Just Finished: The Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy

I completed the Red Rabbitby Tom Clancy a few days ago.  It was a good read, however, I would probably rate it behind the other Clancy novels I have read to this point (Without Remorse, Patriot Games, and Rainbox Six).  If I had to criticize the book in any way, it would be on how front heavy Clancy wrote the book.  There is so much development around the situation (a Russian plot to kill a world leader in the early eighties and the CIA's attempt to obtain a defector, or Rabbit, to foil it) that when those two events happen, the book is nearly over.  In fact, the assassination attempt takes place so late in the book, you wonder if you are missing pages because you can't figure out how it can be done justice in so little time.  A better distributed balance would be better. 

If you are interested in Spycraft, this is the book for you.  After reading Rainbow Six, this is a topic that interests me greatly and no one describes it better than Clancy. 

If you are a fan of Tom Clancy, I would recommend this book in order to be a completist, but if you are trying to dip your feet into the Jack Ryan universe, start with Without Remorse or Patriot Games.