"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
But you bet The Bear and the Dragon is fun--over 1,000 swift pages' worth. In the opening scene, a hand-launched RPG rocket nearly blows up Russia's intelligence chief in his armoured Mercedes, and Ryan's clever spooks report that the guy who got the rocket in his face instead was the hoodlum "Rasputin" Avseyenko, who used to run the KGB's "Sparrow School" of female prostitute spies. Soon after, two apparent assassins are found handcuffed together afloat in St. Petersburg's Neva River, their bloated faces resembling Pokémon toys.
The stakes go higher as the mystery deepens: oil and gold are discovered in huge quantities in Siberia, and the evil Chinese Minister Without Portfolio Zhang Han San gazes northward with lust. The laid-off elite of the Soviet Army figure in the brewing troubles, as do the new generation of Tiananmen Square dissidents, Zhang's wily, Danielle Steel-addicted executive secretary Lian Ming, and Chester Nomuri, a hip, Internet-porn-addicted CIA agent posing in China as a Japanese computer salesman. He e-mails his CIA boss, Mary Pat "the Cowgirl" Foley, that he intends to seduce Ming with Dream Angels perfume and scarlet Victoria's Secret lingerie ordered from the catalogue--strictly for God and country, of course. Soon Ming is calling him "Master Sausage" instead of "Comrade," but can anybody master Ming?
The plot is over the top, with devastating subplots erupting all over the globe and lurid characters scaring the wits out of each other every few pages, but Clancy finds time to insert hard-boiled little lessons on the vileness of Communism, the infuriating intrusions of the press on presidential power, the sexual perversions of Mao, the poor quality of Russian pistol silencers ("garbage, cans loaded with steel wool that self-destructed after less than ten shots"), the folly of cutting a man's throat with a knife ("they flop around and make noise when you do that"), and similar topics. Naturally, the book bristles like a battlefield with intriguingly intricate military hardware.
When you've got a Tom Clancy novel in hand, who needs action movies? --Tim AppeloOnce Clancy pulls the trigger nobody can touch his gift for describing combat. People
Those who like heart-stopping action in their thrillers will not be disappointed Entertaining and eminently topical Clancy still reigns. The publication of The Bear and the Dragon reminds his fans that he is not likely to be dethroned any time soon. The Washington Post
Exhilarating You d have to be numb not to be impressed by the scale of [Clancy s] ambition, his feel for the way information now flashes instantaneously across the globe, his mastery of technological developments. No other novelists is giving so full a picture of modern conflict, equally adeptly depicting those at the top and bottom of military and intelligence systems. The London Sunday Times
The most intricately plotted and in some ways the most satisfying of his military-techno thrillers since The Hunt For Red October There s enough new technology to satisfy the most demanding Clancy fan A juicy novel within a novel, full of heavy artillery, intrepid aviators and shrewd generals. The Orlando Sentinel
Clancy has a knack for stories that appear to come out of the daily headlines. The Bear and the Dragon confirms his title as a master of techno-thrillers. The Montreal Gazette
Interesting characters...too-real plotting. The Florida Times-Union
Clancy manages to thrill The guts, the fun of these books, are the high-tech devices, the ingenious schemes and the inside look at military tactics. Clancy delivers here. The Denver Post
Clancy is a master of detailespecially those having to do with military action and weapons And he builds strongly moral, attractive characters, ones we would like to emulate. The Houston Chronicle
The Bear and the Dragon works Hypnotic appeal. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Megasuspense thrilling. Indianapolis Star
""Once Clancy pulls the trigger...nobody can touch his gift for describing combat."--People
"Those who like heart-stopping action in their thrillers will not be disappointed...Entertaining and eminently topical...Clancy still reigns. The publication of The Bear and the Dragon reminds his fans that he is not likely to be dethroned any time soon."--The Washington Post
"Exhilarating...You'd have to be numb not to be impressed by the scale of [Clancy's] ambition, his feel for the way information now flashes instantaneously across the globe, his mastery of technological developments. No other novelists is giving so full a picture of modern conflict, equally adeptly depicting those at the top and bottom of military and intelligence systems."--The London Sunday Times
"The most intricately plotted and in some ways the most satisfying of his military-techno thrillers since The Hunt For Red October...There's enough new technology to satisfy the most demanding Clancy fan...A juicy novel within a novel, full of heavy artillery, intrepid aviators and shrewd generals."--The Orlando Sentinel
"Clancy has a knack for stories that appear to come out of the daily headlines. The Bear and the Dragon confirms his title as a master of techno-thrillers."--The Montreal Gazette
"Interesting characters...too-real plotting."--The Florida Times-Union
"Clancy manages to thrill...The guts, the fun of these books, are the high-tech devices, the ingenious schemes and the inside look at military tactics. Clancy delivers here."--The Denver Post
"Clancy is a master of detail--especially those having to do with military action and weapons...And he builds strongly moral, attractive characters, ones we would like to emulate."--The Houston Chronicle
"The Bear and the Dragon works...Hypnotic appeal."--The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Megasuspense...thrilling."--Indianapolis Star
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. First (1st) Edition. Book is Unread . Front/Back: New . Spine: New . Pages: New . Page Edges: New . Priniting: 1 . Year: 2000. 0. Seller Inventory # 330