Rating: 
Summary: Is Truth Stranger Than Fiction?
Review: A new president, a commercial airliner crashing into a landmark Washington DC building, a fight against bio-terrorism on US soil, and a madman in the Middle East hiding behind Islam as justification for his actions. Sound familiar? Published over five years ago, Tom Clancy's "Executive Orders" has eerily become in many ways an unfortunate reality. Simply put, one may never be able to consider a Clancy novel a pure form of escapism again.But despite the unsettling nature of the novel in light of recent events, "Executive Orders" is an engaging and informative read. Readers may feel like they are getting an inside glimpse of the White House as Clancy super-protagonist, Jack Ryan, reluctantly ascends to the Presidency of the United States. Clancy's knowledge on a wide variety of topics and his ability to keep dozens of narratives afloat in this 1,300+ page novel is truly amazing. The sheer thickness and complexity of "Executive Orders" definitely calls for some perseverance - but for the most part it is worth effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Thrilling But Shallow
Review: Tom Clancy's Executive Orders is a lengthy, entertaining read. The crash of a JAL 747 airliner into the Capitol building unexpectedly pushes former CIA agent Jack Ryan into a challenging job he doesn't really want--the American Presidency. Honorably placing duty and public service ahead of politics, Mr. Ryan steers America through a multi-faceted crisis, defeating terrorism (kidnapping and assassination attempts, and the malicious planting of a deadly Ebola virus in U.S. cities), halting the aggression of a religious leader and his Iran-Iraq army, and skillfully managing foreign diplomacy with Japan, China, India and Russia. Published in 1996, the book's engrossing plot notably contains certain prescient links to more recent events: The fictional crash of the airliner into the Capitol may be viewed as foretelling the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. Also, the events surrounding the Ayatollah Daryaei with his expansionist United Islamic Republic in the book bear a resemblance to the real-world 2003 war with Iraq and ensuing capture of Saddam Hussein. I find the book's primary weakness to be its overly predictable plot line: Good guy meets bad guy, suspense builds, and the expected outcome follows, i.e., good guy wins. In this case, the good guy is not just President Ryan but, in a more philosophical sense, an idealistic vision of the merits of democracy, opportunity, and political and religious freedom--all with a U.S.-centric flair. Being an action-packed novel of interlocking sub-plots carefully woven together by the author, the book could easily be made into an enthralling Hollywood movie, complete with impressive techno-war battle scenes showing enemy tanks being blown up and burnt to a crisp. The grand finale would be the CIA-assisted pinpoint bombing of the reprehensible enemy leader inside of his residence in Tehran, suffering in astonishment through the real-time international broadcast of the final seconds of his own life! However engaging the thrilling plot and commendable detail of Executive Orders may be, my personal preference is for more literary works that probe significantly deeper into human relationships, emotions and the psyche.
Rating: 
Summary: An Honest Non-Political Man in the White House
Review: Jack Ryan is doing his best. He took the opportunity to become Vice-President as his way out of government service - he'd serve, then retire to teaching. But then things went wrong, and the President, most of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the cabinet were killed in a terrorist action. Jack Ryan finds himself the head of the country - a job he never wanted. Faced with being the most important President since George Washingon, he faces a press who thinks he is playing by political rules, an enemy in the middle East who is out to cripple the country, and an ex-Vice President who claims he never really resigned. The middle-east thinks he's weak because he won't crush political enemies. The press pounces on him because he is being honest in a political world of dishonesty. His enemies think it's the right time to cripple the country - with an attack on the country, and an attack on his daughter. The question Clancy asks is clear - could another man, faced with a devestation of the American political system, rise to the occassion and reject tyrnany and kingdom over democratic law. Plus, could he, if faced with terrible domestic and foreign policy issues, make the right choices to combat threats, both foreign and domestic. Executive Orders put Jack Ryan, an honest man who served his country the best he could, in the position of being President. He wanted strict constituational law, but was willing to take a step beyond it (in preventing free travel in the wake of germ warfare crisis) - and very willing to be impeached and removed from office as a cost of his decision. Jack Ryan is the hero of the everyday man - somebody who understands the world and the threats, and is willing to admit his weakness in domestic affairs. When facing rebuilding the government, he wants people who really know what the real world is like. In the end, he neither wants or craves power - he just wants to do what he thinks is the right thing.
Rating:
Summary: Good follow-up to 'Debt of Honor'
Review: Clancy has a talent for spinning tales with mutiple interwoven plots -- and this book will not disappoint those who have come to enjoy this style. Our hero, Jack Ryan, now finds himself promoted to the very top position in the United States government -- the presidency. A job he didn't want, circumstances have placed him in the excutive office with a full two thirds of the government apparatis demolished via a terrorist act. To add to his woe, middle eastern agents have introduced biological warfare into the country -- and one of the secret service men guarding him is a sleeper agent waiting for the proper moment to execute him. In true Clancy style all these things develop simultaneously and provide an interesting (if rather longish) story. I find it particularly interesting to note that much of the action seems to mirror the real world September 11th terrorist acts (the book was released a couple of years prior to this event). Could it be that the novel was used as a blueprint by real world terrorists or at least provided them the idea? It's an interesting theory. Read the story and make your own determination. Bottom line is this is an important installment in the ongoing adventures of the (now) legendary Jack Ryan -- one you will want to read and add to the collection. The tale will keep you up late waiting to see how Jack copes with the developing situations though the outcome is never really in doubt. ** Recommended **
~P~
Rating:
Summary: Idealistic, perhaps, but a good story.
Review: Tom Clancy gets somewhat farther away from the style that won him fame in "The Hunt for Red October". "Executive Orders" is as much a political statement as it is a novel. His premise: throw out the entire federal government and start fresh with people more interested in serving the country than in serving themselves. Not a bad idea to think about actually, although dropping a 747 on the assembled office holders is a bit too extreme to be practical. The persons and groups are characterized in a manner which is too perfect and stereotypical: Jack Ryan is absolutely selfless, immensely strong of character and never wrong; the media is self-serving, prejudiced and untrustworthy; the military and police agencies are brave, dedicated and unfailingly capable and the "bad guys" are devious, dastardly and utterly remorseless. The book is very long, but it never drags. The cast of characters is large enough that some readers may have trouble keeping track of who everyone is over the course of the several days it will take most people to read the book. The concluding desert battle is rather confusing if you attempt to form a mental image of exactly what is taking place. I may some day write out a list of the units involved, including all of the nicknames and code names used for them, and try to plot out exactly how the battle was conducted. Despite the tremendous numerical odds against them, the battle is much more one-sided in favor of the Americans than a real battle is ever likely to be. Despite these criticisms, I found the book to be very entertaining and the image presented of how America should be, politically and militarily, is refreshing and stimulating. Clancy has been accused of being misogynistic and Islamophobic. I don't agree at all. Several of his characters portray women in atypical roles - and doing their jobs well. He also goes out of his way to show that the "bad guys" are just that and, through their evil actions, are going against the tenets of their faith. In general, this book is certainly not Tom Clancy's best effort, but it is definitely worth reading - all 1358 pages of it!
Rating:
Summary: A great chapter of the Jack Ryan series.
Review: Tom Clancy is the master of multiple plots and subplots, as he expertly proves in this book. The book begins with multiple - and at the time, unrelated - incidents happening in different places. An airplane driven by terrorists is piloted into the Capitol, killing the president, and Jack Ryan is asked to step in as president. A never-before-seen outbreak of the Ebola virus is found. And two men sit around talking politics. But by the end of this gripping story, the plots and subplots have interwoven to make one plot that could only be thought up by a genius like Tom Clancy. I won't say any more so I don't spoil the book, but anyone should read this. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: The book is too fat.
Review: If clancy had put this book on diet it could have been a five star book. The plot is there but it is covered up with needless chatter. You have to be good skimmer to find just the good stuff. This book is a thiller. It is not "War and Peace". Maybe Reader's Digest can turn it into a five star book.
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Summary: Jack Ryan at his angriest...and his finest.
Review: Following the dramatic ending of "Debt Of Honor", the United States' new President is none other than Jack Ryan. Finally...a President who just doesn't take any crap from anyone. With the Ebola virus unleashed and a former Vice President back in the picture raising cain for his own political and personal gain, President Ryan has no time to get accustomed to the job. Americans haven't truly had a no nonsense Commander In Chief since the early 80s with Ronald Reagan, but Jack Ryan certainly provides that in Executive Orders. If you loved it when Reagan shot a missile into Gadhafi's tent 20 years ago, you will LOVE the final sequence of this one! At over 1000 pages (paperback) it's a long read, but a FAST read. Simply a Clancy masterpiece, and his best work of the last 8 or 9 years.
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Summary: This new-open novel of Clancy is undoubtebly perfect: Aris
Review: In DEBT OF HONOR end's the story when the 747 jetliner drove by a japanese-terrorist crash on the capitol building which killed almost the cabinet member and congress-dead, as well as Pres. Durling and his wife, brought for Vice-President John Patrick Ryan as the new President of the United States of America, though only he was convince by Pres. Durling as a vice-president caretaker for 1 year, though he didn't like the job. Then here's now the EXECUTIVE ORDER begins. As the new President, the fact that Ryan have had no such idea how he will heal the nation while some other's try to distabilized the country( a. resign-Vice Pres. Edward Kealty take the chance to destroy Mr. Ryan's unprepared speech in official funeral for dead-Pres. Durling that made media a reason to air Ryan's legal-status.; b. two undercover plan try to assasinate Ryan's daughter). In some part of the world, Iran-people-against america made a long-research for the new discover ebola-virus and wanted them to spread across america. While Daryei convinced Badryan to join his military regiment both with a colossal-plan to attack american forces and government. The question that always inculcate from the reader is that, How Mr. Clancy his long-hero John Patrick Ryan comes to an enormous crisis that have had to solve problems whether inside and outside. Tom Clancy undoubtebly a superb writer. Don't miss this one...a highly-recommended...
Rating:
Summary: A gripping masterpiece of Mr. Clancy: by ARIS B.
Review: In Executive Orders, Jack Ryan has just becomne president, following the events of Debt of Honour. He has to deal with an assortment of domestic problems, along with simply being president. And then, America is infected with an airborne form of Ebola by the newly formed United Islamic Republic, an amalgam of Iran and Iraq. While the infection is combatted, successfully, Ryan has to cope with attempted assasinations directed at himself and his family, and an invasion of Saudi Arabia by the UIR, then as Mr.Jack Ryan the new President of a powerful nation, a most with influence-nation in the world, Ryan faces threats from outside and within the U.S., from a newly-formed nation bent on crippling America to an agent sent to kill the very man he swore to protect...so I honestly tell u it's a gripping masterpiece not to be missed...
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