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Rating: 
Summary: In the middle is no where for Clancy to be
Review: A 3-star rating for most writers is an accomplishment. Anything with Clancy's name on it implies, at least, tacit approval from Clancy. Since this was actually written by someone else (as a number of Clancy created series are), it would appear that Clancy has begun to care more for the money his name makes than the readers who trust his name. I am disappointed with Clancy. In fairness, though, the book does have good technical facts and plenty of action. The characters, however, appear to be good generic cut-outs.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing at best
Review: A great Rx for insomnia. The only reason I finished reading the book was that I was hopeful it would get better - wrong. As a Tom Clancy fan, I find it difficult to believe that he would be involved in such work. Is he only lending his name to sell the book, or did he actively participate in its creation? I would like to think he only loaned his name since this would be the lesser of two evils. This writing reminds of the quality found in the first papers submitted in a creative writing class - high school, not college. Too bad there isn't a "satisfaction guaranteed or your money back."
Rating:
Summary: What You Would Expect
Review: Nobody picking up this latest installment of the Power Plays series truly believes that it has been penned by Tom Clancy himself, even the cover clearly credits the author, Jerome Preisler; as such, it is a competent novel of the action/adventure/thiller genre that does not pretend to be more. Weaving various plot lines togther, from an insightful Scottish detective, to an internatinal master art forgerer, with the climax in the barrens of Antartica, the book's plot is well paced but somewhat confusing. As stated in other reviews here, the detail and scene setting take priority over character development and dialogue, and the final resolution seems a bit rushed. Generally an entertaining read as long as the consumer enjoys this type of story and keeps expectations managed.
Rating:
Summary: Surprised that Clancy would put his name on this
Review: The cover loudly proclaims "Tom Clancy's Power Plays", yet this book was neither written by Clancy, nor probably even reviewed by him before publication, given the shoddy quality of the writing. To be fair, it is written in the "Clancy style" with technically accurate descriptions and multiple sites of action around the globe. It misses the mark, though, in terms of plot, belivability of characters, and general writing. There is no real climax, and instead of tying disparate story lines together as Clancy does, "Cold War" just seems to have several threads going on for the heck of it (to fill space?). I kept reading in the hopes things would resolve, but they never did. As another reviewer suggested, this is the first in this series that I've read, and perhaps these are continuing characters and story lines which work better in that context. Personally, I don't think I will take the time to find out.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to Clancy standard
Review: The plot was lost in the excessive descriptive narratives. It was not up to the standard of Clancy's books nor even the standard of the others in the Power Plays series. However, the description of activities in Antarctica was interesting in that it was reminiscent of the time I spent there in the late 80s. The chronicles of Uplink International have been interesting up to now. Better luck with the next book in the series....I hope.
Rating:
Summary: Huh?!
Review: This is the first book in the series that I have read, and all I can imagine is that 1) the others are better, and 2) this book was tying up loose ends from previous books. What did a professional art forger and "new" picassos have to do with the events at the South Pole? I sure don't know. Waste of time and money--buy it and read it if you have too much of both.
Rating:
Summary: Enthusiastically written, but...
Review: Tom Clancy, a world class adventure and military writer really vrought home how dangerous military operations are in extremely cold places, especially Antarctica. It is a medium sized book, but it sadly lacks the common twists and turns that become of a world class thriller such as this one. In a nutshell, the US military are experimenting with engineering and technologies so that if they want to, one day, they could work on Planet Mars. But, leading entreupeneurs want it a different way, and boy are they anarchists? A man who is dealing black market artworks is making money: a lot of money: and is funding the people who want to isolate the military into not going anywhere near Antarctica. With the unearned money, they buy nuclear waste from Britain, planting it around the site so that the personnel get dosed up with clinically high amounts of radiation. But all is not as it seems, and Tom Clancy, why does he have to always end without twists in the tale? Besides from that, it's a 'not bad' sort of book, but the story could easily be improved with a little more art and affection: more twists and more turns. I'll award two, perhaps three stars.
Rating:
Summary: What You Would Expect
Review: What a total disappointment. The descriptive narratives where too long and in some cases totally irrelevant. Awful terminology used to describe the operation of snowmobiles (snow bikes?). Also technical misses that aren't ever found in Clancy books. I would suggest better quality control if his name is going to be on the cover. Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Hey...It's A Good Book To Read To Cool Down A Hot Summer Day
Review: Yep, it's not of the same caliber that we'd expect from Tom Clancey. Maybe the reason is because Tom Clancey didn't write it. It is, though, an entertaining book that doesn't take a lot of thought. Kind of like watching a James Bond movie...lot of thrill and action...not a lot of need for grey matter. This is the perfect book to take to the beach or summer get away. Since it take place in the cold depth of Antartica...it's a wonderful diversion from staring at an overheated thermometer measuring summer temperatures. Characters are minimally developed. Action is abundant. The story is just gripping enough to keep the reader interested. It'll never win a writing award...but then it probably wasn't intended to. A great book for light summer reading.
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