Many people tell me that, missileer. I generally like to be quick and to the point, but there are many points in the novel where the dialogue and text are pretty long-winded, for the of being visually exciting and thickening the plot.
Now, as to your Clancy comment, here's my humble opinion. Clancy's early work was good, up until about maybe Rainbow Six. From thereon, it became mroe and more convoluted with acronyms and the occasional (oh god help the PC people) sexual reference. I love acronyms- they're good for confusing the sophomoric high-schoolers the author has to deal with on a daily basis, and for cutting down on typing
Sexual references are good for cutting tension in a story: "Cold, John?"
"'Bout as warm as a penguin's d*ck, captain."
But other than that, Clancy's work seems to have degenerated as he sold more and more into the thriller culture his work now sadly seems to define. I've lost a lot of respect for Tom Acronym as my literary knowledge and skill in writing have developed.