"Rainbow" is a multi-national, anti-terrorist operation; "Six" is the traditional call sign of a unit leader. Aging ex-SEAL and CIA operative John Clark commands the operation. Clark is an established character continued from earlier works, but Clancy does a good job of retaining old fans while building a novel that stands on its own merits. Clark's son-in-law Domingo "Ding" Chavez also returns to be featured prominently as the leader of one of two anti-terrorism teams.

While John Clark's founding memorandum establishes a special operation team of US, UK, and selected NATO personnel, his group's membership includes an unexplained Israeli. Perplexingly, the book jacket prominently displays flags of the United States, Israel, Germany, and the United Kingdom, but omits the French tricolor. These are trivial issues, but very uncharacteristic of a precise, detail-oriented Tom Clancy.

The book itself expertly details the military hardware and captures the international warriors' lingua franca. The reader learns of ghillie suits, hummers, a myriad of weaponry, and a plethora of acronyms. Only "REMF" (Rear Echelon M-----r F----r) is less than fully explained. Despite emphasis on detail, the book avoids becoming a compendium of military terms.

Fighting terrorists is only one aspect of the novel. In his familiar style of concentric plots, Clancy also exposes his readers to the world of evil medicine. The details regarding manufacture, clinical trials, and ultimate dispersal of the killer organism are deftly handled. The perpetrators' motivation is even more enticing than their methods.

With one striking exception, the "bad guys" of this novel are one dimensional and somewhat trite, but that is only a minor distraction because this is a carefully crafted, "good guys" book. It smoothly wraps the international cast in appropriate cultural backgrounds. As it details small unit training and morale, the novel does a nice job of addressing class distinctions of the military. The two leading characters are NCOs turned CIA operatives. Their loyalty, mission knowledge, and leadership are top notch, but they are a bit taken aback by traditional British officer perquisites.

Rainbow Six has strong male characters who show some feelings. The plot is detailed enough to entice the most critical, and the suspense is well maintained. Old soldiers will relish its ending despite variance from the Geneva Convention. If there are any readers left who have not sampled Tom Clancy, this is a good book to try out.

--Steve Nemmers