The bear and the dragon

After hibernating for a couple of years, Clancy the novelist returns with a Jack Ryan story that has him contending with you-know-who and you-know-who. --Bonnie SmothersAdult Books Young adult recommendations in this issue have been contributed by the Books for Youth editorial staff and by reviewers Patty Engelmann, Sharon Greene, Leone McDermott, Roberta Johnson, Candace Smith, and Linda Waddle. Titles recommended for teens are marked with the following symbols: YA, for books of general YA interest; YA/C, for books with particular curriculum value; YA/L, for books with a limited teenage audience; YA/M, for books best suited to mature teens.

"Klingons" is how hero Jack Ryan describes the villainsDthe Communist Chinese PolitburoDof Clancy's mammoth new novel; other Yanks refer to Chinese soldiers as "Joe Chinaman." It's not for subtlety of characterization, then, that this behemoth proves so relentlessly engrossing. Nor is it for any modulation in the arc of its action, which moves insistently from standstill to hurtle. Nor is it for the author's (expressed) understanding of life's viscissitudes; in this Clancyverse, no white hat with a name dies, but every black hat gets whupped bad. Partly it's for the sheer bulkDif ever a book should come equipped with wheels, it's this oneDwhich plunges readers into a sea of words so vast that, after hours of paddling happily through brisk prose, the horizon remains hidden from sight. Mostly, though, it's because that sea glitters with undeniable authority. Clancy has demonstrated in earlier books (Rainbow Six, etc.) that he towers above other novelists in his ability to deliver geo-political, techo-military goods on a global scaleDand here he's at the top of that war-gaming. With aplomb, he spins numerous plot strandsDamong them: a Sino-American spy seduces his way into Politburo secrets; enormous oil and gold reserves are discovered in Siberia; the new Papal Nuncio to Beijing is murdered; the Politburo orders a hit on a top Russian officialDthat lead to a Chinese invasion of Russia and a credible war scenario that occupies the novel's last quarter and that culiminates in a nuclear crescendo. Each thread carries a handbook's worth of intoxicating, expertly researchedDseemingly insideDinformation, about advanced weapons of war and espionage, about how various governments work, complemented always with ponderings about the tensions between individual honor and the demands of state. Add to that the excitement for Clancy fans of this being the first novel to feature not just Jack Ryan but also, in significant subordinate roles, Jack Clark and Ding Chavez of Rainbow Six and other tales, and you've got a juggernaut that's going to hit #1 its first week out and stay there for a good while. 2 million first printing; BOMC main selection; author tour. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Clancy (Carrier, 1999, etc.) weighs in with his latest doorstop/thriller about international intrigue. This time out, our old friend Jack Ryan (of Executive Orders, 1996, etc.) is now in the White House and trying to straighten out the Social Security system when he's distracted from his efforts by big trouble in Moscow. The head of the SVR (a.k.a. the KGB) is nearly killed in a rocket-grenade hit. The Mafia? Communist hardliners? No one is sure, so the FBI and CIA offer to lend a hand. Some of the evidence points east, so there is plenty of action in China. Much of the intelligence is garnered from the Vatican's Diplomatic Corps, which means a fair amount of ecclesiastical drag. When it becomes necessary for the US and the Soviets to launch a joint military effort, however, the real action begins--in the classic Clancy mode, with plenty of hardware lovingly deployed. Standard Clancy overkill, with the usual strengths and weaknesses. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

After hibernating for a couple of years, Clancy the novelist returns with a Jack Ryan story that has him contending with you-know-who and you-know-who. --Bonnie Smothers Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews

Despite all her volunteer work and family responsibilities, not to mention her part-time reporting job for her local paper, valiant Lucy Stone manages to maintain her poise in her seventh busy outing (after Christmas Cookie Murder). For Lucy, escorting a preschool field trip to a turkey farm, baking pies for charity or entertaining her husband's difficult clients and son's college roommate for Thanksgiving dinner is all part of her routine in rural Tinker's Cove, Maine. For Native American Carl Nolan, life is full of conflict, whether with his boss, the board of selectmen or the local museum's anthropologist. As Thanksgiving approaches, Lucy covers a town meeting at which the main agenda item is whether the selectmen will support the Metinnicut Indian tribe's petition for recognition by the federal government. Approval would enable the tribe to build a casino on land belonging to Nolan's employer. The ink on that story is barely dry when Nolan's body, his head smashed with a priceless tribal artifact, turns up at the high school Thanksgiving football game. When Lucy accepts the challenge to solve the crime, she finds no lack of suspects. Meier clearly establishes her characters' motives early on, and portrays smalltown life both realistically and sympathetically. Sadly, the story loses some of its impact in a constant stream of minutiae that should leave Lucy, along with readers, gasping for breath and longing for a few minutes of peace and quiet. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.