The Bear and the Dragon

By: Tom Clancy

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Bear and The Dragon, the future is very near at hand indeed.

Newly elected in his own right, Jack Ryan has found that being President hasn't gotten any easier: domestic pitfalls await him at every turn; the Asian economy is going down the tubes; and in Moscow, someone may have tried to take out the chairman of the SVR - the former KGB - with a rocket-propelled grenade. Things are unstable enough in Russia without high-level assassination, but even more disturbing may be the identities of the potential assassins. Were they political enemies, the Russian Mafia, disaffected former KGB? Or, Ryan wonders, is something far more dangerous at work here?

Ryan is right to wonder. For even while Russian investigators pursue the case, and some of his most trusted eyes and ears - including antiterrorism specialist John Clark - head to Moscow, forces in China are moving ahead with a plan of truly audacious proportions. Tired of what they view as the presumption of the West, eager to fulfill their destiny, they are taking matters into their own hands. If they succeed, the world as we know it will never look the same. If they fail...the consequences may be unspeakable.

Blending the exceptional realism and authenticity that are his hallmarks with intricate plotting, razor-sharp suspense, and a remarkable cast of characters, this is Clancy at his best - and there is none better.

Please note: This is the abridged edition. An unabridged version is also available.

©2000 Rubicon, Inc. (P)2000 Random House Inc., Random House AudioBooks, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"When the door blows open and the shooting starts, nobody does it better than Tom Clancy." (The Dallas Morning News)

"Frank Muller puts out an amazing performance, whipping off endless Chinese and Russian names - even in dialogue - as if they were his native tongue." (AudioFile)

Awesome story, but go for the unabridged.

I enjoyed this story, however the abridgement of any Clancy novel loses a lot of substance. The abridgements leave you with a nice action story, but at the cost of character development and motivations, as well as scene setting.

Meh...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Well spent only in that the book itself was very concise.

If you’ve listened to books by Tom Clancy before, how does this one compare?

Worst of the Audiobooks I've heard so far.

Would you be willing to try another one of Frank Muller’s performances?

I was non plussed my Mr. Muller's performance to say the least.

Was The Bear and the Dragon worth the listening time?

Only if you are trying to get through the series.

Any additional comments?

If you can find this unabridged, get it. Way, way too short for a Clancy novel. After hearing Lou Diamond Phillips, and Michael Pritchard on previous Clancy audiobooks, the narrator for this book is, I am sorry to say, very lacking. Executive Orders was awesome, and I was hoping for a true continuation, but this was not well done at all.

Excellent story and narration considering

The story is what you want from TC - excellent military insight and a plot that makes you think. The acting is very believable. The only reason I gave it 4/5 was that it took me a bit to get over the narrater's desire to always end statements in a whisper. As the story heats up, this trait becomes to fit a bit better though...so just hang in there for it.

Very entertaining

More Jack Ryan and the fate of America stuff. Good time though. I like the part about Japanese Sausage.

Profetic story.

Insightful and detailed, but too many players. And depending on your point of view, the good guys win.

Good book

I have listened to Frank Muller read several book, like “Left Behind”. I am not a big fan of his, although I think he did an OK job on “Left Behind” I do not think he did a very good job on this book. I did like the story and the production of this book, Clancy is a outstanding writer.

good story bad narration

this narrator sounds like a mix of jim carry and william shattner. way too much ace ventura. story is good though

Clancy's World is Fun

In Clancy's World, Jack Ryan is president, and man are we ever glad. The Russian's are our friends, the Chinese are our enemy, and even some of the people we think of as our friends, like India, simply are not as great as we'd like them to be. Clancy spins a web where the asian continent would like nothing more than to dominate the west, and would do so through the taking of the world's oil supplies. The premise of the book, a conflict between Russia (the Bear) and China (the Dragon) and the entry of the U.S. on the side of the Bear makes for an enjoyable read. If you like living in Tom Clancy's world, you'll like the technical details and the spying that goes on in this book. It is yet another reason to be glad Tom Clancy is on our side.

Pretty good

This was my first Clancy book and it was exactly what I expected. It didn't seem forced or far out to me. Overall it was very enjoyable and very well read.

Yep! It's Clancy

Clancy has made a career writing long books with intimate details of weapons systems to create spy and military dramas, with no small amount of flag-waving. Most reviews will say that this book is looooooonnnnnnng. However, the abridged version is only a six hour listen--about right for a chilling action thriller. I find Clancy's strategic thinking pretty good...who's to say that the plot written here couldn't happen? That the Chinese invade Russia and the USA comes to help Russia? Clancy still writes an exciting book, just don't bite off the unabridged version.