What books have you read, and what did you think of them?

I read that one. I was a little disappointed, it seems like it’s been written solely to get adapted into a movie since Jack Ryan is a lot younger. It was a decent read, but would have been much better off as the first book, not the most recent. You have a good idea how a lot of things are going to end up, anyway.

I think you have got ”The Bear and The Dragon” mixed up with ”Red Rabbit”.

”Red Rabbit” is set between ”Patriot Games” and ”The Hunt for Red October” according to http://www.clancyfaq.com/ryanverse.htm and is about a plot to assassinate the Pope, John Paul II.

”The Bear and The Dragon” is set after ”Rainbow Six” and is about Russia and China.

I’m currently re-reading Clancy’s ”Without Remorse” which tells us the John Clark story. Excellent revenge thriller, 10/10 🙂

Rainbow 6 is a goodie, although I’m not too sure about how much Clancy really knows about SOFs and spec ops. I’m having trouble telling how accurate this book is when it comes to that particular subject. I wish someone with experience from that type of service would make a comment or a review.

I’m not a SpecOps type but it seemed pretty believable to me.

Interested in telling us a little about The Bear and The Dragon after you’ve finished it? All I’ve heard is that it sucks.

I read that one. I was a little disappointed, it seems like it’s been written solely to get adapted into a movie since Jack Ryan is a lot younger. It was a decent read, but would have been much better off as the first book, not the most recent. You have a good idea how a lot of things are going to end up, anyway.

Last book I finished was Rainbow 6… which I enjoyed immensely… Currently half way through The Bear and The Dragon.

Rainbow 6 is a goodie, although I’m not too sure about how much Clancy really knows about SOFs and spec ops. I’m having trouble telling how accurate this book is when it comes to that particular subject. I wish someone with experience from that type of service would make a comment or a review.

Interested in telling us a little about The Bear and The Dragon after you’ve finished it? All I’ve heard is that it sucks.

Last book I finished was Rainbow 6… which I enjoyed immensely… Currently half way through The Bear and The Dragon.

The most entertaining books I have ever read are Tom Clancy’s “Red Storm Rising”… Dan Browns “The Da Vinci Code” and Michael Crichtons “Prey”

I’ve had a go at Dale Browns books too… I quite enjoy them… but then again… I’m easily pleased when it comes to books!

I recently read ”Rendezvous with Rama” by Arthur C. Clarke. It’s a interesting and intelligent sci-fi about the first human contact with a alien race, very good 8/10.

First Light by G Wellum Started well over a year ago 😮 finished last night 😉 A brilliant book 😉 Anna 🙂

Maquis – George Millar. True story of an SOE agent dropped into France to join the French Resistance prior to D-Day (and a good bit of research for my current project).

Da Vinci Code – ok but predictable after Angels and Demons. still a cracking, pacey story.

Just started Chickenhawk by Robert Mason for the ?th time (got to be at least eight!). IMHO the best book about Vietnam air combat. 11/10!!

JC

On the cover of Op-Center it says Written in cooperation with Steve Pieczenik. I’m pretty sure he did his own job as an author back in the good old days with The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, The Cardinal of the Kremlin etc. He is (was) good at Cold War scenearios and intelligence operations, but I wonder if he’s lost it. I’ve also heard rumours that Clancy has assigned other people to do the writing for him. If true, then shame on him.

At least the Power Plays one that I read, years ago, ( something to do with Antarctica, nothing special really) didn’t claim to be authored by Tom Clancy. In the cover it said something like “Tom Clancy’s Powerplays”, “created by Tom Clancy”, but also “written by Jerome Preisler”.

As for the rest, thanks for the info. From the few interviews I saw with him on tv, he seemed a bit on the conservative side, but nothing more. As I’ve said, I’ve only read “Red Storm Rising” and in it there’s nothing of that crap described in the review, but it seems that the main criticism has been directed against his most recent books.

I thought those series’ were created by Clancy but written by others? That would explain the serious lack of technical accuracy in a lot of cases.

I also have that idea…

About Tom Clancy, I have only read “Red Storm Rising” and loved it ( very good descriptions, realistic set-up, believable characters, a kind of plausible motive for the start of the war), but I’ve heard that his latest books have went down.

Check this review about the “Bear and Dragon” 😀

http://www.bookofhook.com/Review/Books/TheBearandtheDragon.html

I thought those series’ were created by Clancy but written by others? That would explain the serious lack of technical accuracy in a lot of cases.

I have just read “The Foresight War” by A G Williams ( whom I think posts on these boards ? ), about an hypothetical and very different World War 2, after a man from today appears in mid 30’s England.

Quite nice.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven. (Albom)

Superb read. Can’t comment too much because of revealing too much but if you like Richard Bach you will love this.

Fly to Deliver by Hugh Bergel.

Fascinating account of his service with the ATA. The best ATA book I’ve read so far.

About to start the 43 Squadron history by J Beedle followed by War News Had Wings by Narracott.

Slowly reading Digital Fortress. Doesn’t seem as pacey as Da Vinci Code or particularly Angels and Demons.

Regards,

kev35

Start reading Céline, everyone. Céline is good for your sense of Global Cynicism.

Malaparte is next on my bedside tabl… euh, floor.

The forgotten soldier(The greatest true story of armed combat ever written)

Here’s two I just got and am enjoying IMMENSELY.

Beautiful Monsters by David McIntee. This is a brand new guide to everything related to the Alien and predator film series’. A must-have for any huge fan (like me!). There is so much stuff in here that’ll either suprise you (Peter Weller in AVP?) or make you laugh (hermit crabs and Stan Winston?).

The Politically Incorrect Guide To Islam (And The Crusades) by Robert Spencer. I’m not gonna comment too much on this one for obvious reasons, but suffice it to say that this is a really, really good book. The “review” from RevivingIslam.com that’s plastered across the top of the front cover is just great as well, and answers (as well as poses) a number of questions all by itself.

I read The Beach along time ago and thought it was great, it was one of the only bokos I ahve gone ack to everytime I had a spare moment. Apparently it’s not so good if you’ve seen the film, which ruined it a bit, and if you do read the bok apparently do not see the film (I have steered clear because I enjoyed the book so much).

As a result of reading the above I thought I’d try Alex Garland’s other book, The Tesseract (which I beleive has just been released as a film), which I also loved.

If you want an interesting book about aviation then I quite like ‘The Tombstone Imperitive’, can’t remember the author. The warning with this book though is to take quite a lot of sections with a pinch of salt.

I’ve just finished ”Deception Point” by Dan Brown, it’s a entertaining read but a little too far fetched in places. 7/10.

I wish Dan Brown would get his military references right too, I’ve never heard of a F-14 Tomcat Split-tail with Lockheed 345 engines that can fly 3,000 miles in 2 hours 🙂

Former Soldier Seeks Employment by John Miller , mad , mad , mad . Brillant.

The books and graphic novels of Neil Gaiman make for weird and wonderful reading. I would rate most of his stuff 10/10.

His website http://www.neilgaiman.com/