When we last left American superspy Sam Fisher, he simultaneously rescued his kidnapped daughter and saved the free world from a global terrorist threat. Now Fisher – an agent of the NSA’s top-secret Third Echelon branch – returns for a second adventure in TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: OPERATION BARRACUDA by David Michaels.
This time, the middle-aged Fisher must thwart a plan – the titular “Operation Barracuda” – that would see rogue Russian criminal outfit The Shop teaming with a power-mad Chinese general to nuke the U.S. with a submarine-delivered underwater missile. As one of the Third Echelon’s few Splinter Cells – that’s Clancy-speak for he-man superhero with advanced technoweaponry – Fisher’s job has him seeing action not only on American soil, but in Europe and Asia as well. He’s forever on the run from and in pursuit of Communist goons, Chinese Triad gangs and a horny Krav Maga instructor.
Perhaps I was a little too hard on the first SPLINTER CELL novel, which I termed “escapist paperback crap” when it came out last winter. At least I meant it affectionately. But OPERATION BARRACUDA is a marked improvement; Michaels has really elevated his game here. I had inklings I was loving the book; then, toward the end, when Michaels has Fisher pulling a Slim Pickens circa DR. STRANGELOVE, it was confirmed.
Fisher is a strong franchise character, a wholly likable mix of James Bond, 24′s Jack Bauer and – maybe just because of his kick-ass uniform – Diabolik. His cloak-and-dagger exploits have more scope, making for a far less generic and more exciting adventure overall without getting too bogged down in global politics and military acronyms. Michaels also keeps us on our toes by unexpectedly killing off a couple of the good guys, lending the story an air of anything-can-happen uneasiness. Basically, you get so caught up in the plot’s machinations that you completely forget you’re reading something based on a videogame.
It’s funny – I have little to no desire to read Clancy’s own brick-like bestsellers, but now I’m totally rooting for this Sam Fisher series to thrive, with Michaels at the helm. Here’s hoping this series has some longevity.
Related posts:
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
- BOOK WHORE >> 11.01.05
- 24 Declassified: Operation Hell Gate
- State of Fear
- TV’s 24 hits the books
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