The Sum of All Fears cover art

The Sum of All Fears

Jack Ryan, Book 6

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The Sum of All Fears

By: Tom Clancy
Narrated by: John MacDonald
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About this listen

A major motion picture starring Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Alan Bates and Michael Byrne!

Peace may finally be at hand in the Middle East - as Deputy Director of the CIA Jack Ryan lays the groundwork for a peace plan that could end centuries of conflict. But ruthless terrorists have a final, desperate card to play: They have their hands on a nuclear weapon and have placed it on American soil in the midst of an escalation in tension with the Soviet Union. The terrorists hope to rekindle cold war animosity and prevent reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. With one terrible act, distrust mounts, forces collide, and the floundering U.S. president seems unable to cope with the crisis. With the world on the verge of nuclear disaster, Ryan must frantically seek a solution - before the chiefs of state lose control of themselves and the world.

©1991 Jack Ryan Enterprises Ltd. (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
Espionage Political War & Military Fiction Military War Nuclear Weapon Suspense Air Force Cold War

Critic Reviews

"He constantly taps the current world situation for its imminent dangers and spins them into an engrossing tale." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"Heart-stopping action ... entertaining and eminently topical." ( The Washington Post)

What listeners say about The Sum of All Fears

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

what a brilliant book

I have to say that I have really enjoyed all the Clancy books that I have read.
However, I have to reflect on the following of his books that have been made into films. The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of all Fears, the Patriot Game and Without Remorse. The Hunt for Red October and the Patriot game were when compared with the books. however the other two movies bore absolutely no resemblance whatsoever in any way shape or form to the books and were therefore, as far as I'm concerned, a complete waste of space and time. I would like to critique the last two movies mentioned more thoroughly however there is no space for that here. My advice is not to buy these movies as they will only disappoint if you have read the books.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant in all respects

Fabulous story telling. I’ve read the whole Ryan series and working my way through yet again in audiobooks. I’ve also watched all movies …. What a pity this story was so butchered by Hollywood in the making of the movie of the same name. But that’s Hollywood

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Give the narrator a chance

As a massive Michael Pritchard fan from the previous Ryan stories it did take me a bit of time to get used to John MacDonalds reading style. But once I did I found the Sum of All Fears my favourite Ryan book yet which I am working my way through chronologically.

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

A good story with disappointing production & editing

A great story with all the tension and sparks that one expects from this outstanding author. Unfortunately what would be a great performance was left wanting by poor editing that for some reason removed any pause between scene changes.

Perhaps this was removing “dead air” - whatever reason the producers went with it changes what was a great performance into an at-times confusing disappointment. My apologies to the voice actor for my low review based on his producers actions.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Emotional roller coaster

Never before had I read/listened to something that made me so angry on the behalf of the main character.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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So much better then movie

Another awesome Tom Clancy book. I left the Tom Clancy books that had been turned into movie to last thinking I had an idea of the stories. After Clear & Present danger and this I realise how wrong I was. Books are completely different to movies and are much better.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

It might be a slow burn, but it burns red hot.

This is easily one of Tom Clancy's best planned storylines in a universe of great stories. Truly nasty badguys striving to bring about WWIII by convincing the Russian and American governments that they are being attacked by each other. The narrator takes a bit of effort to get used to, but if you commit yourself to the story like you are supposed to, you will not notice the voice by the third chapter. The movie is ok. But the book is 100 times better.

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

Terrible reading and production.

What can I say..? Poor voicing, poor timing, over-produced left this reading sounding at times like controlled burping or a 31 hour story read to you by the same mechanical voice as an automated weather advisory.

Too bad... this is a fairly good story.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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One of Clancy’s Best

I first read ‘The Sum of all Fears’ nearly 30 years ago. Still a wonderfully written story, and one of Clancy’s very best.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book pity about the Narrator

Well i endured the horrible AI narrator who read with no enthusiasm only because i love this series
Why didnt they get Michael Pritchard to narrate this like he did with others i do not know
I ended up speeding up to 1.5x

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