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Jack Ryan #6
The Sum of All Fears
How do you save the United States President from himself? What if the President is incompetent to deal with the greatest crisis of all? Jack Ryan never thought he would have to ask those questions as, the world order changing, he prepares the ground for the Middle Eastern peace plan that, at last, might be the one to work.
But too many groups have invested too much blood. Shunned by their erstwhile Soviet sponsors, increasingly isolated by the realignment of the Mideast, these terrorists have one more desperate card to play, requiring a degree of ruthlessness never before seen. With one terrible act, the world is plunged into an instant nuclear crisis -- and the floundering President is plunged into the ultimate nightmare. Forces collide. Shots are exchanged. What had seemed to be an isolated and horrible incident appears to each side as the incendiary mischief of the other. With the world poised on the brink of nuclear war, Ryan and his FBI counterpart, Dan Murray, frantically seek a solution before the chiefs of state lose control of themselves -- and the world.
914 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 14, 1991
About the author
Tom Clancy
825 books8,329 followersTom Clancy was an English major at Baltimore’s Loyola College. As a Maryland insurance broker with a passion for naval history, his dream of writing a novel came true with his first effort, The Hunt for Red October (1984).
He wrote more than a dozen novels, which have a blend of realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp suspense. Ten of the novels, including The Teeth of the Tiger (Berkley, 2004), feature the character Jack Ryan, former stock broker and CIA employee.
Clancy’s non-fiction works include a series of guided tours of America’s warfighting assets, Submarine, Armored Cav, Fighter Wing, Marine, and Airborne.
He lived in Maryland.
The following are the books and approximate time frame in the Jack Ryan Universe
Without Remorse 1969-73
Patriot Games 1981-82
Red Rabbit 1982
The Hunt for Red October 1984
The Cardinal of the Kremlin 1986
Clear and Present Danger 1988
The Sum of All Fears 1990-91
Debt of Honor 1995-96
Executive Orders 1996
Rainbow Six 1999-2000
The Bear and the Dragon 2002
The Teeth of the Tiger 2006
Dead or Alive 2007
Locked On 2007
Threat Vector 2009
Command Authority 2013
Support and Defend 2014
Full Force and Effect 2014
He wrote more than a dozen novels, which have a blend of realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp suspense. Ten of the novels, including The Teeth of the Tiger (Berkley, 2004), feature the character Jack Ryan, former stock broker and CIA employee.
Clancy’s non-fiction works include a series of guided tours of America’s warfighting assets, Submarine, Armored Cav, Fighter Wing, Marine, and Airborne.
He lived in Maryland.
The following are the books and approximate time frame in the Jack Ryan Universe
Without Remorse 1969-73
Patriot Games 1981-82
Red Rabbit 1982
The Hunt for Red October 1984
The Cardinal of the Kremlin 1986
Clear and Present Danger 1988
The Sum of All Fears 1990-91
Debt of Honor 1995-96
Executive Orders 1996
Rainbow Six 1999-2000
The Bear and the Dragon 2002
The Teeth of the Tiger 2006
Dead or Alive 2007
Locked On 2007
Threat Vector 2009
Command Authority 2013
Support and Defend 2014
Full Force and Effect 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 971 reviews
November 23, 2010
Oh thank God. Thank God it's over. I picked this up en route to Goa a few weeks ago, and I seem to have been reading it forever. As always, Clancy's world is incredibly detailed and credible, in many ways all the more impressive for its sometime parallels to the world we live in today. As ever, the central plot is great. As ever, there's just too bloody much detail for anybody outside of the military to maintain much interest. The characters are for the most part the same seven or eight core people, given different names and accents, and recycled at whim into a cast of thousands. The thousands are too many to keep track of. The detail of what they're doing is too monotonous and minuscule to do anything but slow the plot. And while the writing is functional, watch the inelegance of his point of view switches, requiring only a new paragraph to instigate, making it occasionally an act of backtracking and deduction to work out whose thoughts you're trying to follow. There's a good story buried in here, but it's splashed over so pointlessly large a canvas as to require almost forensic reconstruction to be able to see it.
January 23, 2023
It's been over 20 years since the movie adaptation was released, but I still knew the basic premise of this Clancy bestselling technothriller.
The idea of a terrorist group trying to trigger a nuclear war by planting a bomb at a football match is such a chilling idea.
One thing you can rely on when it comes to the Jack Ryan series is the level of details that Clancy puts into the story.
Not only a practically step by step construction of an atomic weapon, but numerous mentions of NFL scores too!
It's fair to say that it feels like a big commitment to get through these novels, though the engaging post Cold War thriller is so page turningly addictive due to its sense of realism.
The idea of a terrorist group trying to trigger a nuclear war by planting a bomb at a football match is such a chilling idea.
One thing you can rely on when it comes to the Jack Ryan series is the level of details that Clancy puts into the story.
Not only a practically step by step construction of an atomic weapon, but numerous mentions of NFL scores too!
It's fair to say that it feels like a big commitment to get through these novels, though the engaging post Cold War thriller is so page turningly addictive due to its sense of realism.
October 7, 2012
It has been rumored that permission to publish this book had to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and ever since then there is a standing court order that the CIA, FBI, and NSA receive advance copies of every Tom Clancy book a month before it goes to the publisher. Why? Well this book tells you step by step, in layman's language, in exacting detail how you build a hydrogen bomb. About the only thing that is left out is the exact amount of plutonium you would need. This did not sit well with the powers that be and considered it to be an extreme threat to national security. Clancy's lawyers pointed out that all of this information is available to the general public in any college library if someone is willing to take the time to look it up. The court agreed and allowed the book to be published without any of the information being removed.
The story starts during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. By then Israel had already secretly developed atomic weapons. Israel had a jet fighter loaded with an atomic bomb ready to scramble, the atomic bomb was not armed, but the plane was scrambled to go engage a group of tanks threatening the air base with the atomic bomb still attached. During the battle the plane was straffed with 50 caliber machine gun fire and the bomb mounts were hit, the bomb broke loose and came down in a farmers field. The jet crashed before it could limp home and the pilot was killed. Searches failed to locate the bomb. Flashforward, to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Communist scientists desperate for money sell detronium or "heavy water" to the palistinian terrorists allowing them to convert the atomic bomb to a hydrogen bomb. They decide that the Super Bowl will be the perfect target - since it is televised and the Vice Presedent of the United States has box tickets.
You will be hanging by the edge of you seat waiting to see if they succeed.
The story starts during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. By then Israel had already secretly developed atomic weapons. Israel had a jet fighter loaded with an atomic bomb ready to scramble, the atomic bomb was not armed, but the plane was scrambled to go engage a group of tanks threatening the air base with the atomic bomb still attached. During the battle the plane was straffed with 50 caliber machine gun fire and the bomb mounts were hit, the bomb broke loose and came down in a farmers field. The jet crashed before it could limp home and the pilot was killed. Searches failed to locate the bomb. Flashforward, to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Communist scientists desperate for money sell detronium or "heavy water" to the palistinian terrorists allowing them to convert the atomic bomb to a hydrogen bomb. They decide that the Super Bowl will be the perfect target - since it is televised and the Vice Presedent of the United States has box tickets.
You will be hanging by the edge of you seat waiting to see if they succeed.
November 4, 2018
Wow, wow, slow down. What? You never wrote a review for this book! I didn't? No, I didn't.
Let's rectify that.
In general, I like Clancy's books. They are formulaic and cliche, but also very entertaining, convoluted, with a good mix of politics, technology and Ramboism. The Sum of All Fears tries to tick all them boxes, but it also adds another - naivety.
It is rare to see giddy optimism in Clancy's books, but he tried to wrap this one with an extra dose of sugar-coated 'We are the World' whereby good things are born from evil. In this book, the evil is probably as evilly as it gets - a nuclear weapon detonates on the US soil.
In a way, this is the American version of The Fourth Protocol. In a nutshell, the Israelis lose a nuke, the Arabs find it, smuggle it, and spoil the Super Bowl. Jack Ryan is in the middle of it of course. This was written in 1991, and this book plus the sequel are considered strangely 'prophetic'. Not so the happy resolution you get, though. In real life, there ain't no happy resolutions after 123 minutes of hard, packed action.
While it has more politics and less techno details than the previous books, it's still rather enjoyable, and it builds a nice story, where seemingly small things have a huge impact in the end. This is a combination of Poirot and Jane's Magazine, except Poirot wears a string tie and cowboy boots, and he drives a big pickup truck. Sort of.
Le limerick:
When Fowler got his office term,
Jack got angry with the firm,
Football and nuke,
The alert was a fluke,
The corny ending made me squirm.
Igor
Let's rectify that.
In general, I like Clancy's books. They are formulaic and cliche, but also very entertaining, convoluted, with a good mix of politics, technology and Ramboism. The Sum of All Fears tries to tick all them boxes, but it also adds another - naivety.
It is rare to see giddy optimism in Clancy's books, but he tried to wrap this one with an extra dose of sugar-coated 'We are the World' whereby good things are born from evil. In this book, the evil is probably as evilly as it gets - a nuclear weapon detonates on the US soil.
In a way, this is the American version of The Fourth Protocol. In a nutshell, the Israelis lose a nuke, the Arabs find it, smuggle it, and spoil the Super Bowl. Jack Ryan is in the middle of it of course. This was written in 1991, and this book plus the sequel are considered strangely 'prophetic'. Not so the happy resolution you get, though. In real life, there ain't no happy resolutions after 123 minutes of hard, packed action.
While it has more politics and less techno details than the previous books, it's still rather enjoyable, and it builds a nice story, where seemingly small things have a huge impact in the end. This is a combination of Poirot and Jane's Magazine, except Poirot wears a string tie and cowboy boots, and he drives a big pickup truck. Sort of.
Le limerick:
When Fowler got his office term,
Jack got angry with the firm,
Football and nuke,
The alert was a fluke,
The corny ending made me squirm.
Igor
August 21, 2008
3.0 to 3.5 stars. I am a big fan of Tom Clancy, especially of his characters Jack Ryan and John Clark, both of whom figure prominently in this Middle East thriller centering on Nuclear proliferation. As good as Clancy is and as compelling as the story can be, this one felt just TOO LONG to rate any higher. With some strategic editing, this one could have been amazing. As it is, it is still very good.
January 19, 2020
My copy has 1,199 pages
December 7, 2009
This really had me going when I read it because it all seemed totally within the realm of possibility. Gripping tale.
May 16, 2021
This was a decent story but was very long in my opinion. I struggled to follow with all the subplots and backstory information.
May 23, 2012
I finally got interested at about 600 pages - no kidding - for about 75 pages.
This was the worst book I've ever read (there've been some other bad ones, but I had the common sense not to finish them). If I could take stars AWAY from a book, I would. At about 700 pages, it got so tedious that I thought I wouldn't finish; why was I wasting my time? (I had this thought a number of times while plowing through it.) After that, I was saying, 'Oh, come on!' because it became so outrageous. A better title would have been 'The Sum of All Ridiculousness'.
A convoluted plot with numerous sub-plots that I just knew would come to a logical conclusion, instead came together in a contrived conclusion. and some didn't come together at all. There were sub-plots about Ryan, his wife, Caroline, who was called Cathy (don't ask me why) & Dr. Ryan (as was Jack/Ryan/Dr. Ryan). Another sub-plot included President Fowler (Bob/Robert) & Elizabeth/Liz/Dr. Elliot. There were high & low level Arabs & Russians, German military & civilians, the U.S. Navy (submarine & destroyer officers & enlisted), Air Force (pilots & Pentagon personnel, Israelis & White House staff. Oh, & the Japanese. They had a small part too. and the Mexicans. Have I missed anyone? Chinese? No, I don't think there were any mentioned.
The sub-plots were confusing, but Clancy didn't think the story was complicated enough, so he spiced it up by referring to people, at various times, by their first names, last names, full names, nicknames, titles(multiple, & sometimes just their informal roles), middle names, terms of endearment & the reader was supposed to remember who he was talking about. Russian names? Forgetaboutit! I soon lost interest in keeping up with them (not just the Russians).
Several hundred pages, I'm sure, were spent describing the inner workings & ingredients of bombs, submarines, aircraft, facilities for making them & other dull stuff. Who cares? Dozens of pages were spent describing football plays & players, which were background for the bombing, but really, dozens? An entire chapter was devoted to describing the inner workings of a bomb which fizzled.
Goodley/Benjamin/Ben/Dr. Goodley was sent in by Dr. Elliot/Liz/Elizabeth to spy on & sabotage Jack/Ryan/Dr. Ryan, then suddenly became his ally. What was with that?
'Why did she finish this book at all?' you ask. At first I thought it would get better (not), then I felt I'd invested so much time in it I might as well finish, then I wanted to finish it so I'd have good cause for writing this scathing review.
Tom Clancy is a pompous know-it-all (language cleaned up). I won't be reading another of his books.
The almost five months spent reading this garbage were not entirely wasted. I read almost 30 other books concurrently with this one, most of which I enjoyed. I'm not exaggerating. I keep track of them on Goodreads.
This was the worst book I've ever read (there've been some other bad ones, but I had the common sense not to finish them). If I could take stars AWAY from a book, I would. At about 700 pages, it got so tedious that I thought I wouldn't finish; why was I wasting my time? (I had this thought a number of times while plowing through it.) After that, I was saying, 'Oh, come on!' because it became so outrageous. A better title would have been 'The Sum of All Ridiculousness'.
A convoluted plot with numerous sub-plots that I just knew would come to a logical conclusion, instead came together in a contrived conclusion. and some didn't come together at all. There were sub-plots about Ryan, his wife, Caroline, who was called Cathy (don't ask me why) & Dr. Ryan (as was Jack/Ryan/Dr. Ryan). Another sub-plot included President Fowler (Bob/Robert) & Elizabeth/Liz/Dr. Elliot. There were high & low level Arabs & Russians, German military & civilians, the U.S. Navy (submarine & destroyer officers & enlisted), Air Force (pilots & Pentagon personnel, Israelis & White House staff. Oh, & the Japanese. They had a small part too. and the Mexicans. Have I missed anyone? Chinese? No, I don't think there were any mentioned.
The sub-plots were confusing, but Clancy didn't think the story was complicated enough, so he spiced it up by referring to people, at various times, by their first names, last names, full names, nicknames, titles(multiple, & sometimes just their informal roles), middle names, terms of endearment & the reader was supposed to remember who he was talking about. Russian names? Forgetaboutit! I soon lost interest in keeping up with them (not just the Russians).
Several hundred pages, I'm sure, were spent describing the inner workings & ingredients of bombs, submarines, aircraft, facilities for making them & other dull stuff. Who cares? Dozens of pages were spent describing football plays & players, which were background for the bombing, but really, dozens? An entire chapter was devoted to describing the inner workings of a bomb which fizzled.
Goodley/Benjamin/Ben/Dr. Goodley was sent in by Dr. Elliot/Liz/Elizabeth to spy on & sabotage Jack/Ryan/Dr. Ryan, then suddenly became his ally. What was with that?
'Why did she finish this book at all?' you ask. At first I thought it would get better (not), then I felt I'd invested so much time in it I might as well finish, then I wanted to finish it so I'd have good cause for writing this scathing review.
Tom Clancy is a pompous know-it-all (language cleaned up). I won't be reading another of his books.
The almost five months spent reading this garbage were not entirely wasted. I read almost 30 other books concurrently with this one, most of which I enjoyed. I'm not exaggerating. I keep track of them on Goodreads.
January 1, 2018
Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan, bahahaha!
Jack Ryan is the Mary Sueist of all the characters in the history of this world.
January 1, 2022
First review of 2022... whoo!
This is my second Tom Clancy book, which was a chance find in a Little Free Library. It was much-worn but still very readable, and after having read No Remorse many years ago, i was up for another round with Tom Clancy. He's not an easy author.
I do not mean this as an insult. It's just his works have a lot of technical/scientific/military/mechanical information in them, which would be great for some readers, but definitely off-putting to other readers. After reading this book, I can definitely tell you that Tom Clancy is (was) a respectable author, but he sure as heck ain't gonna be everyone's cup of tea. At 900+ pages (paperback) this can't be considered a light read, but some people like it hard and heavy, so you do you.
This book was published in 1992, and it is now 2022 as I write this review (though I started the book in Dec 2021) and though a good amount of the information in this book could be considered dated now it's still a solid read, and one I would recommend if you like these types of thick, detailed novels.
This is my second Tom Clancy book, which was a chance find in a Little Free Library. It was much-worn but still very readable, and after having read No Remorse many years ago, i was up for another round with Tom Clancy. He's not an easy author.
I do not mean this as an insult. It's just his works have a lot of technical/scientific/military/mechanical information in them, which would be great for some readers, but definitely off-putting to other readers. After reading this book, I can definitely tell you that Tom Clancy is (was) a respectable author, but he sure as heck ain't gonna be everyone's cup of tea. At 900+ pages (paperback) this can't be considered a light read, but some people like it hard and heavy, so you do you.
This book was published in 1992, and it is now 2022 as I write this review (though I started the book in Dec 2021) and though a good amount of the information in this book could be considered dated now it's still a solid read, and one I would recommend if you like these types of thick, detailed novels.
October 13, 2016
Together with The Cardinal of the Kremlin, my favorite Clancy. Sure, the stories stars to be a bit repetitive by now, but if you know what you are in for and look upon this as it's own work, it's brutally effective! The Sum of all Fears, is just that - there are so many things converging that the sum is overwhelming. The suspense and intensity does this story, even if it is a long and not always fast moving one. Forget about the horrible movie adaption, the double mistake of casting Ben Affleck and not bothering with any fears but one didn't just make it inaptly named - it got to be a totally different story.
August 3, 2024
This is a Tom Clancy novel where the movie is so different from the book-- the movie takes place at the beginning of a young Jack Ryan's career; the book takes place after the events in Clear and Present Danger. The book's first 500 pages or so establish peace in the Middle East (thanks for the idea, Jack---wish it had worked in real life) and set up the attempts by National Security Adviser Elizabeth Elliot to undermine Jack--none of that being in the movie. The movie President and book President are rather different characters, as are other important people, and the movie includes much more of Dr. Caroline (Cathy) Muller, the future Mrs./Dr. Ryan. Both book and movie deal with a nuclear attack on the United States, but the villains, location, and so much else differ between the two. The book is so crammed full of everything Tom Clancy learned about building a two-stage nuclear weapon and about submarines and submarine warfare that it really detracts from the interesting plot, which could have been pulled together in half or one third of the space. And if you haven't read earlier Clancy books you won't get some of the references to hero Jack Ryan's earlier adventures, or to why there is so much animosity between him and NSA advisor Elizabeth Elliot. And that may prevent you from caring as much as you should about Ryan's imminent burn-out as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence.
So if you want a more condensed experience, see the movie (reworked as a prequel before events in The Hunt for Red October). For something a little faster moving, try Patriot Games; for something where the endless set-up pays off much better (or for which I am more patient, since I am more interested in epidemiology than in nuclear weaponry), try Executive Orders. But you still may need to search for a "Cliff Notes" version of Ryan's earlier adventures to catch all the allusions and understand the nuances. Or, if you are willing to be patient with Clancy's overlong set-ups to get to the action, then read all the books in order--which I am doing as summer rereading to distract from the real anxieties of the current world--and more power to you and me.
So if you want a more condensed experience, see the movie (reworked as a prequel before events in The Hunt for Red October). For something a little faster moving, try Patriot Games; for something where the endless set-up pays off much better (or for which I am more patient, since I am more interested in epidemiology than in nuclear weaponry), try Executive Orders. But you still may need to search for a "Cliff Notes" version of Ryan's earlier adventures to catch all the allusions and understand the nuances. Or, if you are willing to be patient with Clancy's overlong set-ups to get to the action, then read all the books in order--which I am doing as summer rereading to distract from the real anxieties of the current world--and more power to you and me.
July 24, 2019
This novel was quite suspenseful and engaging; were it not for the heavy doses of racism, sexism, and anti-left propaganda, it would have earned 3-4 stars from me. In my experience, Clancy's novels are often characterized by racism, sexism, and right-wing propaganda, but these themes reached new heights in The Sum of All Fears, and bigotry is about the fastest way to earn a 1-star review from me.
May 28, 2021
Was this an excuse for Tom Clancy to prove that he knew a lot about nuclear weapons and their deployment? Maybe.
But it was also really really good.
So many subplots
A little too close to home rn with all the things going on in the Middle East
Still liked Cardinal in the Kremlin better but this is a close second
But it was also really really good.
So many subplots
A little too close to home rn with all the things going on in the Middle East
Still liked Cardinal in the Kremlin better but this is a close second
July 21, 2021
During the first day of the Yom Kippur War, the Israeli Defense Force prepares to conduct a tactical nuclear strike to stave off defeat. The necessity for the strike is averted, but an Israeli copy of a nuclear bomb is accidentally left on an attack aircraft flown by Captain Mutti Zadin, which is subsequently shot down over Syria. The nuclear weapon is lost, buried in the field of a Druze farmer. Eighteen years later, an Israeli police captain (coincidentally the brother of the downed pilot) converts to a fundamentalist sect of Hasidic Judaism after discovering his wife had an extramarital affair and attempts to instigate a violent demonstration of Palestinians at the Temple Mount. When the demonstrators unexpectedly conduct a peaceful protest, Zadin orders the police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters anyway, and kills the leader of the demonstration by shooting him point-blank. The United States finds itself unable to diplomatically defend Israel, yet knows it cannot withdraw its support without risk of destabilizing the Middle East.
Enter Jack Ryan, who is now the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. Following the advice of the Deputy Director of the CIA, Jack Ryan, and National Security Advisor Dr. Charles Alden enact a plan to accelerate the peace process. There is always something that gets in the way of a good plan. Whether it be terrorists, others in government or family issues. The list is seemingly endless.
This is another nonstop roller-coaster ride to a nail-biting finish book from Tom Clancy. Sometimes I feel like it takes a bit to get his story started, but when it starts I'm all in. I listened to this one with the Audible app because the narrator for the Clancy novels is great. Clancy's books are long but well worth it
Enter Jack Ryan, who is now the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. Following the advice of the Deputy Director of the CIA, Jack Ryan, and National Security Advisor Dr. Charles Alden enact a plan to accelerate the peace process. There is always something that gets in the way of a good plan. Whether it be terrorists, others in government or family issues. The list is seemingly endless.
This is another nonstop roller-coaster ride to a nail-biting finish book from Tom Clancy. Sometimes I feel like it takes a bit to get his story started, but when it starts I'm all in. I listened to this one with the Audible app because the narrator for the Clancy novels is great. Clancy's books are long but well worth it
July 25, 2011
Dear Penthouse Letters:
You'll never believe what happened one day when I was sitting in the library, flipping through the latest copy of "Jane's Guide to Military Technology"--let's just say that my passive sonar went active!
Ping-ping-ping went my heart at the thought of sturdily-designed hardware like the Israeli Merkava tank...the shaft of its 120mm MG253 smoothbore gun, capable of firing APDS as well as HEAT rounds looming over me, making me quiver...I couldn't help but imagine the feel of its ceramic-steel-nickel alloy classified armor brushing ever so softly against my cheek, sending chills down my spine, yet stoking the fire that burns deep in my soul...
Mystified in Maryland,
Tom Clancy
You'll never believe what happened one day when I was sitting in the library, flipping through the latest copy of "Jane's Guide to Military Technology"--let's just say that my passive sonar went active!
Ping-ping-ping went my heart at the thought of sturdily-designed hardware like the Israeli Merkava tank...the shaft of its 120mm MG253 smoothbore gun, capable of firing APDS as well as HEAT rounds looming over me, making me quiver...I couldn't help but imagine the feel of its ceramic-steel-nickel alloy classified armor brushing ever so softly against my cheek, sending chills down my spine, yet stoking the fire that burns deep in my soul...
Mystified in Maryland,
Tom Clancy
August 15, 2018
Working through the Jack Ryan series, I thought this on would be slow based on the early going. Not so. Clancy once again delivers gripping action and parallel storylines that come together seamlessly. My eyes couldn’t read fast enough in the final chapters as the two Cold War superpowers edge to the brink of global thermonuclear war.
July 28, 2016
now to make a bomb of my own...
rest in peace, tom
and oh, one thing i didn't notice when i first read this (this was way back in the '90s): black sunday was referenced three times, though in film form (and not the book) in all instances
rest in peace, tom
and oh, one thing i didn't notice when i first read this (this was way back in the '90s): black sunday was referenced three times, though in film form (and not the book) in all instances
August 31, 2008
I think I now know how to make a nuclear bomb...
May 22, 2015
The Sum of All Fears isn’t Tom Clancy’s best written book in the series, but as the title suggests, it is certainly the most frightening – especially when it was written during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the thaw of the Cold War. It is a sobering look at what can happen when dysfunctional Washington leadership is confronted with an unthinkable attack and how things can spiral out of control. Considering it was written ten years before 9/11, it is startling how it foreshadowed the worst frailties of leadership.
It's not great art by any means, but it is intense storytelling and nobody works the details better than the techno-thriller master himself. More than any other book, I always wanted to see this one made into a movie - until the poor excuse for a movie was actually made. Now I wish my only memories were of the book. More than any of the Jack Ryan novels, the story of The Sum of All Fears sticks with me to this day.
It's not great art by any means, but it is intense storytelling and nobody works the details better than the techno-thriller master himself. More than any other book, I always wanted to see this one made into a movie - until the poor excuse for a movie was actually made. Now I wish my only memories were of the book. More than any of the Jack Ryan novels, the story of The Sum of All Fears sticks with me to this day.
August 11, 2011
Clancy's gripping depiction of just how fragile the nature of leadership can be in the midst of crisis is shockingly frightening. When emotions run high and the ever-present voice of reason (who else but Jack Ryan) is ignored, Clancy masterfully paints his most intense piece yet.
January 1, 2022
Wojna rządzi się swoimi prawami, ale najgorzej kiedy się po niej nie posprząta.
W 1973 roku, podczas walk na linii Izrael, a Syria, zgubiła się bomba atomowa. Po 20 latach pewien wieśniak odnalazł ją, a potem przeszła ona w ręce muzułmańskich fundamentalistów. Jak można przewidzieć - unowocześniają ją i wykorzystują, a rezultatem jest eksplozja podczas finałowego meczu. Zniszczenia są mniejsze niż zakładano, ale rodzi to wiele katastrofalnych skutków pod kątem politycznym.
No i co mam z panem Clancy zrobić? Po raz kolejny zaczyna się dobrze, a potem nurkujemy w otchłani wszystkiego i zarazem niczego. Głównym motorem napędowym teoretycznie ma być ta zagubiona bomba atomowa i jak już przejdzie się przez prolog to trochę sobie człowiek poczeka zanim się dokopie, bo musi dobrnąć do 141 strony (na 800), żeby mieć wzmiankę dopiero o znalezieniu tej bomby. Koniec końców okazuje się, że to nie jest ten motor napędowy, bo głównym wątkiem jest traktat pokojowy, zawiązany przez kraje o różnych wierzeniach, prawiący, że konflikty zostaną zażegnane, bo wszystkie religie mają podobne dogmaty, a kraje powinny działać na rzecz pokoju. A, że w międzyczasie (a raczej już za daleką połową książki) ktoś chcąc zrobić młyn, podłoży ładunek na stadionie to jest wręcz kwestia poboczna. Nie tego oczekiwałam i mówię to wprost. Wolę już czytać 800 stron konsekwencji niż podkładki pod te konsekwencje.
Tym samym książka jest bardzo przegadana, mnóstwo w niej dyplomacji i politycznego bełkotu, niczym w prawdziwym życiu. Wolę już czytać o zagadnieniach czysto militarnych, bo nawet to jest ciekawsze. Bardzo mało akcji jak na objętość. Oczywiście książka się rozkręca od tej 141 strony, ale nie trzyma w napięciu, idzie sennym torem.
Skład książki to dla mnie był dramat. Małe litery usiane na całej stronie, margines ma może z pół centymetra, nie wspominając o tym idealnie białym papierze, który wypala oczy. Niby to tylko 800 stron, a czułam się jakbym czytała drugie tyle.
No i znowu pudło. Jednak tym razem szarpnę się na dwie gwiazdki, bo bywało, z książkami tego autora, już gorzej.
W 1973 roku, podczas walk na linii Izrael, a Syria, zgubiła się bomba atomowa. Po 20 latach pewien wieśniak odnalazł ją, a potem przeszła ona w ręce muzułmańskich fundamentalistów. Jak można przewidzieć - unowocześniają ją i wykorzystują, a rezultatem jest eksplozja podczas finałowego meczu. Zniszczenia są mniejsze niż zakładano, ale rodzi to wiele katastrofalnych skutków pod kątem politycznym.
No i co mam z panem Clancy zrobić? Po raz kolejny zaczyna się dobrze, a potem nurkujemy w otchłani wszystkiego i zarazem niczego. Głównym motorem napędowym teoretycznie ma być ta zagubiona bomba atomowa i jak już przejdzie się przez prolog to trochę sobie człowiek poczeka zanim się dokopie, bo musi dobrnąć do 141 strony (na 800), żeby mieć wzmiankę dopiero o znalezieniu tej bomby. Koniec końców okazuje się, że to nie jest ten motor napędowy, bo głównym wątkiem jest traktat pokojowy, zawiązany przez kraje o różnych wierzeniach, prawiący, że konflikty zostaną zażegnane, bo wszystkie religie mają podobne dogmaty, a kraje powinny działać na rzecz pokoju. A, że w międzyczasie (a raczej już za daleką połową książki) ktoś chcąc zrobić młyn, podłoży ładunek na stadionie to jest wręcz kwestia poboczna. Nie tego oczekiwałam i mówię to wprost. Wolę już czytać 800 stron konsekwencji niż podkładki pod te konsekwencje.
Tym samym książka jest bardzo przegadana, mnóstwo w niej dyplomacji i politycznego bełkotu, niczym w prawdziwym życiu. Wolę już czytać o zagadnieniach czysto militarnych, bo nawet to jest ciekawsze. Bardzo mało akcji jak na objętość. Oczywiście książka się rozkręca od tej 141 strony, ale nie trzyma w napięciu, idzie sennym torem.
Skład książki to dla mnie był dramat. Małe litery usiane na całej stronie, margines ma może z pół centymetra, nie wspominając o tym idealnie białym papierze, który wypala oczy. Niby to tylko 800 stron, a czułam się jakbym czytała drugie tyle.
No i znowu pudło. Jednak tym razem szarpnę się na dwie gwiazdki, bo bywało, z książkami tego autora, już gorzej.
August 16, 2020
Seeing an update here on Goodreads, I remember I read this back in the 90s(?). I don't remember much of the detail of the book now, other than the nuclear bomb and the football stadium, but back when I was reading Tom Clancy's novels it seems it entertained me.
February 29, 2016
Tom Clancy's books are like having sex for the first time: It starts out exciting, gets a little awkward in the middle as you have no idea what's going on and are waiting for something to happen; it becomes intense toward the end but it ends too quickly and you feel unsatisfied.
**SPOILERS BELOW**
All major conflicts in the book are too well-resolved. Clancy expertly builds suspense when Cathy is convinced Jack is having an affair, only for it to end anticlimactically with Clark explaining it all away. Same deal with the aftermath of Denver; the bomb turns out to be a dud and only causes minor damage; we don't even hear about the city afterwards. And the USSR is a little too eager to back down and the terrorists are caught without a single shot fired.
Let's also deal with Clancy's characters: there are no surprises--he lets you know right off the bat whether a character is good or bad. I know right away to hate Fowler, Elliot, and Cabot; I know right away to love Ryan, Clark, Ding, and the Saudis (who are for some reason characterized as religiously tolerant, progressive, and loyal allies of the US.) And although I think Ryan is meant to be inspirational rather than relatable--like Atticus Finch or Superman--the constant stream of praise people give him in their inner monologues gets stale. I absolutely understand why people call him a Mary-Sue.
Clancy loves to include various subplots but he doesn't make the characters part of the central story. Like Bart Mancuso. His appearance in this book is just for commentary on submarine captains and to briefly take part in a naval battle that none of the main characters ever hear about. Not for a brief moment do I care about him; I just want to get back to Ryan.
**END SPOILERS**
It may seem strange that I'm ripping this book apart when I gave it four stars. Even if the battles are too short and the characters bland, you are sweating bullets the entire time wondering what in the world are the bad guys going to plan and how the good guys are going to stop it. Tom Clancy was a master storyteller, with emphasis on the plot and little else. His imagery is crisp and you really feel like you are there. It's an acquired taste, and although acquired tastes aren't something you can say "yum!" to, they're still worth it.
**SPOILERS BELOW**
All major conflicts in the book are too well-resolved. Clancy expertly builds suspense when Cathy is convinced Jack is having an affair, only for it to end anticlimactically with Clark explaining it all away. Same deal with the aftermath of Denver; the bomb turns out to be a dud and only causes minor damage; we don't even hear about the city afterwards. And the USSR is a little too eager to back down and the terrorists are caught without a single shot fired.
Let's also deal with Clancy's characters: there are no surprises--he lets you know right off the bat whether a character is good or bad. I know right away to hate Fowler, Elliot, and Cabot; I know right away to love Ryan, Clark, Ding, and the Saudis (who are for some reason characterized as religiously tolerant, progressive, and loyal allies of the US.) And although I think Ryan is meant to be inspirational rather than relatable--like Atticus Finch or Superman--the constant stream of praise people give him in their inner monologues gets stale. I absolutely understand why people call him a Mary-Sue.
Clancy loves to include various subplots but he doesn't make the characters part of the central story. Like Bart Mancuso. His appearance in this book is just for commentary on submarine captains and to briefly take part in a naval battle that none of the main characters ever hear about. Not for a brief moment do I care about him; I just want to get back to Ryan.
**END SPOILERS**
It may seem strange that I'm ripping this book apart when I gave it four stars. Even if the battles are too short and the characters bland, you are sweating bullets the entire time wondering what in the world are the bad guys going to plan and how the good guys are going to stop it. Tom Clancy was a master storyteller, with emphasis on the plot and little else. His imagery is crisp and you really feel like you are there. It's an acquired taste, and although acquired tastes aren't something you can say "yum!" to, they're still worth it.
March 15, 2013
Like most of his work, Clancy's "The Sum of All Fears" starts pretty uneventful. The events have played out pretty much as you would have expected from the end of "Clear and Present Danger" and the new president and his cabinet have settled into their new roles and with Ryan's help are looking towards a more more peaceful future. As you can expect that doesn't go as planned.
The biggest criticism I've seen/heard/read about "The Sum of All Fears" is how long it takes for any real action to takes place, but I think the book does a good job of lulling you into the same safe space that the characters are suppose to be in before punching everyone in the gut with an explosion of action and confusion for the last quarter of the story.
The biggest criticism I've seen/heard/read about "The Sum of All Fears" is how long it takes for any real action to takes place, but I think the book does a good job of lulling you into the same safe space that the characters are suppose to be in before punching everyone in the gut with an explosion of action and confusion for the last quarter of the story.
June 15, 2012
I tried so hard. I've been lugging this book around since Arizona and I thought I should read at least one Tom Clancy novel in my lifetime.
I can't. My body/mind refuse. I'll pick it up on the metro, read a page, and decide I'd rather stare into space for the remaining 40 minutes of my commute than read this.
Maybe if the terrorists had cyborgs... or if Jack Ryan was a paladin or something?
I can't. My body/mind refuse. I'll pick it up on the metro, read a page, and decide I'd rather stare into space for the remaining 40 minutes of my commute than read this.
Maybe if the terrorists had cyborgs... or if Jack Ryan was a paladin or something?
January 9, 2017
long in some parts but loved interweaving story.
August 24, 2021
This one has me real conflicted.
There are certain aspects that I did like. Then there were moments which left much to be desired.
The technical aspect was fantastic as always. Tom Clancy always knew his guns, rifles, fighter jets, submarines, carriers, commercial jets, architecture, missiles, hydrogen bombs, data encryption, you name it, he was the man. And he knew a fair bit of American law. At least that seems so. As someone who's barely aware of his own country's civil rights, I am not in a position to judge. And also we see a lot of Jack Ryan and Co. From new perspectives, as well. It's always fun to observe an established character from a fresh point of view. And human element is always the fun part.
There was politics too. I don't necessarily like politicians and politics, but sure do enjoy reading about them. Who doesn't, really?
But with politics cometh political views. And things get awkward very quick, very fast.
Part of this novel deals with Middle East problem. Mainly Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The solution, according to Tom Clancy's fictional character Dr. John Ryan, Sr., Deputy Director of Central Intelligence Agency, USA, is interference from America with it's 10th Fleet and big guns in Jerusalem with help from Vatican.
My view about Israeli-Palestinian situation is pretty nonexistent. I know what I don't know, and I believe that's better than completely not knowing, but it, of course, is not better than actually knowing. That which I have a vague idea about. Now my knowledge, or lack thereof, gave me the distinct impression that aforementioned solution was very হাস্যকর. That 'funny' in Bangla. But funny doesn't quite have the sarcastic connotation hasshokor has. So, yeah, it's hasshokor.
And reading about all those guns, I'm genuinely curious as to if the author had some military fetish. Hey, not judging. I've seen people getting off to Google Maps. What do I care if someone is into guns and helicarrier?
Getting sidetracked again. Middle East, even though a big part of the books, doesn't play in the finals. What does though, is the act of how America would respond in a war. It was pretty enjoyable. How a formidable opponent can bring you to your knees and an insecure government can finish you off, is the lesson maybe. Jack Ryan goes on to do something that in reality would probably have him executed. American security was a bit lax, too. I guess that's pre 9/11 for you. But it's fiction, so let's treat it as such.
All in all, quite a bit far fetched but I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars, but rounding up to 4.
There are certain aspects that I did like. Then there were moments which left much to be desired.
The technical aspect was fantastic as always. Tom Clancy always knew his guns, rifles, fighter jets, submarines, carriers, commercial jets, architecture, missiles, hydrogen bombs, data encryption, you name it, he was the man. And he knew a fair bit of American law. At least that seems so. As someone who's barely aware of his own country's civil rights, I am not in a position to judge. And also we see a lot of Jack Ryan and Co. From new perspectives, as well. It's always fun to observe an established character from a fresh point of view. And human element is always the fun part.
There was politics too. I don't necessarily like politicians and politics, but sure do enjoy reading about them. Who doesn't, really?
But with politics cometh political views. And things get awkward very quick, very fast.
Part of this novel deals with Middle East problem. Mainly Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The solution, according to Tom Clancy's fictional character Dr. John Ryan, Sr., Deputy Director of Central Intelligence Agency, USA, is interference from America with it's 10th Fleet and big guns in Jerusalem with help from Vatican.
My view about Israeli-Palestinian situation is pretty nonexistent. I know what I don't know, and I believe that's better than completely not knowing, but it, of course, is not better than actually knowing. That which I have a vague idea about. Now my knowledge, or lack thereof, gave me the distinct impression that aforementioned solution was very হাস্যকর. That 'funny' in Bangla. But funny doesn't quite have the sarcastic connotation hasshokor has. So, yeah, it's hasshokor.
And reading about all those guns, I'm genuinely curious as to if the author had some military fetish. Hey, not judging. I've seen people getting off to Google Maps. What do I care if someone is into guns and helicarrier?
Getting sidetracked again. Middle East, even though a big part of the books, doesn't play in the finals. What does though, is the act of how America would respond in a war. It was pretty enjoyable. How a formidable opponent can bring you to your knees and an insecure government can finish you off, is the lesson maybe. Jack Ryan goes on to do something that in reality would probably have him executed. American security was a bit lax, too. I guess that's pre 9/11 for you. But it's fiction, so let's treat it as such.
All in all, quite a bit far fetched but I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars, but rounding up to 4.
July 8, 2018
Executive Summary: After how much I enjoyed Clear and Present Danger this one was a pretty big letdown. It dragged a lot in places, but the ending helped make up for it a little. 2.5 Stars.
Audiobook: Scott Brick does his usual fine job. He does a few accents (in particular Russian) to add a little something extra. For the most he just reads in his normal voice though. Doing the audio for this book both helped and hurt.
There were times when I was bored that I might have put the text down and the audio just kept going so I was able to get through it. I will admit my attention probably drifted a bit more than normal when listening to an audiobook and I eventually decided to do 1.25 speed (something I almost NEVER do) just to finish the book sooner. It was really long at nearly 40 hours.
Full Review
These days I primarily read fantasy. I especially love epic fantasy. Tom Clancy seems to write epic political thrillers. I don't know how else to describe it. Just like epic fantasy spends a bunch of time on the details of the world (or in some series describing the clothes and the food in far too much detail), this book gets into the details of just about everything rather than simply telling a spy/political thriller.
I imagine just like the fact that I love epic fantasy, when many others do not, there are people who like this kind of detail. I don't however. I'm much more willing to accept some of the ridiculous plot details that drive this story than I am to be excited listening to details about how certain procedures or the technical specs of military equipment. There were parts where I just wanted the story to get on with things.
I had no idea just how long this book was when I picked it up. I was looking for something "quick" to fill some time waiting for a hold from the library to come in and I ended up having to speed up the audio just to get through it fast enough.
I know I've seen the movie with the same title, but my recollection was that was a reboot of sorts since they switched from Harrison Ford to a much younger Ben Affleck, but beyond that I don't remember that much. I do recall it was my least favorite of the Jack Ryan movies.
My main issue with the book however isn't it's length or somewhat ridiculous plot points, but that "the villains" are just downright awful. There are a lot of antagonists to Jack Ryan, but the worst is basically the only female character whose not simply a supporting role. She's awful. Terribly written. I can't really get into why without Clancy's disdain for liberals is probably more apparent in this book than any other of his I've read so far.
I've talked about my dislike of Jack Ryan in some of my reviews for previous Ryan books, but the conflict in this one was almost too much. A fight between two people I don't really like. Jack was a lot better in this one than in some of the earlier books, but at times I just wanted to put the book down as a result.
I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying the end of this book after struggling through much of the early parts, which is why I rounded up to 3 stars instead of down to 2. I'll probably continue on with the series (there are a few others I still want to read for some reason) at some point, but I figure I'll take a break until much later this year if not next year before doing so.
I'd like to add in more thrillers (especially political thrillers) but so far I've not found the books to be nearly enjoyable as I recall the movies being, which is typically not the case for me at all.
Audiobook: Scott Brick does his usual fine job. He does a few accents (in particular Russian) to add a little something extra. For the most he just reads in his normal voice though. Doing the audio for this book both helped and hurt.
There were times when I was bored that I might have put the text down and the audio just kept going so I was able to get through it. I will admit my attention probably drifted a bit more than normal when listening to an audiobook and I eventually decided to do 1.25 speed (something I almost NEVER do) just to finish the book sooner. It was really long at nearly 40 hours.
Full Review
These days I primarily read fantasy. I especially love epic fantasy. Tom Clancy seems to write epic political thrillers. I don't know how else to describe it. Just like epic fantasy spends a bunch of time on the details of the world (or in some series describing the clothes and the food in far too much detail), this book gets into the details of just about everything rather than simply telling a spy/political thriller.
I imagine just like the fact that I love epic fantasy, when many others do not, there are people who like this kind of detail. I don't however. I'm much more willing to accept some of the ridiculous plot details that drive this story than I am to be excited listening to details about how certain procedures or the technical specs of military equipment. There were parts where I just wanted the story to get on with things.
I had no idea just how long this book was when I picked it up. I was looking for something "quick" to fill some time waiting for a hold from the library to come in and I ended up having to speed up the audio just to get through it fast enough.
I know I've seen the movie with the same title, but my recollection was that was a reboot of sorts since they switched from Harrison Ford to a much younger Ben Affleck, but beyond that I don't remember that much. I do recall it was my least favorite of the Jack Ryan movies.
My main issue with the book however isn't it's length or somewhat ridiculous plot points, but that "the villains" are just downright awful. There are a lot of antagonists to Jack Ryan, but the worst is basically the only female character whose not simply a supporting role. She's awful. Terribly written. I can't really get into why without Clancy's disdain for liberals is probably more apparent in this book than any other of his I've read so far.
I've talked about my dislike of Jack Ryan in some of my reviews for previous Ryan books, but the conflict in this one was almost too much. A fight between two people I don't really like. Jack was a lot better in this one than in some of the earlier books, but at times I just wanted to put the book down as a result.
I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying the end of this book after struggling through much of the early parts, which is why I rounded up to 3 stars instead of down to 2. I'll probably continue on with the series (there are a few others I still want to read for some reason) at some point, but I figure I'll take a break until much later this year if not next year before doing so.
I'd like to add in more thrillers (especially political thrillers) but so far I've not found the books to be nearly enjoyable as I recall the movies being, which is typically not the case for me at all.
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