Customer Reviews

State of Siege (Tom Clancy's Op-Center)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

In Tom Clancy's State of Siege, he places the tough decision of a mans family and a nations integrity. Paul Hood has quit his job at the Op- Center to spend more time with his wife and family. When he takes them on a trip to New York to see his daughter in a recital at the U.N., he didn't plan for what was about to come. A group of wealth greedy terrorists invade the U.N. building and taking many delegates and young musicians hostage, including Hood's daughter. He is now forced with the decision to stay and comfort his wife, or to rejoin the Op-Center and help get all the hostages, including his daughter out. Clancy's book was action packed from the very first chapter. Clancy intensifies the book with Paul Hood's decision of work or a life with his family. His daughter being a hostage poses to him a problem which he must solve. In order to solve it he must leave his wife and return the Op-Center. The clock is running and Hood faces the most important decision of his life. He sacrifices his wife and decides to save his daughter's life. He rejoins Op-Center and faces a new question of how to save his daughter and the delegates. Time is passing quickly and the bloodshed increases. The pressure is intense and Paul keeps his cool. He takes the stress and eventually makes the right decision and saves his daughter's life with the help of his co-workers at the Op-Center.

In this, the sixth Op-Center book, Jeff Rovin is thanked for his "creative ideas and invaluable contribution to the preparation of the manuscript". This is generally taken to mean that Mr. Rovin is the manuscript author. Unfortunately, Mr. Rovin, though having a couple of other book titles to his credit, most certainly has none of Tom Clancy's ability with words.

The Op-Center series started in 1995 as a sound germ of an idea which owed much of its success to genuine imput from Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik. Now, at book six, and with Clancy and Pieczenik standing quietly in the shadows with their palms outstretched for whatever royalties they can squeeze from this series without having to do any work, the books are reaching new lows.

State of Siege is wooden and difficult to work through. The story might have had real potential in a proper Clancy novel. It could have been a real killer if thought out and written intelligently. Unfortunately, passing it over to a ghost called Rovin was the easiest way to doom the story to failure.

If Tom Clancy insists on putting his name to rubbish like this (albeit if only to rake in some extra lucre) then he MUST take some responsibility for its content. It saddens me to have to remind him, but the money he is putting in his pockets from poorly-conceived "novels" like this is money that honest working folk have stumped out because he has placed his name on the cover of the book.

SHAME ON YOU TC

Clancy has done great in ditching those sometimes boring political plots and went into the action theme. The story is excellent and here is a summary: Paul Hood has retired as the Regional Op-Center director and now wishes to be with his wife and kids more. Sharon was a TV cooking show personality and his daughter Harleigh was an excellent violinist for her teenage age. His son, Alexander Hood (I hope I got the name right) enjoys video games and challenge. When Paul Hood finnaly retires, there is a sub-plot of emotional issues between him and Sharon but when they go to see Harleigh perform at a special diplomatic concert in New York for ambassadors and senators, greedy terrorists with a grandiose plan to get the world's attention and recieve a high ransom invade the United Nations building where the teenagers will perform and take the children and government people hostage. It is a race against time as hostages are killed on an hourly bases and while Secretary-General Chatterjee complains about giving diplomacy when Mike Rodgers wants to send in the Striker team. This has a good plot and lots of adventure that will "dazzle all readers!" (Me!)

Let me just say that I read this baby in one night. I was up until 4:00 in the a.m. because I couldn't put this book down. Every time I'd tell myself I was going to stop reading it and finish the next night, the chapter would end with me saying to myself "WHY did that have to end like that????" So I read this book in one night and it is probably one of the most exciting books I've ever read, and I thought that "Mirror Image" was the best book in this series. I would recommend this book to everyone. Jeff Rovin, the writer (yeah his name is in the acknowledgemens somewhere) does a great job, and this is about the best series on the market. So go buy it, go read it.

This was the first of many Clancy novels I will read. The story held my interest from the first page, and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The plot was conceivable and well developed. I really felt sorry for Paul Hood - his wife could use an attitude adjustment.

Guys, lets be real. This book is great.. It really is. The characters are in-depth, but not too much so it gets sickening. The action is worked out up till the details, ever characters thoughts are described so well, that you almost think that your thinking with the person in question. To me, when reading this book I can really "live" the story. And that, again: to me means that it is a splendid book. Two thumbs up !

Truly awful How Clancy can put his name on juvenile trash like this, even now when the material he writes himself is worthy of five stars(i.e RAINBOW SIX, RED STORM RISING among others) is beyond me. The story might have had real potential in a proper Clancy novel, with a takeover of the United Nations. It could have been awesome if thought out intelligently, but is totally wasted. Renegade 'peacekeepers' turn terrorists(!!) and kidnap a children's orchestra(!!), start killing the hostages and THEN start bargaining? Come on! And of course, one of the hostages just happens to be one of Op Center director Paul Hood's kids! Ho-hum. Crap-Center strikes again. I could write an entire book about how bad this one is.

The Op Centre series is going from bad to worse, I have brought all Tom Clancy's books (all the earlier ones from Red October to my last Red Rabbit) but after I happen to read the first Op Centre book I stopped buying them and just got them from the library, hoping that they would get better and that they would be worth buying again, unfortunately that didn't happen.
This last one is so bad that it is the last one I will get from the library and just stop reading Tom Clancy's books all together.
Always very sad to see a successful author run out of ideas and continue for the money. I would wager that in the long run you will loose money Tom as people will just stop reading your novels.

Even though this is not the best Op-Center work, This book portrays an excellent look at a serious problem in our world today. That problem is the idea of total Pacifism. This book sets an outstanding contrast between those who favor war and those who oppose it at all costs. State of Seige shows the frustrations of Pacifists and the frustrations of those dealing with them. As a Navy Seal once said, "No one wants to fight, but someone ought to know how." State of Seige is a must read for students war or pacifism.

When I read Clancy's books for my first time, it sparked my attention. These books are great for reading on free time and when you have homework or nothing to do. Clancy expresses the urgency of the book greatly when terrorists attack the UN H.Q. If you keep reading clear through to dinner time, you never want to put it down and eat anything. I hope that Clancy will make more books so i can read them.