Dear page dwellers: Generally speaking, although I read many works, I rarely review the well-known authors, and I especially don't review older works. It just so happens, though, that I revisited one of Tom Clancy's better known books recently, on my off time, and I was reopened to the military fantasy worlds of one of the greatest fighter writers of our time. Considering Tom Clancy's recent death, you might say this is a bit of a tribute review. The interesting thing about Net Force is that a lot of the action takes place in a futuristic Internet world that almost everyone uses, for whatever reason they use it. After the death of the Net Force director, several possible candidates arise for his role via a goon onslaught. The position ultimately falls to Alex, the next qualifier, who is soon thrown into the world of big-league decision making. It's never as easy as it might seem to snap your fingers and make things happen, but Alex is determined to make it work, even though he's never seen any action. After his promotion, Alex finds that his position comes with a little more danger than he is comfortable with as well. He's in danger of being assassinated by a sexy female throat-cut artist wherever he goes—a realization that does not come lightly. All of this while simultaneously attempting to search out a terrible Internet saboteur attempting to get one over on Net Force simply to further his own ends. This fine piece culminates into a big who's-who and who's-responsible-for-what enigma. Perhaps Net Force can put the pieces together, perhaps not. One thing is for sure, they have to do it before they run out of time. With a destructive net programmer, a calculating assassin, and plenty of mafia brutes on the loose, it won't be an easy puzzle to solve. My favorite thing about Net Force was it's big "whodunit." I always figure the best way to keep a writer enticed is to make sure they can't figure out the read so easily. It's awesome if, in the end, you find out you had all the pieces lined up, but sometimes writers are too obvious about their big mysteries. I can happily say, and reverently so, that Tom Clancy never had any issues keeping my attention. His characters are well thought up, he separates their personalities, and he is very graphic in his detail. Tom Clancy has been and always will be an amazing writer, remembered throughout the ages for his talent. I have been lucky enough to be sucked into his works numerous times, including a certain XBox big title that we all fell in love with. RIP.http://www.fanboysanonymous.com/2014/...
I rarely give out a 1-star rating, particularly to a book that is well written. However, I give this rating now because I just could not continue reading this book. I had to quit. It was almost painful to continue on. But none of this is the author's fault. In fact, if I had read this book when it was first released, it would have likely received a 5-star rating, because books like this are right up my proverbial alley!The premise of this Net Force series is what initially appealed to me. It was sort of like a distant precursor of the CSI: Cyber television series, of which I am a fan. However, this first book was released in 1998, and the story takes place in future - 2010.Unlike Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two, which takes place in outer space, Net Force pretty much takes place in my backyard - the Internet.If I had read the book in 1998, and dreamt about cruising down the Internet in a speedboat, via my virtual reality (VR) device, that would have been amazing! If I could have spotted a blockage of Internet traffic as easily as spying a jam of VR vehicles, that would have been amazing! Mr. Clancy was truly a visionary of that day. Unfortunately, that's not the way it went.One of the abbreviations in this book - RL, for Real Life, as an example - was actually a good prediction of abbreviations of the future. Who knew that we, as a society, would opt for "IRL" instead? And when an abbreviation such as "IRL" becomes a part of your everyday vocabulary, and you read "RL" for the same thing, I feel like the author is dragging his nails down a chalkboard. I cringe.Thus, I could not finish this novel. I could not give myself a 1998 psyche when I opened this book, so I could truly marvel at the technology yet to come. I'm sorry, Mr. Clancy. However, if the technology ever comes that allows us to time travel, and if I were to go back to 1998, finishing this book will be one of the first things on my list.
What do You think about Net Force (1999)?
1--36-38-50-54-70-36--2--39-52--1--46-47-48--end-------WORDTom Clancy’s Net ForceThe Net Force, a branch of the FBI that focuses on internet/viral terror attacks has come under pressure as a radical terrorist is destroying the world how we know it, using only the internet.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and anyone into action novels will as well because this is another classic novel from Tom Clancy whose ideas about the military and the future are so amazingly realistic and reachable that the U.S. government does consulting with Tom Clancy for new military and technology idea’s.This book was narrated in the 3rd person mainly with the main character --------------- but it does alternate between a couple other characters and their thoughts including but not limited to --------------- , -----------------, and The Selkie. The setting is about 30 years in the future in U.S.A. where something called the ---------net is the new form of gaming and interaction. The plot starts with one of net forces main agents being assassinated on the streets. When the main character ----------- takes over net force he is bent on finding whoever killed his former boss. I hope that there is a sequel to this book and I am sure you will too after reading this book.I enjoyed this book mostly because of the fact that there is almost never a dull moment in the story line and because there are several view points during the course of the story so you never have to wonder what is going on in other people's heads. The righting in this novel is of the highest possible quality and i’m sure Tom Clancy's many other books are as well.I read this novel just for fun and there is not really a need to read this other than to read because in my opinion this is one of the better novels to pick if you just want to pass the time. By the way, if you are not into this kind of novel or if you start the book and you don’t like it don’t continue because this book will not be a good read if you are not committed to finishing it.I would definitely encourage others to read this book and more by this author if you have the time to enjoy the books that this author has to offer.THAT’S ALL FOLKS
—Orion
It's hard to read this book today with the dated and incorrect predictions about technology. It's not really the author's fault--who could know? But still: most civilians don't have cellphones, the idea of "travelling through a network in VR" is laughable, and the government agents have a device called a "virgil" which is similar to a Blackberry, but far less powerful.The book also seems to have product placement throughout (Dodge Viper, Dodge Neon, Chrysler Prowler), something I thought was the domain of movies and TV. And if I'm wrong, and these products were not the result paid placement, then the author seriously has a Dodge fetish.
—Michael
The book brings us to the future of what the author dreams of. Base on secret angency and rich politicians point of view, there is two sides in a conflict. One is the organization which facilitate laws control the Net Force and the other is called the Cyber Nation. A man named Ames part of the Cyber Nation want to bring the Net Force down and control as his own. Devious and extremely intelligent, he continoulsy make an imapact on the Net Force systematically and even lawsuits. Secrety he bribes or compels politicians to be under his control. In the world with advance technology and tactics, it showed the creativity of getting into a goal. Ames later dies, but left a mark on the Net Force of how dangerous criminals in the future could be. This book was good because it starts out with somethign that would spark interest in our minds in order to keep us reading it. Then it unfolds into various schemes and plans that a person uses to conquer another. Like two people playing chess, the game does not end until someone is hopelessely lost or is checkmate. This could be a good frame work for writing good stories I think. It also kind of give me information of how things work like police serching and how suspects don't neccesarily are teh real culprits
—Jing
