Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

The Splinter Cell series by Ubisoft has about as much to do with Tom Clancy as I have to do with the proliferation of grimdark fiction. Which is to say, not much other than my name on a few works. Tom Clancy created the character of Sam Fisher as well as Third Echelon but everything after that was the work of Ubisoft's writers. Despite this, the Tom Clancy name has a good deal of clout in literary circles and they wanted to see if there would be an audience for it. There was, albeit not as large as the video game audience. While the series is officially written by David Michaels, this is a pseudonym for a variety of authors of which the first was Raymond Benson. I am a huge Raymond Benson fan from his time on the James Bond books as well as his Hitman novel. He's a great writer and the perfect guy for writing spy stories of a slightly exaggerated nature, which is what the Splinter Cell games are all about. So, is it any good? I think so, albeit more of a satisfying hamburger than lobster bisque. Call it Tom Clancy-lite, if you will. The premise for Splinter Cell is Sam Fisher is a 47-year-old ex-CIA agent and Navy Seal who has been recruited in his middle-age to serve as a spy for a secret branch of the NSA. Sam is not an assassin but someone who is designed to use his covert ops skills to go behind enemy lines and undercover to gather information from hostile situations. You know, what actual spies are supposed to do. A secret techno-savvy Arabic terrorist organization known as the Shadows (basically, ISIL before ISIL existed) is threatening Western-allied countries around the world. The Shadows are assisted by a Russian-backed crime syndicate known as the Shop. It's the sort of alliance which you'd find in a Splinter Cell game and Sam swiftly finds himself in-between the two. Sadly, in a Kiefer Sutherland's 24-like twist, his daughter Sarah ends up becoming a pawn to use against him. The biggest appeal of this novel is the fact it gets into the head of Sam Fisher, a character who is too often ignored in the games in order to focus on gameplay. Raymond Benson creates an image of a reserved taciturn man who has been isolated by his job but loves what little time he gets to spend with his family. Unlike James Bond, Sam is forced to be near-celibate because his job means he can never allow anyone to get too close without endangering them or the secrecy of his work. While threatening Sam's daughter Sarah is a somewhat easy way to create drama, it works well here as we get to know her before it happens as well as suffer through her ordeal. It's her plot rather than something which is designed to give Sam motivation to rescue her. The fact Raymond Benson was able to craft so realistic a character is something which makes the scenes where she isimprisoned and tortured all the more moving. The villains are nothing to write home about with Arabic terrorists and renegade Russians being played out by Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Even so, Benson adds his own twists to the formulaic foes by having the leader of the Shadows more interested in his vendetta against Iraq than fighting America. The Russians are also businessman first and foremost, uninterested in the specter of a fallen Soviet Union. I found the would-be honeypot Eli to be the most interesting of them as he finds himself less than happy with the fact he's led his fake girlfriend to her (apparent) doom. In a very real way, this book reads like Tom Clancy-lite with realism juxtaposed against dangerous spy adventures. It's a fun little popcorn thriller and one I recommend to anyone who wants to enjoy reading about a semi-realistic spy against only slightly exaggerated terrorists. Certainly, I'm going to read the rest of the series.9/10

I'm a huge gamer and an avid reader, so naturally, books based on video games are right up my alley. I've always been a fan of classic Tom Clancy novels as well, so there was no reason not to read Splinter Cell. Is it worth a read?You better believe it is. If you're into spy stuff, this is the book for you. I don't want to spoil too much of the plot, but I will say that the author is probably a fan of the TV series 24. Sam Fisher's relationship with his daughter Sarah, as well as a few plot points are *extremely* similar to the relation between Jack Bauer and his daughter Kim and some of the events that took place during Day 1.I read this book so many times as a kid that I clearly remember it from cover to cover. I still read it now and again because it's a great book, plain and simple.

First let me begin by saying that the actual writing isn't anything special nor compelling, but the storyline is great which makes this book worth reading (especially if you like spy thrillers). To put it simply, Sam Fisher is the ultimate bad-ass. What makes Sam Fisher so unstoppable is his cool and calm nature at all times, his ability to make the right decision 90% of the time, and to work in complete isolation with a reliance upon no-one but himself ... And Carly of course! Whether he is in handcuffs about to face death or in the middle of a bullet storm, Sam Fisher always makes the right call in all situations. Put further, Tom Clancy adds a whole lot of realism to his books by sprinkling in real life details like the Iraq War and the Iran-Iraq conflict. As you are reading his book, you will find yourself looking up each location/place that Sam Fisher frequents as he works to complete the mission at hand. The "bad guys" that Clancy creates have a lot of realism especially the mega-rich "investment banker" Mr. Zdrok. And the manner in which weapons are smuggled and sold underground within this book will have you questioning if your local investment bank isn't involved in such operations. Even the final terrorist plot is believable and you will find yourself asking if such an event could happen. With Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy has created one of the best (if not the best) spy in Sam Fisher. Urban legend always asks "What Would Chuck Norris Do?" In my opinion it's time to start saying "What Would Sam Fisher Do?" This book is definitely worth the read.

I seriously considered the Amazon bundle of this series, but decided to try one first. The $2.99 price seemed low, but after reading this it's about $2.98 too much.I've purchased everything Tom Clancy wrote, many in paperback and the rest in Kindle. I've also purchased most of the "Tom Clancy's by xyz" books,some of which are pretty good and some which aren't. This sets a new low, and I will never buy anything by this author again.

I love the opening introduction! It gives me the excitement of Sam Fisher's Adventure and I look forward to see what happens next :)UPDATE 05/11/2018: I just finished reading the book and it was quite an adventure. I felt immersed into the story that I could not put it down. As I had played the game of the series, I love reading on it, rather than playing it as I am trying to fight off my video game addiction. Now that I am committed to reading, I will continue Sam Fisher's adventure in the next book in the series, Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda.

Such an amazing rendition of Splinter Cell and gives an awesome insight into Sam Fisher's life. It's full of espionage, CQC, deception, and that race against time thriller feel. I've just read these books for the 3rd time as it's the type of action packed spy novel I've been looking for.

I found this book a real page Turner, having played the game I could easily imagine to Five seveN and SC-20K rifle. Was a good book.

This is a great book if you're a big fan of the series AND have never read any high quality fiction.

Sam's adventures in book form were as fun as the game series.

Normally when I see a Tom Clancy book I cant wait to read it. This book seemed to have something missing.I failed to see any suspense in the story. It was a very heavy read and I didnt get anything from the story. I had to end my reading of the book before I got to the end. I dont like leaving a book half read, especially a Tom Clancy book but it was becoming a chore having to read it.

Typical thriller by Tom Clancy highly enjoyable. Highly recommended.