Rating: 
Summary: Good Story, but not as Good as I'd Hoped
Review: Okay, I've read the five previous Clancy books before this and to sum them up-"WOW." But there are things here that could've been better. First, the events leading up to the agreements in the Middle East went on very slowly, and I was wondering when it would be over with and the story would move foward from there. It seemed during that time that Clancy went into too much detail here about how the press worked, which was kind of a dull point. Next, when the freedom fighters got this nuke, it took them roughly 450-500 pages worth just to make it to what they wanted. During that time span the book went on pretty slowly. I won't go into further detail because others have already. But these are the major reasons I'm giving this three stars. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the plot was very interesting. This can be a pretty nice read, if you're up to it.
Rating: 
Summary: I do not reccomend this book.
Review: 700 pages on how to build a nuclear bomb. Thanks but no thanks. Clancy's worst book by far.
Rating:
Summary: i'm just not sure about Clancy . . . .
Review: yeak, okay, so Tom Clancy wrote "The Hunt for Red October" and "Patriot Games" - both great books. but with this Jack Ryan episode, he screwed up.
NUMBER UNO: what happened to the brilliant hero Jack Ryan. he's become a fat, over-confident, thinks-he's-invinicble, always-cursing slob. he can't just be a brave guy, he has to be rich and famous. his wife can't just be a surgeon; she has to be the best, but at the same time remaining young and sexy.
NUMBER DOS: i'm sorry, Mr. Clancy, but normal, coherant, people do not talk like that (i.e.- he uses the f-word on almost every page). get a freaking editor, for Christ's sake!
Rating: 
Summary: A scary premonition from Clancy
Review: Clancy describes a horrendous terrorist plot, which at the time he wrote it seemed like fantasy. In light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it is now a frightening possibility that seems all to probable. This book was ahead of its time, and if you can make it through the 700 pages, it describes a step-by-step process that is believable and suspenseful. I read this book a few years ago, but I don't think I will read it again. Not that it's a bad book, it's just too realistic and scary now.
Rating: 
Summary: In light of recent events...
Review: I was re-reading this book for the second time, sitting in the customer lounge while my car was being serviced on the morning of 09/11/01. When I saw the news, I thought immediately of "Debt Of Honor" and "Executive Orders". I pray that whomever is responsible for security at some of our bigger sporting events which are coming up, will take heed to some of the "implausible" events that take place in these novels. As we've so tragically seen, maybe they're not so implausible after all.I truly love Mr. Clancy's novels, having read all of the "Jack Ryan" novels at least once. But they certainly seem to take on new light now. Perhaps those I've seen in previous, more critical (sometimes downright ugly) reviews of Mr. Clancy's work here will think twice before writing him off as a right wing fanatic. Mr. Clancy seems to have been all too aware of the threats that our country faces. Sadly, now so are we...
Rating:
Summary: Superbly Read.
Review: I cannot fathom how hard it is to take the most important parts out of Tom Clancy's novels and fit them onto CD or tape. In this case, I think they did pretty darn well. David Ogden Stiers performed masterfully while reading this work. His use of accents, and different voice tones to help you follow what characters were speaking was absolutley superb. I am very very happy with the reading.
The story was good as well, nuclear terror is nothing to joke with, and Tom Clancy created a plausible senario. I'm reading his books out of order unfortunatley, and I have a little trouble accepting how much grief the USA gets into in all his books, this is unimportant however, Tom Clancy writes great plots, with great characters. Long live Jack Ryan!!
Rating:
Summary: The movie...
Review: I read this book back in 1991, and though a little clunky in some places at 900+ pages long, it was a great book, and - as with so many Tom Clancy books - an all too possible scenario. Also, as with so many Clancy books, I thought it would make a good movie in the right hands. 10 years later, it seems filming has been completed in June of 2001, and we MAY see the movie in theaters by summer of 2002. I say "may" because it occurs to me that since the story depicts a nuclear attack on a U.S. city with a weapon brought in by boat and truck - a scenario which would very visibly raise questions & increase debate about the real value of the Bush Administration's much-vaunted missile-shield defense plan - there are parties who would probably like to see this film go away or at least have it's release delayed.
Rating: 
Summary: Overly long, boring, one-dimensional characters
Review: I give this two stars because it could have made a good 200-300 page novel but it's ridiculously overdone at 900 pages. And somehow in 900 pages Clancy doesn't manage to do any character development. Except for Jack Ryan and his wife, none of the characters have more than one dimension. Several of the subplots, especially the submarine story (which seems to be included only to show how much Clancy knows about submarines), could have been left out altogether and the story would have been tighter and better paced. I guess Clancy is such a big name now that his publishers don't bother to edit his work. On the other hand it's scary to think that this might actually have been edited. I've only read one other Clancy novel, The Hunt for Red October, which I enjoyed. But based on The Sum of All Fears, I'm not likely to pick up another Clancy novel. This one I got for 25 cents at a thrift shop, which was about what it's worth. The only part I really really enjoyed was the nanosecond by nanosecond description of the nuclear explosion. That was worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Not Politically Correct Nukes
Review: A wonderful read covering subjects not often discussed in western media (particularly American media). Why do the Terrorists/Patriots (take your pick) hate the USA? Cause we support the activities and existance of Isreal. Where did Isreal get the materials and plans for their bombs? Given by or stolen from (with no punishment) the USA. Which government has weak/non existant nuclear weapons safeguards? Isreal. No wonder it's taking so many years for the movie. God only knows what it will look like.
Rating:
Summary: A Clancy Classic...
Review: "The Sum Of All Fears" is a gripping tale of nuclear terrorism from the heart of the MidEast. Clancy has an amazing ability to construct acutely the detail of military events as the story keeps changing angle. Eventually all angles meet in the climactic middle where devestation reins. The book takes at least a couple of hundred pages to get into as Clancy details meticulously the events leading up to the final page turning, fast paced end. Jack Ryan is the main character as he tries to get on top of the action and contain the unstoppable outcome. A great read that you should stick with to the end.
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