Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Endgame

Compared with Conviction, Endgame was a breath of fresh air. Granted, they both tell the same story from different points of view (which is a bit of a ripoff for those of us who bought both books), but this viewpoint took the time to flesh out the new characters and give us more development of the elements that will likely be continuing the series, not just a rush from point to point while Sam gets in, gets the intel, and gets out. Unfortunately, you will have to wade through the poor showing that was Conviction if you want the full story as you only get one side of it here. The book follows the POV of Ben Hansen and his 3E team (saddled with the weak codename of "Delta Sly") as they get thrown into the middle of Grimsdottir's plan to use them to take down some corrupt elements that have wormed their way into 3E. If I had read this one before Conviction, my rating for Conviction would have been two stars (or possibly one) rather than the three stars I gave it. If you have to pick one of the two, read this one. If you want the whole story, go ahead and get them both, just be prepared to be disappointed in Conviction.

In Splinter Cell:Conviction, Third Echelon's Grimsdottir launches Sam Fisher on his final mission. Splinter Cell:Endgame introduces newbie Ben Hansen and his Delta Sly group as Grimsdottir, closely watched by a traitor in the NSA hierarchy, secretly directs and delivers Hansen's ragtag team to Fisher in support of his final mission. Interestingly for us, some creative folks stepped outside the box here (author, publisher, game developer, come quickly to mind), and gave us two independent books about the same mission as carried out by different characters. The clear distinction between the two books is the actions of a loner versus the dynamics of a team with all their conflicting shenanigans. I catch the old versus new message - call it an attitudinal variation on the old glass half empty-half full metephor. A weary Fisher contemplating the settlings in his glass. The young and energetic Hansen eager to fill his to overflowing. In the middle, Grimsdottir, a realist, who knows that, either way, somebody in Third Echelon will be there to wash it. Endgame works for me... big time.

In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (novel) Sam Fisher is being chased by a group of eager new Splinter Cells, led by a person hand selected by Grimsdottir herself. You are with Sam as he fights to stay ahead of these rookies In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Endgame, you are with Delta Sly as they pursue the worlds most resourceful ex-Splinter Cell. Seen from the point of view of the new generation of stealth spies, this book will be a great read for those of us who are used to using our stealth skills as Sam Fisher, now learn what it's like to have to find the man whose job is to not make mistakes.