When terrorists begin attacking various targets around the world, the elite Rainbow task force is activated to stop them. Made up of mercenaries from the U.S., U.K., Israel and Germany, Rainbow successfully battles the villans and eventually uncovers the true motive behind these seemingly unrelated acts of violence. I was reluctant to add a Tom Clancy novel to my 2014 reading list because I remembered my husband telling me that Clancy could take two pages to describe a bomb going off or a safe being cracked. I figured that with that much technical detail, his characters would be short on depth but I was wrong. Each one, whether protagonist or antagonist is multifaceted; Ding Chavez tries to reconcile the dangers of his job with impending fatherhood, John Clarke is faced with aging out of a young man’s work, and even the antagonists wrestle with their consciences when they realize the true extent of their leaders’ plans.  Considering we’re used to seeing action heroes completely obliterate the villans in a haze of gunfire and smoke, Clancy’s solution to the terrorist threat is brilliant. I won’t spoil it but it’s devious and doesn’t involve violence. Though there were a few parts I skipped due to their technicality, Rainbow Six was far more character driven than I expected and was an enjoyable action/thriller.

4 1/2 stars out of 5 (due to the few parts I skipped)