Tom Clancy Op Center

[Hoop]

I just finished reading the first book in the Op Center series. This is the one created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik but actually written by Jeff Rovin. It's an interesting, if short, read. (At just under 400 pages, it's only 1/2 to 1/3 of a Clancy written novel.)

There were several handguns mentioned in the book. However, two of them stood out. It mentioned a .348 Magnum and a .45 Magnum.



I know it's entirely possible that there could be such calibers but I don't recall hearing about them. Is it possible that the intent was .357 Magnum and .45 ACP?

 

[M1911Owner]

Well, there's the .45 Win Mag and .450 SMC (Short Magnum Cartridge) that I can remember off hand, and I think there have been a couple others, as well. I've never heard of a .348 Mag.

 

[Travis McGee]

Clancy just rents out his name on those "op center" books. The guys that write them may have never fired a bb gun. I've read some Clancy where he deals with small unit tactics, and it's laughably unrealistic.

 

[sturmruger]

I have always enjoyed Clancy's fiction. I could never get into his Op Center books. I think his other books are just too good to step down to the Op series.

 

[entropy]

Non-exsistant weapons, improbable scenarios, and poor writing in general should be reason enough for Clancy to pull his name from the Op Center series. But the lure of big $$$$ is too much for some, I guess. I believe Matt is right in his assessment that the writer hasn't fired so much as a BB gun. Two Thumbs Down.

 

[Gray Peterson]

Splinter Cell is good. But Op Center is crap!

 

[BerettaNut92]

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is a good game but the fit and finish sucks. Lots of typos and the guns are awful. Lots of holes in the story.

 

[Jrob24]

I like the Jack Ryan series books better than Op center. Op center has a major crisis break out that's resolved in two days and the good guys too frequently use non-leathal weapons against bad guys

 

[Standing Wolf]

Very poorly and unevenly written junk.

 

[benEzra]

I started to read the first Op Center book, and tossed it after about two chapters when two clowns managed to plant a bomb within spitting distance of where the President of South Korea (or whoever) was getting ready to speak later that day--and they did so using only a Maxwell Smart cloak-and-dagger routine, IIRC, carrying the bomb in a black handbag. This struck me as really lame, especially since I've already read Red Phoenix, which is MUCH more believable (chillingly so).

 

[Hoop]

Well, I finished off all of the Clancy authored books already except for Teeth of the Tiger which is only in hardcover at this point. I was looking for some other direction to head. I considered reading the Ryanverse in chronological order, as opposed to the roughly published order I read them in. I thought I would give Op Center a try, knowing full well it wasn't written by Clancy. I'm not sure if I'll continue. Anyone recommend Clive Cussler?

 

[benEzra]

I highly recommend Red Phoenix by Larry Bond, who collaborated with Clancy on Red Storm Rising. It is believable and top-notch, and although written in 1989 (IIRC) the scenario could happen tomorrow.

 

[Jrob24]

Red Phoenix caught my attention when I was working in a library for a summer job. It has some politics like Clancy books but not too much. Many good action scenes. I recommend it

 

[Sunray]

"...Anyone recommend Clive Cussler?..." If you like Boat People stories. Cussler is actually recognised as an authority on boat stuff. Mind you, that may just be the TV talking.
Dale Brown's books are good. So is the whole Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. There's another Napoleonic war era Boat People series by Dudley Pope that's good too. It's the 'Rammage' series. Kind of like Hornblower.

 

[0007]

LArry Bond has several books in print. All of them were pretty good reads. Also try Ralph Peters.

 

[Esky]

I like Tom Clancy, but like others here found the Op Center series to be crap.

Used to read Clive Cussler, but IMNSHO he's not good at character development, & some of his stereotyped characters were just totally unbelievable. Too bad, his plot ideas were really good, but just not his ability to write it up so that I can "suspend my disbelief".

He's long dead now, but I still go back & re-read the Travis McGee series by John D. McDonald. One he*l of a writer! And his knight-in-tarnished-armor is still, to me, one of the best characters ever developed. Can't remember now which book it was in, but there's a sequence in which Travis was all prepared for the BGs to come on board his boat- and he was going to hide in a false closet, which had a full-length mirror concealing the hideaway. But a bullet from one of the BGs smashed the glass! Time for a new plan...! It was thrilling, scary, and funny as hell.

But that's what I liked, his hero was all too human- made mistakes, had to live with the consequences. Too much fiction is like the James Bond stuff, where you never wonder if James has really got to the end of the line.

And even though Travis used guns, and seemed knowledgable about them, he didn't think they made him 7' tall and bulletproof. He had some bad things to say about the dumba*ses who go shooting without ever thinking about where the bullet will go if they miss.

Now I'll have to go & re-read that series again!

Esky
who through reading alone can be a pro at crastination

 

[jAK-47]

Cussler is the REAL deal (see below) and he is a fantastic writer. The man can really spin a story. And his main character, Dirk Pitt, is a man's man; he ONLY likes 1911s and KNOWS how to use them! Try to read the books in order. Like most successful authors, Cussler has had to begin using Dirk Pitt's son and another character as the main character ages.

Here's something from his biography:

"Cussler enjoys discovering and collecting things of historical significance. With NUMA (National Underwater & Marine Agency, a non profit group begun by Cussler) he has had an amazing record of finding over 60 shipwrecks, including the long-lost Confederate submarine Hunley and the recent discovery of LaSalle's ship L'Aimable, near Galveston TX. Cussler also has a renowned and extensive classic car collection, which features over 80 examples of custom coachwork.

Along with being Chairman of NUMA, he is also a fellow of the Explorers Club (which honored him with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration), the Royal Geographic Society and the American Society of Oceanographers. Married to Barbara Knight for 40 years, with three children and two grandchildren, he divides his time between the mountains of Colorado and the deserts of Arizona."

Enjoy,
jAK-47

 

[Standing Wolf]

He's long dead now, but I still go back & re-read the Travis McGee series by John D. McDonald.

Yep. One of the best.

 

[Kharn]

As I understand it (one of his residences is in my county and his family attends/attended my church, prime gossip material) Clancy's ex-wife owns a share of the Op Center profits. There's a reason she's suing him for diluting the brand or whatever the lawyers call it (aka: making it total crap so none are sold).

Kharn