Customer Reviews

Red Rabbit

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(99)
2 star:		(138)
1 star:		(246)

 

 

It is gratifying (and, to me, somewhat surprising) that virtually all the reviewers here have made the same points, because they are very much on target. This is the most disappointing of the Clancy series. I'm not saying "worst" only because Clancy is technically good enough so that anything he writes himself (but not the excreble stuff written by others for which he sells his name) is at least readable.

But Red Rabbit will be a major, major let down for Clancy's legions of fans. Whether or not you liked the somewhat racist and hyper-sexual "Bear and Dragon", you'll find that in this book Jack Ryan is quite different than anyone you've seen before. He is whining, foul-mouthed, not particularly security conscious (400 pages are devoted to covering up an ultra-top-secret defection, and then Ryan blithely gossips about it to a bunch of junior CIA guys??), and endlessly repetitive. Because this novel had to fit in between Patriot Games and Red October, and yet hadn't been referenced in any of the other books, the result is a relatively unimportant (in the Clancy universe) episode, which has the effect of marking time in the lives of the usual characters.

Much as I love the series (even with Clancy's politics-on-his-sleeve, plug-his-friends, black-and-white jingoism) I'm afraid that something went far astray here. Maybe he has run out of steam with Jack, or he's written himself into a corner, or he just did this for the money. But the result is something that should be avoided by all new readers and most casual readers. The die hard fans will, of course, need to read this one for completeness' sake, but anyone else will unquestionably wonder what all the fuss is about.

In the future, I think that most of Clancy's fans would hope that he either comes up with some plausible future stuff after Bear and Dragon, or gives us some more Rainbow adventures, or perhaps gives us some Mr. Clark black operations in the years between Remorse and October. He might even, if necessary, jettison the whole lot and write about something else entirely. But I'm really afraid that one more sleeper like this one has the potential to completely ruin the franchise.

I couldn't have been more disappointed with this disaster. Clancy is my favorite fiction writer, and I loved his books up through Executive Orders. But this one was a total loser.

Jamming a story in between Patriot Games and Red October was a lousy idea to start with. We already knew Ryan's history, and by definition there couldn't be anything substantive in the book.

Besides that, we all knew the Pope had been shot. There were virtually no interesting subplots, just lots of sleepy dialogue that didn't go anywhere. There were more false starts in this book than in any previous novel. Not a single interesting plot twist or thing-gone-wrong.

Jack Ryan is such a terrific character - can't we find out what happens to him NEXT? Did we have to go back in time with a poorly conceived, disappointly executed, flat-out BORING story?

If you're a real Clancy fan, be prepared for disappointment. No questions this is his worst book ever.

This new title in Clancy's "Jack Ryan" series takes the liberty of going back in time, placing Patriot Games first in the series. This seems to come between Patriot Games and Hunt for Red October. It also sets the stage for Cardinal of the Kremlin and Clear and Present Danger. Clancy brings back Judge Moore and Ryan DDO nemesis Bob Ritter as well as Admiral Greer. Cutter makes no appearances here. CASSIUS from the later books also gets introduced.

This book gets away from the trap that Clancy had fallen into - these long-winded dialogues and descent into puerile humor that characterized Bear and the Dragon. This is not to say that Red Rabbit doesn't drag - it does. but it also gets to the troika that actually defeated Communism: the Gipper and the Iron Lady in the West - and Lech Walesa's Solidarity in the East - a topic that had been lacking previously in Clancy stories.

I'll leave this here with the following compliment. I bought "Red Rabbit" at 2PM yesterday. Couldn't put it down for any more than an hour or two and it is now complete at 3:30 in the following morning. 4 stars!

I had the great misfortune of spending the last 2 weeks trying to pile thru this polemic tome. To say that it is a disaster would be a generous description of what is possibly one of the worse novels I have ever read. What I find amazing is the positive reviews on here are such that it is obvious:

a. They have not read the book, or
b. They are plants from the publisher.

Clancy has written some fine books. Hunt for Red October is a classic and Red Storm Rising shows the great work you can accomplish with hard work and decent research. This book is a sad joke when it comes to research. Tom can't keep the timeline straight. He interjects future events (a certain world series, the rise of starbucks and the Falklands war) all into the WRONG YEAR. Characters are wildly inconsistent in rank and spelling. His politics are well known, but raging on about the NHS and accussing British doctors of being uncaring negligent drunks is beyond the pale. Also, Tom, we know Caroline is an eye surgeon and that she doesn't drink before surgery "ever". We know. We know. QUIT TELLING US 50 FREAKING THOUSAND TIMES. Although to get to the 100,000 level you have to cite Tom's references to Ryan being in the Marines, jesuit upbringing, etc. If the character he is is a product of the marines, then it's no wonder recruitment is falling. Who would want to be a simpering wuss like Ryan?

The unbelivable dialogue is another factor in ensuring the utter garbage status of this pile. Tom, no one says "pal" and "guy" at the end of every sentence. That is unless they live on Brokeback Mountain. Also, no one talks about their breakfast every day with people they work with unless they really have socialization problems. And for only "americans" making things properly, my GM van begs to differ (stupid pos it is).

All and all a sad effort by a washed up "author" trying to scam a few more bucks out of his name. If that freaking mess "Op Center" hasn't killed your reputation yet, then Red Rabbit will seriously be the bullet to the head for your career.

Good book, but kind of draggy in spots....seems to have lots of filler.

Not in the league of Patriot Games or Red October.

Another one not available for Kindle

I really enjoyed reading this. People read Tom Clancy for the entertaining / captivating plot. This book definitely has it. Although I will add, it continuously builds suspense until the last few chapters and then the remaining plot occurs very unsuspensefuly. It starts off a bit slow introducing the characters, but it picks up after chapter 2. If you like spy novels read this book ! There is espionage, double agents, encrypted messages and an assassination plot.

People complain the timelines aren't correct or the plot is not feasible (I think it is)... but this is fiction. It is entertaining fiction. You don't see people saying Star Trek and Star Wars are crap because they are not feasible do you ?

I've read all of Clancy's books, while most I find it takes a while to get into the story but generally once it has picked up it was a very good read. Red Rabbit on the other hand, Clancy must have been tired, this book could have been a short story, I felt that he could have done it with 200 pages. Very disappointed and will really check before buying another.

This book takes places as a young Jack Ryan and really explains more on Jack Ryan's wife Cathy. I really liked how clancy put the suspense in this book, but certain parts of this book was a little slow at times, but the ending is great. You will be shocked at the ending of this book.

I read this book only because I have read all of Clancy's other fiction books. This book was disappointing. It's as if Clancy has realized that in order to keep the franchise going, he has to youthen the character and return to the Cold War. Perhaps Clancy was hoping that this book would be used as the basis for a new Ben Affleck movie. Whatever his intentions, he failed miserably.

The plot is boring and without action. What happened to the military genius that Clancy displayed so many times in his past books? He built a book around a story about a guy who wants to get out of the Soviet Union, and the resolution of that story was anticlimactic.

There were so many things that irritated me about this book. Chiefly the fact that Clancy went out of his way so many times to remind the reader that we were in the 80s. So many references to the events of "Patriot Games". So many references to "I don't like to be called Sir John." So many references to his wife, the eye surgeon, cutting open eyeballs. (If Ryan was 31, Cathy would at most have been a recent graduate of an opthalmology residency/fellowship. Surely not experienced enough to be considered a top notch doctor with all these connections.)

This book was irritating, and I was relieved when I finally finished it.

Half-a-star, but that option doesn't exist.

For anyone who is a fan of the character Jack Ryan, and to a degree Clancy's writing, this book will be an incredible let down. Story is slow and uninteresting, and it doesn't get better. Writing is bad, and unlike Clancy's previous novels. It's as if he didn't write the book. Language is more vulgar and not even necessary for the dialog between characters.

And the references to "Starbucks" feels out of place chronologically. During the setting of the story, Starbucks would have existed of just a few stores in the Northwest. Hard to swallow that Jack Ryan would've have been that addicted to their coffee for so many mentions.

I'll just stick to re-reading Clancy's past greats. Either Red Rabbit was ghost written, or he's lost his gift to pen a worthwhile read.