Rating: 
Summary: Good read for "down time"
Review: I'm a philosopher, so I read a lot of heavy books. Once in awhile I have some "down time" books which I like to read just to pass time reading something that I don't need to scrutinize with pencil and paper nearby. This is one of those books, and it really does fulfill that purpose well. This is not the 'Clancy Classic' of "Red Storm Rising" or "Without Remorse," so don't get your hopes set up for that. I enjoyed the different characters and their role in problem solving. The authors do well in showing how people often have self-interest and fair-weathered natures. I also thought that the subplots (e.g. with Hood's son, with the diplomat's wife) were present enough to engage the reader, but not overdone. I felt that it was somewhat difficult to keep track of the various foreign characters because of their names. Instead of picking just their surname or family name, often the characters are referred to in numerous ways - thus, making it tricky to keep up. Also, I feel that perhaps a few pages could have been spent on explaining the Op-Center itself, given that this book is the first in the series..... the reader is left only basic clues about the status and origin of the Op-Center. All in all, an excellent book for waiting rooms, beach days, and/or lazy hours on the porch.....
Rating: 
Summary: Bad research?
Review: I started to read Games of State a few days ago and I must say that I am very disappointed. It shows that American writers sometimes feel that thorough research is not really necessary. How can you write about "Chaos Days" in Hanover as a neo-Nazi Event? Even if its a fictitious story, and even if you are American, there is no way that you can mistake a "traditional" left-wing event with a Nazi-event.
There are many details about Europe and Germany in particular in that book that are flatout wrong or badly researched. Stick to the truth.
Making easy money might have been the only idea behind this book.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Techno Thriller
Review: I've typically enjoyed Tom Clancy novels. I like his ability, despite whatever political opinions he might have, to make characters with real personalities and backgrounds and beliefs. It's so easy in this genre to fall back on stereotypes. That said, this is the first time I've listened to an audio book, and it's probably for that reason that Op-Center: Acts of War fell flat. Because of the abridged format, I suspect that any material that might have allowed me to mentally engage the characters was left out. Since none of the old standby characters were present (no Jack Ryan here), I knew nothing about anyone. The story is standard, and even in the lessened format we can hear the standard Clancy attention to military detail. We get to learn a few things about how ballistic missiles and satellite surveillance systems work. It's interesting that back in 1997 Clancy was railing against international terrorism as the greatest threat facing us in the future. No one ever said he doesn't pay attention to current events in the world. But as entertainment, I have to think the print version must be better than this.
Rating: 
Summary: The best of the Op-Center series by far.
Review: This entry in the just-about-above-average Op Center series is easily the best one to read out of the lot. The first one wasn`t bad, Mirror Image was passable, Acts Of War was a bit old hat and plain daft, but this beats the lot! The story of Neo-Nazis inciting race hate to change world events by means of right-wing propaganda computer games based on KKK cookouts and Nazi concentration camps may seem far-fetched to some readers, but the technology behind it is described in such a way to make it easy to understand and, frighteningly enough, feasible. The angle on the re-unification of Germany starting the resurgence of Nazism is also well put together. The characters are a lot better portrayed, especially Paul Hood`s first love paranoia. But the main criticisms which stopped this from being a ten out of ten were the co-incidence of Nancy just happening to work for the Neo-Nazi organisation trying to provoke hate(come on!) and Bob Herbert`s Dirk Pitt-style heroics in a wheelchair! That got a bit too silly, but on the whole the story and the politics behind it are the strengths here. Well worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: The Turkish Army is not this weak
Review: The story is nice and all but it is not realistic. Not only do the Syrians kill Turkish border guards no match, but they also manage to steal a helicopter, blow up a dam, and also get back to Syria. Clancy is actually a good writer but America and Israel are the only nations in the world to have powerful militaries. Then the unrealistic story continues. Later on in the book we find out that a small Turkish unit was "wiped out" by a Syrian army! What? The Turkish army is the region's most developed and powerful. Turkey also posses the second largest army in NATO and has a powerful work ethic. When I went to Turkey for the NATO summit, I saw some Turkish soldiers train at the military barracks and boy did they look fierce. Nothing like some soldiers in the region. Had this situation really took place, Turkey would not only invade Syria but also crush any rebellion inside. In this book (which has badly researched), America and Israel "save" Turkey because they are the only countries in the world to manage this situation. Take my advice, skip this pro Israel pro American book and read something else.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite of the Series
Review: Disregarding the fact that it was pretty slow moving, it was very good. This story takes place during the chaos days, a time where Neo-Nazis, Skinheads etc. celebrate racism and what they stand for (I hope you know what that is). Anyway, Paul Hood and some of collegues travel to Germany to by weapons and the latest technology. But things go awry when a group of Neo-Nazis raid a movie setting killing almost everyone. Here are my overall thoughts on this novel: PROS:
The novel keeps the novel real and along with this crisis Op-Center is trying to solve, Paul Hood is faced with a lover that abandoned him years before he got married. So along with this exterior conflict, you have a very intimate interior conflict. Along with this there are some very intense action sequences. For example, when Bob Herbert was being chased by Neo-Nazis, I was on the Edge of my seat. CONS:
There is only one main problem I have with this book and it is the fact that it's slow moving and I almost gave up on it. But besides that, I really enjoyed this book. OVERALL:
This is the best book in the Op-Center series, hands down. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.
Rating:
Summary: An eye opener
Review: Finding out that I had to read a least five hundred pages by the end on the first semester of my senior year did not please my very much. But when I got started in this book and read it for a while I began to enjoy it and find some enjoyment that I had not found in any other previous book. Reading Tom Clancy's Op-center made my want to keep reading until the book was finished.
This book took place in another country in the distant future were every thing has changed from what we know it. After have terrorists destroying part of the city, one man and a organization call Op center must try to stop the terrorists before they take over and turn everything form what was good to what would become bad. I highly recommend this book to any one that likes to read a little action sci-fi books. It is a great eye opener and makes you take a look around to see what could become of you cities.
Rating:
Summary: Good read for "down time"
Review: I'm a philosopher, so I read a lot of heavy books. Once in awhile I have some "down time" books which I like to read just to pass time reading something that I don't need to scrutinize with pencil and paper nearby. This is one of those books, and it really does fulfill that purpose well. This is not the 'Clancy Classic' of "Red Storm Rising" or "Without Remorse," so don't get your hopes set up for that. I enjoyed the different characters and their role in problem solving. The authors do well in showing how people often have self-interest and fair-weathered natures. I also thought that the subplots (e.g. with Hood's son, with the diplomat's wife) were present enough to engage the reader, but not overdone. I felt that it was somewhat difficult to keep track of the various foreign characters because of their names. Instead of picking just their surname or family name, often the characters are referred to in numerous ways - thus, making it tricky to keep up. Also, I feel that perhaps a few pages could have been spent on explaining the Op-Center itself, given that this book is the first in the series..... the reader is left only basic clues about the status and origin of the Op-Center. All in all, an excellent book for waiting rooms, beach days, and/or lazy hours on the porch.....
Rating:
Summary: Tom Clancy's Op-center
Review: The book Tom Clancy's Mirror Image starts out slow but starts to pick up after one of the Op-centers agent is killed in duty. He was investigating the area around Russia's new tv station because of the unique static. The characters are good and the book is full of espionage. There are terrorists attacks with a big objective. Just like the first book Tom Clancy's Op-Center there is a group in Russia trying to start a new world order. In Mirror Image a group trying to start a war between the U.S. and Eastern world countries. This would allow the Mafia to come into power and take over Russia and start up the USSR again. Russian Minister of the Interior Nikolai Dogin is a patriot that is behind the operation and is involved with the Russian Mafia. The Russian Mafia is what Dogin plans to use to create his new world power. Hood is the main character who runs things at Op-center. Deputy Director Mike Rodgers is always fighting with Hood and wants his chance to run Op-center. The special team that is sent to try and stop Dogin who is part of the attacks like the one that blew up a tunnel in New York. Other characters are Lt. Colonel Charles Squires who is on the striker team and Peggy James is a D-16 operative without these people the book wouldn't have been the same they where a major part in stopping the rise of a new world power. The writing style is very easy to understand and smooth. He doesn't skip around and gives many details when the striker team comes into play like the type of equipment and involves organizations like NATO which is the North Atlantic Treaty organization. This book is action packed, full of betrayal, and suspenseful so if you like even one of these characteristics you should read Tom Clancy's Mirror Image.
Rating:
Summary: Knowledgable - Well Written Drama
Review: Negatives: Would have rather the enemy not been the easy Nazi target, just because it is too predictable to use any more in my opinion, but Positives: This was very well written. The way it flowed it really made me want to continue on. Use of gadgetry was studied, believable and just interesting. Recommended.
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