Rating: 
Summary: I can't believe anyone would give this 5 stars
Review: This book really upset me. It was long, boring, repititious and had no ending. All this time is spent building up 7 or 8 major story lines, and only 1 is concluded satisfactorily. The rest have some quick partial conclusion or are left completely dangling. For instance, there is the one plot line about Mountain Men who scope out the Whitehouse, go home, build a huge truck bomb and start to drive it back to Washington. All this setup takes hundreds of pages. Then less than halfway there, some sheriff smells the bomb and arrests the Mountain Men. This is all concluded in two pages and there is no follow up of the ramifications or what happens to remaining Mountain Men. No suspense and no tension. What happened with the ex-Vice President trying to reclaim his throne? What about China and the invasion plans?Clancy used to write nice, tight stories that moved along at a good clip and had great endings. There are some interesting elements in this one. But for the most part, it is just slow and plodding. It was if he got to page 1200, realized that he had to wrap things up and just ended the book. It upset me that I spent so much time wading through this stuff, only to have no ending or payoff.
Rating:
Summary: Rubbish
Review: I am an Army veteran and I can tell you, Mr. Clancy got it all wrong. I shall now tell you how and why. Mr. Clancy has no first hand knowledge of the military but he has powerful contacts (politicians and generals). He makes some calls and gets to look at all the latest gadgetry. Unfortunately, the high ranking officers briefing him only show him the best parts. They gloss over the not so good stuff. Clancy apparently falls for it hook line and sinker! Here are some examples. The laser stuff at the National Training Center doesnt work near as well as Clancy describes. In all of my rotations, I never had laser equipment that worked. Also, the idea of two training regiments and a national guard brigade making a cohesive fighting division is ludicrous. Finally, such a cobbled together unit could never steamroller an Iraqi/Iranian Army ten times its size as Clancy describes. This is probably the end of the road for me. Unless Mr. Clancy gets back the magic he used to have. This will be the last of his books I will read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Jack Ryan series is going downhill fast
Review: Clancy's best work seems to be behind him. This book is nowhere near in the same league as _Red Storm Rising_ or _Clear and Present Danger_. I stopped reading about halfway through and then skimmed through the rest a couple months later. The plot was decent enough, but the excessive technical details and Clancy's endless preaching of his political views ruin it. This book would have been much better if cut down to just over half its size. Maybe two stars seems unfair but that's all this book deserves compared to earlier work. Let's hope that the next book, about a Sino-Russian conflict, will give us back the Clancy of the '80s.
Rating: 
Summary: What if I became President?
Review: Clancy uses the improbable advent of Ryan's presidency to show what he thinks is wrong with with the system. I admire his reverence for the historical value of the Constitution and enjoyed participating as he explores the ramifications of multiple assasinations at the federal level. If you can suspend belief long enough to allow the end of "Debt of Honor" to set up "Executive Orders," you're in for a treat, as Clancy tells us his version of the way things ought to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best work, but vintage Clancy nonetheless . . . . .
Review: While contemporaries like Dale Brown and Harold Coyle have faded away into near oblivion, Tom Clancy has once again proven why he's top dog in the techno-thriller genre of literary fiction. This sequel to "Debt of Honor" has all the ingredients that we have come to expect and love in Clancy's novels: breakneck pace, complex and multi-layered plotting, interesting characters and nefarious villains, and of course the everyman hero in the form of protagonist Jack Ryan. Don't let the 1,000+ pages discourage you; the fact that his novels seem to be getting longer with every new book only means that you're getting more "bang for the buck." I can't wait for his next novel to be released later this year, "The Dragon and the Bear." China vs. Russia, let the fireworks begin!
Rating:
Summary: Slightly "over the top"
Review: As my college psychology professor urged us, "You can't believe everything you read." So maybe mom said it too. Anyway, as for this book, the action is just fabulous for those of us who really don't mind all the nitty-gritty details of our county's operation. I've read several Clancy novels, and I enjoyed the realistic possibilities in the books, but this one stretched the fine line. If Clancy is trying to make any point at all (besides how lousy most politicians really are), it's to say that perhaps this COULD happen some day, and do we have the right man in office to handle such a crisis?
Rating:
Summary: Executive Orders-the book with the plot
Review: This is my second favorite book. First is Rainbow Six. If you like a great plot, read this book. The plot is so deep. The only thing about this book that I didn't like that much is the detail. It was still a GREAT book. I encourage you to read it, even though it might take you a while.
Rating:
Summary: THE ABSOLUTE BEST!
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I have read many of Clancy's novels, and this one tops them all. The story is packed with action and suspense, with twists and turns at every corner. You won't want to put it down! The ending is incredible; you will just have to read to find out! A definite best!
Rating:
Summary: Realism? - I don't think so...
Review: I've read a lot of Tom Clancy books and generally find them entertaining - but don't take them seriously. "The Darling of the Pentagon" has developed an undeserved reputation as one who includes meticulous accurate detail in his fiction. If that were ever true, it is certainly hokum as far as this book is concerned. How accurate can the man be if he places Peoria in Indiana? Briefly, the book is about terrorism on a massive scale - particularly the introduction of the ebola virus into the U.S. This is just one of the many nation-destroying crises President Ryan must deal with, and he successfully does so because, after all, he's not a politician. And therein lies one major weakness to this book...it is basically a platform from which Mr. Clancy can espouse his political views. I really don't care about Mr. Clancy's political views - I just want a good, entertaining read when I pick up a book such as this. Once again, the Middle East is the source of most of this evil, and once again, Clancy pays lip service to issues of diversity while the main message is "don't trust anyone who isn't like you". It wouldn't be such a bad thing if people didn't take these books for more than they are - but Clancy gets tours of American warships and senators like to talk to him because they think he knows something about defense. C'mon people, the guy just writes fictional action novels! One last thing - Clancy clearly doesn't know his biology. For example, he has a top gun in infectious disease research (Col. Alexandre) expounding on the genetic code made up of amino acids (it's not..and that's something that is so basic it's hard to believe Clancy screwed it up). He's researched the surface of biological warfare, but not its substance. The book is entertaining enough, but take it for what it is, a way to spend a few hours escaping from reality, and not an exposition of how reality might be.
Rating:
Summary: Executive Orders -- Clancy at his best
Review: Tom Clancy had a lot of great books prior to Executive Orders. Any of his previous books such as Patriot Games, The Sum of All Fears and Clear and Present Danger were great. But Executive Orders was EXCELLENT. Through the most devastating terrorist act, Ryan becomes President of the United States. What he does not know is that the Iranian terrorists have already infiltrated the Secret Service with one of their own terrorists. His goal is to kill the President and create total chaos. In the meantime, the Islamic terrorist leader is plotting to kidnap Ryan's daughter as well. Also, the rest of the country is sick of a mysterious illness, which happened to be planted by the terrorists themselves. Throughout all this, the stress of being the President, the media vultures, and the threats to his family are beginning to take its toll on Ryan. The greatest thing about this book is the depth in which Clancy describes every character. The realism overwhelmed me, and I felt I was right there waiting to see what would happen. I really believe the book was unpredictable as well, because I did not know what was going to transpire. Overall, regular Clancy readers will develop a strong desire to finish this book as quickly as possible because the reader will want to know what happens next. It is Clancy's best book, at least I think so.
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