The Teeth of the Tiger [Paperback]

Tom Clancy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2004

Book

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Pub Group (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141004924
• ISBN-13: 978-0141004921
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (846 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Clancy is America's, and the world's, favorite international thriller author. Starting with THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, all thirteen of his previous books have hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. His books, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER and THE SUM OF ALL FEARS have been made into major motion pictures. He lives in Maryland where he is a co-owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Please Tell Me That This Is Not Tom Clancy!, May 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Teeth of the Tiger (Hardcover)

This is by far the worst Tom Clancy book I have read. I thoght Red Rabbitt was bad, but this is even much worse. When Clancy first started writing novels, plots were well developed as were characters. Much like Sid Meier's computer game of the same name, Hunt for Red October, was superb. So much so, that the U.S. Naval Institute (a group of former naval officers)for the first time in their history published Clancy's book as a unknown author. Most of the rest of the Jack Ryan series were similarly taut. Now that Mr. Clancy has developed into a full blown businessman (he owns part of the Baltimore Orioles, for example), he seems to have forgotten his readers, the folks that got him his fortune. Teeth of the Tiger is actually boring in spots and comes across as well as a first draft of a freshman english essay. I forced myself to wade through most of the book only to be set up for a sequel at the end. If Clancy thinks that his name recognition alone will sell his books, he may start wishing that he was still selling insurance, the job that he had prior to his first book.

113 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Teeth of the Mutt, March 3, 2005

By 

A. Stephen Collins (Syracuse, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Teeth of the Tiger (Hardcover)

How disappointing. This book desperately needed an editor to throw it back at Clancy for a rewrite. It was, in many ways, stupid. Loaded with utterly unbelievable events. If the world of international espionage really functions like this, we are all in big trouble. I don't remember any previous Clancy books being this childish. Foolish dialogue, especially between the Caruso twins. I never got to like them because they talked like such idiots from start to finish. And those nicknames were utterly annoying. Jack Jr. is not much better. In fact, there isn't an intelligent person in this whole book, which tells me that it's actually the author who lacks intelligence. One glaring example: The rookie spook, Jack Jr., talks openly in public to the twins about top secret info he's learned on the job, naming names of someone who will be their first "target." I immediately assume that Jack will soon be in big trouble for his "loose lips." Nope. Clancy never deals with it at all, even though the twins tell their superior that Jack filled them in. (Oh, you told them about this super-classified info without authorization? No problem, kid.) What nonsense. And there were many other similar flaws. Like them ID'ing their target in Vienna by happening to remember seeing him in Munich. "We're not certain he's the guy, but we're pretty sure so let's just go ahead and kill him." Just stupid. And get this: The 20-something Caruso boys, when comparing Ferraris to women, refer to Grace Kelly and Maureen O'Hara. Grace Kelly and Maureen O'Hara ?! Is Clancy out of his mind? They were both dead before either of these kids were born. Maybe Clancy himself fantasizes about those gals, but it's ludicrous to think his young characters would ever say such a thing. Obviously his editor: A) is afraid to question anything Clancy writes, or B) never reads any of it, figuring if the name Clancy is on the cover, it will SELL, and that's all that matters.
Someone at the Penguin Group should lose their job for letting this dog get into print. A major let-down.

147 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Clancy has finally 'jumped the shark' [sigh], October 15, 2003

By 

David S. Rose (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Teeth of the Tiger (Hardcover)

In case it isn't obvious from the preceding 482 reviews, this book is a disaster, and not even worth reading if someone gives it to you for free. When Clancy first burst onto the scene with Red October, he was an unbelievable breath of fresh air, excellent writing, believable plots and characters, and nail-biting suspense. The fact that he managed to continue his run through several more books is a testament to his skill as a writer.

Unfortunately, after getting Jack into the White House, Clancy began to lose steam, with Red Rabbit being an extraordinary disappointment to his fans. With Teeth of the Tiger, however, our favorite novelist has really hit rock bottom (well, actually the real rock bottom was his simply excreble "collaborations" on OpForce where he sold his name, but I'm talking here about his own writing.)

There is a saying that when a television show "jumps the shark" it has turned the corner and is headed for oblivion, and that may well be the case here. Tiger is a simply miserable book, with zero plotting, completely implausible scenarios, ridiculous characters who are both boring and poorly written, no suspense...in fact, there isn't a single decent thing one could write about this book!

Despite all of the above (as if they weren't enough) what saddened me most of all was the way Clancy wrote the characters of the twin brothers. Come on! How many successful attorneys-turned-FBI-agents go around speaking like troglodytes who couldn't get a high-school diploma?? These days, it seems that whenever Clancy puts dialogue in the mouths of "young people", all he can come up with stuff like "hey, Bro, whatcha doing?" or things of that ilk. And Jack comes across as obnoxious, impatient and not-very-bright...certainly not someone whom you would cheer on.

Ah well...Tom's series was great when it lasted, and we all owe him a big vote of thanks for single-handedly reinvigorating the thriller genre. But, sad to say, I think I've read my last Clancy original for a while. Sic transit gloria mundi.