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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
After what felt like months below the sea, I have finally did something I rarely do- I finished an "ocean fic" book! "Ocean fic" is a title I give to books that are primarily set on or in the ocean. I have an aversion to these novels something fierce. That being said, I wanted to break away from this and read one. This year has been about challenging myself to reading genres I normally wouldn't. I would not normally read a Tom Clancy novel. I have always considered them, whether warranted or unwarranted, a type of "dude/bro" lit. Lit for guys. *pounds chest and spits* kind of lit. Well, you get the point. Those that know me, know that this is not me. I figured I'd let all that out before I discuss the book.
I came to a surprise at the end of the book- I actually liked it. I didn't love it, nor did I really like it, but I did like it. It took me months to get through, but part of that is my own fault. Maybe my dislike of the self created genre dissuaded me from reading at a faster pace. That, and it was summer and it was a lovely summer at that!
This book was good, but I believe it was good because of the convoluted plot or the slight character development. I respected Clancy because all of his characters had a flaw that was relatable. None of them are perfect. It was probably what kept me interested as long as it did. I felt for Captain Ramius and Jack Ryan.
I also enjoyed the political chess match between the President and the Russian Embassy. I loved the spy game and the happenings in the CIA. I enjoyed the characters on the submarines. What I found lacking was the prose and style. At times, both were lacking. In fact, I didn't care much for either. He kept it very simple and to the point. While the characters were enjoyable, Clancy lacked a good pace. There were moments in the book that would move so quickly and other times the pace would drag.
What annoyed the Bajeezus out of me was all the damned acronyms. Clancy will put what it means in parentheses once, but then you're on your own. By god, there are a lot of them! At times, I didn't know what I was reading, but was just going with it. That might have affected my comprehension of the material a little, I'll be honest, but like hell was I going to look up an acronym every damn time. Another issue I had was the sea lingo. There were sections I just didn't understand. Like at all. Fortunately I understood the that it was mainly directional and wasn't necessarily important to the plot
All that being said, I will say it was a fun read. I felt like if I had read his novels at a younger age, I would have considered the military as a viable option. He doesn't glamorize it at all. In fact, it seems down right miserable, but there was something about it that was enticing. I will give him that.
I came to a surprise at the end of the book- I actually liked it. I didn't love it, nor did I really like it, but I did like it. It took me months to get through, but part of that is my own fault. Maybe my dislike of the self created genre dissuaded me from reading at a faster pace. That, and it was summer and it was a lovely summer at that!
This book was good, but I believe it was good because of the convoluted plot or the slight character development. I respected Clancy because all of his characters had a flaw that was relatable. None of them are perfect. It was probably what kept me interested as long as it did. I felt for Captain Ramius and Jack Ryan.
I also enjoyed the political chess match between the President and the Russian Embassy. I loved the spy game and the happenings in the CIA. I enjoyed the characters on the submarines. What I found lacking was the prose and style. At times, both were lacking. In fact, I didn't care much for either. He kept it very simple and to the point. While the characters were enjoyable, Clancy lacked a good pace. There were moments in the book that would move so quickly and other times the pace would drag.
What annoyed the Bajeezus out of me was all the damned acronyms. Clancy will put what it means in parentheses once, but then you're on your own. By god, there are a lot of them! At times, I didn't know what I was reading, but was just going with it. That might have affected my comprehension of the material a little, I'll be honest, but like hell was I going to look up an acronym every damn time. Another issue I had was the sea lingo. There were sections I just didn't understand. Like at all. Fortunately I understood the that it was mainly directional and wasn't necessarily important to the plot
All that being said, I will say it was a fun read. I felt like if I had read his novels at a younger age, I would have considered the military as a viable option. He doesn't glamorize it at all. In fact, it seems down right miserable, but there was something about it that was enticing. I will give him that.
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The ending was very exciting
I didn’t really enjoy the middle parts where they talked a lot of the technical sea things
I’m not sure that I like submarines
Will read another book from this series to see if I like it
I didn’t really enjoy the middle parts where they talked a lot of the technical sea things
I’m not sure that I like submarines
Will read another book from this series to see if I like it
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
one of the first books i ever remember reading and gripping yarn and Classic Tom Clancy
Second read for me and it still holds up. Great writing and great story telling with a little bit of knowledge gained by the end.
Gets a bit technical in places, but overall a great, edge-of-your-seat Cold War thriller.
Having never read Tom Clancy before, I didn't know what to expect. I read a couple of other positive reviews of it, and according to them, it is supposedly chock full of technical detail. I found the opposite in fact I found it dumbed down. The plot, set out in the first 100 pages, followed its course and did not reveal anything to me by the end. The writing style has a 1-2-3 formula of announcing current happenings without resorting to interesting prose. The paper-cutout actors never stop to reflect on what is happening to them, and we are totally locked out of their internal monologue. We know they are tired, smoking cigarettes, surprised when getting shot, but what are they actually thinking, feeling? We'll never know. I didn't care. The dialogue is laughably cornball and could not take it seriously. I forced myself to get through this book to get to the end and at many points I was actually cheering for the enemy because I hoped something interesting would happen.
Very exciting book in many ways, especially the last showdown. It was an interesting commentary on the Cold War technology battle, very interesting for me looking back 20 years on old technology. Entertaining, but I tend to go more for books with some didactic or philosophical value. This one is not so subtle, stating that Americans rule and they're the best, which is too ethnocentric for a person who has lived in a former Iron Curtain country.
Este no es un libro que se lea rápido, y cuesta un poco engancharse con la historia, si bien en el primer capítulo tiene lugar un hecho que no vi venir, probablemente porque es el primer capítulo y las historias tienden a empezar lento, y me sorprendió bastante que pasara algo así, aunque después entendí que era algo que tenía que pasar en el principio.
La parte que se me hizo más complicada fue la primera, cuando se explica como funcionan los submarinos, que es lo que hace cada persona de la tripulación, como funcionan los sistemas de sonares, todas las normas que hay, etc. Pero a partir de las cien páginas me interesé mucho en la historia, y me daban muchas ganas de seguirla. Repito, no es un libro que se lea rápido, porque hay que prestarle mucha atención a los diálogos y a la historia en sí, hay que tener en cuenta en que posición estaban los submarinos, los nombres de cada capitán de cada submarino, la gente en tierra que interviene en la historia; pero uno se acostumbra.
Me gustaron mucho los personajes, en especial el capitán Ramius. Y me hubiera gustado que el autor contara la historia de los demás desertores además de la de él, porque llegaron a tomar la decisión de desertar. Hay mucha política en el libro, especialmente de Rusia, se nota bien como es que pensaban, y también la de Estados Unidos claro.
Hay muchísimos puntos de vista, lo que hace que la historia sea mucho más dinámica. El final lo leí prácticamente de un tirón, es muy tenso y los puntos de vista cambian constantemente, lo que me puso más nerviosa.
Me gustó mucho, y me pareció muy bien hecho. No se lleva las cinco estrellas porque no se explica una parte bastante importante en mi opinión. Pero en general, muy muy bueno.
La parte que se me hizo más complicada fue la primera, cuando se explica como funcionan los submarinos, que es lo que hace cada persona de la tripulación, como funcionan los sistemas de sonares, todas las normas que hay, etc. Pero a partir de las cien páginas me interesé mucho en la historia, y me daban muchas ganas de seguirla. Repito, no es un libro que se lea rápido, porque hay que prestarle mucha atención a los diálogos y a la historia en sí, hay que tener en cuenta en que posición estaban los submarinos, los nombres de cada capitán de cada submarino, la gente en tierra que interviene en la historia; pero uno se acostumbra.
Me gustaron mucho los personajes, en especial el capitán Ramius. Y me hubiera gustado que el autor contara la historia de los demás desertores además de la de él, porque llegaron a tomar la decisión de desertar. Hay mucha política en el libro, especialmente de Rusia, se nota bien como es que pensaban, y también la de Estados Unidos claro.
Hay muchísimos puntos de vista, lo que hace que la historia sea mucho más dinámica. El final lo leí prácticamente de un tirón, es muy tenso y los puntos de vista cambian constantemente, lo que me puso más nerviosa.
Me gustó mucho, y me pareció muy bien hecho. No se lleva las cinco estrellas porque no se explica una parte bastante importante en mi opinión. Pero en general, muy muy bueno.
I know I really should not have liked this book. The writing is pedestrian, not much characterization, a fanciful plot, but damn, it's a page-turner and great story.