The Sum of All Fears

As a Company Representative covering a substantial part of Central Qld, I spend a lot of time in my Car!
Tom Clancy's Books not only deliver excellent stories but also good value in the Hours it takes to conclude them!
The Sum of All Fears has the usual Clancy ingredients, very precise descriptions & strong detail. I think that the Reader, Scott Brick, is perfectly suited to this style of narrative.
His voice & tone add an extra dimension to a long story which could easily become boring with a less accomplished Reader.
As with most long stories, I find it best digested in large chunks! Most of my journeys are 3 hours plus and this enables me to get really involved. I think a Book like this would be less satisfying if it were listened to in ten to twenty minute sessions. I will undoubtedly be working my way through all of Tom's work!

The imagery is so vivid that after book you turn on the HDTV and wander why the picture is dull. My first TC book and worth the wait. One of my favorites of all time.

It's near the top of my list. I love the spy genre, with Tom Clancy and W.E.B. Griffin being my favorite authors. I love the way he explains what is happening during the nuclear explosion, and the way he weaves together multiple story lines. Classic Clancy.

I'd compare it to any amazing mystery book that has been raped in film by Ben Affleck.

Jack Ryan, and John Clark get really distinctive voices in the book, and it adds an extra element of realism to it. I especially appreciate the way Mr. Brick addresses the female dialog. He doesn't go over the top, and gives them fairly neutral voicing.

When Jack refuses to second the Presidents launch order I was almost jumping up and down in my car.

My first Clancy book and it clearly won't be my last. Excellent writing style. A well thought out plot. Kept me interested throughout the entire book. Also, Brick's narration matches the book perfectly. Clancy tends to go into detail at times, but Brick's narration makes it interesting. I have to admit, if a different narrator was chosen who could not pull off this type of book, this could have been a 3 star book. That does make me nervous going forward with Clancy's Ryan book series seeing the different narrators. I just have to cross my fingers.

A story which we have all thought about and hope will never happen brought to life in true Clancey style

Yes, although this is novel of significant length it was a interesting listen and built intensity well. Clancy made technical descriptions tolerable to listen to without being terribly dry, not an easy feat.

Narrator did a good job, although Russian pronuciation and accent is painful at times.

No, due to it's length I listened to it on a long car ride over the course of 2 days.

The book starts out incredibly slow but no need to worry it get lots better. Totally worth it.

As of late, there has been a real drought in books that interest me, so I have resorted to revisiting books that I’ve already listened to. I revisited Tom Clancy’s The Sum of All Fears over the last 10 days (38 hours), and I must say, this is one of the most thrilling books that I have ever listened to, and the performer, Scott Brick, is one of the best voice actors that I’ve ever heard, Mel Blanc notwithstanding. The book is such a long listen that you will be appreciative of a voice that brings all of the characters to life, because it could spiral to the edge of boredom very quickly.

The Sum of All Fears may be Clancy's best novel...it is certainly the best one that I have listened to. He sold the movie rights, but like most great books that are adapted to the screen, it is hard to repeat the success of the book. The movie is worth watching; however, don't think that the audiobook will be anticlimatic because you saw the movie. I've listened to this book a half-dozen times and I still find my flesh crawling at some points in the story.

If you would enjoy a high stakes chess match between the United States and Russia with nuclear chips on the side, this book will be a delight. What Clancy did that was so refreshing was that he demonstrated that Russia was as insightful and perhaps more-so than the US in their efforts to stave off mutually assured destruction. Two Superpowers are on the verge of a nuclear exchange and the first one that blinks could bring the world back to the stone ages.

Simply a fantastic book. I listened to it the for the first time more than 20 years ago, and I can tell you exactly where I was and what time of the day it was when the reader began to go through the process of a nuclear chain reaction. Clancy distilled the process of a nuclear reaction to such an elementary degree that I actually felt like a nuclear physicist as the process was being described.

To say that audiobooks are "theater of the mind" is an understatement for The Sum of All Fears, because there were moments when I felt like I was in the midst of the action. This is a 5-star recommendation from me, and you will not be disappointed.

I saw where some of the reviews said that the story had too many characters. I think the multiple story lines made the book all the better. It worked well as the book came together for the climax. In fsct, at the end I would sit in my car after arriving at my destination just to listen longer.

I like Clancy and have been jumping around in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The usual good character development and tight plotting. Scott Brick is, hands down, the best Clancy narrator. I've waded through some of the others and truly, there is no comparison. I'd consider reading anything that he has narrated.