And two stars are generous. Tom Clancy’s “Red Rabbit” is a relatively good story undone by 100 plus unnecessary pages of tiresome, clichéd dialogue. Oh, by the way, Jack Ryan doesn’t prevent the Pope from getting shot and I really haven't revealed anything you didn't already know. In the dictionary next to the word "potboiler" you will find the title, "Red Rabbit." Not worth the time unless it's the only thing to read and you’re stuck in Sri Lanka. ( )

Clancy is running out of things to say about, but they keep paying him to keep talking. ( )

Clancy's big novels are always captivating, but this one felt tired compared to others. It's his most recent in the Jack Ryan saga, taking us back to Jack's early days as an analyst in the CIA. I've watched Clancy's writing carefully since the criticism was made about his use of a ghost writer. One thing I've noticed is even more prevalent in Red Rabbit: Clancy tends to use certain nuance phrasings repeatedly. It can be some simple phrase or point, but it will surface two or more times in different parts of the book. The structure always makes me wonder if he has some outline system for putting all of his thoughts into place and then occasionally repeats some idea he really likes. I suspect it's hard to keep track when writing that many pages. It's still a suspenseful story, worth reading. ( )

You've probably heard it before, but I'll say it again: this book needed significantly more editing. It reads like the editor never bothered to crack it open. Entire passages seemed to be copied and pasted in multiple places throughout the book.

And, seriously, if you've already read "The Cardinal of the Kremlin", you won't be in for too many surprises. The stories are very, very similar. This one seemed to have stronger language.

It's not a horrible book, but it is on the slow side, and the bad editing makes it even harder to trudge through. ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VKZYBD... ( )

I actually listened to an abridged version of this book on tape. The abridging was good - it wasn't until after I had finished listening to the book twice and was comparing notes with a coworker who had read it that I discovered that I hadn't listened to the whole book. The story was adapted very well.

Clancy has always been a favorite of mine until recently when his books became too formula. His heroes have progressed too far to be believable. In this book, Clancy returns to their past, weaving them into the actual history of the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. The heroes nearly save the day, but still manage to pull out a victory for motherhood and apple pie. Sometimes you can't change history. Clancy tried hard though.

Clancy did a good job of weaving a story around Mehmet Ali Agca's (real-life) failed attempt on the life of Pope John II in 1981. Here Sir Ryan has started work as an anaylst for the CIA. His first post is in London under British tutelage on the Russian desk. Though an desk jocky would never be placed in the positions that our hero is in. But this is fiction and is interesting reading.

As we follow the reasoning used by the KGB to remove the Pope from office. Clancy gets us involved in the KGB planning. While at the same time showing us what the CIA is doing in Moscow and what Jack Ryan is doing in London. And how they will all fit into place in the overall story. What we do not see is the execution of the KGBs side to the story. I would have like to see more of that developed since Clancy went to the effort of showing us everyone elses thoughts during the rest of the book. If he had done that I would have given this book 4.5 star rating.

I like the detail Clancy puts into his story. It helps you understanding how the agency work and some of the obstacles involved. Not his best book. But I am very pleased to have read it. ( )

Clancy, as always, is a good read. Suspenseful and engaging, though not his best work. Worth the read if you are into his main series. ( )

I'm just not as big a fan as I used to be. I'd have to read some of his earlier stuff to be sure, but the writing doesn't seem as good.

Only about 600 pages, almost a short story for Clancy. Normally he is just warming up at that page count. Set after “Patriot Games” and before “Hunt for Red October”. Jack and family live in London, where he is writing that book about Admiral Halsey that Ramius commented on…. Things develop on the other side of the Iron Curtain and Jack gets into analysis and some things that weren’t really his to get into… Nice one, though a bit short. Also, compared to the other novels, a fairly straight forward and simple story. Will be interesting to see if the next book is like that as well. ( )

Jack Ryan is a new analyst working for the CIA, and has been sent over to Britain to work with the SIS for a time. Ed and Mary Pat Foley have just taken up their new posting in Moscow as the CIA’s Chief of Station in the Soviet Capital. Meanwhile the chairman of the KGB wants to kill the pope. Oleg Zaitsev, an officer in the KGB’s central communications department isn’t happy about this, and wants to defect to America as an act of conscience.

This book is Tom Clancy’s latest novel to date, and is set very early in the Jack Ryan timeline, shortly after the events in Patriot Games. Before reading the book I read a number of reviews on Amazon.co.uk, each giving very different opinions, some of which I share. The book was an enjoyable thriller, with a distinct lack of the huge swathes of technical material that always annoyed me about some of Clancy’s books. However there were a number of bad points to this book. Although Jack Ryan was ostensibly the main character he wasn’t in it a lot of the time. There was no one major character to follow, which isn’t neccesarily a bad thing, but in this case it jumped from character to character a little too much. Clancy really did take every opportunity to tell the reader how great America was, and how backward and inferior Britain was, which got a little annoying at times – there were even some factual inaccuracies about Britain! Overall an enjoyable enough thriller, but not all that memorable. If you’re a Clancy fan then definitely read it, otherwise, try one of his earlier books- they’re so much better. ( )