Soviets and Americans chasing each other around in submarines and so forth, this is way better than the movie, and way better than Clancy's other books. He errs only a little in explaining too much (unlike his later work, which is full of "Gee, see what I learned yesterday?") In this book, there's lots of technostuff, but the presentation is comparatively seamless. One of the strengths is how well he makes the whole thing believable; his characters just seem real, like someone you know. Great story, spotty but decent writing.

Didn't like it. Story is OK; Clancy still makes the characters seem real - you get sympathetic with a senior Soviet general, for example - but the overall effect doesn't work. Too much failed detail - he gives lots of detail you don't want or care about and all his strategies and tactical operations seem directly derived from board games.