OK, so I finished this a while back, and despite it appealing to a lot of my interests, I honestly found it pretty meh.
I really enjoyed the realistic military/tactical aspect of it all, as that part is right up my alley, but… I did not care about the characters, the plot seemed hollow, and it seems like some things that could have been explored further were simply ignored.
For example, in the beginning these guys blow up a refinery. There are vague descriptions as to why, but after this it is practically not mentioned again. Whatever movement they were part of apparently disappears, and there are no repercussions for their home oblast.
The only thing this book has going for it, in my opinion, is that military nerds like me enjoy the detailed writing about the different types of hardware involved in the book.
So, since I am by no means a literary connoseur, I’m curious about what others think of this one.
I recall liking it, but I read it in like the 5th grade so my standards were low (before that I’d been reading my mom’s terrible ‘caterer turned detective’ novels).
I enjoyed Clancy for a long time after that but at this point I aim more towards militaristic speculative fiction.
Similar to my experience. I enjoyed reading but hated the process of finishing a book, finding a new, one, and getting started again. T. Clancy books were my go-to because they were interesting enough and WAAAY longer than they had to be so I could just keep on reading.
RSR is the only Clancy book I’ve read. Is it comparable to his other books?
I specifically remember liking Rainbow Six around the same time and I liked his books until he started tag teaming with other authors which was probably around 2000?
Based on that I imagine his books from 1986-2000 are “similar” enough.
The old school Rainbow Six games were my gateway drug to the book.
The plot is essentially “what if tree huggers went batshit and weaponized a virus” so take that for what you will but the training and operations in that book were facinating to me. I saw it as world building for one of my favorite games of the time
The Hunt for Red October is far more thrilling if not as realistic. The characters are far more unique and interesting, though jack Ryan and anything navy/CIA is just propaganda. At least it is fun to read propaganda.
The other books are far more plot and character focused, less exacting military stuff. If you like RSR, you might like the following books even more. It’s an outlier, but not too far, from his other books.
Caterer turned detective?
Dianne Mott Davidson’s books.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved them as a kid, and it was a nice way to transition to “adult” books but not really my speed anymore and I imagine if I went back I’d think they were “bad.”