Clancy has gone a bit too far off the edge with this one. A rogue FBI agent and Marine captain join a quasi-governmental agency as international hitmen in the "War on Terror." Oh, and the happen to be brothers. And cousins to the young go-getter who weasels his way into an intel position in the same agency. Oh, and he happens to be the son of the former President and former hero of Clancy novels, Jack Ryan.

Please. Give us a break here Tom. We'll willingly suspend disbelief for the sake of some good fiction, but that doesn't give you license to abuse that privilege. ( )

I used to read all of Tom Clancy's books until I got annoyed by the Op-Center series, and bored by Into the Storm and Every Man a Tiger (which were interesting, but dry as dust) and quit reading them altogether. Then I found this in the bargain bin, and remembered why I liked his books so much.

And wow. I checked Amazon reviews to refresh my memory, and there are 800 reviews with an average of 2 stars. I always get very curious when I have such a complete difference of opinion, so I read through a few pages of the reviews. The negative ones seem to focus on two things: 1) it's not like real life, and 2) the series has moved on to the next generation. News flash: Tom Clancy books have never been overly realistic. Except probably for the nonfiction. You can pick apart dozens of things from The Hunt for Red October that would never happen in real life--that's why it's fun to read. And I applaud long-running series that move on to the next generation. Otherwise, you end up with a hero that never ages, or increasingly improbable scenarios that even I won't swallow.

So, now that I'm satisfied that I didn't miss anything, on with the review.

The Teeth of the Tiger is about an ultra-clandestine government agency set up by then-president Jack Ryan. It's such a new agency that so far, all it's done is make money (it's self-funding, mostly by quasi-legal insider trading) and collect intelligence hacked from the alphabet-soup agencies. And now they're training their first operatives: twin brothers Dominic and Brian Caruso, respectively an FBI agent and a Marine officer.... and Jack Ryan's nephews.

They get a slightly accelerated course when a routine training exercise crosses paths with an actual terrorist operation in a suburban mall.

Meanwhile, Jack Ryan, Jr., a few years younger than his cousins, has used his brains and figured out the existence of the agency, and basically applies for a job.

Interspersed with the training thread and the Jack Jr. thread is the terrorists' plot.

Maybe it's because I've just been in an action mood lately, but while I did notice a few drawbacks: the twins call each other Aldo and Enzo for no good reason, except perhaps as something to trip up readers; Brian dithers for far too long about whether or not he can kill terrorists in cold blood; and there's quite a bit of repetition; they didn't bug me all that much because I loved the story otherwise.

I found the idea of a combination of stock market traders and assassin/spies irresistible. And I loved watching the development of the agency, even--or perhaps especially--the doubts and missteps. It was new, they weren't sure how it would work, but they were willing and eager to try, and that excitement was passed on to this reader, at least.

I also found the three cousins to be fairly reasonably characterized. Even Brian's crisis of conscience made sense with his character, and my irritation with him was mitigated by the fact that his brother was also irritated with him. The twins were youngish and excitement-seeking, which explains some of their less logical decisions, like renting a Porsche instead of taking an anonymous train on their mission in Europe. Jack, Jr. had grown up privileged in the shadow of his larger-than-life father, who he admires, so it's understandable that he has that sense of duty, and yet he wants to make his own mark, and to prove himself.

And, oh, yes, I did have to ignore a bit of political b.s. with which I'd have taken exception if I hadn't expected it. I find Clancy a little naive, politically (no shades of gray), but that works pretty well in an action novel. I think I'll have to see which of his books I've missed in the interim and check them out. ( )

I've gotten this impression from many of what used to be my favorite writers. John Grisham, Larry McMurtry and especially Tom Clancy. They've said everything that needs to be said, but people keep paying them huge sums to keep talking. The result is substandard efforts from all of the above. After all, how many different iterations of geopolitical intrigue can you churn out before you start repeating yourself. ( )

Timely, of course, to the recent war on terror. It's noteworthy that he introduces the next generation, including Jack Ryan, Jr. and a black-ops department working under Presidential pre-pardon, separate from the CIA and other organizations. He also transcends the formulaic feel of other recent works. ( )

I felt like Clancy wrote half a book, and the second half will be published next year... ( )

Another exciting book in the Ryanverse series this time featuring Jack Ryan’s son, Jack Jr., and his cousins. Even brought a tear to my eye not least because it’s probably the last in the series. ( )

This is the latest novel by Clancy, continuing the Jack Ryan saga. He obviously knows he has taken Jack Ryan as far as he can go (some would argue farther), so this is the transition novel to a new cast of characters, all related to Ryan. This book brings together twin brothers (nephews to Ryan), one a Marine and the other and FBI agent, and their cousin, Jack Ryan, Jr. (fledgling intelligence officer). They all are selected to work for a new intelligence / operation group that operates outside the government. Spy for Hire, sort of. The organization was set up by Ryan Sr. in the last days of his presidency since he knew the new president wouldn't understand the importance of having intelligence and operations capability. He even gave them a sheaf of blank presidential pardons (fill in the name) should anyone ever catch on to them and not be happy about it. So now there is a new player in the war of terrorism that doesn't have to answer to Congress or be mired in bureaucracy. After terrorists shoot up four malls in middle America, they swing into action and in a matter of a few days, identify and eliminate four of the money and planning men.

I read that Clancy normally punches out his novel on two year cycles, but after the disappointing sales of Red Rabbit last year, he wrote this one in quick time and released it this year. It is about half the length of a normal Clancy novel and definitely less than half the quality. It needs a lot more work, riddled with trite phrases, implausible leaps and shallow characters. What really irked me was the overly simple solutions to terrorism problems. By tracking email, they were able to somehow located physically and kill four terrorist operatives, ranging for their high profile money mover back to the super secret operation planner who never stays in one place for more than a couple days. Yet, they manage to take them all out in the last twenty pages. Even Jack Ryan Jr. gets into the act, killing the last one himself. I suspect we will see much more of these three in future novels. I just hope he takes the time to make it interesting. I only read this one because of the investment I have in the Clancy novels, but I almost wish I hadn't spent the time. ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1A... ( )

A bit predictable but that's not always a bad thing. A less techincal Tom Clancy novel, no submarine jargon to learn for example. New characters all the way around, dialog was a bit weak, but from the middle to the end the book really picked up and reminded me what I've always enjoyed Mr. Clancy's fiction. This character set seems to set up well for a series of novels. I look forward to the next one. ( )

This novel is short on pages for a Clancy novel. And a fast read. But it looked as if he did not do the research he normally does for his books. He may have put this one out a little too fast. And when I read the last word of this novel...I was expecting to turn the page to continue. It is as if this is just the first half of the novel he intended. Now with all that said, I still enjoyed reading it. ( )

Could this be the same Clancy that wrote the other books?I guess so his latest few books were going off the boil but this one is dire.Perhaps this book needed to fit a story for a computor game or something it certainly does not work as a novel ( )

Captivating enough to listen to the whole thing on the way to work -- I sometimes give up on books. However, the ending is too sudden (I thought I was missing at least one CD). Perhaps book number two is already in the works.

Plot summary: FBI agent and marine (twins) get picked to join a clandestine spy agency that tracks the money of terrorists. They just happen to be at the mall during a terrorist attack. This operation then expedites their recon-by-fire mission in Europe where they murder a handful of the terrorist operatives and money folks.

The hits are slightly interesting. ( )

Awful book. Endless ramblings from Jack Junior about how great his dad was. Two bumbleheads running around calling each other "bro" and "cuz." A very unoriginal plot with an unoriginal ending.

Clancy is washed up. It's going to take some pretty good reviews for me to read a new book from Tom. ( )

http://pling.livejournal.com/153256.h... ( )