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(More customer reviews)A few years ago, for reasons I couldn't remember if my life depended on it, I bought a book that didn't have to do with sports. It was Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising. At the time I didn't have any knowledge whatsoever of military happenings in the world. I remembered the Gulf War as a nuissance that the news had aired for a month instead of sports (gasp!). Until RSR, I hadn't read a book that was longer than 300 pages. Sound familiar? I'm writing this review for those of you who are like I was.
The first time I read Red Storm Rising, it took me about a week. I don't remember why (I have a terrible memory, don't I?), but I loved it, even though I didn't understand most of the jargon and tactics. I then embarked on a week of net-surfing to learn everything I could about the weapon systems Clancy described. I even borrowed a book from the library about the Cold War, and this is at age fifteen (my friends thought I was nuts). Then I read my new favorite book again, and I actually understood a lot of the air, land, and sea combat sequences.
Anyway, one book doesn't make an addiction, so the next trip to the bookstore I bought "The Hunt for Red October". Take a look at its reviews and guess how I reacted to it. I was officially hooked on techno-thrillers.
Today, I have every book in the Tom Clancy collection (except for the Net Forces and Powerplays), and I loved every one to one degree or another. I also have all or nearly all of Larry Bond's (who was a co-writer with Clancy on Red Storm Rising) and Stephen Coonts' books. These writers, along with Clancy, do their homework when writing their books. I haven't detected a single error in their military jargonizing (I may be wrong), and they spend a lot of time (couple hundred pages) developing the story, instead of just saying, "stuff happened, now let's get to the action!". There are also a bunch of new authors who have this skill (ie. - Patrick Robinson, James Cobb) who you should check out if you like Clancy, Coonts and Bond.
P.S. - If you really liked Red Storm Rising and you want more Cold War era NATO-USSR war books, be forewarned; there aren't many good ones. If you see one called "WWIII" by Ian Slater, don't touch it with a ten foot pole. It's a series of books, and he evidently has no knowledge at all about military hardware and international politics. Check out his reviews (I've never seen so many 1 stars).
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