Not against blacks, of course - Clancy wouldn't want to be accused of being a racist (and he's even got a black vice-president, of course an old military guy (as everyone in Ryan's administration is - except for those who are Wall Street billionaires). The racial slurs in this book come thick and heavy. And politicizing the book to such an extend will turn off a hell of a lot of readers.Īnd that brings up another point. But I assume he attempts to write for a wide audience, not just his own type of conservative, pax americana, 'tanks give me a hard-on' type of crew. If he'd been a flaming commie, and anyone in a business suit got referred to as a capitalist pig, I'd complain too. ALL positions his characters espouse (at least the positive characters, anyway) are conservative, and all are heavily militaristic 'hawks'. And I've seen a far, far better presentation of and defense of the conservative position right here in the Soap Box than Clancy's book (which is probably a commentary on both the posters in the Soap Box, to their credit, and on Clancy, to the detriment of his).Īs an example, every single time anyone refers to anyone with any concern for ecology or the environment, they are dismissively referred to as 'tree-huggers', and the disdain for them (and the lack of understanding for any of their positions) is complete. Not only that, but Clancy uses him, as well as almost every other character of importance to preach his political views, repeatedly, unconvincingly, and monotonously. President Ryan (what's Clancy gonna do next, promote him to God?) is a complete and utterly predictable bore, as in the last book. The characters are one-dimensional cutouts, and poorly written (some of the dialogue made me laugh out loud, and it wasn't 'cause Clancy was trying to be funny). For a supposed thriller, the pace here is positively glacial. The first three quarters of this >1000 tome are nothing but soporific, sophomoric attempts at character development, along with overwhelming doses of Clancy's right-wing politics. Well, I can't say I expected much from this latest Clancy novel, not after the bloated disaster that was Executive Orders, but this tome was a clusterfuck (as Clancy always says somewhere in his book) of titanic literary proportions.
Thinking back now over all the events, it feels like I've read 3 or 4 different books there are so many separate story lines going on which all get tied together at the end, exceptionally well done by Clancy.My review of Clancy's The Bear and the Dragon: Very bloody long! But that's what I got it for! I have an hour's drive each way on my commute every day! This book lasted a month. If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be? I thought he was a very good narrator, I laughed my head off the first time he tried an english accent, very well done! Have you listened to any of Michael Prichard’s other performances? How does this one compare? Observing from different perspectives how perceived slights on one side can be the gravest insult, where as the other side is completely unaware they have done anything wrong, and the fates of nations rests of these mis-interpretations due to cultural differences. What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting? Yes, because it's a brilliantly detailed and twisting scenario that builds from small acts and unlinked conversations and espionage into huge mobilisations of national armies and tank battles and missiles and jet figher battles! A rip-roaring military adventure! Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why? The ending had my heart pounding in my chest! I'll have to take their word for it but if that's the case then collapse the first bit into a short into and go straight for the last few chapters! Other reviews say that the last few chapters are great. If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Bear and the Dragon? He should get a job making destination recordings for a train company. Would you be willing to try another one of Michael Prichard’s performances? Would you ever listen to anything by Tom Clancy again? For example, two characters speaking about president Mao's penchant for raping young girls, and one of them guffaws "Well at least it wasn't a boy". Even if you are characterising an unpleasant person, there are some places you just don't go. At first I thought it was just the dreadful narrator that made this book so disappointing, but its racism and sexism got to me too, though I can't speak for more than the first 8 hours when I gave up on it. I'm quickly becoming a Tom Clancy fan and have been enjoying his stories. What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
0 kommentar(er)
