Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Balance of Power »

Known for originating the techno-thriller genre, Tom Clancy writes complex novels dense with hardware and international intrigue. Perhaps the strongest indication of his power as a writer is the fact that he is often treated by the media like a character in one of his books, asked for opinions about military readiness and the subject of rumors about being debriefed by the Pentagon. Not bad for a former salesman who was rejected for service because of bad eyesight.

In this latest Op-Center, someone very powerful and very anonymous is manipulating the government of Spain in an attempt to bring about another Spanish civil war. Op-Center intelligence knows about it, as do certain well-placed Spanish diplomats, but when an Op-Center agent is assassinated on the way to a top-secret meeting in Madrid, it becomes clear that to avert war may be impossible.

Library Journal

This latest in the Clancy-Pieczenik "Op-Center" series focusing on Spanish civil strife is another well-read, nicely engineered audio offering that seems to suffer by being abridged. Jay O. Sanders does a fine job with Spanish, Italian, and several varieties of American accents, and the listener learns enough of the political and ethnic rivalries in Spain to understand how such an absurd scenario could in fact play out. It's "U.S.A. to the rescue," with too many characters, too much technobabble, and way too much in the way of incredible coincidences to be the slightest bit believable. There's not really much here for the adult listener. On the other hand, Clancy is popular, and many characters appear to be carried over from other works in the series. With that audience in mind, recommended with reservations.--Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH