Rating: 
Summary: What is going on here?
Review: Let's face it- this book shouldn't be on the shelf with other books classified as "fiction", or even with other Tom Clancy books, e.g., *the Hunt For Red October*. I'm not really a Tom Clancy fan since, although he did manage to describe a real, palpable character in "The Cardinal of the Kremlin", character development has almost never been an issue worth pursuing in his books. But they do show an ability to handle plot, story arc, setting (to some extent), and, of course, the ambience of technology. SSN is so far from even those values, and so unlike a "novel" in the usual sense, that I'm willing to believe that it was concocted for some other purpose.Such as: schooling gamers in submarine strategy.Okay. As a novel, it's about as readable as a Grandmaster chess manual, but with "K-QB3" replaced with navy acronyms like CINCPACFLT and COMSUBLANT. Maybe we should take it on its own terms.
Rating: 
Summary: WARNING!! This was NOT written by Tom Clancy!
Review: This "novel" was originally packaged with a computer game of the same title, so that's your first clue as to its quality. It was designed as a strategy guide for the game and was clearly never intended for mass-market publication, until somebody at Clancy's publishing company got greedy. I can say unequivocally that after reading through part of the book (I only got halfway before quitting, but that was several hundred pages) there is no way that Tom Clancy actually wrote this at all. I've read all of Clancy's books, including "Red Storm Rising" and "Hunt for Red October", literally dozens of times, and I know how Clancy writes sub war stories. The terminology used is significantly different than in his other books and the dialog is utterly atrocious, far from the brilliance displayed in Clancy's real novels.Don't be fooled as I was. This is just like the non-Clancy-written Op Center novels - dry and dull and tedious. Clancy fans don't be taken in - avoid at all costs!
Rating: 
Summary: Thank you! Mr. Clancy
Review: To my dearest Mr. Clancy: I have always wanted to be a writer. The problem is: I'm not good at writing. I always feel that my characters are always sort of dry and lifeless, my plots are boring and naive. My vocabulary is limited and therefore I tend to repeat the same lines over and over again. I know I don't have the talent, still I wanted to write a book and make lots of money. I felt despaired, confused and helpless... Until now! With "SSN", my dearest Mr. Clancy, you have shown me how. You have given me new hope. Thank you...
Rating:
Summary: Clancy must have been under contract to write something.
Review: I have started to become disillusioned with Tom Clancy novels. 500 pages of stuff (usually too technical for me to care) that leads to the last 50 pages of everything just happening right for the good guys. This book has to be his low-point. I know submariners that threw it away before half-way through. I'm still trying to figure out how one submarine can travel half-way around the world, destroy several Chinese targets, and stop for supplies before the rest of the U.S. Navy can even get ready. It will be a while before I pick up another Clancy book. I give it one star becasue I can't get lower.
Rating: 
Summary: Not much of a Clancy book this time
Review: Don't take this book thinking Clancy is doing it again. If you like sub warfare, I guess it will be good for you; for the Clancy's fan, better look elsewhere. The story is about only one submarine hitting more than 60 targets in a half secret war. Most of the story don't make much sense (in my thoughts) where the US are not sending much of the US fleet against China and bet on that one submarine. And don't get me wrong, I've read 90% of Tom Clancy's book so I do like most of his work.
Rating: 
Summary: I Love Sub Warfare
Review: I thought this book was great. It delivers. I would of actually gave it 4 and a half but you know. I love Tom Clancy books all of them are great and this is no exception. Though the book did get a little repetitive like their decoys always worked and the chinese's never did but other then that pretty intense stuff. I recommend it to anyone else who loves sub warfare.
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: This being my first Clancy book, I had hoped for better. The story goes like this: starts one mission, tubes one and two readied, shoots down another submarine. Another mission starts and the same thing goes on and on like a broken record. This may be what submarine life is all about -- repetition and boredom -- but if only the author gave it a chance to be interesting. I was really dissapointed when I read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Repetitive.....Repetitive.....Repetitive.....Repetitive.....
Review: This is not one of his better works, unless you really want to become intune with the routines of a submariners thought process. It is very repetitive as you will find out if you give it a read.
Rating:
Summary: SSN Not a Clancy Book
Review: Simplistic, redundant, and totally without charater development -- not a book for traditional Clancy fans (like me).
Rating:
Summary: This Submarine Story is Dead in the Water
Review: I have read several of Clancy's novels, and each was a masterfully done work of art. This book, however, appears to have been written only to capitalize on the video game and the name of Tom Clancy. I had hoped that the book would focus on military operations, like "Rainbow Six". While the story is 100% non-stop war, it is also 100% not realistic. Completing this novel is exactly like watching over someone's shoulder as they play a video game from start to finish. Somewhat entertaining, but not really worth the effort and waste of time. There is no development of any characters. You get to know the captain, somewhat, but everyone else is just a voice in background. And by your third battle, you pretty much have the strategy for each remaining battle figured out. Battles begin to read like:"They detect an enemy sub, they hide and wait, the Captain yells 'Flood tubes 1 & 2', they shoot at the enemy sub, the sub shoots back, they excape the enemy torpedo, the enemy is not so lucky." Now imagine that same scenario about 25 times and you have the book 'SSN'. I do not recommend reading this book. Perhaps the game is good, I do not know. If you want a really good Clancy Novel/Game combination, I suggest "Rainbow Six". Read the book first.
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