Customer Reviews

Ssn

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(34)
1 star:		(106)

 

 

At least, it's not a typical Clancy book. Prospective purchasers should know that this is a "novelization" of the Tom Clancy: SSN computer game. As a book, it falls somewhere between his imaginative and intricate fictional works, such as Hunt for Red October and Rainbow Six, and his non-fictional studies of various military units. I love both, but SSN does not measure up to either type of previous work. As a novel, it dispenses with characterization altogether, and the plot, such as it is, is merely a recitation of battle after battle, with very little depth or complexity. (Lack of "depth" in a submarine novel -- now that takes talent!) The book fares better as a study of submarine operations, and yet it still falls short of Clancy's capabilities. Even the author's fictional works do a better job of explaining procedures and terms. By the 200th time you read "Make tubes 1 and 2 ready in all respects, including opening the outer doors," you'll wish this book were being shot out with the torpedos. In short, the book reads like a video game -- one that you're watching someone else play. If you want the involvement, if you want to be caught up in the action, then skip the book and buy the actual game.

This was one of the worst books I have ever read. I think that about sums it up. No character development whatsoever. Even a tiny glimpse into the personality of the faceless enemy would have been welcomed. While I am sure that American submarines are the finest made and manned, I find it implausible that each and every enemy vessel, faced by Cheyenne, was manned by an incompetent crew and led by an equally incompetent captain. If this was intended as a users guide for the compter game, then I was either mistaken or misled when I purchased this book. Storyline...Cheyenne sails, Cheyenne kills multiple enemy vessels, Cheyenne re-arms, Cheyenne sails, Cheyenne kills multiple enemy vessels, Cheyenne re-arms...you get the idea. It's hard to believe that the same author that brought us "Hunt for Red October" had a hand in "crafting" this mess.

I like Tom Clancy but this is not him. Even in the Amazon listing it doesn't show it but the fine print at the bottom of the cover says "Created by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg".

Either Clancy is cranking books out too fast or he's selling his name.

One chapter might as well be a cut and paste of the previous.

I've read two books now that were "co-authored" by Clancy and neither was worth a damn. I will never buy another one.

If you like wrestling, Rambo or Superman, you'll like this one. It is Superman in a Submarine. He knows all, conquers all obstacles. The outcome is never in doubt. Repetitious, duplicative, predictable.

This book is the equivalent of watching a twelve year-old play a computer game. I bought it in an airport to read on the plane and got more entertainment out of the flight safety card. I'll never read Clancy again until he repays me for this travesty!

Having read so many excellent Tom Clancy books, I can't help but feel cheated. While I still consider Clancy a great writer (how many other authors can write 1,000 page "nailbiters"?), SSN is truly a waste of time, money, and paper.

From what I understand, this book relates to a software game he made. This story should've been in the box with the game manual, not as a book. Clancy could've been ahead of the curve and written a thriller about WWIII involving China and America ... instead he wrote the same boring lines over and over again. No thought, no involvement, and no interest on the part of the reader. SSN was a real stinker. I wish I had read the reviews here before I bought the book!

I bought this book because I expected to receive a well written novel on par with Clancy's other works. It ain't! There is NO character development. There is NO coherent plot or story. The technical info isn't there. What the ---- is this anyway?

One star is too much, how about 0 stars! If you are unlucky enough to have bought this book,and have not read it yet, save yourself some time and pick out any chapter and read it. After you read that chapter, throw the book away,you have read the whole thing. The endless redundacy of "make tubes one and two ready in all respects" and "units from tubes one and two running hot,straight, and normal" is mindless. Maybe you get a mindless book, by writting about a video game. Has Mr. Clancy written his last great novel? I don't think so! Has he written his last sequel to a video game? I sure hope so!

After I bought one of those Op-Center books, I checked out the Amazon reviews to see if anyone else thought it was complete drivel. That's when I learned that "Tom Clancy's" means Tom Clancy did NOT write the book; rather, the "created by" guy gave an outline to some ghostwriter. So since then I've steered well clear of any "Tom Clancy's" books and waited for a "Tom Clancy" without the 's. Anyway, this "SSN" drivel had "Tom Clancy" (good) but also "Created by" (bad). Not knowing what type of book it was, I bought it. What a stupid mistake! I made it as far as page 15 where it talks about how they store crates of canned food on the floor of the corridors, and walk around on the crates. "There was not much room on a submarine for storing food, so crates containing the canned goods that the crew needed to eat were loaded into passageways, one on top of the other, making a temporary floor upon which sailors would walk until the food was ready to be eaten." HUH? What on earth kind of convoluted sentence is that? I could write better than that when I was 8 years old, and I'm not even a writer; I'm a programmer! For crying out loud. Tom Clancy shouldn't even put his name on this drivel. The books that he actually writes are among my favorites (except for Rainbow Six but that's another story). Please... don't buy or read this book. You will only encourage them to keep doing this.

SSN began as an exciting read. Capt. Mack Mackey takes his Los Angeles class nuclear submarine deep into enemy waters to stealthily attack chinese shipping and defend American assets in the area.

The world of a nuclear submarine is an exciting one and Clancy seems to be well versed in the details of that environment. I eagerly devoured the early action in this strange setting. However, once the submarine jargon got old I realized that that's all the book is. It's just a very detailed discription of the operations of a submarine.

There are no characters that we know anything about, and there is not much of a story. If you're looking for a story I can sumarize it for you fairly simply: 1. The Cheyenne nuclear submarine encounters enemy. 2. Cheyenne sinks enemy becuase Cheyenne is quieter, has better sonor equipment and longer range torpedos and missiles. 3. Repeat process untill war is over.

Every mission was essentially the same.

In conclusion, I believe this is a good choice if you are looking for a book about how a modern submarine operates. If you're looking for a story or any interesting characters I believe you should look elsewhere. Two stars for interesting description of submarine operation.