Games of State

Tom Clancy's Op-Center #3

By: Tom Clancy, Steve Pieczenik, Jeff Rovin

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

In the newly unified Germany, old horrors are reborn. It is the beginning of Chaos Days, a time when neo-Nazi groups gather to spread violence and resurrect dead dreams. But this year Germany isn't the only target. Plans are afoot to destabilize Europe and cause turmoil throughout the United States. Paul Hood and his team, already in Germany to buy technology for the new Regional Op-Center, become entangled in the crisis. They uncover a shocking force behind the chaos - a group that uses cutting-edge technology to promote hate and to influence world events. A powerful profile of America's defense, intelligence, and crisis management technology, Tom Clancy's Op-Center is the creation of Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik.

©2011 Random House Audio; 2011 Tom Clancy, Steve Pieczenik

Fast Paced and Authentic in the Clancey Tradition!

Another great Tom Clancey novel with themes and content that could just as easily emerge as he as headlines of tomorrows newspapers. The sorry was read in elegant fashion with attention to detail in a script which required expertise in English, German, and French. I enjoyed it very much.

Op-center vs neo-nazi maniacs

If you could sum up Games of State in three words, what would they be?

Go Bob Herbert

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bob Herbert because he kicks the butts of the Neo-Nazi morons with the help of Jodi the young lady he saves from the Neo-Nazis.

What does Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He does an excellent reading of the story and all the character voices.

Who was the most memorable character of Games of State and why?

Bob Herbert as he does not let been in a wheelchair stop him from giving the Neo-Nazis what for.

Awful

I was very disappointed in this Tom Clancy book. It was very confusing. It just did not meet up to my expiration.

NARRATOR READS LIKE A 1 MAN STAGE ACT-JARRING!

What did you love best about Games of State?

THE WAY THE STORY WAS WELL CRAFTED. (AS USUAL...)

What was one of the most memorable moments of Games of State?

IT WAS VERY HARD TO CONCENTRATE ON THE STORY LINE AND IT BECAME SO "CHOPPY" IT'S HARD TO ISOLATE A MEMORABLE MOMENT THAT DIDN'T INVOLVE THE NARRATOR'S SNAFUS. I'M ATTEMPTING TO FIND A WAY FOR THE MAC READER VOICE THAT IS AVAILABLE IN THE ACCESSIBILITY SECTION READ IT TO ME INSTEAD FOR THE OTHER 9 BOOKS.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

THE ACCENTS AND VOCAL INTONATION TO DENOTE GENDER CHANGE WAS SO DISTRACTING FROM THE ACTUAL FLOW OF THE NOVEL. IT WAS QUITE JARRING. TOTAL KILLER OF MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT! I FEEL THE NARRATOR SHOULD BE A STORY TELLER NOT A PERFORMER. A GOOD NARRATOR IS NEARLY INVISIBLE AND YOU ARE LOST IN THE PLOT MACHINATIONS VICE THIS ONE WHO SEEMS TO BE AUDITIONING FOR A PART RATHER THAN CONTRIBUTING TO THE UNOBTRUSIVE TELLING OF THE STORY. IT CAN DEFINITELY BE DONE MORE SUBTLY. RAINBOW 6 NARRATOR WAS ONE OF THE BEST. LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS IS ALSO SUBTLE EXCEPT HIS AUSSIE SASR RENDERING. SAME PROBLEM WITH THE "ACTOR" FOR "WITHOUT REMORSE" YEARS AGO...EVERY TIME HE READ THE WOMAN'S PART HE RAISED HIS VOICE 2 OCTAVES, YET PHILLIPS ACHIEVES THE SAME RESULTS WITH A SOFTER TONE OF VOICE IN RELATIVELY THE SAME OCTAVE!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

NEITHER - EXCEPT I WANTED TO CRINGE EVERY TIME THERE WAS A CHARACTER CHANGE!

Any additional comments?

IF THERE'S A WAY TO COMMUNICATE THIS TO ALL AUTHORS CHOOSING NARRATORS, PLEASE DO. IT SO DISTRACTS FROM THEIR WORK. THAT'S THE REASON I HAD TO TAKE A BREAK FROM THE OP-CENTER SERIES AFTER THIS BOOK.

Mediocre

I felt the narration was mediocre to say the least. It was if the narrator was bored and merely"reading" to book to stay awake. This definitely affected my poor impression of the plot which was lacking a definite Tom Clancy aura.
I was disappointed in this novel.

Not the best, but not the worst either.

While I love to read Clancy's work, and Op-Center is definitely one of his better series. This particular story wasn't one of his better books. The story was slow at first and while there was some real life events in here, the plot just wasn't believable.
As always Mr. Kramer did a remarkable job narrating this book. Overall this is a good book to listen to if only to stay up to date with the series.

start

beginning is hard to follow at the start if you dont pay attention close enough

Love.

Loved it and how the separate parts all worked together and came together in the end

If you like the Tom Clancy style, you will enjoy this

Amazing how close these come to today’s reality. As always, filled with technical details, maybe a little light on character development, but entertaining nevertheless.

Where to begin...

You’d think in 2018 a book about kicking the crap out of neo-nazis would be just what the doctor ordered...but sadly this book is garbage. It meanders from one improbable scene to the next, each chapter more bafflingly absurd than the last.

This is, without a doubt, the worst thing every associated with the Tom Clancy brand (and yes, I’m factoring in his brief foray into frozen TV dinners in the early 90s).