Operation Barracuda (Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell)

Having played the game on which these books were based I was excited about a book about and the character. I am so disappointed I can't believe the author so missed the character. Sam Fisher questioning himself? Referring to the bad guys thugs and flunkies? This is a Splinter Cell operative, The elite of the elite not some moronic Inspector Clouseau. It's goofy it's corny it's a bad read. Sorry Clancy what we're you thinking?

When I began reading one of the first Splinter Cell novels featuring special agent Sam Fisher, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I was familiar with works by Tom Clancy, his brilliant debut in Hunt for Red October and powerful Cold War novels Red Storm Rising and Cardinal of the Kremlin. The Splinter Cell series, unlike Clancy's traditional volumes spanning hundreds of pages feature much slimmer and compact books full of interesting twists and turns. Sam Fisher's character is well thought out. Quiet, resourceful, very patriotic and absolutely ruthless toward America's enemies, Sam Fisher is a strong and very likable hero. Former CIA agent, accomplished marksman and martial arts expert in Krav Maga, Fisher works for a secret branch of the U.S. government known as the Third Echelon. In this fast-past and highly entertaining story, Sam Fisher is tasked with a mission to discover the whereabouts of a missing scientist and a radically advanced weapon that can tip the balance of power in the Pacific region. Fisher faces challenges from the Chinese Triad, powerful Chinese Communist general and a lethal Russian Mafia organization known as the Shop. I enjoyed the novel from start to finish. Good pacing strong dialogue, believable characters and slam bang action and suspense make Splinter Cell a great read. Well done Mr. Clancy! Your spirit lives on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZikvWB48LCQ
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- Ricky

Took nine books with me on a cruise. Finished this tenth one on the way home... :) Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda by David Michaels. Given what it is, it's an OK read...

Sam Fisher is a Splinter Cell operative, which means he's part of a deep undercover government group that has free reign to do pretty much anything to defend the interests of the US. In this episode, he's sent off to figure out why a Russian intel group is seemingly getting rather tight with some Chinese Triad groups. When he tracks down a few unexplained deaths, it all points to a stolen technology from the US that can park underwater "drones" just about anywhere, fully equipped with a variety of weapons based on the need. But when the Triad group finds out that selling to the Russians could mean that they are ultimately supporting the communist Chinese government (who they deeply oppose), things fall apart. And when the government *does* get the device anyway to use it as a deterrent against the US, Fisher is called in to save the day...

This is a straight-to-paperback series where Tom Clancy has franchised his name and it's written by someone else. I didn't expect Pulitzer material... just some diversion to kill a few hours on a plane. If that's the mindset going in, it's OK. The switching back and forth between first and third person narrative was a little annoying/disconcerting at first, and it took a bit to get used to it (as well as to transition when the perspective changed between chapters). Again, if you're not expecting blockbuster material, it's enjoyable mind candy. If you're expecting a 600 page Clancy blockbuster, this ain't it.

I enjoyed the story very much, especially the involvement of Chinese Triad groups. It was interesting learning more about the infamous Triads. The plot was great. It carried you from place to place with a nice flow. What I missed was any tension about the outcome of each adventure. Everything was too predictable. I was never surprised about the outcome of any encounter. I also found, like other reviews noted, that this guy is not really such a great spy. He makes error after error. In one instance, a sniper has tried to kill him; but the next day, he walks the streets of the city like nothing happened. That results in another of his major failures, which I won't reveal here. In the end, it was entertaining, but not especially exciting.

This book was simply amazing. Most people say that you have to read the first one in order to understand this one, but really, there's nothing from the first book that occurs in the second book. It's basically about Sam's new missions and what he's doing now. There is no back track, just to clerify it. The book is about Sam chasing down Russian terrorists wanting to nuke L.A., but thats all you need to know with giving it away...

I love how detailed this book is about Sam's life in and outside of his job. He has a hard time getting close to people because he is reluctant about spilling his secret of being a NSA agent. His gadgets are SOO AWESOME. They are everything from a super futuristic gun down to his Five-seveN pistol. I actually haven't read the other books but I was so into this book that I am planning on getting them all in including the one that just came out. I hated to read until I found this book. It's really one of those "can't put down" books and hearing it from me is a BIG DEAL. For some of you though, it might not be the book for you because you have to be interested in spying and yes, there is some killing in here too,(you didn't expect a guy with guns not to kill anyone did you?).

The only problem I had with this book is that the author really went back and forth between Sam and the bad guys WAY too much. One chapter would be Sam on a mission and the next one would be the Russians. There were just too many point of views going around and I had a hard time keeping up with it some of the time. Otherwise I really reccommend this book and even if you're not interested in the stuff I just said I think you should still give it a shot. There are also a games of

Splinter Cell :Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory and Double Agent. (I have all of them). I hope you find this helpful and if you read it, I hope you enjoy!

This is the Second book in the Splinter Cell Series, a series that is based off of the widely popular video game. I have never played the video game and was drawn to this series because of the Clancy name, and although Clancy's name is nearly 4 times the size of the actually writer (David Michaels aka Raymond Bensen) he did not write this book. Clancy created the idea of the video game which inevitably spawned a series of books.

The first book did a very good job of explaining the equipment that Splinter Cells use and this book draws upon the knowledge of the equipment gained from the first book and get directly into the story. For that reason I would recommend reading the first book before deciding to read this book, I made the mistake of reading this book before the first and was a bit lost at the beginning in regards to the lingo being used. This book, just like the first, is based on Third Echelon's best spy, Sam Fisher. The one thing that bothers be about this series and Sam Fisher, in general, is that he is regarded as the best spy in the world yet is always getting himself caught. When Fisher is caught it always seems to be in an absolutely ridiculous situation in which he always miraculously escapes nearly completely unharmed. The whole time I was reading the book I knew that Sam wasn't going to be dieing, thus ending the series, but that didn't really seem to take out all of the suspense, how he will manages to survive his near death encounters is always interesting.

The one thing that separates this book from the first is that it focuses more on Sam's personal life. Katia, Sam's Krav Maga instructor, in Maryland, is still around from the first book only she becomes more involved, much more involved near the end of the book (without giving anything away). Sam's daughter Sarah is also in this book, but not nearly as involved as she was in the first installment, which is probably a good thing!

With the exception of the more in depth personal life, this book delivers the same intensity and dangerous missions as the first. The book contains a lot of action and is overall very thrilling. I would have to say that I am hooked on the Splinter Cell series and will likely read any other Splinter Cell books; I just don't see myself playing the video game anytime soon.

Brian Bowen

Review of David Michaels' "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda"

David Michaels is back in champion form with another Splinter Cell novel, and this one has surpassed any and all of my expectations.

Alot of people were watching this book, not sure what to expect. The last SC book was the first one and as in most cases, there were alot of chances taken. Some were more appreciated than others by the Splinter Cell fans. With Operation Barracuda, the author jumped more into the immediate world of the game, bringing back Frances Coen and Anna Grimsdottir for example, which fimilairizes the reader with the characters, and makes it alot easier to immurse themselves in an action packed story line.

The character of Sam Fisher is a very different person by the end of the book, going on an up and down rollercoaster all through-out the plot. Sam has some very unexpected life expierences in this book that is likely to leave many fans very surprised. Sam is a person, human..made of flesh and bone, and I think the game developers show Sam more as a bad ass 24/7. Big ups to David Michaels for tearing the mystique of Sam Fisher down and showing him as the foulable man that he is. It improves the games I think, as it rounds out the character we see on our screens to a whole person.

Operation Barracuda is a job very well done and I am hopeful that Michaels will be writing a third book in this series very soon.

In the Splinter Cell video games, your objective is to make it through each mission without being seen. The less you are seen, the higher your mission is rated in the end. David Michaels should have kept that in mind when he wrote this book because it seems like every time Sam Fisher goes out to sneak around, he is always caught...yet within the context of this story, he is considered to be a great spy! What great spy gets caught every time he infiltrates an enemy's office or base? Another thing: the body count is far too high. Once again, in the game it's better to sneak around guards rather than blow them away. The amount of people Sam kills in this book would surely cause an incident in real life. The saddest thing about all this is that Michaels does indeed have an entertaining enough plot, and his writing style is very fluid and evokes Sam Fisher's world very well. Maybe next time around he'll realize that, if Sam were caught in real life as much as he is in this book, he sure as hell wouldn't be considered one of the top spies in the world. In fact, he'd probably be kicked out of Third Echelon for being such a ninny head.

A great novel on spy and action things. The plot is quite straightforward, but not-that-simple. Sam is the main spy agent of the Splinter Cell, who has the luxury to travel all over the world. Countering the Russian Mafia and Chinese Triads to prevent another world war started by the Chinese.

The main protagonist was depicted not only as an effective killing machine, but also a human. It is quite a good story without too much "impossible" actions. A recommended light read for any spy/ action/ thriller fans.

While the plotting of this book is reasonably strong, the writing doesn't keep pace. Michaels employs the device of having some chapters written in first person and others in third person. The first-person chapters are definitely weaker as far as the writing goes. At times, the verb tense changes between sentences. Some say that these type books are written for the adventure and to expect quality writing is to place a burden on them they should not have to bear. The only problem is that Clancy, Larry Bond and Dale Brown have all proven that one need not have to make a choice. So, all in all it's not bad, but it could have been much, much better.

I am a "Splinter-Cell"-aholic. Loved the games and the concept. But the books are really bad.

If you are expecting the same ol' Sam from the games, forget it. He manages to get detected or in a gunfire every time. An example of that is when Sam has to enter a house "guarded" only by a mid-aged woman and her dog. Guess what: he gets detected, strugles with the woman(and loses) and ends up with a gun on his nose. It is a situation so ridiculous that I don't think that even George Lazenby's James Bond would be so stupid to get into. If that's the author's idea of humor, then I'm not laughing.

As far a James Bond goes, the books follow the same structure of Bond movies, with lots of gunfire and speed chases. Way to go for a guy that is supposed to be invisible. Not to mention clich?d situations like the bad guy telling his plan to the hero...and it gets worst from there...

Th history per se is interesting, but I don't think adapted the history well to Sam's universe. Would work for a Bond movie..maybe...

Will never pick anything by the author, Raymond Benson, again. Also will never again pick anything created by, or presented by, only those WRITTEN by Tom Clancy.

If you liked the first Splinter Cell book, then chances are you will enjoy this one as well. The writing style for this book is essentially identical to the first Splinter Cell. The only thing I didn't like is that there seemed to be a lot of repeating of information from the first book. I guess that is needed in case someone is reading this book without reading the first Splinter Cell. In all, good book, I found it hard to put down without getting at least another chapter read.

I was highly impressed with the authors last SC book. I am really looking forward to the rest of this series. As i said regarding the last book, Sam Fisher is the ultimate spy. Jack Ryan would be on a slab if Fisher wanted him there.

Most of the earlier Clancy (and Clancy-endorsed) work has had good-to-excellent plot lines, and the technical details have been razor sharp. This characteristic has been lost with this book. They've got Sam Fisher being flown back and forth across the Pacific in an osprey (unrefueled range 500 miles, top speed 240 knots) - Huh??!! In one scene, a character described as having his hands cuffed behind his back picks up a cup of coffee and throws it against a wall. Not too probable. I guess Tom was too busy to give this one a read-thru before it went to the printer. Sad.

I was disappointed when I finished the book, and felt that the plot was by far too cumbersome and not as straightforward as the first one. I admit that I enjoyed the twist at the end, but everything else I predicted would happen many pages earlier.
(...)

Action - extremly fast - that's great.

Text - doesn't leave any reflections like Ryanverse did.

Considerations - I feel cheated. When I bought the Book I was convinced I spend my money on a new Tom Clancy novel which really begins a new verse. Turns out it's not.

I wish Tom Clancy wrote it. Michaels sucks. I believe I could write such a book. Well, I'm even pretty sure about that. But as a book as an entertainment, nothing else, - it's OK. You won't be borred. Only dissatisfied if you think it is a new Tom Clancy novel.

Greets.

This is horrible writing and I feel cheated by both the publisher and Clancy.

I was in a rush to get something before my flight and with Clancy's name in big bold letters on the cover, I figured buying it was a no-brainer. I picked it up after takeoff and after the first few pages (of bad writing) I took a closer look at the cover and realized that Clancy isn't the author, he just lent him name to it for the additional royalties. Ugh. I'll admit that it's partially my fault but c'mon, have more respect for yourself and your readers, Tom. I'll get something by Crichton next time.