The Teeth of the Tiger

Rating:
Summary: Clancy not even trying any more...
Review: I've always been a huge Clancy fan, buying most of his books the day they were released, but after Teeth of the Tiger I'm going to be much more selective. This was a horrible mess of unbelievable circumstances, questionable politics (do we really want some extra-governmental agency going around knocking off suspected terrorists with poison-tipped pens???), and an ending that justs seems arbitrary and incomplete.

What is really scary about this book is that it seems to be clearly intended as the introduction to a whole new series featuring the next generation of the Ryan legacy. Starting from a foundation this shaky, its hard to imagine how Clancy can rescue the rest of the series. Maybe its time to retire John Clark and put Ding Chavez in charge....

Rating:
Summary: What happened to TC?
Review: Either TC has lost his touch or someone else ghost wrote this for him. I am [upset] at his editor for letting this book be released to the public. Dumb plot that labors from start to finish.

Rating:
Summary: A good effort with typical Clancy flaws
Review: The Teeth of the Tiger is so much better than Red Rabbit (how could it not be). It is only 400 pages and only covers a few characters, Dominic, Brian and Jack, as they join "The Campus" as America's newest operatives in the war on terror.

The Campus operates without governmental knowledge or constraints and therefore is able to do what most Americans hope our government is actually doing, and that is taking the war on terror to the terrorists turf. The campus seeks out terrorists and kills them on their own turf.

This book covers the recruitment and training of brothers Dominic and Brian, and their cousin Jack. Soon they are ready and out on there own battling the terrorists.

There is a lot of action in this book. Things actually happen, whereas in Red Rabbit absolutely nothing happened. But there are a lot of negatives. Clancy has created his own world that coexists with the real world, so you can have 9-11 happen as well as nuclear bombs going off at football games like in the Sum of All Fears. Clancy's dialogue between the twenty-something brothers and their cousin Jack seems a bit corny at times. It is also ridiculous that Jack is the son of Jack Ryan and his cousins are recruited to the campus by mere coincidence. This story would have worked better with entirely new characters.

This book is good because it isn't incredibly long and it does provide some sort of satisfaction at getting back at the terrorists. And it definely hints at a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Poor Dialogue!
Review: The dialogue in this book is 8th grade vocabulary.

Rating:
Summary: Clancy's version of the truth??? Yeah right....
Review: I Bought the book for it's cover and enjoyed the quotes in the front of the book.... Too bad Clancy couldn't follow up!!! ...

Rating:
Summary: Not Clancy's best
Review: Clancy is continuing to make money (good for him!). This book is certainly destined to be a movie, but is not much of a story.

Rating:
Summary: I said I'd given up on Clancy . . . I say it again
Review: I've been a Clancy fan from the beginning, but over time the page count kept rising while the interesting insight declined. However, with the Teeth of the Tiger, the new idea of introducing Ryan's son and the vastly reduced page count made me give him one more try.

Mistake.

The story line is bland, turning the joy of "Hunt" and "Red Storm" into work. While there are a few classic Clancy action sequences that give the story some zip, the story never builds any enthusiasm for Ryan's son. The references to old Ryan friends as mentors are weak. However, the real death blow is the rediculous coincidence that sets up the main plot. Somehow I made it through the rest, but I'm going back to non-fiction and Simon Winchester.

Rating:
Summary: Losing another fan
Review: I'm another long time Clancy junkie who is drifting away. This was the first time I waited to get a Clancy book at the used book store, but was vindicated after reading this mess. Since he conquered Japan, Clancy has increasingly turned in boring, dumbed-down efforts. What were once suspenseful and rewarding plots (that covered for his poor character development), are now insipid and ridiculous plots that leave the inane characters completely exposed. I could forgive one-dimensional characters when the story held me for 900 pages. I can't stand the new, completely dislikeable three - (Roge that bro ...). Since Rainbow 6 especially, his books have slid in one direction. I didn't think he could do worse than Red Rabbit, but he did. Clancy should go back and re-read his own first five or six books and understand why they were so good - complex, thoughtful plots that rewarded the reader with satisfying twists and turns and MOST OF ALL, despite the fantastic plots, had a ring of authenticity/plausibility to them. That's all gone now, and this effort is just one of another belonging to the "mediocre to poor" thriller authors. Clancy was once a class unto himself. No longer. Clancy needs to decide if he still has it in him to write those books, that no doubt took a lot of time and effort, or is he just churning (via ghostwriters no doubt) the mindless pablum that the last few have been. Granted, in this one, he omitted some of the "whacky right-wing's politically correct" speak that really pulled down the last couple of books, but that's the only credit I can give him. The dialogue between the cousins and the brother was literally painful to read. The only recourse the reader has is to avoid buying this crap. I suspect Clancy's market is large enough that he can churn out a few more and make a fortune, but I suspect there are beginning to be more like me who have shifted from marking the release date of the next Clancy book on the calander, to noticing when it pops up in the used store. They had several copies available at the store where I got mine. Cheap, too.

Rating:
Summary: Is this Clancy, or is it not? You will have to decide.
Review: If you are here looking at this book, you are probably a Clancy fan, or have read a few of his books. I will start by saying I do not believe that Mr. Clancy wrote this book. I believe he may have assisted, but I have read all of Clancy's work and he has never been this "graphically violent." A scene at the beginning of this story involving a little girl was graphic to the extreme, more like a Clive Barker or a Stephen King. Why the certain turn towards a more violent novel? In his other works it has been left up to the mind of the reader to build up their own fear, their own visions of a plane smashing into the capital, a dirty bomb going off at a football game, an attack on the Ryan's daycare. If I want explicit violence, I pick up a horror novel not a thriller.

Much of this book is setting the scene for Clancy's new series, as it spends much of its time fleshing out our new heroines and referring back to our favorites from the past. Personally I enjoy the quick action of a Red October, Clear and Present Danger or Rainbow Six. Believe me, I know a character can get worn out after being written about so many times, but I thought Jack Ryan was just getting great and the door was wide open as the new President, and the enemies he had made in the past. Some great stories there!

Obviously Clancy was involved in this novel, as no one can write with such accuracy about espionage as Clancy, and with so much detail. The books not bad if you enjoy the Power Plays series or Op Center.

Rating:
Summary: Won't give it away
Review: I've read all of Clancy's novels, but have never had one that when I reached 50 pages from the end I didn't mind putting it up to finish another day.

I normally give my books away to friends when I finish them. After long thought, this one is going into the recycle bin. Even as a free book, I wouldn't recommend it. It had potential that never developed. It sets up future novels that hopefully will bring back the excitement that many of us remember. This one, however, rates less than one star.