Tom Clancy Books

My name is Mike from 1st period English II, and I am reviewing NET FORCE "One is the loneliest number" by Tom Clancy.
It is basically your general science fiction novel where computers rule the world in the future. I liked this book not only because I like science fiction, but because it is an outstanding piece of literature. It is so outstanding because it is a thinker. You are not supposed to under stand everything as soon as it happens. A couple of pages later, the it all clicks together. In the begining, the characters talk of simulations, North American XB-70 Valkyries, and Spitfires. When it is put into words in such a matter, the words have no meaning. In later pages, however, you soon find out that the kids are virtually simulating well known wars such as WWII, and the Battle of Gettysburg. Also, the NA XB-70 Valkyrie is a super virtual jet that Maj,a main character, brought back to life. Finally, a Spitfire is a log-lived aircraft in their virtual world.

I also like this book because it is extremely descriptive. There are adjictives that paint much more than a picture. The auther, Tom Clancy, tells the story as if he is living it at that point in time. He really knows how to stay in the moment. "It stood silhouetted against the brightening crimson line of dawn, a shadow that could as yet cast no shadow of its own"(1). Tom Clancy could have simply said, "It made a silhouette when the sun came up." "Very suddenly, and Maj hoped showily, they appeared on the tarmac as they were mentioned: A threesomeof F-104 Starfighters, their brushed chrome gleaming blindingly in the sun and their engines already wound up and screaming with mechanical enthusiasm"(21). The words, "Three planes showed up," would have covered that 38 word sentence. I am not sure wheather it is the discription or what they are describing that caught my eye.

The third and final reason why I like this book is because it is all about kids. It really puts things in perspective and helped me relate to the characters ans situations better. "In the future, computers rule the world. The et Force was formed to protect us fro any and all criminal activity on-line. But there is a group of teenage whiz kids who sometimes know more about computers than their adult superiors"(back cover). That showes that kids are running the show.

I give this book four out of five stars because it is only 175 pages long. I reccomend this read to teenagers that watch Star Trek, and was first in line for Star Wars Episode II.

Madeline Green, also known as Maj, is a member of the Group of Seven: a gathering of youngsters that enjoy creating virtual simulations of historic events. Maj has just finished her simulation of a 1964 bomber plane that originally crashed on its maiden voyage. She invites the Group of Seven to watch and judge her latest creation. But early in the simulation something goes dreadfully wrong: Maj is unable to control the plane and she crashes almost directly after take-off. When it becomes clear that Roddy, the super intelligent loner of the group, has sabotaged Maj's simulation just to prove that he can, the group decides to teach Roddy a lesson. But this only inflames the situation: Roddy's out for revenge.

It is difficult to make sense of the author's decision to use the first quarter of One Is the Loneliest Number as a tedious description of a virtual simulation. Apart from a poor introduction of the main character is does not contain any information that tickles the curiosity of the reader. It is more than obvious that the simulation is going to crash, so building towards this is not adding much suspense to the story.
Luckily once this mind-numbing setting has been concluded the story really starts. The tone and rhythm completely change, another character is introduced in the form of Mark Grideley who immediately takes the lead and makes the character of Maj obsolete. It is as though the author realised his mistake and quickly took action to make the plot more exciting.

All considered this story turns out to be only a mediocre episode of the Netforce series, only to be read if you feel the urge to read the complete series.

The copy I purchased was missing pages 59 thru 90, a critical part, and had 91 thru 122 twice. I tried to just forget the missing pages and continue, but it was impossible, to much was missing from the story. Other than the aformentioned problem, the book was very good, what I could read of it.

Madeleine Green, called Maj, has spent a year perfecting one of her latest virtual sims. She decides to present it to her friends who calls themselves the Group of Seven, seven teens who are all computer whiz kids. But all it took was a few moments for one of the Group, Roddy L'Officer, to sabotage her sim program! Since Roddy has done plenty of damaging 'pranks' before, the rest of the Group decides to exile Roddy, meaning no virtmails and no sims between the friends and him. But Roddy has something up his sleeve, a new 'playroom' he has recently created. But the 'playroom' is not all he's done, he's also discovered something of pure genius, something that can be used for good... or for evil.

The Net Force Explorers is a great Young Adult fiction series, especially those with a love for computers and the Internet. Since the Net presented in the books have no boundaries, you will never know what to expect next. With well-thought out plots, the stories have plenty of twists and turns, having the whole plot well balanced with mystery, excitement, and adventure.

Unfortunately for me, "One is the Loneliest Number" isn't one of my favorite Net Force Explorer's books. The reason is because the back of the book did not explain what the story was about very well so the first half of the book was very slow and a bit dull for me. I think the reason is because though in the back it says that the Group of Seven are Net Force Explorers, it's not necessarily true. Only Maj is an Explorer so Net Force doesn't appear for a while in the story. But as soon as things began to pick up, I must admit that the story was incredibly exciting! My tip is, though maybe a bit slow at first, keep reading. The last few chapters are EXTREMELY exciting!

The character of Maj Green is pretty average, has a temper that flairs up occasionally but soon simmers down. But for me my favorite character was Mark Grideley, who appears later in the book. He is fairly young, thirteen years old, but since he is the Net Force director's son, he's very smart. As stubborn as a rock, he is in a way a good leader. I LOVE the part where he, Maj, and Charlie (another Explorer) confront Roddy. But of course I can't say too much!

The series is for Young Adults and I strongly recommend only older kids read it since there are many occasions where a few bad words are sprinkled here and there. Not that bad but still in a way a bit annoying to have them in the book. But I still highly recommend it for older kids for I'm sure you'll love it!

I believe that this book is a really good book, and I would certainly want to buy the whole series after just this first book. I really want to go out and buy the rest of these books. Two Thumbs Up! :-))

Well i thought that it was really good and i read alot of tom clancy he really knows how to make a good story. I hope to read more of his books in the future!

The main character 'Andy' sounds like he is about 11 or 12 years old, while all his friends seem to be teenagers in the high school age range. What gives? Why the difference in age / maturity? I will not be buying any more Net Force books.

You join the Net Force Explorers on their latest high tech adventure when it appears that Andy Moore's father massacred thousands of innocent people in the war.

Follow along with Andy and the crew as they search for the truth.

This series of books is aimed at the younger reader and as such tend to be easy books to read. Even so they keep you coming back for more and it's hard to put them down once you start.

Buy this book today, you won't be disappointed.

Recommendation- I recommend this book to anyone who is 13 years old and up because it is a great Sci-fi book mixed in with an action book. An example of great action is "The older man turned around and brought out a blued 9mm pistol. Without hesitation he pointed it at Matt's face. Another example is The younger man exploded pushing matt against the shelf in the backroom hard enough to make matt see black spots in his vision. Here is a example of a great sci-fi is book" Blinking up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling, Andy stay up in the computer link chair in strategic analysis, feeling the gentle buzz of disconnection.' So if you enjoy action and sci-fi book this is the book for you.

Clancy's Net Force Explorer series just keeps getting better. Shadow of Honor deals with a rivalry between two students that turns ugly. Clancy once again maintains a good balance between VR (virtual reality) and RW (real world) settings. This addition to his growing young adult series features creative technology, stirring emotional sequences, as well as fast-paced chase scenes. Definately recommended for young and old Clancy fans alike.

Over the past 20 years, Tom Clancy has gone from a successful insurance salesman to best-selling novelist whose books about American intelligence and defense agencies are read by millions of readers all over the world. Some of his novels, particularly 1986's Red Storm Rising, are even required reading at some of our prestigious military academies. Four of his novels have been adapted into popular films, and a vast array of books (nonfiction as well as his novels), video games (Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell), board games, and computer simulations is available in many marketplaces, including malls, used bookstores, and, of course, right here.

The Tom Clancy Companion, edited by Martin H. Greenberg (the brain behind the seven volume Guided Tour series of non-fiction books about the U.S. armed forces) is a 1992 reference book that explores the Clancy phenomenon at the popular and critical zenith of his career. Although it covers only the first five Jack Ryan novels and Red Storm Rising, The Tom Clancy Companion not only gives the reader an insight into Clancy's creative process and writing career, but also delves into the author's mostly conservative political views, both in the interview he granted to Greenberg and in a selection of newspaper columns written by Clancy.

To most of Clancy's legions of fans, perhaps the best feature is the A-Z concordance of characters and weapons systems that appear in each of the first six novels (The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, Patriot Games, Cardinal of the Kremlin, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears). The entries are brief but nevertheless informative, and it is this feature that new Clancy readers would find most useful.

Want to know, say, about an A-10 Thunderbolt II and its close support mission? Or what a Typhoon-class submarine's dimensions are? The concordance answers those questions and others, although it is not as complete as one would like. The "caterpillar" device that allows the Red October to pass Soviet vessels while running silent, running deep using a nearly silent propulsion system is nowhere to be found. Such a glaring error is why I gave this otherwise excellent (if badly outdated) reference book four rather than five stars.

The Tom Clancy Companion is absolutely vital to any and all Tom Clancy fans, because it contains references to every character and weapon, every piece of equipment used in Clancy's novel, plus much more such as in-depth interviews with Tom Clancy ("TC"), and essays by TC on issues such as nuclear proliferation and gun control. The book also contains detailed summarires and cririques of TC's books. The only thing is that The TC Companion was written in 1991 so it only encompasses the Clancy universe up to and including The Sum of All Fears,which means there is obviously no reference to Without Remorse, Debt of Honor, Executive Orders, his non-fiction works or the Op-Center series. Which makes me ask: WHEN IS THE 2ND EDITION OF THE TOM CLANCY COMPANION GONNA BE WRITTEN

Although I have read all of the Ryan Saga in print, from (in Ryan chronological order) Patriot Games to Executive Orders, I feel that the Companion gives an honest account of the Ryan lifetime. A question exists: in Red Storm, what has happened to the major characters since the events of the (thank God, unfought on our timeline) WW3? Assuming the line exists, I'd like to know what has happened since.

If you follow Jack Ryan closely, you'll enjoy having a copy of the Tom Clancy companion handy. This only covers through The Sum of All Fears (his sixth novel), so it's a little dated. But it's still worth taking a look at since this first group of books is certainly Clancy's best. It begins with an analysis of each of those first six novels. Next comes a big section of Q&A with Clancy where he gives his views on foreign policy, gun control, and all sorts of issues. Then there's a glossary/reference section which defines important characters, military equipment, technology, etc. in his books. Everything from "Ryan, John Patrick" to "KH-12."

This is a very good summary of all of the books from The Hunt for Red October to The Sum of All Fears in publishing order. It gives a good summary of these books, and perhaps providing an easy to see link between events which may become lost in the actual book. It also has several short essays written by Tom Clancy, including one about the life of Kyle Haydock which was deeply moving. The Companion also includes a concordance of key words from the novels. I would hope that a revised version or a sequel would be in the works.

The Prima strategy guides are always thorough
If you are stuck in a game and you need a tip or a hint you are always able to find and answer in the Prima Strategy guides
Great if you are stuck
I look through them only if I am stuck or why I didn't get a certain achievement.
Great Reference!
Thanks Prima and Amazon for carrying the guides when the game store doesn't have them!

An utter waste of your hard earned dollars, this guide continues the slide in quality of the Prima guide series seen over the past couple of years.

While stating on the cover it is for PC and console versions of the game, it is clear the only thing in the book that is PC specific isn't in the book - it's the proclamation on the cover. A minor detail, since after all the controls in the game are so simple one really doesn't need a key guide for the PC, but it continues the 'write-once reuse often' strategy that seems to have taken over the prima guides. When I pay this many clams for a paperback, I'd expect more than a rehashing of what you can find in the manual that comes with the game, mixed in with some pretty pictures and maps.

There is *nothing* here that you can't get from the included manual, or on-line game guides and forums, except perhaps the brilliant glimpses of the obvious from the 'hag dolls', I mean 'frag dolls', like this gem:

"Aim your reticle where you want your grenade to go...". Wow, I'm glad I read that, I thought I was supposed to aim where I *didn't* want it to go...

Perhaps if Prima spent more time actually playing the game on different platforms, and less time at photo-shoots, they could produce a guide that added value to the free resources already available.

Been playing this game for the last month or so only for a few hours at a time. My first gripe was with the inability to better control your team (i.e.; deploy grenades, flashbangs, etc.) But then again that is a good thing as it keeps the controls fairly simple. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys FPS's.

Because i am a very mediocre player at best, the negative review above doesn't apply to me. The person that wrote the above is probably very good at gaming and doesn't need the help offered by this guide.
Lots of good info on weapons and tactics. Good info on where the bad guys may appear. Lots of good (tho small) photos of situations.
Because i am so lousy at shooters, i hesitate to go online, but the multiplayer section gave me some confidence to do so.
If you are looking for help, this is a good buy. The internet free sites are few and inferior at this point, so save yourself considerable aggravation and get this book. I am glad i did.

Yes, I have read the whole series and I can say that this one was the best read and the most useful edition to me. It included some very interesting anecdotes describing the effects of munitions on some of our best armor, such as the M1 tank and the Bradley Armored Vehicle. Also, some neat desciptions of how these and many other of our recent weapons might and have been deployed in combat. The interview with General Franks was like all the others in this series, a bit long and patronizing, but I felt somewhat reassured in our military leadership after reading it.

While there is nothing you can't find elsewhere in this reader, it does provides comprehensive and useful information to a literate but relatively uniformed audience [like myself] in a way other books in this genre seem unable to do. Also, of all the books in this series I felt that this one had the most real substance and utility for me. Lastly, the book includes a substantial list of suggested reading and viewing materials that includes items somewhat available at the public library and for sale through Amazon and other mainstream sources.

tom clancy has the uncanny ability of capturing the hypothetical (but very probable) situationat in its raw and unbridled form. This talent is not refrained in equilibrio de poder. This book was impossible to put down because of its break neck speed. I don't want to give the plot away to you, so you'll just have to read it yourself. Enjoy this especially exceptional piece of Suspense literature. P.S. I read this book for a foreign language project in college.

I think this would be the pinnacle of Jack Ryan's career. I don't think you can top being the Chief Executive of the country.

Despite the number of pages, the classic Clancy thrill is there to keep you reading it. Reading this (again) post 9/11 and the Iraq Invasion gives me the impression the the current job holder wants to be a Jack Ryan (not).

The pace is there. Clancy's attention to details is there too.

However, for me, the Hunt for Red October would still be my 5 star Clancy book.

Me guste este libro mucho. He leido un poco otras novelas de Tom Clancy, y este es el mejor! Recomendo que tu lo lees.
saludos.

i read 3 of the later novels and liked them so i thought i would start at the beginning. i really liked it.

I usually don't like the format of Op-Center novels, but a good plot, and great writing. This book flows well with the other Op-Center books, and the writing has improved much from the first of the Op-Center series. As Paul Hood retires, UN solders are creating trouble, and toward the end of the book they take ambassadors, but more importantly to Paul, his daughter. Hood will not stand by and watch, so he must come back to Op-Center and fix this.