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)

Good, once you get over the Narrator's voice!

This was my first audiobook download, and at first I must say, I was dissapointed! Straight away the Narrator's way he ended the sentences struck a nerve and I thought I'd give up after a few minutes.
I stuck with it over my 45min journey, and although I found it slow going to begin, the story got good enough to over-power my opinion of the Narrator.
Once into the story, I really enjoyed it! I found the Narration got better as the book progressed, and I really looked forward to the next time I got to listen. Overall it was a positive experience, but I can see how others don't like the Narration.

The Bear and the Dragon

Narrator whispers. Puts you to sleep. Not what I expected. Traded for a different narrator.

Reader

Just not a fan of the intense ending of every sentence, it got a little annoying.

Horrible narration!

I love the Tom Clancy books, and am listening to the series in order. If it weren’t for that, i wouldn’t have listened to this at all. The narrator was overly dramatic, way past any realm of realism, and way out of character for the series. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t read any more of them!

The Book Whisperer is right!

I love Clancy novels but I just can't get over the guy whispering after every sentence. Made me laugh out loud for the first chapter. Come on...let's get a reader that is as good as Clancy!

Brilliant Parody

At first I found the book confusing. I have followed “The Chinese Street” for 16 years.

The confusion arises from the fact that the description of The Chinese Street don’t fit well with any time-period. Parts of it fit with 1990, while other parts fit with Taiwan more than with the mainland. I considered the idea that I’d accidentally bought an old book, where the predictions about the future didn’t work out that well.

However, if one assumes that it is set in 2020, then the social and cultural commentaries actually seem like well reasoned predictions. Chinese society is undergoing a slow reversion to its core. 10 years from now Chinese culture is likely to be more traditional than it was 10 years ago, although far less agrarian. The trouble is that then none of the technology fits. At many points the technology setting seems more like 1995 than 2020.

I was thinking how poorly crafted the book is I realize that I actually like it, very much. It makes fun of everyone, from the Russian peasants to the cowboy president who stays behind while under nuclear attack even though he can do nothing to help except authorize smoking. Although no one is spared, it especially makes funs of the Chinese and their “Middle Kingdom Complex”. And many of the parodies are bitingly brilliant. The only heroic figure is the poor secretary, who just wants love and a new pair of shoes, but she is exploited by everyone. So while it’s easy to critique the book to death, this obscurers the fact that there is an essential truth about people within the book.

Perhaps, even a literary quality truth about people. If Tom Clancy were to join up with Ray Kurzweil and George Friedman the result might be real literature. As it is, its fun (if you get it) but hard to take too seriously, which I suspect is what his fans have come to expect. I’m not a convert, but I think I get it.

as usual

Just what one might expect from Tom Clancy,, an excellently written and researched book.

The Bear and the Dragon

Really enjoyed the book, didn't like the narrator, not sure how to describe it, other than his idea of inflection which seemed to be by making his voice breathy, was a bit creepy and irritating.

Couldn't stop listening

Clancy is a incredible, thank God he is one of the good guys

Good story. Good Acting.

Having read the original paperback version i looked for something new and it was a pleasure to listen to this audio version.