Customer Reviews

Rainbow Six

5 star:		(438)
4 star:		(253)
3 star:		(192)
2 star:		(215)
1 star:		(224)

 

 

You have heard of Tom Clancy, perhaps Rainbow Six. This is the book that some claim to have propelled him into the arena.

A very well written, entertaining, enjoyable book. Fictional novel can be compared to true operations without the fan fair of course.

Although written more than 10 years ago - still worth the purchase.

I have read of the many reviews of this book and no matter what the opinion. This book inspired me to enjoy reading books again, it is sometimes hard to find something that truly grabs your attentiion. I could not put the book down, wherever and whenever I could read it I would. This is some of his best work.

this book is better then the rainbow six games.

the plot i gripping from the prologue the hijacking of a plane to the ending sequencce where the bad guys suffer a most unpleasant death. yes it is a little bit long but the pages go buy rapdily especially when team rainbow is out in the field doing their stuff. the description and detail put into the weapons characters everything is amazing and i felt hatred towards the man in charage of the scheme.

tom did it again...

I thought the book was great, Some of the reviews considered the book too discriptive. I personly like the fact that every detail is explained and history given. I learned quite a bit from the book.

Whether you are new or old to this type of novel it is one to enjoy. Although in the above review on error exists. Mr Clark is known to the rest of the team as Six. If you read the novel they talk on the radios and the team refers to itself as "Rainbow", John Clark refers to himself as "Six". The novel is a range of highs and lows. The book is well written. If you think you would enjoy reading the novel as I thought, buy the hardcover version. It is worth the money.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. After reading "Without Remorse", I picked up this book and rarely put it down. I would recommend this book to any reader, especially those who enjoy the action portions of Clancy books more than the political.

In RAINBOW SIX, we see the return of John Clark as the lead character in a typical heavy, meaningful plot that Clancy has done on a level above any other author for many years. The theme of the book, and the video games that have followed, is a multinational counter-terrorism unit called Rainbow, with John Clark running the show. One reviewer stated that this is the typical "Americans are the best..." plot, but it's really not. Rainbow is formed by members of several countries, including the United States, England, Germany, and Israel. It's not just a United States dominated unit.

From the opening pages on, Clancy paints a brilliant picture of life on Earth in a post-9/11 world...and then you realize that this book was written and published in 1998! The ability that Clancy has shown to be ahead of his time in his plots is just another example of his brilliance. This is reflected again in an earlier Clancy novel, DEBT OF HONOR, from 1996, where in the climax we read through a scene frighteningly similar to the events of 9/11/01. RAINBOW SIX, while thick at 740 pages, is really a fast read. Clancy interweaves multiple storylines and more than a handful of characters into an overall story that truly has you thinking about the world around you by the time you finish. With action sequence after action sequence, the book rarely hits a lull and keeps you enthralled to the point that you're disappointed to set it down. One nice part of it all is that the book shows that there are left-wing extremist crazy people out there too...all the insane ones aren't right-wingers as most in the media will lead you to believe.

Great books make you think. With that in mind, RAINBOW SIX is a great book by one of the greatest authors of our time. Now...let's get that movie into production.

This was a top-notch thriller offered by Clancy as it focused more on the "darker side of Jack Ryan," ex-Navy Seal, John Clark. A "black" operation known as Rainbow is formed in response to fighting terrorism throughout the Globe with their headquarters in Europe. Their biggest challenge is to prevent an extremely wealthy maniacal individual, with extremist positions on preserving the environment, from committing one of the biggest terrorist acts in the history of mankind.

In my opinion, Popov, former KGB who works closely with this doctor, is one of the most interesting complex characters Clancy has created.

Although not marketed as such, Rainbow Six is really science fiction. Like a few other very popular authors, Clancy is too big to be marketed with a genre label, especially one like science fiction, which evokes images of four-eyed geeks, Dungeons and Dragons, and adolescent computer nerds (at least among the marketing departments of book publishers). Hell, Clancy is a genre, much like Stephen King or Dean Koontz. But calling a dog a cat doesn't make it a cat, and Clancy's book is science fiction whether or not his publisher wants to admit it and market it as such. It's science fiction because central to the plot is the development of a genetically engineered super-plague intended to wipe out the human population of Earth. The scariest thing is that we almost have the technology right now to attempt what the villains do in this book. In a few years... well, let's hope this book isn't thinly veiled prophecy.

John Clark, an ex-CIA agent, now heads the international anti-terrorist group code named Rainbow Six. Based out of England, Rainbow has a true international reach and is called upon throughout the book to respond to situations in a variety of countries. Made up of dedicated, highly trained experts, they prove more than a match for the terrorists they find themselves pitted against. Popov is an ex-KGB agent hired by the high-powered American executive Brightling to coordinate seemingly random terrorist attacks. Brightling is the head of an international biotech research company, a billionaire, an environmental extremist, and the architect of a plan that could result in the near-extermination of the human race. There are plenty of other bit players here as well: members of the Rainbow team, associates of Brightling, the various terrorists, and more.

Clancy writes long. Loooonnnngggggg.... Trimming the book by a third or more would have made it a much more energetic read. There are several lengthy scenes that could have been cut entirely, and the application of an editor's scalpel would have gone a long way towards trimming the fat and making this a more enjoyable meal. Do we really need to know what everyone eats from breakfast? Do we need daily training regimes broken down in such excruciating detail? Do we need three page historical accounts of weapons, or organizations, or personal histories? Clancy has a reputation for including all the technical details and leaving nothing out, so perhaps complaining here is out of line. By now, we should all know what we're getting into when we pick up a Clancy book. Still, it makes some sections of his book read like a training manual or a textbook. Some like this style. Others, myself included, would like to get on with the story and the action.

The action (when it does come) is well done and authentic. His characters are adequate to the story, rather one-dimensional in purpose and motivation, but realized well enough so that they aren't a hindrance. I didn't care about them as much as I would have liked, but I cared about them enough. Clancy obviously knows what he's talking about when it comes to the military, the CIA, and various other aspects of 'spook' work, although he does make a few mistakes. One such is referring to the nickname of MH-6/AH-6 helicopter as "Nightstalker" when it's really "Little Bird". I don't think these slips will cause concern though, since 99 percent of his audience won't notice.

Despite the action and a thorough knowledge of his subject, some of what happens in the book strained my credibility. How did Brightling, a man of such extreme beliefs and conviction, rise to the position he holds and become so close to so many in power? And his ex-wife, who is a close presidential advisor, also holds those same beliefs. Wouldn't have someone along the way picked up on the fact that these two were wacky? Dangerous wacky? I mean, you can cover it up, but only so much when your beliefs are so strong. On the surface, their plan of developing a super plague seems like a good one. But how could so many people be in on it and nothing get leaked? How can these big, expensive facilities (intended for Brightling's hand-picked survivors) get constructed and no one wonder why? Clancy touches on security efforts, but never goes into any real detail. With that many people knowing, something would get out, and the same holds true for Rainbow, the 'secret' anti-terrorist team.

Lest I sound too negative, let me say that overall I enjoyed the book. Some sections were real page turners--too bad there were too many pages between them. If you like hard-core, (mostly) realistic military/political thrillers by a man who knows his stuff (and doesn't mind writing at length about it) then this is a book for you. If you're looking for something leaner, driven by better developed characters and with a faster pace, you might want to look elsewhere.

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In reading many of Clancy's other books, he makes several references to things being too "movie-like" and very naive. Well, that is exactly what this story is. All the events that occur meaning the takedowns by the operative groups are all flawless, where none of the major characters get injured. Very boring.

Also, Clancy seems to lack a sense of imagination when it comes to naming his characters. There are four people in this story alone that have the first name of John. Also, his other famous character, Jack Ryan, is named John, Jack being a nickname. In his other book, Patriot Games, John Clark (Kelly) is not present, but a man with the last name Clark is there also. Also in Patriot Games and Rainbow Six, both of the leading Irish terrorists are named Sean. A little repetitive, isn't it? One other is the name Ryan. In Without Remorse, there is a policeman with the last name Ryan (maybe Clancy missed his Jack Ryan and had to put in another one to remind himself of it, i don't know). Though it may not be that important, it still shows Clancy's lack of creativity.