Audio CD
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks; Abridged edition edition (August 29, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141804084
ISBN-13: 978-0141804088
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 5 inches
Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (898 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #8,438,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #88 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Clancy, Tom #19584 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime #33203 in Books > Books on CD > Literature & Fiction > General
When I heard that Clancy wrote a book that was set back in the 80's Cold War era again I was hopeful that he could regain some of his earlier writing success. Not that I was hopeful for his well-being, but more that he would start writing books that were as enjoyable as the ones he wrote early in his career (Red Storm Rising, Patriot Games, Hunt for Red October, etc.). If Red Rabbit was an attempt at reliving the early years then he failed miserably.Red Rabbit focuses on the spy game that was so prevalent during the Cold War 80's between the Soviets and the British/Americans. Attempting to relieve political pressure from the Pope and remind Poland who's boss, the Soviets decide to assassinate the Pope. Having read previous Clancy books I assumed that this was the catalyst and that the plot would promptly fill in around it. That was my first mistake (and possibly Clancy's too). Instead of moving on with the details of the assassination and the West's attempt to prevent it, the story completely switches gears, now attempting to highlight an unremarkable character in KGB agent Oleg Zaitzev that has an attack of conscience and decides to defect with his family and some very sensitive information. On a sidenote, how can Clancy possibily expect the reader to believe in the shear coincidence of Zaitzev arbitrarily choosing a person on the subway to help with his defection because the guy looked like an American, when in fact he's actually chosen the CIA chief of station in Moscow. Lucky guess, right?My second mistake was assuming that the story would right itself and get back on track with what seemed to be more interesting, the prevention of the assassination. Instead the pace of the books slows considerably while the focus has shifted to the defector.
A generous review: take this book as a long character exposition piece, with a middling storyline around it. The book gives some foundation to Ryan, the Foleys, and the crew at the CIA, and puts some meat on the bones of Ryan's reputation at the CIA. The book does a pretty good job at conveying an impression of the cities and offices in which the action takes place (note that I say "an impression" not necessarily "an accurate impression." Clancy has his foibles and faults as an author, but when you read a Clancy wannabe, you can see his talent. Fine for a long plane ride and pretty good for sitting by the pool.Now, what I really think: Gadzooks, does this book suck! Where to begin? The main plot: we know the Pope gets shot and we know he lives, so whether the KGB guy gets out of the USSR is irrelevant: which makes it hard to really get too worried about the KGB guy. Moreover, the fact that NOBODY IS CHASING THE GUY makes his escape not terribly dramatic. As for Ryan, the part where he works in the garden, drips sweat on Lady Somebody's roses, and the next day they bloom a color never seen before by mere mortals, was pretty cool. Just kidding, but even in a genre where you expect to main character to be an all-around stud, the "Ryan Is Perfect" kick was over the top. So Ryan is a jock, brave, has a brilliant wife who loves to cook him breakfast, is a millionaire, a PhD, brilliant himself on all matters large and small, thinks little girls give great kisses and refers to his son as "the little bast___," and I think he was in the Marine Corps (I think this because it was mentioned about 4,353 times in the book).
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