Genre: Fiction: Military Fiction
Publishing Info: Berkley Books (1987)
Film Adaptaton: None as of the date of this review.
Overview: The story of what would happen if the USSR and NATO clashed at the height of the Cold War, as told by Mr. Military fiction himself: Tom Clancy.
Points of Interest: I am a fan of Tom Clancy and have read a number of his books. I had not read this, however, which is one of his first, being written just after “The Hunt for Red October.” I picked it up and was not disappointed.
Essentially this book is reading a war game played out between the USSR vs. NATO. It is a “what if” scenario taking into account myriad factors according to Mr. Clancy’s idea of what would occur. It is light on character development but heavy with what Clancy is known for: technically accurate, modern military action. The plot moves quickly, and every page I felt like I was learning some new fact about military hardware or doctrine. The characters are stereotypical American military men who nearly always seem to make the right decisions, as is often the case with Clancy. In his later books you start to see American characters that are less moral, but the line between good and evil is always clearly drawn.
As the reader, you are also keenly aware of Mr. Clancy’s political and religious stance as he pulls no punches in proclaiming America as the world’s greatest country, or Christianity’s virtues. He is at times a little heavy handed with it, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the reader’s own beliefs, but for me it never detracted from the story to the point where it was annoying as I found to be the case in some of his later books where he preaches to the reader through his characters.
One aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the way in which Clancy humanizes the Russian Characters. At times, I found myself pulling for some of them which is the mark of a good writer in my mind. In many of his later books, the antagonists are purely evil with no redeeming characteristics. This detracts from the story in my opinion as they become symbols for ideas rather than actual people.
An interesting aspect of reading this book now after having read all of Clany’s more recent books with his famous Jack Ryan character, is seeing how the enemy in the books has changed over time. Then it was the Russians, and now in later books it has gone from extremist Muslims to the Chinese. The story remains largely the same in these books, only the enemies change. The plot in this book is incredibly similar to that of “The Bear and the Dragon,” only now that the Russians are no longer communists, they are our allies and not our enemies.
On the whole, if you like action and military technology, this will be a great book for you. If those subjects hold little interest for you, you won’t find much to like here. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it.
Overall Impression: 2, Good Read. I enjoyed the book very much, although it was not a life altering affair.
Provoc-O-Meter: 1, Nothing in this book will raise your hackles, unless you are opposed to military violence.
Tylenol Rating: 2, This recieved a 2 only because of the amount of technical jargon used.
What the heck is this rating system all about? Click here for an explanation.
Recomended Titles if You Liked This:
Any of Tom Clancy's other works, obviously.
The Winds of War, by Herman Wouk
War and Rememberance, by Herman Wouk
Other Books by This Author:
A complete List of Works
Woud You Like to Learn More About the Book?
Wiki Article
Publishing Info: Berkley Books (1987)
Film Adaptaton: None as of the date of this review.
Overview: The story of what would happen if the USSR and NATO clashed at the height of the Cold War, as told by Mr. Military fiction himself: Tom Clancy.
Points of Interest: I am a fan of Tom Clancy and have read a number of his books. I had not read this, however, which is one of his first, being written just after “The Hunt for Red October.” I picked it up and was not disappointed.
Essentially this book is reading a war game played out between the USSR vs. NATO. It is a “what if” scenario taking into account myriad factors according to Mr. Clancy’s idea of what would occur. It is light on character development but heavy with what Clancy is known for: technically accurate, modern military action. The plot moves quickly, and every page I felt like I was learning some new fact about military hardware or doctrine. The characters are stereotypical American military men who nearly always seem to make the right decisions, as is often the case with Clancy. In his later books you start to see American characters that are less moral, but the line between good and evil is always clearly drawn.
As the reader, you are also keenly aware of Mr. Clancy’s political and religious stance as he pulls no punches in proclaiming America as the world’s greatest country, or Christianity’s virtues. He is at times a little heavy handed with it, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the reader’s own beliefs, but for me it never detracted from the story to the point where it was annoying as I found to be the case in some of his later books where he preaches to the reader through his characters.
One aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the way in which Clancy humanizes the Russian Characters. At times, I found myself pulling for some of them which is the mark of a good writer in my mind. In many of his later books, the antagonists are purely evil with no redeeming characteristics. This detracts from the story in my opinion as they become symbols for ideas rather than actual people.
An interesting aspect of reading this book now after having read all of Clany’s more recent books with his famous Jack Ryan character, is seeing how the enemy in the books has changed over time. Then it was the Russians, and now in later books it has gone from extremist Muslims to the Chinese. The story remains largely the same in these books, only the enemies change. The plot in this book is incredibly similar to that of “The Bear and the Dragon,” only now that the Russians are no longer communists, they are our allies and not our enemies.
On the whole, if you like action and military technology, this will be a great book for you. If those subjects hold little interest for you, you won’t find much to like here. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it.
Overall Impression: 2, Good Read. I enjoyed the book very much, although it was not a life altering affair.
Provoc-O-Meter: 1, Nothing in this book will raise your hackles, unless you are opposed to military violence.
Tylenol Rating: 2, This recieved a 2 only because of the amount of technical jargon used.
What the heck is this rating system all about? Click here for an explanation.
Recomended Titles if You Liked This:
Any of Tom Clancy's other works, obviously.
The Winds of War, by Herman Wouk
War and Rememberance, by Herman Wouk
Other Books by This Author:
A complete List of Works
Woud You Like to Learn More About the Book?
Wiki Article
