Dec 19, 2002 11:07 PM
2196 Views
(Updated Dec 19, 2002 11:07 PM)
N this, the sixth Op-Center book, Jeff Rovin is thanked for his ''creative ideas and invaluable contribution to the preparation of the manuscript''. This is generally taken to mean that Mr. Rovin is the manuscript author. Unfortunately, Mr. Rovin, though having a couple of other book titles to his credit, most certainly has none of Tom Clancy's ability with words.
The Op-Center series started in 1995 as a sound germ of an idea which owed much of its success to genuine imput from Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik. Now, at book six, and with Clancy and Pieczenik standing quietly in the shadows with their palms outstretched for whatever royalties they can squeeze from this series without having to do any work, the books are reaching new lows.
State of Siege is wooden and difficult to work through. The story might have had real potential in a proper Clancy novel. It could have been a real killer if thought out and written intelligently. Unfortunately, passing it over to a ghost called Rovin was the easiest way to doom the story to failure.
If Tom Clancy insists on putting his name to rubbish like this (albeit if only to rake in some extra lucre) then he MUST take some responsibility for its content. It saddens me to have to remind him, but the money he is putting in his pockets from poorly-conceived ''novels'' like this is money that honest working folk have stumped out because he has placed his name on the cover of the book.
