• The Sum of All Fears

  • By: Tom Clancy
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 37 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (7,835 ratings)

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The Sum of All Fears  By  cover art

The Sum of All Fears

By: Tom Clancy
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's summary

Against all odds we have made it into the last half of the 1990s. The Cold War looks solved, Arabs and Jews are talking, confrontation is on the wane. In this new harmony, one discord - what becomes of unemployed terrorists?

You can bet they aren't going to retire quietly. Shunned by the Soviets, isolated by Middle Eastern realignment, one cadre hits on a scheme to jump-start the war machine. It's brilliant in its simplicity. With a single act they bring the world to nuclear boil. Jack Ryan and Dan Murray sweat to defuse a cataclysmic response.

©1992 Tom Clancy (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

“A whiz-bang page-turner!” (The New York Times Book Review)

The Sum of All Fears delivers!” (People)

“A nonstop roller coaster ride to a nail-biting climax...ingenious.” (Publishers Weekly)

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What listeners say about The Sum of All Fears

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

EXCELLENT NARRATION; PLOT A TAD CONVOLUTED

---Firstly, this is truly a TALENTED narrator; the many DOZENS of voices/accents he adopts is amazing!
---Gripping story, but a tad far-fetched. Also, I think Clancy used a few too many plot lines--it was, at times, a bit difficult to keep up...
---All told, a very exciting/horrifying tale of near-apocalypse....Very good!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Overacted narration

What didn’t you like about Scott Brick’s performance?

The narrator tries to make every line into a dramatic moment. Every line by every character is more overacted than Saturday Night Live doing an imitation of William Shatner's Captain Kirk.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the scariest books ever written

This is a story of the lunacy of terrorism and atomic weapons, all the scarier because it could actually happen. Let us all hope and pray that something of this magnitude never happens, and if, Good forbid, it should happen that our leaders are sane enough to prevent our complete annihilation. Excellent book, excellent narration.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Tom Clancy is still the king of this genre

All of Tom Clancy's stories are amazing but this is one of his best. From the detailed descriptions of the construction and workings of the nuclear device to his ever effective depiction of the fog of war to the political maneuvering and manipulations of his characters, this book has it all. Many have written for this genre, but Clancy is still the king. He sets the bar for all others to aspire to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

WOW...

Again typical Tom Clancy novel... narration was excellent. As a truck driver I love listening to books while I drive and this book (like all of his) did not disappoint.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Tom Clancy from MD The Sum of All Fears ABCDEFGHIJ

Mr. Clancy gives us a frightening possibility with the detonation of a small nuclear device at a large public gathering that was smuggled into the United States by radicals. Worth every minute. Rest in peace, Mr. Clancy. Your military salutes you.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining

Would you listen to The Sum of All Fears again? Why?

I have listened to this book twice. It is great because the fragmented story structure makes it easy to listen in 15 minute spurts or at length. Also, Scott Brick is awesome. The macho-man driven dialogue of Tom Clancy at times gets in the way but I think Scott does a good way of playing it out in a digestible way.

Which scene was your favorite?

Best has to be the build up of the friction between Jack and his Wife and its climax of an awful and passive oral tiff in the white house.... so good.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

90 percent of the perks of being a senior official is the parking. The rest is all cigarettes and bad wine.

Any additional comments?

This is a good long listen- will last you a month and then some if you have an hour commute to work.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book

I have enjoyed all of his Ryan book. I recognize that the author may become to technical for some readers, but I enjoy those very portions.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The best one so far

Amazing. I listen to the last 6 hours of the book in one sittning. It was truly thrilling. And Scott Brick is just great!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Intense

I thought this was the best book in the series so far. It was slow to begin with but built up and became quite edge of the seat intense.
Great narration with applicable accents.

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