Debt of Honor

Rating:
Summary: clancy's best are shorter, bolder, and more convincing
Review: Too dang long, convoluted, and outlandish. But that's what we like best about Mr. Clancy, no? While I was enthralled by his detailing of unique new weaponry, political clout-at-work, and the requisite gusto of his subplots' premises, I found this story as a whole much harder to embrace than, say, Clear and Present Danger. The conclusion was certainly a send-off to end all send-offs, but you could see it coming all the way from Vancouver (read and you'll know what I mean). I also didn't enjoy or get to know the plot-advancing characters as much as I normally do in his works; some were almost as cardboard as Grisham's denizens of "The Firm." But I'm still going to read Executive Orders. That man has me too well hooked to wriggle off now

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Plot, Fast Paced
Review: This book was riveting and non-stop action. I found it impossible to put the book down. The possibility of conflict between Japan and the United States is presented in a very realistic manner

Rating:
Summary: It couldn't happen... or could it?
Review: The recent tragedy off Long Island raised the question of whether terrorists could down a 747 with a Stinger. Clancy addresses this question in "Debt of Honor," where a Secret Service agent uses the Stinger. (He has a good reason: you'll have to read the book to find out what it is.) Fuel oil and fertilizer... not Oklahoma City, but Ceylon. Mr. Clark/Kelly meets Portugee Oreza after twenty years, under interesting circumstances. || Clancy's writings are fiction, but they present plausible scenarios. It's quite possible that a destructive computer program (or virus) will be a weapon in the next "war." We reputedly used one in Desert Storm: a virus introduced into Saddam's air defense system from a printer, via the parallel port. (Everyone knows the parallel port is an output device, right??? Afraid not...) I cite "Red Storm Rising" and "Debt of Honor" in a chapter of a quality control book I'm writing, to illustrate the ISO 9000 quality standards. What could Clancy's technothrillers have to do with ISO 9000? "Storage, packaging, handling, and delivery," of course. In "Red Storm Rising," seawater damages Ivan's surface to air missiles (Army models, not designed to resist sea water.) In "Debt of Honor," there's a handling/packaging problem with some automobile gas tanks, and sea water is again involved. The story doesn't start moving as quickly as Clancy's other stories, but it REALLY moves near the blockbuster climax. The sequel will be interesting! http://www.pic.net/~wlevinso "The Crisis Manager"

Rating:
Summary: Clancy gets better each time he picks up his pen
Review: Maybe Clancy should be running the world. He puts scenarios together like there's no tomorrow (though maybe he knows something the rest of us don't). So why doesn't he get a better book-binder. Debt of Honour fell to pieces after reading a few pages. So now my friends can't borrow it. Oh, I get it. It's called clever marketing. Anyway Tommy babe (if you ever read this). How about you next turn your talents to something truly international. Australia (my country) could do with some world exposure. Perhaps we could be the next bad guys. And with the Sydney 2000 Olympics around the corner ...

Rating:
Summary: Tom Clancy in rare form.
Review: Clancy pulls no punches in this, his best and most intricate work since "Red Storm Rising". I thought the mix of characters and the best ending to a story I have seen made this one of my favorite all-time novels. If you like Clancy at all, you MUST read this book

Rating:
Summary: If Toyota were to introduce a Chevy Cavilier...
Review: The trouble with continuing to use the same characters in several novels is that readers can't get over thinking about how these guys survived war with Columbia and the explosion of nuclear warhead at the Superbowl, well, that's all forgotten. This book is an OK read, regular Clancy readers will buy it due to addiction, in hope that this will be another Red October.

Rating:
Summary: Great Japan vs USA war Novel
Review: Absolutely brilliant. Allthough the book might be looked upon as Japan Bashing I loved it The way a faulty car can lead to an eventual war between Japan and the USA was brilliantly done. Simply my favourite TC novel(together with the sum of all Fears).

Rating:
Summary: Too lengthy...
Review: Just like the other Clancy's books, this book is too lengthy. Could Clancy consider cutting his books a bit? I am not talking about the technical stuff. I am talking about getting rid the scenes which have no use and serve no purpose. The scenes are too disconnected. Each scene is too short. Sometimes just two small paragraphs. You just can't get into it. Why doesn't Clancy put Jack Ryan in the middle and make everything go around him more?

Rating:
Summary: The Ending Verges on Prophesy
Review: Tom Clancy does it again. Driven by their own megalomania and a desire to even the score for World War II, a handful of powerful Japanese industrialists goad their government into war with the United States. The result is some of the best naval combat to hit the pages of fiction.

I've heard it said that this book is too long. I don't see how it could be shortened without chopping out the political arc of the story. That would leave us with two powerful nations butting heads, and no real idea of how the conflict came about. Some writers might be content with that. Tom Clancy is not. He knows that you cannot begin to understand any event or action until you understand the forces responsible for its creation. How do nations plunge, leap, stumble, or blunder into war? Mr. Clancy sheds light on the money, politics, ambition, and national pride that all factor into the equation. So, yes, this book could be shorter. But the story would suffer for it. (On a personal note, I didn't notice the length of the book anyway. I got so wrapped up that I burned through the book in no time.)

Other critics love to pick apart the shifts in political and military allegiance that form the heart of this novel. The unspoken assumption is obvious: `Everyone who is our ally today will also be our ally tomorrow.' It's a comforting mindset; quite easy to swallow, as long as you're prepared to utterly disregard history. The world changes. Sometimes slowly, and sometimes with frightening rapidity. As a retired Sailor and veteran of the Cold War, I can remember when everyone knew for a fact that the Soviet Union would never fall, short of nuclear annihilation. The Berlin wall would stand forever. Argentina would never be foolish enough to pick a fight with the United Kingdom. Middle Eastern terrorists would never find their way to American soil. Mr. Clancy built his story around a change in national alliances. The particular power structure he postulated, has not come to pass. Not yet, at least. But he wasn't trying to predict the future. He was trying to show that alliances can, and do shift, often with incredible consequences. Anyone who thinks otherwise isn't living in the same reality as the rest of us.

I've said that Tom Clancy wasn't trying to predict the future. In at least one aspect, this book predicted future events with chilling accuracy. If you've read the book, you know how it ends. If you haven't, you'll never be able to think of the 9/11 attacks without wondering how he knew.

Jeff Edwards, Author of "Torpedo: A Surface Warfare Thriller"


Rating:
Summary: Not one of *his* best...one of *the* best
Review: Don't listen to the nay-sayers. I just finished reading Debt of Honor and it's sequel Executive Orders. Believe me when I say these two books are some of the most finely crafted political, economic and military warfare books ever. Every line of every page is completely plausible and many of the events seem all the more possible if you fully understand the real world history of the nations these events are built upon.