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| Date first published | 27 August 1998 |  |
| ISBN | 0 718 14336 1 | |
| Page count | 740 h/b | |
| h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback | ||
Rainbow Six
Storyline
John Clark has taken up his new appointment as head of a new International Anti terrorist outfit by the name of Rainbow Six.
Even before his arrival at the new HQ he runs into a little problem, which he along with his son in law sort out in a typical special forces way.
Clark has barely unpacked his bags before events start to happen in Europe, starting with a terrorist attack on a bank in Switzerland.
In the States a number of people go missing, to become human lab rats in a diabolical plot to solve the worlds pollution problems.
Working in the background is ex KGB agent Alex Popov. Not only aiding the terrorists and the Horizon Corporation, but also lining his own nest. What is the link to tie this together, and what does Popov learn that revolts him and makes him turn his back on his employers?
Review
It has to be said that this is not one of Clancys best books. The problem lies not so much on the basic premise of the story, but the action scenes which become rather tedious. Most of Clancy's books rely to a lesser or greater degree on detailed background and plot with dramatic bursts of explosive action. Unfortunately the bursts of action in the book are highly repetitive. This is partly due to basing the lead group around a special forces group that are all expert marksmen. There are only so many ways to describe a mans head being blown apart with 3 high calibre rounds. The repetition whilst emphasizing the skill of the men unfortunately leads to very short and frankly uninteresting and gruesome battle scenes, the outcome which seems forgone.
The book also suffers to some extent from the colloquial language used when the story centres around British and Australian military. I doubt even Sandhurst trained Aussie soldiers would be caught dead saying 'old chap' or 'old boy'
Enough of the bad points what about the good points. Well for once British and Australian SAS troopers are credited with being good, and are treated with respect. A very rare occurrence in US based books.
The central plot although well signposted is strong, and fairly well thought through. I did wonder though what the terrorists planned to do with the chemical and nuclear power plants once there solution had been completed.
The threat of Bio Warfare has always been a frightening prospect but tempered by the fact that governments had more sense than to let the military loose. What happens though when the protagonist is a corporation with no one to report to but it's shareholders?
Characterization is about par with most of Clancy's books, which is why I would not recommend this to someone looking for a new author. Whilst the reader does not need to know the history of Clarke and Chavez, knowing does make them more accessible.
The feeling on the news groups was disappointment, and I feel that this was partly due to the fact that Clancy seemed more interested in the computer game tie in.
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