Tom Clancy Books

This book was passed to me by my 14-year old son. I needed something to do on a flight to Tokyo, so I read most of it on the way there, and the rest on the way back. The large amount of spelling and grammar errors took away from my enjoyment of the book. It seemed that the editing of the book was outsourced to another country that did not grasp the language. I have always enjoyed Tom Clancy's books, whether written in the first person or the third person, and this one was fairly interesting. The author seemed to spend too much time describing details of the surroundings Fisher was entering, which was more of a distraction than needed details. There seemed to be good technical details of Navy tactics, but the weapons were purely fantasy. It was a fiction book, so I can't be too critical about that.

This is my first Splinter Cell novel and overall I enjoyed it. I thought the plot was interesting and there was a lot of action. The biggest problem for me was the blow-by-blow description of Sam entering hallways, elevators, etc. The other biggest disappointment was the number of grammatical errors. The editor shouldn't be paid. Unfortunately, I've seen that a lot of late in many of the novels I read and by different publishers. Maybe it's a representation of what our schools are producing. (lol)

I only read halfway through Checkmate and had come across TWO DOZEN errors in grammar and spelling. I had to put the book down for a few weeks because it annoyed me so much! I can't believe that in this day and age this book would pass a spellcheck with no problems. The book claims to be printed in the United States of America, but I don't think it's just coincidence some of these sentences sound like a chinaman proofread this book. Here's what I mean:

Some grammar issues:
p40 "To his right he heard a the muffled chugging of a marine engine."
p44 "...he might be able wait out the security sweep."
p68 "...and a spiked soft rubber ball roughly the size of marble."
p190 "Inside he found storage closet lined with empty shelves."

A few misspellings:
(same page as a grammatical error) p68 "...the sabot breakes away, leaving only the Cottonball."
p77 "If it became necessary, the man's disapperance wouldn't immediately raise an alarm."

Spellcheck didn't catch these?!? Was this book penned on a legal pad before being immediately and haphazardly typed up? In many places periods, commas, and words were even left out entirely! I have lost interest in this book, hardcore.

Narration. Not only are there so many errors of all kinds, but the narration is way off from the first two books in the Splinter Cell series. Splinter Cell's self-titled and Operation Barracuda series were well written and had a first person narration. At first, the first person style was kind of annoying, but then it stood out more and made the books what they are: good. You got to feel like you were inside Sam Fisher's head, just as if you were controlling his every move while playing the video games. It was a good way to tackle a video game such as Splinter Cell and make it into a good book. Checkmate drops the first person narration and goes for the third person. Why? No clue. Is it broken? Nope! So don't fix it!

So, what about the actual storyline and plot? In all accounts, the story could have been topnotch. A lot of elements were there to potentially make this one shine. However, even that wasn't done right!

For the facts I discussed above, I give this book one single star because Amazon won't allow a rating of zero. If I were Tom Clancy, I would be embarrassed and ashamed that a book like this had my name all over it.

A gruesome terrorist attack destroys a town in New Mexico, leaving thousands dead and survivors facing agonizing death.

The clues to the criminals lead to Iran, but there is a trail hidden under layers of deception which is a path to the evil mastermind. And as war draws near, special operative Sam Fisher is in the ultimate race against time to uncover the truth.

In the third book in a series based on Ubisoft's game - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - author David Michaels brings a healthy dose of slowly devoloping scenes, which is necessary for a character who operates as a phantom within the shadows of government.

Fisher - a member of the elite Third Echelon organization - uses cutting-edge technology and classic spy techniques as the rugged trail takes him to numerous nations, with bad guys even popping up in swanky hotel in the Emirate of Dubai.

Michaels delivers a winner by finally offering the reader an overt exploration into the covert aspect of Fisher's work; on land, sea and in the air.

This is one of Tom Clancy's best books that I have read. There is a detailed description of what is going on in the book. Sam Fisher is a Third Echelon special operative. Fisher must use stealth to overcome any obstacles in his path. Fisher uses his OPSAT (operational satellite uplink screen) to get maps of what he is dealing with. For example the Fisher had a layout of vessel named the Trego during one of his missions. Alternatively Fisher would use the ASE which is the all seeing eye to get a view from above in NV (night vision) IR (inferred) and (electromagnet) EM which allowed him to see sensors cameras etc. The whole book is about who is behind the poisoning of the town in New Mexico. Fisher finds out what the poisoning was and now he is looking for whoever did this. Towards the end of the story Fisher gets closer and closer to finding who is behind the poisoning. My opinion for this story is that this was a great book. This was a great book because of all the events that happened and the description of what is happening. This is great for anyone that likes books about stealth and being sneaky and doing what you have to do to help. If you like the game then you should get the book. This book is packed with over 50 chapters of exciting conclusions that you will want to know what happens next.

My thoughts about this book are good. I like that Tom Clancy expresses his ideas and how Fisher uses code names when on missions. Fisher's movements are detailed when he is trying to be quiet on a mission. The code names for some of the equipment had me confused sometimes but you eventually memorize what it is. My favorite thing about this book is that Fisher has a gun to get answers out of people but prefers to use the dagger he has. I think he does this because the dagger is more painful and he doesn't want to waist ammunition. If you don't have this book you should get it.

I liked the book, but I really liked the quick service. The vendor was great.

First of all let me say how glad I am that Tom Clancy finally gave Jeff Rovin cover credit for this novel and how great an idea it was to turn this series over to this writer. Mr. Rovin's tight journalistic style is perfect for this series. With all that said this book is a solid addition to a series that consistently suprises me with its intelligence and depth of characters. I call this the new pulp fiction with the highest regard as this series entertains and educates at the same time.

The premise of this novel has a conspiracy of government officials attempting to usurp the power of the presidency in order to alter world policy to their beliefs. The main focus of their coup is by trying to convince the president that he is becoming mentally unstable. In an era where perception is reality this is not as hard for them to do as the reader would believe. By contrasting the president's struggles with his sanity with Paul Hood's (the head of Op-Center)private tribulations, Jeff Rovin has done an admirable job of making this an exciting and emotional thriller. Combined with the intricate details and knowledge of Washington and international politics make this fast-paced and entertaining read and a solid addition to this series.

Tom Clancy has been one of my long time favorite authors with books like Bear and The Dragon, State of Siege, and Line of Control. It displays that everyone can have their own agenda and that those agendas are not necessarily for the common good. Putting all that aside, Tom Clancy and Steve Piecznik along with Jeff Rovin, do a great job of bringing the details of Military Intelligence to the common people. Excellent book for those who like War, Intel, and thirllers. I would recommend it in a heart beat.

I am not too sure about what to say about this book. It was okay, but it could have been much better. It was interesting in places, but there was constantly dry, boring content thrown in. Every once in a while, it would get off into an unneeded description or explanation that really did not help the plot. It was interesting how they put in enough scenes of the "bad guys" to give you the hints to figure out a happening; usually just before the "good guys" figured it out.
Overall? It was a good book with plenty of action, but it had it's faults, like all books. It was better than some Clancy books that I have read, but there has been a few better than it.
I would still recommend, especially if you have been following the Op-Center series. It was surprising how much it could stand alone, yet it also continued what happened in earlier books.

A good thriller but missing something. This was not up to the normal Op-Center books, in my opinion. While it has a good story line it seemed to be off.

in this story Paul Hood ends up seeking help from is Op-Center counterpart in Russia to help hunt down the notorious assassin the "Harpooner". At the same time it seems that all of the issues in the Caspian Sea seem to be tied back to the US president who may be having a mental break down, or is he. His wife thinks that something is wrong and calls in his old friend Paul Hood who is being stonewalled by members of the president's cabinet. While the story is plausible it still bothered me. If you normally like this type of story you will probably enjoy the book but not be thrilled by it.

David Michaels creates a gripping narrative in EndWar dragging the reader along for a tumultuous ride. Each page drips with action that you can scarcely put it down.

The diverse points of view give the reader a glimpse into the scope of the massive conflict Michaels' manipulates. Each character shows little hints of emotion. The multitude of narratives works in the novels favor truly allowing Michaels to create the tensions a global conflict would
elicit from the armed forces.

Military technology plays a critical role in the war of the future, and moments where Michaels has the opportunity to explore the weapons are a true delight for any reader. The writing around these future weapons gives them a sense of reality.

EndWar presents the future of war with pages of intense action and characters full of emotion and resolve. For any fan of Clancy or futuristic warmongering, EndWar is an absolute must and a true delight.

I was expecting more near-future technology in this novel. It was OK, but not as much of a page turner as I was expecting. It was enjoyable, but the obvious set up for a sequel (and another and another...) left me unsatisfied at the end.

This was my first David Michaels (Clancy) novel and it worked for me. It was a fast paced story that involved many characters, some that were not well developed (but some died quick and did not need a lot of development). In fact, it was so interesting that I found myself skimming over the titles and names being more interested in the core characters.

Reading the book as a story rather than looking for a lot of character development presented me with my "first Clancy" and a taste for more!!! Just the first line on the novel's back panel had me heading to the front of Borders, "In a devastating nuclear exchange, Saudi Arabia and Iran have destroyed each other"; I had to see what happened next!

I was pleased to find that the author presented females with great respect; the most core character is female and I was pulling for her the entire read. I'm not sure the Canadian leadership would be stand-offish to engage the enemy, that alone seems to be a point that would rile the masses.

Not having read any other Clancy novels, I've got nothing to compare EndWar with, I enjoyed the book and will watch for subsequent reads that might lend more information to "What is Operation 2659? Who is Snegurochka?"; and to whether the operation has even started.

All-in-all, a nice read that I'm still thinking about. IT COULD HAPPEN!!!

... the Book is so BAD on so MANY levels

1) The writing is edited but still very mediocre. One doesn't expect the greatest writing from Clancy novels, but this is worse than a high school student's essay.

2) The plot is shameful. Russia tries to conquer Canada and all that America has to fight back is one submarine, one jet and one platoon? And America is begging the Euros and Canadians to help? Come on... get real. America can do better than that!

3) The geopolitics is wrong. Inefficient corrupt Russia becomes a superpower threatening America and the West in 2020? China and Islam are not even mentioned as major powers. It does appears that Clancy is stuck in the past and cannot get out of his cold war prejudices. In 2020, the main rivalry will be between the Occident and an increasingly powerful Orient - it has already started.

4) The military action is not that of a War to end all Wars. It's garbage.

This novel proves that Tom Clancy has truly lost it (that might be a reason to read it).

If you are really looking for a daring and far more realistic end-war scenario, I recently read War against Islam by George P. Robertson. The author is not known like Clancy, the writing could be edited and polished. But the scenario, the geopolitics and the military action is a helluva lot better than this mediocre non-EndWar of Clancy.

I had high hopes for David Michaels' End War, thinking that it might be something along the line of an updated, hi-tech version of Tom Clancy's original WWIII `Red Storm Rising'. Unfortunately, though the potentials were there, this first of what I am sure is a new Tom Clancy series left me very unsatisfied.

The story was very much, matter-of-fact, and read more like a detailed draft or outline than a full novel; if I equate this with the piece of gaming software it was based on, then I would say the writer and publisher didn't do enough 'play-testing' and rushed it out the door.

Characters were introduced and situations described but there were very little 'flesh' to flush out any particular character or the situation any particular character found himself/herself in. Once again, each paragraph read like skeletal frameworks that felt very hollow. Mr. Michaels could do more with just a note, an additional sentence here and there to immerse readers more into the supposedly fast-pace development. As an example, I would think something that could be as trivial as describing the ice melting and dripping from branches as a character crouched underneath the tree, waiting to spring an ambush, etc., would go a long way to bring readers into the novel.

As it is written now, I felt very much like a detached spectator, with very little feelings for any particular character. Even the passage illustrating a soldier falling upon a grenade to save his comrades left me unmoved. Characters were names, without faces or substances; there were very little attempts at introducing us to even the main characters, and minor characters literally came and gone (get killed off) and still, a reader would feel nothing.

War is all about human conflict, don't leave the 'human' part out of any such novel please.

I would like to consider this novel in line with Harold Coyle's novels of future war but while I found myself weeping, cheering on and displaying a host of other emotions over the likes of Coyle's 'The Ten Thousand', I found myself starving for so much more from Mr. Michaels' 'End War'.

It is sad that I found myself wanting to finish this book, quick, just to get it over with, instead of hoping it would go on and on, rewarding me with total, literal immersion with each page, looking for more.

Mr. Michaels, I do wish you luck and hopefully, a far more involving second novel from this series.

Sam Fisher is a modern spy - with unique, state-of-the-art technology planted in his body - and an old-school outlook on getting down-and-dirty when a kick to the jaw is needed.

He is a member of an elite, covert team - Third Echelon - which is under attack from a variety of sources; a politician who seeks drastic funding cuts, terrorist organizations and several individuals who willingly sell-out the security of this nation.

In this second novel of an ongoing series, author David Michaels has a lot of issues on the plate, but delivers a luke-warm adventure due to reheating old cliches within this genre.

From crazy automobile chases, secret escape routes for the bad guys and Fisher balancing revenge with his training as an elite covert spy, the plot stalls at critical junctures where creativity is most crucial. Perhaps more reliance on the Fisher character in Ubisoft's outstanding game would have bolstered the action.

Michaels has a quality main character and a great concept, but he must write with only a slight nod to the past.

I have played all of the Splinter Cell video games and I enjoy the series very much. I bought the third book, Checkmate, in an airport with fairly low expectations. It was well written enough, particularly because I like the genre and the Sam Fisher character. I read the reviews for the first two books and I ignored the bad ones. I cannot believe that these books made it to print. The writing appears to have been done by a high school student or a non-native english speaker. There obviously was no editor assigned to the project. I lost count of the number of times words were used incorrectly or gratuitously.(My favorite, is when a "hidden surveillance team" was inserted -- as opposed to what, a "visible" surveillance team?) Worst of all, in these books Sam Fisher is a total moron. I won't put spoilers in here, but there are instances where someone is very obviously bad or try to kill Sam and after it would be paintfully obvious to anyone, he would say "I'm beginning to get the feeling that they are aiming for me" or "I'm starting to think this guy might be not be on our side". At the end of one of the books, he does something so stupid and amateurish that you won't believe it. And, if only a handful of people know about Third Echelon, why do I lose count of the number of people who know? Perhaps it is my ignorance, but do covert operatives take Army flights out of Dulles? Wouldn't he know he needed the access code in the many hours before he got to the facility he was infilitrating? If the facility was abandoned, why would they send him and not the FBI? These books have more holes than swiss cheese. My wife couldn't believe that insisted on finishing the books, but I was invested and wanted to know the resolution. Perhaps the practice of writing made the third one better or maybe they found an editor. But owners of the first two books should be issued a refund.

Second installment of Splinter Cell series. Has more character development but still quick interesting read. Should stop picking on Middle East countries and find another target to demonize...

I am a big fan of Splinter Cell. I have all the xbox games, so I decided to buy the books to see if there were any differences. I think I love the book just as much as I do the games.
So if you are a Splinter Cell fan, I highly recommend reading the books too. They will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.

If you like TC novels then this is a great book to have.

This book was my least favorite book in the net force series (yes i have read all of them up to springboard)because it has too much useless day to day stuff that is boring. Toni keeps complaining about how shes fat and is on and off with the scrimshaw stuff.

Most net force books take me 2 weeks to read...but this one took me a month!Also, what does net force have to do with controlling drugs?

The other novels that came after this were pretty much a chore to read, especially state of war. They always just start out with a death (or many),and go through the introduction. Then they just go for days or even weeks without any leads at all. Then a personal event happens, and they get a lead. This is where most of the books start to pick up their pace. This is when its hard to put the book down. But thats changing with every new novel. However when springboard came out in January, it renewed my interest in Net Force.

There is an illegal drug being sold on the Net that makes you Superman. The FDA calls on Net Force and the NSA to stop the seller.
I liked the action and the descriptions Clancy uses to describe what's going on. Every thing is described with great detail.
I would recommend this book to adults that like violence, action and details about guns.

Once again Tom Clancy has outdone himself. This book was the greatest book I've read in my whole life. Tom Clancy's Net Force starts to track a major drug dealer that has created a new drug called, Thor's Hammer. The inventor of this new drug is, Bobby Drayne. Drayne's father is retired from the FBI. This drug is like a steroid, except a lot more potent, it increases all of your senses and makes you really strong. If you want to feel like "Superman" for a few hours, it will cost you $40,000. But due to the fact that it is like a steroid, you'd better have a lot of time on your hands to recover from the drug. The Net Force starts going after Drayne, and then there is "The Point of Impact."
If you like novels that have a lot of action and adventure, this book is for you. It is intriguing and will hold your attention during the whole book. When you think it is about to get boring, more action and adventure comes along. This is a great book! You should buy it!

I have read a lot of Clancy books, among them several in the many that are actually written by other authors. This is my third Net Force book. That said, I have read worse books with Clancy's name on them, but this book just wasn't very interesting to me. Part of that is because I have lately started wondering why I even read these books, because they are all rather similar; the good guys always win and usually by killing the bad guys; the only good guys to get killed are minor characters while the more major characters might get injured; etc. The only major diferences is how the story is developed. This book actually increased my questioning as to why I read these books. This is mainly because this book seems to put across the message that the main purpose in life is to have sex. This book is absolutely packed to references about sex, mentioning people having sex, or such references as two people taking a shower together. That gets really tiring after a while. Other books in the series do mention such things a lot, but not as much as this book.
This book has most of the characters returning from previous books, but there are two that are noticably gone. There are only two quick references to Tyrone Howard, and they are about him being away on a school trip. These references remind you of the importand role he played in the last few books. Also, there is no reference to Tyrone's boomerang-throwing friend (can't remember her name).
As for the good parts? The noticable, worth-mentioning ones are few. This book does have a few surprising twists in the story, such as the rogue government agents, which help keep it from becoming too plain. Also, this book does not have very much bad language, which is surprising. It does have some bad language, but I have read books that were much worse in that respect.

Even so, 3 stars is the most I can give this book. It is just not very interesting, and there are other books that I can read and enjoy much more than any of Clancy's. I cannot truthfully recommend this book, although if you are reading through the series, this would be a necessary inclusion.

I was fully prepared to dislike this book. To begin with, it was a gift, not something I would have chosen. I'm not a big Tom Clancy fan. I don't have anything against him, I just haven't read any of his books. The thing is, I still haven't read any of Clancy's books. Although POINT OF IMPACT has Clancy's name all over it, it was actually written by Steve Perry, someone I had never heard of.

Then there was the prologue, which contains some very hokey and contrived dialogue. By the time I got through the first few pages my eyes were rolling. Given the larger-than-life action and comic book characterization typical of this type of book, combined with what I had seen so far, I figured I was in for a real stinker.

But, to my surprise, POINT OF IMPACT turned out to be pretty good. Not a literary masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but entertaining and quite readable. The prologue was just a setup. To be sure, you still get the over-the-top plot, but that goes with the genre. Beyond that, there actually was some character development. Not so much for the Net Force "good guys" (I assume they're already familiar from previous books in the series) as for the "bad guy" drug maker and his sidekick. These two become somewhat familiar and interesting as the story progresses.

I enjoyed POINT OF IMPACT and I hadn't expected to. It wasn't clever or memorable in any particular way. There isn't any real depth. Still, it didn't bore me and the writing was competent. For a light read, you could do a lot worse. Fans of this genre won't be disappointed.

Very good book to be used for technical reference. It is NOT a novel (a la "Hunt For Red October"), so if that is what you are looking for, look elsewhere. Fairly accurate, if a bit dated. A lot has happened since this book was published. The M8 AGS was never fielded, the 2d ACR-L is now a Stryker Brigade, both 2d ACR and 3d ACR have seen combat in Iraq and elements of 11th ACR are heading over, and the then CPT H.R. McMasters of E Troop, 2d ACR (see battle of 73 Easting) is now COL McMasters and the 71st Colonel of the 3d ACR. So Mr Clancy, you have a lot of catching up to do! Till then - "BRAVE RIFLES!" Aiee-yah.....

Like the other six books in the Guided Tour series, Tom Clancy and John D. Gresham take the reader on a behind-the-scenes field trip of a military unit. This time, the focus is on an Army armored cavalry regiment, its equipment and personnel, the history of armored cavalry, and two short fictional scenarios depicting the use of this type of unit in combat.

The one new feature (later included in all the later books) is a softball interview with now-retired General Fred Franks, former commander of the VII Corps during Desert Storm and later commander of TRADOC, Training and Doctrine Commmand. Although informative, Armored Cav is more of a love letter to the Army than an unbiased piece of reporting. Still, fans of Clancy and of military hardware should not pass this book (or any of this series)up. Just park high expectations at the roadside and you'll enjoy this for what it is, and not what it could have been.

If you have read any of the other books in the series then you know what to expect with this one. The book follows the familiar format, it details out the machinery used, the troops, the division make up of the topic in the armed forces, a few interviews and it ends with some fictionalized short stories describing the expected types of encounters this area would face in the future. All in all a basic book on the armored cavalry that gives you all the basics. The Clancy style of writing, lots of facts and plodding movement work well in this type of book given that you buy it to learn about the subject.

Overall it is a good effort and if you have been happy with the other books in the series you will enjoy this one. My only complaints were that there did not seam to be enough photos of the equipment for me. Sure they had all the main items, but I wanted a picture of every truck and tractor covered in the book. I also would have liked to have seen a comparison of the other counties main battle tanks - something he did with his Submarine and Aircraft Carrier books. And one last little complaint - what was with his ending every chapter with some junior high school type rah-rah cheer. We are talking about the military; do we need this type of comic book love-fest mentality?

well, in first place i love clancy's non-fiction book, and this one is great! it makes a full review of a army's cavalry brigade organization and composition, and at the same time a review of all the heavy weaponry used by the US army, the tanks, armored transports, the artilery, well, just abou everything! if u want to learn all about that, just go running to buy this book, u'll love it... i did :)

I'm all for anything Cav related. But this one could have been done a lot better had Mr. Clancey taken the time to set down and talk one on one with the rank and file Armored Cav troopers. While his technical details of the weapons used in a Cav unit are quite accurate, his explanation of how they are used is at times far fetched. The kicker for me was when at the end of the book Mr. CLancey examined a hostage resuce situation in which an Armored Cav unit is parachuted into a soccer field to snatch the hostages. After 11 years in the U.S. Army, serving in both the 82nd ABN and an Armored Cav unit I'm fairly certain that the Airforce hasn't the capbilities to drop either an M 1 Abrams nor Bradley fighting vechicle from the back of a C-130 nor a C-141. And the ideal of using a soccer field as a drop zone is a workable one but only if your talking about an A team or Seal team using High altitude low opening parachute techniques. I'm glad Mr. Clancey is giving some credit to our armed forces, I just wish that he would do more research on these projects and quit relying on his name to sell books.

Together with his parents Julio Cortez returns to his country of birth: Cortequay in South America. This country has missed any technological advancement since the last twenty years and is currently organising its first democratic elections. Julio's father is a candidate for the presidency, but the opposition will stop at nothing to keep him away from power. At home Julio's Netforce friends miss him terribly. Certainly during the flight simulations organised at a summer camp, the absence of Julio influences their results during the fierce simulated air battles. Julio has always been their champion. During one of these simulations, suddenly Julio appears with the message that he got kidnapped in Cortequay. But his friends are not sure what they can do. How can they get in contact with Julio? How do they convince people that Julio and his family are in grave trouble? And most of all: is Julio's message authentic or only a trap set in a world where nothing is what it seems?

Although the story of The Ultimate Escape starts from a great idea, the whole story is lacking much credibility. The denouement is so lame that even the first chapters give you a good idea on how the story will end. But the most worrying part of this novel is its setting. Knowing that this book is written for a young audience it is quite disturbing to see that replaying war battles is considered as a very educational and important way of learning history. Even more, German students are by default forced to replay World War II battles as part of the German forces. This way they are considered to try and reverse the outcome of the war. I do not know what the authors were thinking, but such a simplistic view on the world, can hardly be seen as a good starting point for a novel aimed at youngsters. How wrong can you get?

The ultimate escape is a book written in a series called net force. Net force is a series about a group of kids that are all friends and play games in a virtual reality world where the enter competitions and play replay events that happened in the past and some that they think may happen in the future.

One of the best virtual fighters for the net force explorers Julio Cortez goes to Corteguay with the rest of his family his dad, mom, and sister. His dad is going to run for president and everything is going good until they get into the vans to get taken safely away but instead they were taken prisoners. When the net force explorers were competing without their ace of aces player they notice he comes up in the game and tells then what has gone wrong but no one believes them and they think it was a rift until it happened a second time then the net force explorers tell the head man in charge on net force matts dad and they take action. If you want to know you are just going to have to read the book yourself you can either buy new or used at amazon.com or you can go to your local library and pick it up there.

This book is a must read book is a must read and Tom Clancy has a wonderful writing style. In this book especially he leaves you hanging waiting to find out what is going to happen he does a lot of jumping from place to place but after a couple of chapters you don't really notice it and you can trust me because I am not a reader but this book didn't get put down F
from morning to night.


T.J.

This book is about a group of kids that are in an organization called the Net Force Explorers. Julio Cortez, the Net Force flying ace, moved with his family to Corteguay, a Socialist Nation that does not allow recent technology. When they arrive they are taken prisoner. The remaining Net Force Explorers have to go into a high tech flight simulator contest. When they are in the simulators, Julio appears asking for help. The Explorers go to their adult superiors with their story. Will they believe the kids, and will they be able to get to Julio in time. You'll have to read the book to find out.

This thriller written about a young boy and his family trapped in a virtual prison in the socialist country of Corteguay, takes place in the year 2025 when computers are our main source of daily activities. When Julio Cortez realizes he's being trapped in a prison by the Corteguayan government, he seeks imediate attention to his friends for help. Matt, Andy, Megan, Mark, and David are all shocked about what he has to say and plan to make every move possible to help their friend. The only way they are able to make contact with him are through simulated flight missions of past wars. Julio himself has had success in such simulations, but in Corteguay, technology is scarce as the citizens there have remained to tools from the 21st century. Almost all contact to the outside world is impossible. Julio's father, Ramon Cortez, is running for president here in Corteguay's first public election. The pressure on the family is intense as they face torture and death. This makes Julio's friends time limited.

The Book Net Force The Ultimate Escape, by Tom Clancy, is about a group of friends that are in a virtual aviation program called the net force. One of the friends, named Julio moved to Courteguay because his father was running for president.
During one of the aviation programs Julio appears desperately in need of help. Everyone in the program believes the appearance of Julio is nothing but a rift, but when they enter another program and see Julio in worse condition they take action. The team gets the police involved and the police contact the special forces. When the special forces officers find out that the Cortezes are in fact being held hostage, they get a team of Navy Seals on alert right away.
Julio shows up in another flight program and tells the team to tell the forces to not send anyone to get him or else he will die.
If you want to find out what happens to Julio and the Cortezes read Tom Clancy Net Force The Ultimate Escape.

I felt that the book was ok, but it lacked a cohesive story line, because often the story jumped from one subject to another which detracted from the excitement of the main story. I thought this produced uninteresting sub-plots that took away from the details of the main story. I also felt this book did not develop the characters as well as it could have, therefore I would not recommend this book.

The most interesting character is Matt Hunter. I am fascinated that he is able to handle being a net force explorer at such a young age. Matt is only thirteen years old and all of the other explorers are around seventeen and eighteen. He has to know about hundreds of planes and jets and be able to fly several. Along with that, he has to do very well because of the high expectations of his parents. I hope this review will guide you well and help you in the future.

I came to this work after a life long curiousity about Kergulen and found it very satisfying and packed with information about the islands and the history. Yet it is not a work of history, it is a meditation, a poem of experience in a place isolated and harsh and yet beautiful. Kauffmanns reveries are echoed by his predecessors and perhaps all who have been drawn to that lonely and mysterious place and he conveys a sense of being there few authors ever attain. He does so while informing us about the landscape, the flora and fauna and history. His descriptions are parsimonius but evocative. I have but two complaints: I would have like a bit more detail of some things, like a little better description of the cabins and travelers huts he stays in and a few things like that. Also, there are no photgraphs and there should be lots of them.

A previous reviewer mentions something about the author having been a hostage in Beruit and complains that its not mentioned in the book, yet supposes the book must somehow be about that experience. I find this a bizzare criticsm. I know nothing about the authors past experiences, nor is it at all relevant to the book. Its very clear it had no bearing on Kauffmanns desire to go there and it seems very silly to expect that everything an author writes must somehow be about a single event in their lives, however traumatic it may have been, as if he must forever be a hostage. In short, whatever the authors past, this book is about Kergulen and those who are drawn there, and it is unfair to the author to accuse him of writing about something else.

This book coupled with viewing the photos on this website, http://ile.kerguelen.free.fr/accueil.htm, paint a tale of how lonely a place can be. I have not seen many books on the Kerguelen and this book just whetted my interest in reading more about this place. If there had been more illustrations and maps I would have added another star.

I liked the book in French, and French friends who read it enjoyed it. OK, there's some of that lyricism the French enjoy and English-speakers are a little allergic to, but the tone, overall, is not that different from the Kerguelen articles Matthew Parris wrote for the (London) Times a couple of years ago (you can read them on the Net). The sense Kauffmann gives us of the Kerguelen landscape is probably accurate - his descriptions strikingly agree with mountaineer/doctor André Migot's 1956 account, The Lonely South. Unfortunately this English edition is a little bit couldn't-care-less. A big black mark is someone's decision not to bother tracking down various material that was originally in English. So instead of genuine extracts from Rallier du Baty's 1908 book, 15,000 Miles in a Ketch, what we have here is passages translated back into English from the French translation of 15,000 Miles, and similarly an English translation of a French translation of the wonderfully obsequious dedication (p71) that Captain Robert Rhodes put on his chart of Kerguelen, and an English translation of a French translation of the allegedly unfindable epitaph (p197) on Captain Matley's gravestone. A pity because, although Kerguelen is now French, its past was largely Anglo-American and there was a chance here to give us some authentic voices from those days. Peculiarities and implausibilities also keep jumping out of the page at you. For instance, randomly and by no means exhaustively, why has Major Couesnon turned into a captain by page 103? If you want to check on where Port-aux-Français and Christmas Harbour are located, be prepared to use your powers of deduction, because the map provided calls them something else. Minus 41 Fahrenheit, we are told, isn't harsh as temperatures go (p42) (the arithmetically challenged really should double-check their centigrade-Fahrenheit conversions). The sun 'shined' for an hour (p42). The blurb drastically relocates the Kerguelens to SE of Australia. Would soldiers march through the wilds in 'raincoats', what kind of fog makes a raincoat flake, and how 'brand new' would a flaking raincoat look (p129)? In the Williams engraving of J.C. Ross's ship Terror - it was used as the cover illustration for one of the French editions of the book - those sailors supposedly hauling on the sails (p.166) are keeping a very low profile. What are Decauville tracks (p105)? (For the answer to this, look no further than the big Harraps French-English dictionary - though maybe someone could have saved us the trouble.) Emperor penguins (p196) are Antarctic birds - the tall penguin species found on Kerguelen is the king penguin. A ship, the Lozère, 'comes in contact with a raised part of the sea bed' (p190). (Or did it maybe just run aground?) What are 'modified makeshift repairs' (p162)? Do trains do 'fast switches' (p80), and if so, what are they? Do loaves have 'soft, damp interiors' (p46) (as opposed to being, say, moist and pleasantly chewy inside)? Isn't it a little odd to talk about an islet being 1,650 feet from the shore (p197), as if someone had been out there with a very long tape measure? Frankly, does it make any sense to talk about earth mounds 'adapting themselves to the ground' (p157) (ie gradually settling or subsiding)? You might get the wrong idea about Captain Peretti's wife, who apparently spent a lot of time 'thinking up' underwear (p179). If you wanted to catch a cross-section of the local insect population, would you position your traps inside a hut (p72) or outside? Doesn't having numerous Lake Josettes and Danièle Valleys (p58) in the one small island confuse people? If Christmas Harbour is so difficult to enter (p.165), why didn't Captain Cook tell us? In heavy rain, would cardboard boxes 'regain some of the shape they used to have' (p110)? Mysterious place, Kerguelen - but maybe not quite as mysterious as some of this would suggest.

I read this book after hearing it recommended on NPR. It was hard when coming to the book to disassociate Kauffmann's incredible and horrible experiences as a hostage in Beirut from my appreciation of the book itself. Every piece of ennui, every flat, sad phrase seemed to take me back to the chair in which he was blindfolded and chained for three years. I think it would be impossible not to attribute some significance to his past, but it is something Kauffmann fails to address in any way at all. (It is mentioned only in passing on the book jacket.)

What we find instead is a troubled man coming to terms with a troubled place. But here his insights aren't very deep. He seems utterly amazed that this place, so far away from anywhere, is still France. This is an glimpse into the Gallic mindset that perhaps only an Englishman could appreciate. He also feels very impressed with being there. He seems to pinch himself a lot. Wow, I am in Kerguelen! Apparently, it's windy.

His attempts at a back story -- his attempts to show why this place has haunted him for so long are unconvincing and rather dull. He includes what history he could find about the place, but, sadly, there isn't so much. For an example of this type of writing at its finest, I would check out Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia and Kevin Patterson's excellent The Water Inbetween. Both of these books come from similar emotional places, but engage the reader in more interesting and varied ways.

This book is neither a travelogue (in the usual sense), a natural history treatise, nor a serious historical overview of the French islands of Kerguelen (also called Desolation Island.) Although there are some evocative phrases that approach description (for example, "it's the land of 'the eternal late autumn.'"), author Jean-Paul Kauffmann never seems to get around to actually describing much more than the ever present wind.

Why travel to Kerguelen? Well, there's a rock arch. And a failed explorer. And it's difficult to get to. But overwhelmingly, one gets the feeling that the author made this journey because he couldn't think of anything better to do.

Not that that's a bad idea, mind you. But once he's arrived, he doesn't seem particularly interested in either noticing details or passing them on. His historical snippets of earlier explorers are truncated and flimsy. And he seems completely uninterested in the other human beings whom he encounters. Perhaps it's because most of them are scientists.

I betray my interest in natural history by pointing out that every time Jean-Paul Kauffman gets to an interesting fact or description of this most remote of all places on earth, he punts it by either declaring that science has taken the poetry out of nature-- the man has obviously never read Loren Eiseley-- or adds it as an unexplained addendum ("...the meteorite lying amid the ruins is like the dead soul of Port Jeanne d'Arc..." Hey, wait a minute, what meteorite?)

Despite its flaws, or possibly because of them, this book entices you to learn more. One hopes that the next adventurer to Kerguelen arrives with an actual sense of adventure and the descriptive power to pass it on.

This is a nice guide, it may not be as detailed as the other Splinter Cell guides, but it is still very nice.

I had played this game without the guide a couple times. But when I really like a game, I like having the guide to look at and ponder other ways of playing the game. Also like having guides to refer to when I want to look up some aspect of the game.

If you like the game, it might be worth it to add this guide to your collection.

It's a great guide unless you're the original XBox game. Other than that, I've gone through the PS2 version rather well. Oh well....can't win all the time. :)

A nice looking guide, covers Gamecube and PS2 versions on the first half of the book and the X360 and PC on the other. Very complete guide but is a shame when you are looking on page 256 for a mission and says "for more info on this item go to page 6" so you have to go all over back to check than item and then come back to the last pages again (this is if you're looking at the X360 and pc pages). Some 10 pages more with all the gadgets and items on the beginning of the x360 and pc part wouldn't hurt :)

For the rest very good guide, nice maps, quality pictures, quality paper and very well explained, should have concentrate more on alternative routes but well, for people like me that get stuck in games like that it was enough help to get pass some missions.

The only bad thing is the "Frag doll comments" on multiplayer games, I find most of them pretty lame as they really say nothing important about strategies for the game.

Must have for SC fans.

If you want a guide that covers it all, then this is it. You'll find a great walk through and lots of intel for your trip into this Double agents adventures. I dont think you'll find anything else out there that comes close to this Guides helpful hints and strategies.

Just like the last Splinter Cell Game Guide, this book does good in providing you a walk-through to get through the game, but it lacks depth of knowledge that those who have played SC DA before would need to improve their game. There are many ways to get to places and handle situations that the book doesn't cover. The biggest disappointments were that it did not cover the X-Box version, which is much different than the X-Box 360 version and it didn't have any maps of the Versus mode of play. Also if you are using an X-Box 360 or PC, you have to refer back to the PS2 section for details and explanations - very inconvenient. For a beginner who gets stuck, it is worth while to help you get through the game. For anyone else, the few tidbits you get from the book isn't worth it.

All in all not a bad strategy guide. Walk-through is clear and will get you through the levels with ease. It gives you options on how to play your game either through stealth or kill everybody in sight. All objectives are given to you and where you can find them. The walk-through pictures suggesting where you should position yourself are a little dark. They could of been a little brighter.

...on a regular basis. After each mission, you get rated, one might think that a strategy guide would not only show you all the ins and outs, of a mission, but also how to get the 100% rating for it. There was sadly, very little useful information in this book. The maps and locations of things are nice, but that's pretty much where you have to put the book down and play the game on your own.
The book is setup for all the platforms that SC-CT appears on, but what the writers didn't take into account is how the game differs on each platform. Whoever wrote it, didn't play it on the Xbox, because the things he writes about, don't work in a normal setting. For instance, they never mention that the ambient sound levels drop as you progress in difficulty. Or they promote the use of your lethal attacks when that hurts your score. Not that it even gives good strategic advice there. When it mentions the cargo ship, it tells you to knock out the second of two guards in a hallway, and when the first guard turns around to see what's going on, you have a moment to shoot him. It never mentions that you could just shoot out the three lights in that area and silently grab each guard while they are standing around in the dark with no flares.
There are so many different paths in every mission, it is hard to cover them all. There are also a lot of things in each mission that don't change. For instance, it's always better to capture a guard and interrogate him, rather than sniping him from some distance off. Either hack everything you can or get a guard to open it for you.
Splinter Cell has always been a detail oriented game, lots of little things to pay attention to. To get the most enjoyment and playability out of this game, you can't go through any of the missions with your guns blazing. I only bought this because I was hoping to find out how to finish the Bathouse mission with 100%, and it didn't even help me do that.

For someone who hasn't played the game before, this book is a good one to help you get through it the first time. It gives some good basic pointers and discusses the weaponry and basic tactics. It is really more of a walk-through for first time players.

For anyone who wants a score of 100%, forget the book. It became quickly obvious that the author(s) didn't look past the obvious in each scenario. I found many ways in the stealth mode of avoiding bad guys altogether instead of knocking them all out or killing them (you lose 2% on your score per kill). Obvious ways around the map and ways of avoiding contact with the enemy (and resulting alarms or being spotted) aren't mentioned. Some situations have a very easy way out, but the author(s) didn't mention that - obviously because they didn't sit down at the game and try out all the possibilities.

The worst part of the book is the map section. There is no attempt to connect the various two-dimensional maps into the third dimension so you know, for instance, what ventilator shafts go where on different floors of a multi-level building. The map section was the primary reason for me getting the book and I was very disappointed. It wasn't as thorough as other Prima books I have purchased in the past.

Again, for someone just starting in the game, it is a great book to keep you from getting lost or frustrated. It provides you a way to complete the level. But after you use the book, play again and again, exploring other avenues of completing the scenarios. Do a quick save, then incapacitate all the bad guys in the area so you can explore it in detail. Then you can reload the quick save and move on. Every area has multiple ways of getting through them - some overt, some covert. Some are hard to find in the heat of battle or while hiding. That's where incapacitating, then exploring comes into play.

Chaos Theory is a great game. This book just doesn't do the game justice in my opinion.

Whenever Prima gets its hands around a project, it really gets its hands around a project. By looking through the guide you can get an accurate feel for what the game actually looks like. There are plenty of maps and screen shots to help guide you--not only through the game, but on whether the game is worth buying in the first place. I always check out a PRIMA guide before buying a game. So many of today's strategy guides are filled with empty swatches of page, or else LAME clip art. Just show me the game!

It really seemed like the designers of this guide put in the extra effort too. There are helpful tips and comments throughout. Nothing was left to chance. Visually stunning and magnificent.

I have used a lot of strategy guides for video games. Mostly, it is a strictly utilitarian venture.

I have to say, though, the design of this book BLEW ME AWAY. It is AWESOME! It accomplishes its utlitarian purpose with flying colors, thanks to the excellent writing. Even in that context, the layout and the design were phenomenal. I really don't think I've ever seen a more well-designed strategy guide, EVER!

This book is so amazing, I would recommend it to people who aren't even going to play the game. It is really that good. The design transports you to another world. I am going to be especially mindful of Prima Guides into the future. They have won my loyalty with this book.