The Bear and the Dragon

John Clark #3

by Tom Clancy

Time and again, Tom Clancy's novels have been praised not only for their big-scale drama and propulsive narrative drive but for their cutting-edge prescience in predicting future events.

In The Bear and the Dragon, the future is very near at hand indeed.

Newly elected in his own right, Jack Ryan has found that being President has gotten no easier: domestic pitfalls await him at every turn; there's a revolution in Liberia; the Asian economy is going down the tubes; and now, in Moscow, someone may have tried to take out the chairman of the SVR--the former KGB--with a rocket-propelled grenade. Things are unstable enough in Russia without high-level assassination, but even more disturbing may be the identities of the potential assassins. Were they political enemies, the Russian Mafia, or disaffected former KGB? Or, Ryan wonders, is something far more dangerous at work here?

Ryan is right. For even while he dispatches his most trusted eyes and ears, including black ops specialist John Clark, to find out the truth of the matter, forces in China are moving ahead with a plan of truly audacious proportions. If they succeed, the world as we know it will never look the same. If they fail...the consequences will be unspeakable.

Blending the exceptional realism and authenticity that are his hallmarks with intricate plotting, razor-sharp suspense, and a remarkable cast of characters, this is Clancy at his best--and there is none better.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Action, Military Fiction, Suspense, Adventure

1137 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2000

About the author

Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. was an American novelist and military-political thriller pioneer. Raised in a middle-class Irish-American family, he developed an early fascination with military history. Despite initially studying physics at Loyola College, he switched to English literature, graduating in 1969 with a modest GPA. His aspirations of serving in the military were dashed due to severe myopia, leading him instead to a career in the insurance business.
While working at a small insurance agency, Clancy spent his spare time writing what would become The Hunt for Red October (1984). Published by the Naval Institute Press for an advance of $5,000, the book received an unexpected boost when President Ronald Reagan praised it as “the best yarn.” This propelled Clancy to national fame, selling millions of copies and establishing his reputation for technical accuracy in military and intelligence matters. His meticulous research and storytelling ability granted him access to high-ranking U.S. military officials, further enriching his novels.
Clancy’s works often featured heroic protagonists such as Jack Ryan and John Clark, emphasizing themes of patriotism, military expertise, and political intrigue. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, he became one of the best-selling authors in America, with titles like Red Storm Rising (1986), Patriot Games (1987), Clear and Present Danger (1989), and The Sum of All Fears (1991) dominating bestseller lists. Several of these were adapted into commercially successful films.
In addition to novels, Clancy co-authored nonfiction works on military topics and lent his name to numerous book series and video game franchises, including Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell. His influence extended beyond literature, as he became a part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and was involved in various business ventures, including a failed attempt to purchase the Minnesota Vikings.
Politically, Clancy was a staunch conservative, often weaving his views into his books and publicly criticizing left-leaning policies. He gained further attention after the September 11 attacks, discussing intelligence failures and counterterrorism strategies on news platforms.
Clancy’s financial success was immense. By the late 1990s, his publishing deals were worth tens of millions of dollars. He lived on an expansive Maryland estate featuring a World War II Sherman tank and later purchased a luxury penthouse in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
He was married twice, first to Wanda Thomas King, with whom he had four children, and later to journalist Alexandra Marie Llewellyn, with whom he had one daughter.
Tom Clancy passed away on October 1, 2013, at the age of 66 due to heart failure. His legacy endures through his novels, their adaptations, and the continuation of the Jack Ryan series by other writers.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

“The Bear and the Dragon” is 1137 pages long. It could have been less than 600 if Clancy had left out the political propaganda.

The book’s focus is anti-China rhetoric. President Jack Ryan’s trusted SecTreas calls them “little slant-eyed fucks” and “Chink bastards”. SecState uses “our little yellow brothers” followed by “conscienceless motherfuckers” (“motherfuckers”, “cocksuckers”, and “barbarians” are primary descriptors of the Chinese). A Treasury hero calls them “little chinks”, “backwards commies” and “Chinese barbarians” who eat “fried panda penis” and “think they’re the fucking master race”. That is affirmed by the US Ambassador. All non-Christian Chinese characters are evil, (except one naive girl who likes sex), and Chinese-Americans, even those in the CIA and military, aren’t trusted with sensitive information (and don't get a single word of dialogue). The president’s private discussions refer to them as “aliens” or “Klingons”. The president calls China's policy “incomprehensible barbarism” and talks about the “incomprehensible stupidity” of the “Fuckin’ barbarians”. President Ryan compares them to Nazis, visits Auschwitz, then promises to defeat the Chinese so it will never happen again. There’s lots of actual preaching, including ten pages of evangelical sermon (broadcast by CNN) in the middle, and the pastors focus on the “heathens”, “godless pagans”, and “Sons of Satan” in China, how evil they are, how Mao was “the voice of Satan” and the “mouthpiece of the fires of hell” and how they love pretending they are gods. The main sermon ends with:

“When Jesus looks into our hearts, will he see people who support the sons of Lucifer? Will Jesus see people who give them money to support the godless killers of the innocent? Will Jesus see people who support the new Hitler?”


Anti-Communism statements are omnipresent. Dozens of characters monologue about how stupid and unworkable communism is and how only idiots could believe it. Even the thoughts of the Communist characters are depicted as stupid. In a book set in 2000, the focus on Mao’s sex life is mind-boggling:

“’They have this big, perfect theoretical model, promulgated by Karl Marx, refined by Lenin, then applied in their country by a pudgy sexual pervert named Mao.’
‘Oh? Pervert?’
‘Yeah.’ Ryan looked up. ‘Mao liked virgins, the younger the better. Maybe he liked to see the fear in their cute little virginal eyes— kinda like rape, not so much sex as power. Well, I guess it could have been worse—at least they were girls,’ Jack observed rather dryly.” – page 52

“Chairman Mao’s personal habits were not recorded, but his lifelong love for deflowering twelve-year-olds was well known in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” – page 130

“Few men of his years had his vigor, Fang was sure, and unlike Chairman Mao, he didn’t abuse children, which he’d known of at the time and found somewhat distasteful.” – page 168

“Hell, Chairman Mao liked doing twelve-year-old virgins, like changing shirts. I guess old as he was, it was the best he could do—“ – page 505

“Mao was like that, as we all know….”
“I must be too Catholic,” the President thought aloud. “The idea of Mao popping little girls makes my skin crawl.”
“They didn’t mind, Mr. President,” Weaver told him. “Some would bring their little sisters over after they got in bed with the Great Leader. It’s a different culture, and it has different rules from ours.” – page 794

"What would the fathers of those barely nubile little girls have thought? Honored to have their daughters deflowered by the great Mao Zedong?" - page 794


The book also focuses on China’s one-child policy. The secretary for a top Chinese official tells a Japanese businessman that as a woman, “I suppose I’m lucky to be alive”. The middle 200 pages is devoted to a couple who wants a second child after their first child dies, climaxing when doctors attempt a forced birth-abortion, a Vatican City cardinal and a Chinese Baptist stop him, and the police murder both, with the government supporting the police. Wait – a police officer murders an unarmed diplomat and a pastor in front of CNN cameras, and the government supports them? The next day Chinese police brutally beat 34 Chinese Christians, including the dead pastor’s wife, on her own front lawn (again in front of CNN cameras). Clancy even suggests that the Chinese government might be harvesting the organs of aborted newborns and selling them on the black market.

Besides constant rips on China, Mao, and everything Communist, there’s lots of pro-capitalism. A big theme is China’s unfair trade laws and how America deserves a level playing field (ignoring that we have unfair trade laws against most 3rd-world countries). There are speeches about why wealthy people are the smartest, the hardest working, and make the best government leaders. Jack Ryan is Clancy’s consummate hero, and the book frequently brags about his $80,000,000 bank account, million-dollar jewelry, and collection of fine furs. President Ryan also makes a point of emphasizing that there is no such thing as “class” in America and everyone can have wealth if they work hard. He lauds the superior morality of Wall Street capitalists several times. At one point the ultra-rich SecTreas and former Wall Street tycoon sincerely declares: “Oh, okay, up on The Street we trade jokes and stories and even plot a little, but deliberately fucking people over—no! I’ve never done that!” This same major Wall Street player expresses incredulity that America even does business with the Chinese. Copious displays of wealth – private jets, fine cigars, fine jewelry, fine art, fine clothing – are made by those smart, hard-working, and righteous enough to have earned them. Clancy attacks politicians for being greedy while mocking them for not making enough money:

“Congress had largely been populated with people whose life’s ambition was ‘public service,’ a phrase whose noble intent had been usurped by those who viewed $130,000 per year as a princely salary (it was far less than a college dropout could earn doing software for a computer-game company, and a hell of a lot less than one could make working on Wall Street)”


There’s lots of other conservative propaganda. Roe v. Wade was a mistake (Ryan’s hand-picked judges will overturn it) and abortion is wrong. Government is evil and politicians are corrupt (except Ryan and his already-wealthy friends). More oil must be drilled and environmentalists are mocked. Clancy’s adoration of violence is throughout. Our law enforcement is at its best when it can "take justice into its own hands". “Real men” have killed bad guys. “Real men” die with a gun in their hands. Pro-military rhetoric is constant.

“The United States Army had never been an army of conquest. Indeed, its ethos has always been liberation, and part and parcel of that was the expectation that the people who lived there would be of assistance, or at least show gratitude for their deliverance, rather than hostility. It was so much a part of the American military’s history that its senior members rarely, if ever, thought about other possibilities.”

Clancy uses Vietnam as an example, without mentioning that the United States came to STOP Vietnam’s liberation from the French, then stayed for 12 years trying to prop up puppet governments in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos against the will of the majority. Our conquests of Native Americans, Mexicans, Spanish, Filipinos, and much of Central America are also ignored. Clancy minimizes the significance of killing enemy soldiers, stating that they should have trained harder or not put the uniform on. Clancy is absurdly blind on this point when he says the US military relies on massive bombing, rather than manpower, because unlike other nations we place a high value on human life. Is Clancy unaware that our massive bombing campaigns kill far more civilians than our manpower-intensive infantry campaigns, or did he actually mean “American life” when he said “human life”? American life does appear to have extra value - after talking about how the Chinese were going to hell, a pastor comments that he loved comforting dying U.S. Marines because he “knew they were going to see God”. A different pastor, getting full-on with the war effort (before the Chinese had even invaded anyone), states “Let’s give those Sons of Satan a reason to fear us”.

There are typical anti-liberal attacks. The “bad guy” in the State Department is a close friend of the liberal ex-vice president. He is ripped on for going to Harvard. A Brown professor is portrayed as a detached academic callous about human life, as opposed to the CIA and military personnel he’s speaking to. There’s a reference to “fairyfied French food”, and several rips on Europe, especially their government and media. The American media, with their “lingering liberalism”, are said to not respect the public and have “great solicitude for communist countries”. Feminists are mocked several times, of course, and homosexual and lesbian sex is derided as wrong.

Speaking of that, penis and testicle size are frequently referenced. Both individual Chinese characters and the Chinese as a whole have small penises (literally and figuratively), while Americans have large ones (literally and figuratively). An American spy's penis is called a "sausage" by his Chinese lover several dozen times and compared favorably to her former Chinese partners. Every Chinese male’s sexual act is some form of perversion, but for the Americans there are “boys must be boys” sexual conquests. Men’s use of prostitutes, especially the use of Asian prostitutes by the American military, is condoned as expected and acceptable by numerous characters. Though there are no Japanese characters (just one Japanese-American), the “sexual perversions” of the Japanese are referred to multiple times.

As far as plot goes, it’s one of the worst that Ryan has written. From the beginning you know the Chinese will start a war with the Russians to get their gold and oil, and the Americans will help the Russians defeat them easily. You know the 75-year-old Russian hunter will shoot some Chinese, the spy will produce critical information, the Rainbow guys will run a mission in Russia, the missile-defense software will prevent a nuclear attack on Washington. I only saw one surprising plot turn – at the last second President Ryan makes the most idiotic decision in presidential history (that is a HUGE bar), but in Clancy’s world it’s heroic. Every military engagement goes perfectly for the American/Russian forces. Every spy move goes perfectly for the American/Russian agents. Every decision President Ryan makes is the right one. As others have noted, Clancy is really sloppy with repetition. Most characters are Clancy mainstays recycled with higher rank to fit whatever roles he needs. Over and over the same jokes are repeated, insults made, explanations detailed, wisdom given. We hear that one secretary gives her boss better oral sex than the other secretary at least 5 times from at least 4 different characters. President Ryan is CONSTANTLY declaring how much he hates being president, to the point that everyone around him would be sick of him if he were a real life character. The whole book is tedious – I grew up loving Red Storm Riding, The Hunt for Red October, and Clear and Present Danger, but this one was trash. I leave you with its final words:

“Ming went out to dinner—the restaurants hadn’t closed—with her foreign lover, gushing over drinks and noodles with the extraordinary events of the day, then walked off to his apartment for a dessert of Japanese sausage.”

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so I've read probably half a dozen Clancy novels over the course of time, most recently this and Executive Orders.

What's interesting is that today, in 2013, how wrong Clancy has been about practically everything, from both foreign and domestic policy. Clancy has made a career of using an encyclopedic knowledge of weapons systems to create spy and military dramas, with no small amount of flag-waving.

But eventually, it grows tiresome. In the case of The Bear and the Dragon, it becomes flat out offensive. The broad outlines of the plot, following in the same geopolitical timeline as his previous novels, are that China decides to invade Russia in order to take control of some major natural resource finds. The US, in its new role as global protector, aids the Russians in turning the attack back.

My problem is not with the scenario, as unlikely as it may be. It's that Clancy paints everything in heavy-handed, straight-up racist terms. His Americans routinely pepper their speech with racist slurs about the Chinese, something that its difficult to imagine Clancy doing if this novel was about a conflict with Nigeria or Somalia. It's offensive, lazy, and speaks to the simplicity and stupidity of his worldview.

Moreover, he exercises no restraint in painting his worldview, which is his prerogative, just as it's mine to say he's an idiot. In his world, Americans always try and do the right thing, except for liberals and the press, whilst foreigners are unreliable, Americans of foreign extraction are unreliable, and villains rub their hands in glee at their nefarious plans. Furthermore, he goes off on these pointless disquisitions about the virtues of capitalism, the flat tax, anti (abortion) choice, and other right-wing positions, whilst showing his lack of depth of knowledge on almost all these subjects. It's disquieting, but more importantly, it's just shitty writing.

He appears to have slowed his pace of writing in recent years. This book might be an example of why.

[David Rubenstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read many of Tom Clancy's books, and liked them a lot. This one, however, is so disappointing. First, it is much too long. There are a number of sub-plots, and it is hard to see how they really affect the conclusion to the story. So much of the book seems to be filler; the 1137 pages could be cut down to 300 pages without disturbing the story. In addition, much of the dialog is trite, even banal. Finally, in a good novel, at least one of the main characters needs to undergo a significant change. This doesn't happen.

The one redeeming aspect of the book is that (I listened to the audiobook) Michael Prichard does an excellent job of narration. He single-handedly kept up my interest.

[Robert Hrzic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, let me say it this way: my ideal WW3 scenario has Russia and China as allies rather than fighting each other. I also don't think that the role of president suits Jack Ryan at all and the book was over 1100 pages long with the build-up to war being slow.
But regardless, in the novel (spoilers) the Chinese employ ex-Spetsnaz to do their dirty work, so there is some kind of Russian-Chinese alliance in this book. Also the action is quite epic and I love seeing John Clark work it out. I've also been quite keen on the idea of Russia becoming pro-Western and being a part of NATO. I also love the part where the US intercepts an ICBM.
I still recommend this book! It's my favourite Tom Clancy novel.

[Clay Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book by Clancy.

[itchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

24june2019

one of the few books i bought and read hot off the press;

okay, let's be honest;
more accurately just the one;
plus it might have been cold as it was a few months later

of course i plan on rereading this sometime;
hopefully soon

first book i've read that's at least a thousand pages long, wooo!

*

31August2023

cement:
p14: Perhaps not the latter, Goodley thought, parking his car in a VIP slot by the cement canopy of the Old Headquarters building.

p400: Her face turned pasty-white, and she collapsed to the cement floor.

spelling:
p294-295: Anyway, it was a straight historical piece, sources like Josephus and Vegetius, but the implication was clear. He was crying out for better training in the Russian army, and also for career NCOs. He spent a lot of time with Vegetsius's discussion of how you build centurions.

plot:
p501: The hotel room had a coffeemaker, and he brewed his own from beans stolen from the CNN Beijing bureau office.
p501-502: He was sure the Beijing government had written him onto their official shitlist, but fuck 'em, Wise thought with a sip of the Starbucks, it was hardly a disgrace to be there, was it?

p1031: I have the pieces in place now. I have the pieces in place now.

grammar:
p1081: "...It the north- and east-most silo...."

I've now reached the newest Clancy book I've read already. It'll be fresh reads henceforth.

[Hoai · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the worst book I have ever read. what a waste of time. I lost alot of respect for Tom Clancy after this book.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is something of a mash of previous Clancy plots with 600 extra pages thrown in for good measure. China, who is facing a major economic problem ( Red Storm Rising ), decides to start a war with Russia. The Chinese are lead by a cadre of arrogant, out of touch oligarchs ( Debt of Honor ) who are unable to see that they are in over their heads. This culminates in the US coming to Russia's aid, where they wreck all comers (Just about every Clancy book ever), and the Chinese attempting to nuke a US city ( Sum of All Fears ), after a failed operation by Rainbow to take the nukes out.

Overall, it was OK, but llllloooonnnngggggg. Fortunately these books read pretty quickly, and the action bits were good.

One thing I picked up that I hadn't noticed reading Clancy books as a kid: dude is obsessed with money. By the end of this book, you will know the annual salary of most of the main characters and how much more they could be making if only they hadn't lowered themselves to taking key positions running the country, blah, blah, blah. It's pretty annoying, especially Ryan's unending complaining about being the President. Yeah, having the distinct honor of being the chief executive of the greatest nation in history is a real pain in the ass, I'm sure. Hopefully his millions of dollars (which the book keeps mentioning) will console him.

Oh, and this book has the worst closing line in the history of printed media.

[Mary Slowik · Rating 1 out of 5]

"You still reading that fascist crap?" --Mr. Brady, my 8th-grade History teacher

This book has been brought to you by Drunk Uncle. Hooooly shit, this was bad. I had pretty low expectations going in but, wow, this is easily one of the worst books I've ever read. It's definitely the longest terrible book I've actually finished since Atlas Shrugged. Broadly racist, broadly sexist, and yes, generally fascist in terms of its politics. Nevermind the wooden, monochromatic prose and the contrived, predictable plot, let's just cover some of the cringe-inducing elements, shall we? They all reflect a creepy, repressed-Republican obsession with sexual issues, expressed through mentions of Mao Zedong's predilections (repeated ad nauseum), President Jack Ryan's caveman morality regarding abortion, and the awful depiction of intimacy between Nomuri (American spy) and Ming (his Chinese source.) Can anyone say armpit hair? ("... but it just gave him something else to play with. She giggled...") Clancy even closes the book with one last reference to Nomuri's genitalia as a "Japanese sausage," as though that were some crude joke he alone finds especially funny.

Speaking of funny, there are unintentionally hilarious throwback moments, which illustrate just how behind-the-times this was, even for the year 2000. Government officials all apparently use America Online: "You've got mail!" when their latest top-secret communique arrives. Basic computer-age acronyms are repeatedly spelled out for Grandpa Reader ("ISP-- that's Internet Service Provider--") Less funny but still kind of weird: the director of Central Intelligence and her deputy (I believe) are a married couple, and over and over again she refers to her spouse at work as "Honey Bunny." Really? There are a thousand pages and also about a thousand typos, which completely and comically disrupt the meaning of certain lines. Not to mention all the back-story explanations of other events that happened in the Tom Clancy universe, which only serve to remind you of other preposterous stuff he's gotten away with. It's just cover-to-cover crazy.

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to die while reading this book. It is awful. Clancy picks about seven key phrases - "six five and pick 'em", "the Navy makes great coffee", for example - and repeats them every two pages and then calls it writing. Oh, and he repeatedly calls Chinese people "Klingons". I'm not joking.

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disappointing end to the President Ryan trilogy. I liked Debt of Honor and was on the edge of my seat biting my nails throughout Executive Orders. What went wrong?

I think Tom Clancy forgot how to write. He broke the cardinal rule of storytelling: show, don’t tell. In his previous books, battle scenes included vivid imagery and verbs. Now, it’s just dialogue with some military lingo thrown in. His paragraphs read more like Department of Defense briefings than a novel. And the suspense is gone. Normally Clancy gives the reader a sneak-peek as to what the bad guys are going to do long before the good guys know what to expect. This usually leaves the reader sweating bullets trying to figure out what the good guys are going to do when the shit hits the fan. But in this book, the US finds out China is going to invade far enough in advance that they get Russia into NATO and eliminate any and all suspense.

So much of the Tom Clancy realism is gone. Russians are portrayed as uncharacteristically humble toward the United States; Golovko and his cohorts are constantly praising American know-how, technology, and expertise. Did Clancy honestly think that the Russians were in awe of the US (rather than bitter) at the end of the Cold War?

The Chinese have replaced the Russians as the communist ideologues. In his Cold War-era books the Chinese are portrayed as the opposite; Communist on the outside but secretly pragmatic. But here Clancy portrays them as slavishly devoted to Marx and Mao as if Deng Xiaopeng had never existed.

But beyond that, Clancy becomes downright racist in criticizing the Chinese. Had he simply criticized their government or even the negative parts of their culture, I’d accept it. But American and Russian characters refer to the Chinese as slant-eyes, Chinks, and Klingons whose minds are so ridiculously small that they will obey any command, no matter how horrific, even gladly giving their young daughters to the Party leaders, considering it an honor. By comparison, Ryan can’t stop talking about how wonderful American culture is, how racist the Chinese are (pot calling the kettle black), and how Chinese culture doesn’t sanctify human life as America does.

One of the embodiments of Chinese brainlessness in the novel is a girl named Ming, who is as dumb as a post. Despite the most obvious clues that Chet Nomuri is an American agent, she has no qualms about divulging state secrets and inserting a spyware program given to her by Chet. Why? It’s because she likes Chet’s penis, aka “Japanese sausage.” I know that because she mentions that exact phrase every single time we see her, especially during the cringe-worthy sex scenes. She is the most irritating character in the book, and unfortunately it doesn’t get much better from there.

Ryan’s character has truly degenerated from Executive Orders. Despite having this time run for the job, he still whines to members of his Cabinet to just call him Jack, because even though he’s a self-admitted connoisseur of fine furs and jewelry, he’s still just a regular Joe. Arnie Van Damm, a much-needed character who frequently puts Ryan’s arrogance in check, hardly appears.

Robby Jackson, a character who I’ve long admired, is pulled out of nowhere to become the Vice-President. Did you ever daydream as a kid where you and your best friend were President and Vice-President? That’s what this setup feels like. Jackson as VP adds absolutely nothing to the story. His purpose is to remind people that he is a fighter pilot, not a politician, which he does ad nauseam.

The setup of the story is bland and unrealistic. The story starts off with Golovko, a character we’ve grown to love, almost being killed by an assassin. It’s intriguing until the investigators conclude that a former KGB pimp, not Golovko, was the target. Then I stopped caring.

But Clancy keeps dragging on the investigation even though I don’t give a shit about some former KGB guy who isn’t introduced until he’s dead. And then, about 500 pages later, it turns out Golovko was the target all along. Why drag out an investigation nobody cares about only to insert the most obvious plot twist?

The rest of the plot is more political than anything else. While waiting for China to invade already, I’m treated to a story on why abortion is murder. Clancy seems to think that the majority of the world feels about abortion as strongly as he does, because in a matter of weeks the US and Europe are cancelling trade deals and Taiwan’s economy is booming because of a marketing campaign with stickers labelled “we’re the good guys.” And of course this is fully supported by both the business elite and consumers despite the fact that in real life this would cause massive price hikes and supply shocks.

And the Chinese act like Wile E. Coyote in invading Russia. Their plans with Japan, India, and the UIR all failed spectacularly. Why did anyone think invading Russia would work? Why do the Chinese leaders call Ryan weak but at the same time remind the reader of how he saved the US from a depression and Ebola? The war against China is more engaging than the UIR, but it’s still clear that the US will win easily.

But nothing could prepare me for the nauseatingly sweet, rushed, and contrived ending. The nuclear bomb is shot down with America’s last missile by, of all people, Ryan, who brainlessly goes on a cruiser instead of NEACP because he just has to be the hero in action. Chinese students oust their government in the name of peace and brotherly love because they see an Internet video of one loss (which contradicts Clancy's previous rhetoric about how the Chinese are mindless pawns). The new premier says sorry and that China will play nice from now on. And when it’s all over, Ryan, who should be preparing the postwar settlement, just says “fuck it” and takes the night off to get drunk. Everything wraps up so nicely, I’m surprised Tom Clancy didn’t end it with “and they all lived happily ever after.”

This book is awful. The writing is dull, the characters are obnoxious, it’s filled with dick references, and overall the book is several hundred pages too long. Filled with repeated phrases like “Japanese sausage” or “Daughters are God’s punishment for being men” or “the Chinese just don’t respect human life like we do,” this book is best skipped. I was going to move on to Teeth of the Tiger after this, but I’m going to need a break from Tom Clancy before I start on Jack Ryan Jr.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUCCESS!!! I've read the second biggest, longest book by Tom Clancy, probably his longest, next to Executive Orders! Reading this book was quite a challenge, for 2 reasons, #1 the length of the book, #2, I had read many horrible reviews on this book so I was really hesitant to read it, but I gave it a shot and I'm glad I did, was it Clancy's best work, no, but not his worst either.

Jack Ryan is still getting used to being President of the United States, the last job he ever expected himself to have. He is now about to face his biggest challenge in office yet! After a failed assassination attempt on SVR director Sergey Golovko, who is nearly killed by an RPG-7, Golovko doesn't know who wants him dead or why. But as things escalate, Ryan turns his eyes towards China, and after a deadly altercation takes place within China, the results slowly start what could possibly bring about World War III, a conflict between China and Russia (who has just become allies with America). Ryan must use everything within his Presidential power to prevent 2 countries from going to war, one country being on his side, and the other being led by a ruthless tyrant wanting to bring a new world order to not only his homeland, but the whole world.

Tom Clancy once again delivers in The Bear in the Dragon, with nail-biting suspense and non-stop political and technological details. The sub-plot regarding the war between Russia and China reminds me in some ways of Clancy's earlier novel Red Storm Rising.

[J.D. Swinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

THis is the book that made me quit Clancy's Ryan series.

**Spoiler alert***

Well, I kind of wish I could spoil this, but it was all so cliche and predictable.

It seems Clancy has found his Novel script, and the only thing that differs is the name of the good and bad guys.

In this one, Russia is the good guy that is being attacked by the bad guy China. RUssian characters are oh-so-noble and the Chinese evil or bland (they're gonna die anyway, so why bother making them human)

It's all just too obvious and predictable.

[Brett C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was OK. It was too long-winded in my opinion and could have been cut down a lot. I think this is my last Tom Clancy adventure. I've read all the older novels and enjoyed them tremendously. After Rainbow Six (even Executive Orders) I'm noticing a trend in his writing and a downward spiral. It's just changing and I find myself losing interest and dredging through to the end. Like I've said in my other reviews: Patriot Games, Hunt for Red October, and Clear and Present Danger are awesome stories and showcase Tom Clancy's style.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical of any Tom Clancy book, there are a lot of characters, information, background and many plot lines that all tie together, eventually.

The Bear (Russia) and the Dragon (China) the more things change, the more they stay the same. This time China is trying to destabilize Russia in order to take control of mineral fields in Siberia. And, to knock off a world power, and to save face with America.

[Ross Sidor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a frustrating book that highlights both the positives and negatives of Tom Clancy's original books. The books is basically Red Storm Rising, but with more focus on the build-up, including extensive diplomatic and economic issues, and less time on the actual conflict.

The negatives: too long, too many repetitive scenes, too many drawn-out subplots, too much of the author's personal politics, too much detail on trade negotiations and global economics, too much of Jack Ryan sitting around the White House without much to do, and too many patronizing lectures from various characters. The level of outright racism toward the Chinese is also off-putting and certainly does not hold up well with time; it's also all the more surprising coming from a character like Jack Ryan.

The positives, however, include a good subplot with Clark and Chavez training troops in Russia, the investigation into the assassination attempt on the Russian spy chief, insight into post-Soviet Russian intelligence and security services, and cool battle scenes with the US backing up the Russian army during the Chinese invasion of Siberia, including drones, stealth fighters, and helicopter gunships. The final section of the book is very fast. Any page with Clark and Chavez, or Golovko and Bondarenko, is always a pleasure to read. Also, Clark leading a joint Rainbow-Russian incursion into China to destroy nuclear-tipped ICBMs was pretty great.

This book is also 20 years old now, and it's depiction of the PLA and global politics is somewhat dated. In the 90s, Clancy envisioned the US and Russia becoming new best friends. The PLA is depicted as being a largely incompetent, low-tech, poorly equipped force, and the Chinese government ministers are mostly baffoons, with recurring villain Zhang being the only one showing much intelligence.

Here, Clancy also continues to portray warfare as a rehash of Desert Storm, with US air and tech superiority dominating and annihilating an opposing conventional army in a matter of days, while, in reality, Desert Storm proved to be the exception and not the norm, with the ugly, messy conflicts in Bosnia and Somalia serving as far more accurate representations of what post Cold War-warfare would look like.

Also, countries like China and Russia have obviously and logically adapted to combat the US asymmetrically and to defeat or work around American superior technology like drones and GPS-guided weapons that are featured so prominently in this book and used to devastating affect against the Chinese. Certainly, China and other state actors do not expect to best the US in a conventional tank-on-tank, ship-on-ship battle, the way Clancy portrays here.

So, a mixed book that is not without its redeeming qualities but is not especially relevant today. Readers new to Clancy would be better served looking to the more recent "Threat Vector" and "Power and Empire" for current, modern thrillers featuring up-to-date scenarios involving China.

[wally · Rating 5 out of 5]

finished this one this morning, 'bout 4:30 in the a.m. great story, 5-stars, quite the tale.

long. the p.b. version is 1137 pages? don't know for certain, read the kindle version, library copy. 19,973 ratings, 387 reviews, 3.79 average? had to scroll to see a review higher than...what? 3? most of those listed first are one and two-star reviews, liked by enough that that is where it stands. heh! focking politics. that seems to be one major complaint. sheesh, the story is political. as are the reviews.

an impressive story, emphasis on story and clancy takes the reader through the hallowed halls of the political kingdoms here on earth, from the soviet union, to d.c., to peking. and he does it in such a fashion as to make it believable.

i've read a number of non-fiction recently...one not so long ago that concerns china. we've been killing each other since cain grabbed whatever...was it the jawbone of an ass?...and killed his brother? yeah. politics since the garden. and then some.

i think it's a hoot that the top review here laments that some of the characters herein use politically incorrect terminology. i doubt that reviewer had any problems with the media elite, as well as those defending the corruption of the clinton white house...when they used phrases like "white trash"..."bimbo women"...the fabled and ever-present "redneck"...or the always-available "trailer-trash"...much as the big-talking-heads never batted an eye as they told their prime-time news-audience that "third world countries" are such and such, this, that, the other. pass the popcorn. that or pick up that jawbone of the ass lying on the ground over yonder and go to work.

great story! impressive. good read.

[Kyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Clancy’s The Bear and The Dragon was an amazing read. This book is for anyone who wants to read and has the time to take in a thousand page book. It doesn’t fell like a thousand pages once you start the book flies by with relative ease. The book starts off with a Russian head of state being caught up in an attempted murder and narrowly escaping with his life. The first few pages set the tone for the whole book. This book starts off explosive and continues to keep a fast pace and action throughout most of the book. This is a series book but you don’t need to read any of the previous books to understand the plot. The plot is what I liked most about this book it is always thickening and moving never dying out or becoming dull. The story shifts points of view starting off in Russia with a cop and an American FBI agent and then moving to America and picking up with the president of the United States after a short encounter with him it off to china and a tech agent pulling double duty for the CIA. The book continues like this for a while but it adds even more people to the story with the addition of a Russian head of state and a NATO Special OPS team that is specialized in counter terrorism. This never ending change of character and pace is what makes the bear and the dragon great book.

[Jay Pruitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the last Jack Ryan novels. Jack has worked his way up from being an analyst (Hunt for Red October) to being the President of the United States. He now has to use his non-political, no-nonsense style of leadership to stop China's aggressive expansion plans. To do so, he must become an ally with his former enemy, Russia. Think, Captain Kirk having to befriend the Klingons.

Probably my least favorite Clancy novel. The first half of this very long book reads at a slow pace. Part of the reason for this, I believe, is that Clancy tries to pull in all of the many characters who have had a role in the entire Jack Ryan series. In other words, there was lots and lots of storyline "set-up". In the second half of The Bear & the Dragon, the story finally starts to pull together and pick up speed. However, most of this later portion involved military action.

[Dale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, I have liked many of Clancy's books, but this one is one of the biggest, most offensive pieces of sh*t out there. Any likeability of the Jack Ryan character is immediately out the window just a few pages in to this book, as he starts spouting his fascist, racist, sexist views. If the man hates being President so much, why does he quit? The Secret Service has better be on the lookout for him, as I wouldn't be surprised if his wife smothered him in his sleep. This book would probably be a real page turner for a middle aged, white, gun loving, racist US male. Everyone else would probably be thoroughly insulted and offended by page three. Had to keep reading though, just to see how ridiculous it got.

So you know,, it ends with more Japanese sausage.

[Taveri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is billed as as John Clark 3 who doesn't get mentioned until page 270 and just for a few unmemorable pages. Most of the book is like that > a hodge podge of entries such as comments of President Jack Ryan, less than mediocre, and not really plot advancing. The segments that were interesting revolved around the Russians trying to solve a murder worth four stars but such a small part of the book. Segments involving CIA agent Chet Norumi and his compromised mistress Ming deserved a negative star rating. Overall two stars for this book might be generous.

[Paul Holden · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at page 198. Nothing much happened at almost 200 pages. I doubled my normal limit for such tolerances, because the book is 1,100 odd pages long. But after reading other reviews it seems as though it won’t get much better and I have far too many books to read. There is nothing as disappointing as the failure of one of your childhood heroes.

[Dennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a letdown. A fairly ridiculous story that alternates racism, bad prognostication and great men's bathroom habits; this is where Tom Clancy leaves off in the Jack Ryan saga. What do we learn from this book? That Tom Clancy guessed wrong about who the world's next threat would be (betting on China), that this probably stems from a racist attitude towards Asians (which started with his evil Japanese, continuing with his evil Chinese for the third time), and that great men take no action until they pee (as any action they take is the second thing they do after waking up.) Is it the same for great women? Not many of them in this book but one CIA field agent reminds himself that his female boss "takes her leaks sitting down." Since we can assume he has no first-hand knowledge of this, we can only assume that he's showing that great deductive reasoning which makes him such an effective field agent! How great is he? One of the "good Japs", being California-born, he walks into a top government official's office, seduces his secretary - not so difficult, apparently, as we learn that sex is nothing to them and they give blow-jobs for decent office furniture - and immediately develops her as a source into the top leadership. No doubt she was tired of "limp noodles" and appreciated "getting it good" as only an American (and top CIA field agent, let's not forget - may be part of their training, you never know...) can give it, even if he is of Japanese descent and may be, in Clancy's eyes, anatomically-deprived. (Must be all that California sunshine and surfing that makes up for it and turns him into the stud he is!) Here, it's the Russians who are the "co-good-guys", even if all they talk about is taking their enemies and raping the mothers / sisters / daughters / wives / grandmothers / dogs / etc. (Apparently, even if they're perpetually drunk on vodka, there are no "limp noodle" problems here!) All I can say is that Clancy really shows his age here with all his droning on about bladder problems and right-wing politics, and Jack Ryan is turned into a sort of a Rush Limbaugh action-figure, bent on "how things oughtta be." A sad end to an entertaining saga but unless the family sells the rights to some ghost-writer (á la Robert Ludlum), we've finally heard the last of it.

[SteVen Hendricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review – The Bear and The Dragon - Tom Clancy
Reached back for some older Tom Clancy and came up with “The Bear and The Dragon.” Next to “Executive Orders”, The Bear and The Dragon is one of Clancy’s legendary lengthy military spy novels at 1,100 pages. Meticulously researched, The Bear and The Dragon is a complicated story about problematic issues in a complex world. This story is about Russia (the Bear) and China (the Dragon), their human rights matters, the treatment of their citizens, global greed and what we, the United States, will tolerate as leaders of the free world. Unusual alliances, lots of emotional outbursts, and the exposure and vulnerability of strong, powerful people are all a part of this extensive narrative. Clancy, a master at starting multiple subplots, brings them all together in a climatic ending. The overall plot, the strong character development and the ‘actionable’ action (thanks to CIA agent John Clark) were all done well. One could wonder what would happen if our political leaders today were to read this story and tried to apply some of the wonderful notions that Clancy has so graciously written in this fictional geopolitical tale. The Bear and The Dragon is a very good Tom Clancy book! There is lots of intriguing inside details about the inner workings of the CIA and military intelligence but what impressed me the most was Clancy’s development of President Jack Ryan’s character and leadership decisions during such a tumultuous time. If only all our Presidents had Ryan's ethics and sense of duty, we’d all be much better Americans towards each other right now. The principles and ideologies put forth in this book are the guiding tenets which should be ours in reality. An excellent story that was well thought-out, top-notch character development with plenty of excitement and suspense, especially at the end. I highly recommend The Bear and The Dragon to anyone who enjoys military intelligence and spy espionage thrillers.

[Bradley Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fictional conflict between Russia and the People's Republic of China. President Ryan, upon finding intel that the Chinese were planning a hasty invasion of far eastern Siberia, asks NATO to allow Russian entry, so Russia, fragmented after the collapse of the USSR would be under NATO protection. NATO agree's and Russia is allowed entry. The PLA skeptical about the NATO-Russian alliance goes ahead with preset invasion plans. The NATO response is a destroyed PLA Navy by US carrier fighters, the destruction of most mechanized ground units in Russia and the eventual collapse of the communist system under politburo control in Beijing. Before the last chips fall, a rogue Chinese secretary of the politburo launches multiple nuclear missiles from a PLA 2nd Art. corps base, just as joint spetsnaz and rainbow six operates are about to disable them and take control of the base. The effect is one of the missiles being shot down by high-tech close range AA assets aboard an AH-64 Apache longbow, and the second being knocked down over Washington DC at the last available moment by experimental Aegis system(s) aboard the guided missile cruiser the uss Gettysburg that is in port outside of DC. The book ends with Chinese students hearing about the war through US internet feed on the CIA website. They angrily storm the politburo and demand the communist party be ousted for their illegal actions in the war and the averted nuclear annihilation that would have followed had the nuke hit DC.

[Rylan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned this 200 pages in.

I use to read Clancy in high-school and I was curious to know what I thought of his writing many years later. Instead of re-reading one of my old favourites, I thought I’d try the Bear and the Dragon, which I’d had for about 15 years but had never had the chance to read.

With this in mind I was happy to endure what I expected to be some pro-USA/NATO anti-everyone else, but I wasn’t expecting such blatant racism and sexism. Here is a sample regarding the Chinese, (p178):

“Remind the little slant-eyed fucks that they need us a shitload more than we need them.”

I’m disappointed that my favourite high-school author (the Hunt for the Red October etc.) thought this (and many, many other horrible lines) were okay to publish.

This book is going straight to the recycling bin.

[Nikki Golden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's another complaint about Tom Clancy books--yeah, still not sure why I end up reading them--it takes him 400 pages to get to a plot. For 400 pages, he's meandering among too many potential plot lines, and really, it's a lot of work to keep track of them all. But hey, he still sells books, and I still keep reading them, so that's my fault.

This one--which is hopefully the last of this ridiculously long series--was WAY too heavy on the anti-abortion stance. I think that we could have done away with all of President Ryan's monologues on his very Catholic stance and Supreme Court Justice picks. That had really nothing to do with any way the plot developed, and really, do we care what Tom Clancy's view on the subject are?

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This will be the last Clancy book I read. His writing has gotten sloppy, and his personal politics have taken over his story lines. I'd like to think he was a better writer than this back in his "Hunt for Red October" and "Cardinal of the Kremlin" days - and that my love for his writing wasn't purely a lack of maturity on my part.

Bear & Dragon has all of the granular over-detailed descriptions of every little working part of every military piece of hardware one would expect, with a completely obvious plot. Oooh, and some racism thrown in too. He really seems to hate the Chinese. And women. Clancy doesn't like women.

Like I said, last Clancy I'll ever read. Which is refreshing to *know* with such certainty.

[Brenton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a mess. I love the Jack Ryan character, and Tom Clancy knows how to build slow momentum towards a big climax. However, much of this book was just boring, patently racist, and disturbing in its inability to pull the whole story together with a human dimension in the end. The end is pretty good as an outline of plot. but it lacks all the great dynamics that can come together when tension has been resolved or when a big bad thing has happened. It's only because of the last four or five hundred pages that this book got two stars.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

At some point I'm going to revisit the early Clancy's in the hope that they are as suspenseful as I remember them. This, however, I've read for the first and last time. I'm not sure where it all went wrong or why, but this is not good and at a thousand+ pages it's not to be taken lightly either.