http://anna-bookshelf.blogspot.com/20... ( )

Brisk political thriller ( )

This book is a great read. It starts off very fast and has a great ending. Although I've heard people complain of the relatively long dialogue in the middle of the book, I believe it is necessary to set up the entertaining conclusion of this book. Don't give up on it in the middle. ( )

I read The Hunt For Red October when challenged to read something I wouldn't usually read and found it surprisingly good. Patriot Games was my second (and last) try reading a Tom Clancy novel. Woah, was this bad! The characters are cardboard, the scenarios ridiculous -- the IRA invading Maryland?!?! Yeah, I couldn't suspend my disbelief for that one. ( )

I'll do the same review for all Clancy's novels because they're all pretty much the same. Very long, very detailed, and after a while, very repetitive. If you stop after just a few of his books you'd probably give them 4 or 5 stars, but beyond that they start to grate. Especially where Jack Ryan is involved. I mean, Clancy spends hundreds of pages getting his details just right, the settings perfect etc., then he has Ryan dodging more bullets than James Bond! I finally threw my hands up and surrendered when Ryan becomes President. I can't remember what piece of crap that was in.

I've given three stars as a compromise between my reactions when reading my first Clancy (brilliant) and last Clancy (doorstop). ( )