Has anyone read Clancy's SSN?

[Red October1984]

I want to order it, but I don't know if I will yet.

[TLAM Strike]

Its rubbish. Can't even tell Clancy wrote it.

[Sledgehammer427]

I'm siding with TLAM. Its terrible.

[Red October1984]

Really?

[mookiemookie]

I stopped reading it after about 50 pages and threw it away (and I never throw/give books away). It was that bad.

[TLAM Strike]

Contrary to what the title says, this is NOT a Tom Clancy book. Some toolbag author supposedly cowrote it and then Tom Clancy passed by, took a **** on the manuscript, and called it "cowritten". I've seen Call Of Duty fanfiction that sounds more Clancy than this book

? Keep in mind that this was written back in the 90s... The result is pretty obvious. America triumhps effortlessly and rapes practically every piece of military unit that China has with just ONE submarine. It's so ridiculous at points you'd think it's written as substitute porn for hardcore military enthusiasts.

The story is centered on Captain Mack, who, unfortunately, is the only named person in the WHOLE ****ING AMERICAN NAVY...Everybody else is named after their function and their ranks, and possess personalities no further than that of their position in the submarine.

a good healthy portion of the book is practically a slightly embellished activity log of somebody who knows half **** about submarines.

From: http://redkinoko.blogspot.com/2011/0...ok-review.html


^QFT

[Red October1984]

That is a big suprise. I mite pick it up anyway. I don't know a lot about subs. I take in wat I get from wikipedia, subsims, sh2, books, etc. I love a good sub story. Found out that everybody hates U-571. I liked that movie. If I see it real cheap, I'll probably pick it up.

[Raptor1]

I assume you've already read Red Storm Rising and The Hunt for Red October, which besides being excellent books have some pretty awesome depictions of submarine warfare?

[Oberon]

Can't dismiss "To Kill The Potemkin" either, that's a damn good novel. One of the first submarine stories I read in fact.

[Syxx_Killer]

I read SSN many years ago. I don't remember anything about it except that there was a ship in the book named Benthic Adventure. I think the submarine in the book was the USS Cheyenne. The book was based on the game which looked awful. I remember back in the day trying to decide on SSN or Jane's 688i Hunter/Killer. I went with 688i and glad I did.

Originally Posted by Oberon

Can't dismiss "To Kill The Potemkin" either, that's a damn good novel. One of the first submarine stories I read in fact.

My first sub novel was Typhoon. I loved it. I always wanted to read To Kill the Potemkin, but never got around to it. One of these days I might try to find a used one on Amazon or something.

[Red October1984]

I own that book. I'm reading the Jack Ryan books in order. I will read red storm rising tho. What I want in a sub novel is a storyline. Nonfiction bores the hell out of me, but, I loved The Hunt for Red October. Picked up red october for a dollar fifty and red storm rising for 3 bucks.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

Nonfiction bores the hell out of me...

Now my favorite book, on the other hand, is John Campbell's Jutland: An Analysis Of The Fighting, closely followed by his Naval Weapons Of World War Two, David Lyons' The First Destroyers, The World's Merchant Fleets, 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships by Roger Norman, then anything from R.A. Burt, Norman Friedman or any of the Anatomy Of The Ship series. I also have a fair collection of Warship magazine. When I'm online I like to read The Fleet-Type Submarine or the British and American reports on U-570. I have read a lot of fiction in the past, but stories no longer turn me on like the machinery and the history do.

[Randomizer]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Now my favorite book, on the other hand, is John Campbell's Jutland: An Analysis Of The Fighting

Indispensable as a reference of course but rather a dull read unless one enjoys technical reports. They have their place but far more readable is Andrew Gordon's Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command or Keith Yate's Flawed Victory: Jutland, 1916. On the other hand, you would probably love Oscar Parkes' British Battleships 1860-1950.

I agree that SSN is an appallingly bad book but then Clancy's first two books were his best after which he went steadily downhill.

[Red October1984]

If ssn is bad, I need another one to fill the gap.

[Kaye T. Bai]

Bad in what sense?

Bad as in terrible storytelling or bad as in an inaccurate depection of USN SSNs and the submarine force?

I've been interested in it as well, as I'd like to read a book that goes into detail of the daily life of being on a USN SSN post-1990s.