Rating: 
Summary: A little short on action
Review: I have read all of the Jack Ryan books and the two John Clark books. I have enjoyed or really enjoyed all of them. The Bear and the Dragon seemed a little weak. This one seemed a little weaker. There was not really much tension. It never seemed like any of the characters were really in any real danger.**Warning, spoiler** In Tom Clancy's books, his characters often comment about how things never seem to go as planned in the real world. Obsticles are thrown at the characters and they have to figure a way around them. In this book, a plan was decided on and everything went as planned. No KGB agents seeing anything that the good guys would have preferred to have kept hidden. No suspicious border guards. Not even something as simple as a flat tire. There is only one thing that doesn't go as planned but anyone who remembers the events that this story is based around will know what is coming in that instance. Another thing that I found curious was that Yuri Andropov and Leonid Breznev(sp?) are mentioned by name and have speaking roles, while Ronald Reagan is never mentioned by name. Things he said and did are referred to but his name is never mentioned. Not a big deal, really, but I found myself wondering why it was done that way as I was reading the book. Also, there was a little bit of repetition in the book. Some of the same stories and anecdotes, such as origins of phrases and/or traditions, were repeated. I kind of remember that being the case in the Bear and the Dragon as well, but I could be wrong (I had to pick that one up and read a few pages before I remembered anything about it). All in all, it was an OK read, but it may be time to retire the Jack Ryan character. I would like to see more John Clark books. I was a little disappointed that he did not make an appearance in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Lumbering is the Word!
Review: Tom Clancy's novels have been called encyclopedic in detail and this one is no exception. In Red Rabbit he returns to some of the characters in Cardinal of the Kremlin to a time just before the action in that book takes place. The Soviets are plotting to assassinate the current Pope back in the early 80's (sound familiar), and over what seems like hundreds of pages we get to see the Western characters, most interestingly, the husband and wife spy team, the Foley's, find out about the plot. This is supposed to be a Jack Ryan prequel, but as in several of Clancy's previous books, Ryan is the least interesting character (I've never understood how someone as accomplished in so many different careers as he is can second guess himself at every turn!) In Clancy's best books he interweaves the drier backroom maneuvering with some action-packed adventure in the field. In this one everyone seems to have a backroom they are locked in, and we only ever see them leave to get a drink...in one scene, comically, during surgery! Three stars for the behind-the-scene details and the Foleys; no stars for the lack of action, Jack Ryan, and the cringe-making dialogue.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing But Still Interesting
Review: I have always been a big Tom Clancy fan and wait with tremendous anticipation the publication of each of his novels. Lately, however, I have grown disenfranchised with Mr. Clancy and have found it harder and harder to get through his books. This book was no exception and I struggled to get through this book, though for different reasons than his last couple of Jack Ryan novels. Mr. Clancy is a talented action writer and his mastery of the techno-thriller novel has been widely and justly praised. Unfortunately, Mr. Clancy is also a talented researcher and political thinker, and he tends to assume that his audience is equally interested in the minutiae of these subjects. Ever since Red Storm Rising (co-authored with the under appreciated Larry Bond) Mr. Clancy's books have been growing thicker and thicker to the point that one often despairs of the number of trees necessary for just one print run of his books. Regretfully this increase in girth has not always been to the benefit of the story. Fortunately for his readers, Mr. Clancy is an excellent action writer and his novels are generally filled with enough action or blistering political tension that you are able to digest the odd 50 pages here and there of political or military analysis. Two fine examples of this are The Sum of All Fears and his last offering, the Bear and the Dragon. The Sum Of All Fears offers one of the most suspenseful and thrilling stories he has ever drawn up which covers about 500 of the 798 pages of the book. The rest is filled with the sometimes mind numbing detail of the process of assembling a terrorist nuclear weapon. Similarly, the Bear and the Dragon offers up a fine political suspense drama for about 600 of the 1028 pages of the book. The remainder are filled with long political dissertations on the morals of the political process, party politics and just about anything else President John P. Ryan might care to muse about for 100 pages or so while pondering his next decision. Ironically, this book is one of Clancy's shortest efforts in many years coming in at just 618 pages (not the 896 pages erroneously reported in the Amazon info section) and does much less delving into the thinking of the President or the minutiae of the technology involved. Unfortunately, the trimming process seems to also have cut deep into the action in the book resulting in lots of interesting information on how a CIA station works and what a defection is like but very little suspense. Indeed, since you know the outcome of the primary plot point before you start reading the book it is difficult to stir up any feelings of excitement even when the action does get going in the last 50 pages or so. This book is very similar to The Cardinal of the Kremlin in that it is almost entirely about the process of espionage and defection, which in the real world frequently have very little action indeed. I cannot recommend this book as his best, but I will continue to read Mr. Clancy's books because even his bad books are interesting and his good books are wonderful. I would recommend a reread of Without Remorse or Rainbow Six, two of his best more recent works, before investing any time in this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Re-read an old Clancy instead
Review: Perhaps deadened by the numerous Clancy-sponsored, 'insert author's name here' Op-center paperbacks (or his non-fiction backgrounders on military topics), Clancy forgot the critical element of excitement in this one. Set back in the early '80s, we observe a very linear, very boring story play out over 600 pages--600+ pages you'll never get back. There were hundreds of opportunities for the plot to take an unexpected, interesting turn, yet in every case, everything went according to a dull plan. I finally realized that no twists were ever coming about 75 pages from the end and agonizingly paged through to the ending very disappointed. Here's a plot as exciting as the one in Red Rabbit: Cops learn of a bank robbery plot. They set up bugs in the hideout and overhear the plan. Police hide inside the bank to catch robbers. Robbers enter the bank. Police catch robbers. The End. Re-read an old one of Clancy's novels instead.
Rating:
Summary: Red Rabbit is not one of Tom Clancy's better efforts!!!
Review: I have just completed Red Rabbit, which I must say was not an easy task. I am sorry to say that this novel is just plain boring. It slow and the usually "edge of your seat" suspense, Mr. Clancy is famous for, is just not there. Red Rabbit takes place shortly after the events of "The Patriot Game", but before the events of "The Hunt for Red October". The story deals with a Russian plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II. I think the main problem with novel is that we all already know how the story ends. Mr. Clancy in this novel has taken actual historical events and tried to weave a fictional tale around it. I feel he has come up short. This topic would have been better served by one of Mr. Clancy's non-fiction works. I am also disappointed that Mr. Clancy has chosen another prequel to re-introduce his characters. Patriots Games, explored Jack Ryan origins, "Without Remorse" showed us how John Kelly became Mr. Clark, and "Red Rabbit" deals with Bob and May Pat Foley. It is time to move forward. After 9/11, this novels topic is a safe one, and that is why he may have chosen it. However, Mr. Clancy, safe is boring and we expect more. I can only hope his next novel will deal with more current events. I sadly can't recommend this book. It is really the first Clancy novel that I wish I hadn't bought.
Rating:
Summary: Decent
Review: I work in a bookstore and was able to previw this before it came out. It was an acceptable clancy book, but I was hoping for a sequal to Rainbow six, or an new world wide conflict scenario like Red Storm Riseing. The jack ryan series were great, but since he became president, he cant do as much cool stuff. Also I hate it when I know the outcome of the ending.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: About as exciting as Tolstoy (and as wordy). Clancy can't seem to let the cold war go (if he actually wrote this book). The only interesting parts are about Mary Pat and Ed Foley.
Rating: 
Summary: Change of Time Pace and Method
Review: Opinion always varies on a new book by an author as prominent as Tom Clancy. He has written some of the best work in this genre, and by so doing has set high expectations for his tales. "Red Rabbit", is likely to generate a wider range of opinions than his previous works. The book is his newest release, but in chronology it goes all the way back to events set after his clash with the IRA and his becoming Sir John. This is also as far away from his traditional offerings that I can remember. The pace is entirely different, and all the high tech action is essentially gone. While there is new information about Jack Ryan who has become so prominent in many of his novels, Ryan as a character does not appear as a focus much more than any other player. Clancy does use Ryan to explore the conflicts of loyalties that his character may face as a Catholic, an American, a CIA employee, and a man that is defined by his ability to think with logic, but also is a man of faith. Clancy has replaced his epic fictional battles with a piece that is closer to historical fiction The primary event is one that all will be familiar with, and it is a credit to the author that it never reads as readily familiar as one would first expect. The attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II and the story that many believe explains it, is quite well known. This is primarily a story about two systems of government with a great deal of the information shared as first person reflections by historical figures like Yuri Andropov. The task Clancy set for himself was significant, how to tell a story that virtually anyone who reads the book already knows how it ends, and has heard of the parties likely responsible. This is like making a movie of the sinking of the Titanic. Much of what takes place after the decision to kill the Pope is approved is secondary. The why of the decision and the mentality of those who felt the threat from the Pope is the story. The decision to kill a head of state is monumental even for a government like the former USSR. Add to the target's importance that he leads a church that has existed for over 2,000 years, and now you have a target that is virtually without parallel. The decision to proceed with the assassination, when viewed almost two decades later, was monumentally inept. That statement may seem obvious, but it was a blunder of massive proportions even by the standards of the former USSR. A person can argue forever as to how certain the downfall of the USSR was, and who was the pivotal character, or what was the pivotal decision that set the destruction in progress. The person generally offered as the Russian who precipitated the collapse is Gorbachev. He played a role, he was there when the camel's back finally broke. However the collapse, as defined by a definitive event, as opposed to a philosophical one, were the events fueled by Solidarity in Poland, and a Pope that threatened to resign and go home and support his people. This was a man who had dealt with a variety of opponents, including the Nazis without caving in, and his personal safety was not a factor that could be exploited. Alive he was a threat, only the USSR thought his murder would stop all that he represented and supported. Khrushchev caused some consternation when he denounced Stalin at the 20th Party Congress. This same man then was to act as recklessly as any Soviet leader when he played a game of nuclear chicken over Cuba. Even the balance of his Politburo was unnerved by the stupidity of that adventure. His removal from office was unique in that he lived through it. His successor was a man who would remain for many years, many years of plodding along and decaying in office. Clancy has written a very thoughtful book without all the usual hardware. This is about conflicting ideologies and why one was preordained to fail. A state can claim it is godless, that does not make its citizenry devoid of any faith. The same state can act without regard for individual and national rights, it does not mean that its citizens lose all sense of what is right and what is wrong. Clancy adds a great deal to this historical event, and as he has demonstrated before, he has access to information and cooperation from a variety of sources, that other authors do not enjoy. This is not a traditional 5 star Clancy book, not all of his books have merited that type of praise. I believe such praise is warranted here, for as an author he walked away from the formulas that have made his books guaranteed number one bestsellers, and put on paper a more thoughtful work, and left all the hardware behind. The only shots fired are those you expect once you read the jacket, there is no attempt to hide this book's departure, and for 618 pages he maintains interest not through all manner of tension that will be predictably resolved, rather he conducts a study of events that finished whatever rotting was required for the USSR to finally fall.
Rating: 
Summary: Clancy's back with a vengeance!
Review: Red Rabbit rocks. I'd give it 5 stars but it did start on sort of slow so I gave it 4. Clancy gets into the mind of someone who would betray their country because his country is about to kill an innocent man for political gain and portrays it convincingly and interestingly and quite believable. The theme of resentment caused by the evils of communism or whatever idealogy is back which made earlier books more interesting. The way the CIA gets the Red Rabbit out is ingenious and cool. Not a lot of action but he get into the minds of the various characters, both good and bad.
Rating:
Summary: A Clancy cop-out
Review: Why does an author that gave us the incredible "Hunt for Red October" never write another novel that can hold a candle to his first one? With each successive book, Clancy seems to be "in the churn out" mode without any real interest in character/plot development. Reading Red Rabbit reminds me of a book I read when I was 12 years of age. It's simplistic, repetitive (how many times do we need to be reminded that Ryan was knighted, that Sally gives sloppy kisses, etc.), unimaginative, and took way too long to tell the story (could have been done in half the amount of pages with more impact). What a shame. Clancy is no longer on my must read list. Come on Tom....you can do hell of a lot better and have. Give us the 21st century equivalent of your first novel and we'll be very happy. Did you even write the Red Rabbit?
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