies the complete backstory on John Clark. Another reason for the feeling of intimacy is that Clancy's novels have tended to get longer and longer. Final note: people who have read these book in the "correct chronological order" find "Red October" to be something of a step backwards, so the best advice remains to read them in the order they were written.

Tom Clancy's Net Force is a very boring book. Tom Clancy can do way better. He has written way better books than this. I suggest you don't buy this one. This book is about a virtual game called the dominion of Sarxos. People play this virtual game a lot and it is the biggest virtual game in the world. But people have been taking the game too seriously and are trashing people's apartments, and ruining their computers and hurting them. They hire a girl to figure out who's been doing this and some interesting things happen but I won't tell you. This book is okay but don't buy it. Just check it out from a library because it's not worth buying.

I read the book The Deadliest Game from the series Net Force. It was a book about two kids who fight online crime. And in this book they get a very dangerous case. In this case they try to catch a guy who has taken an online virtual reality game to serious. This guy is ruining other contestant's computers and even hurting others. I liked this book very much I thought it did a great job in conveying the futuristic virtual reality Internet. Also it did a great job in creating a great suspense mystery. This story takes many interesting turns. If you were interested in reading a future set mystery I would definitely recommend this book. I think in this book having teenagers be the detectives are a symbol. A symbol for teenagers and kids becoming more smart then the adults. So if you want a book to read check out The Deadliest Game by Tom Clancy

This is not a book full of technical jargon. The storyline is continuously on the move and adventurous.It is about young geniuses recruited to 'patrol' the internet through VR. I started to read one page a night, after the third night, I had to read the book. Tom Clancy has a style of dragging you into the lives of the explorers and the various characters portrayed in the book. As most of the characters have a different persona in the virtual world of a computer game( they use VR) it is fast paced, suspenseful reading with a twist at the end. I also read "One is The Loneliest Number" which also had me reading it in two days!!!! Definately recommended reading if you enjoy futuristic siuations that are all possible with a storyline attached. A good sized, light, easy to read novel.

The thoroughness and deep respect Tom Clancy brings to this analysis of a US Marine Corps Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), or MEU (SOC), will not surprise anyone at all familiar with the author. What makes this book different from his similar titles about Army and Air Force units, as he notes early on, is that whereas technology is a key element in defining the armored cav unit or air wing, the principle distinctive for the Marine Corps is the Marine ethos and, therefore, the Marines themselves. Clancy does a fine job in capturing what makes the USMC unique among American, and indeed the world's, military forces.

Liking or disliking Clancy's writing is largely a matter of taste. Though I generally find him informative and reasonably insightful, he does tend to go on. Though "Marine" is relatively more compact than some other of his titles, here too I occasionally found myself skimming over long sections on training or, especially, the various weapons and other "tools of the trade" the Corps uses. Other people might find these the highlight of the book, though. To each his own.

On the whole, this book is a fine overview, not only of what a MEU (SOC) is and how it operates, but the larger issue of why we have a Corps and what makes it distinctive. As some of the reviews on this page indicate, the Corps is the only American military force that continually has to justify (to some) its existence. This book, like Victor Krulak's "First to Fight" (USNI Press, 1984), helps do that. It would also be a very valuable read for someone considering becoming a Marine, or for family members and friends wondering what their Marine has gone through, and why. This book may not be for everyone, but Clancy fans will definitely enjoy it, and interested readers will probably get a lot out of it.

Tom Clancy's books "Submarine," "Fighter Wing," "Airborne," and "Marine" should be required reading for any junior officer, NCO, cadet, or midshipman in any branch of the military who wants to understand what each service contributes to the national defense. This book is particularly worthwhile in that it describes how the Navy-Marine Corps team supports national policies while we are at peace as well as at war. The description of the Marine Corps' ethos and Corps Values is also of particular interest to anyone who thinks that "Full Metal Jacket" accurately depicts how Marine leaders train and care for their people. The only down-sides are the two or three mis-representations of our officer training as well as his comment that "the most dreaded of all duties for a Staff Sergeant is to be issued a new Second Lieutenant to watch over and hopefully make a decent officer out of him." Come on, Mr. Clancy--give the staff at TBS a little bit of credit!

As with the other volumes in this non-fiction series, Mr. Clancy hits the mark for detail, accuracy, and scope when describing different segments of the American military in a way that both military and civilian types can understand and enjoy. The Marines are a fine force and this aptly describes their magnificent capabilities and character. The only correction I could suggest deals with the comparison of the Marine markmenship with their Army brethern. While the Marine Corps basic markmenship training is impressive and unmatched, the Army trains it's basic recruits to engage targets with an M16 at ranges as close as 50 meters to as far 350 meters not 100 yards as in the book. We would not want Mr. Clancy to lose any of his loyal fans and readers from the Army. The book is a great read, with highly detailed accounts of the Marine support structure rarely seen in print. The book shows the value of both the individual Marine doing his job and the team spirit needed in such a multi-purpose force. Highly recommend.