The Hunt for Red October Paperback – 2 Feb. 1998

The first thing that struck me about this novel was the intricacy and attention to detail. Clancy must have put countless hours in to his research and his passion for naval history clearly shows. That said, I felt that as a casual reader this got in the way of the story at times. The premise is really good and there parts of the book that are genuinely exciting. My final impression is that the story could have been a gripping page turner if it were less technical and a little shorter. As it was, I felt the book outstayed it's welcome somewhat and I was a little relieved when it ended. Also, the 'cold war' pro-America propaganda gets a bit cringey at times, particularly when the Russians seem comically baffled anytime Americans try to describe what freedom is.

As a fan of the film and other submarine stories such as Ice Station Zebra, I was looking forward to reading this and was pleased that it had a gripping start. The opening is well researched and even for those like myself who don't have a great deal of knowledge of the time it was written in and the Soviet Empire, enough detailed is provided.Unfortunately after a few chapters, the detail becomes too heavy and I found the over description of the sonar equipment off putting. I tried in vain to pick this up several times but found that I couldn't finish it. A bit disappointing but if you prefer a great level of detail I would recommend this.

I have just spent the last four hours finishing this book. It's now 4 am and a good job I'm retired!When I say this book is a little long, I don't mean to deprecate it in any way, it is merely that, although I can see the necessity of the political background and descriptive narrative regarding boats, ships, submarines and aircraft, as a "girlie", I found myself tuning out in some of the above and therefore having to reread, to make sure I'd missed nothing important, which of course I hadn't. The basic story, of course, is laid before us quite reasonably in the film, and although I found it considerably helpful that I had seen it, more than once, and knew where it was going, I found the book much more exciting, particularly the last third, hence the four hours staying awake to finish it. It has, of,course, a fatal flaw, ignored by everyone, including me when watching the film; Ramius is a murderer. He kills in cold blood in the first chapter and yet we treat him as a hero, because he defects to the west with a valuable prize for the Americans. Should he not have been tried for his crime? I suppose one assumes he failed to pass this information on to the Americans but nevertheless, we know. Still, I would highly recommend this book as a well constructed adventure story.

Having seen the film, so many times..I really wanted to read the book..and boy it doesn’t disappoint..this is the first Tom Clancy novel with the character Jack Ryan..it’s a rollercoaster from Page 1... do not miss this book, even if like me you seen the film..it is worth it!!

I down loaded the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan series updated 2017 Best Reading order from that great book store name which begins with AM ?,I have read the first 5 books when released between 1984 & 1991 from the list i have decided to read them again they are a fantastic and exciting read.I have down loaded the first 2 books there 22 in all.Last book released in 2017.

I enjoy reading books made into films, although you already know the outcome, but sometimes you have a novel that differs from the film.This book stays very true to the film up till about 100 pages before the end, where it differs greatly.This is the first novel by Tom Clancy and the first of his I have read and wasn't disappointed.If you enjoy reading Frederick Forsyth novels, I find the style of writing very similar so you would enjoy this.Clancy obviously does a lot of research into the workings and the structure of the forces as he goes into great description of the command lines as the story evolves. The detail of this can be a bit over the top for me.Also Jack Ryan being the main character in the book, I was surprised he did not feature more in the book.Aside from this I still recommend the book.

The film was good, the book was even better and included much more of the political background. The wealth of technical and military information indicates a real interest and much painstaking research.

As Clancy is famed for this is a very impelling yarn with lots of rigorous technical details. The plot is intense, well written, well structured; you move from one place and time to another, in your head keeping track of where all the players are in the situation and wondering who will catch who first. Don't worry about the length of the book - you'll get through it quickly enough! It's just a shame that his others aren't available on kindle yet