The Sum of All Fears

By: Tom Clancy

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Against all odds we have made it into the last half of the 1990s. The Cold War looks solved, Arabs and Jews are talking, confrontation is on the wane. In this new harmony, one discord - what becomes of unemployed terrorists?

You can bet they aren't going to retire quietly. Shunned by the Soviets, isolated by Middle Eastern realignment, one cadre hits on a scheme to jump-start the war machine. It's brilliant in its simplicity. With a single act they bring the world to nuclear boil. Jack Ryan and Dan Murray sweat to defuse a cataclysmic response.

©1992 Tom Clancy (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

“A whiz-bang page-turner!” (The New York Times Book Review)

“The Sum of All Fears delivers!” (People)

“A nonstop roller coaster ride to a nail-biting climax...ingenious.” (Publishers Weekly)

Great listen

I come back to this book again and again. Great Clancy and a very intriguing book. Great characters and development. If you are looking for a good book - look no further.

My favorite book in this series...

What made the experience of listening to The Sum of All Fears the most enjoyable?

I tried to read this book in print and gave up aftr the first 300 pages. I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters, and the different aspects of the plot seemed so disjointed that I found myself getting confused and zoning out. Then I began to read the audible version, and poof, something about either the pacing or the narration rekindled my interest in the book almost immediately. I'm so glad, because this one is so good it's scary--or do I mean so scary it's good?

What did you like best about this story?

The sheer scope of the threat makes the climax seem all the more plausible, and terrifying. If just one of any of about ten crisis moments had gone differently, the outcome of the book would have been completely different, and not in a good way. I love books that make me go "aaaah, now I get it", and keep me on the edge of my seat. It took a while, but by the second half of the book I was blowing off important work-related paperwork to find out what would happen next.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He doesn't do a great job differentiating individual characters' voices, but his accents are believable, which was critical in this book. Also, something about his pacing really contributes to the suspense of this novel. I also downloaded his reading of "Patriot Games", and was equally impressed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

That entire scene in the bunker, when the president is losing it and Eliot is already gone, had my guts in knots. Also, the bit where Ryan crashes NMCC. Love his balls.

Long and worth every credit

A story which we have all thought about and hope will never happen brought to life in true Clancey style

Stellar performance

Scott Brick could read a telephone book and make it sound absolutely fantastic. No lie!

Still relevant 2017

Amazing book about the truths of a nuclear armed world. Detailed and believable my favorite so far in the series.