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The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan Novels) (Mass Market Paperback) (平装)
by Tom Clancy
| Category:
Thriller, Fiction, Novel |
| Market price: ¥ 108.00
MSL price:
¥ 98.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A landmark work that had launched Tom Clancy’s career in techno-thriller writing. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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Time (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
Gripping narrative... Navy buffs and thriller adepts have been mesmerized. |
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Washington Post (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
Breathlessly exciting. |
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George Copeland (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
I haven't been able to confirm all of the following, but this is what I have heard: Tom Clancy was an insurance salesman, and a frustrated US Navy sailor. He had attempted to enlist in the Navy and was turned down. However, his passion for the Navy never waned, and he continued to research US Navy topics on his own.
His main resource was the Naval Institute Press, which publishes technical articles and books about the US Navy. In any case, Tom Clancy wrote Red Storm Rising based on his research in US Navy periodicals and books, and on his experience playing the game 'Harpoon', a board game published by the Navy Institute Press for the purpose of training US submarine officers. He wrote the novel at his kitchen table.
After writing Red Storm Rising, and having no experience in publishing books, Clancy didn't know what to do with his manuscript, so he sent it to the editors at the Naval Institute Press. These people, naval officers, after reading Clancy's manuscript, knew two things: 1) the story was fantastic, and 2) it was filled with classified material that could only have been obtained by a spy.
The Naval Investigative Service (NIS) was dispatched to Clancy's house to interrogate him and find out his sources for the classified material in his book. As I have heard, he was able to point to an unclassified source for every single objection that the Navy had about his manuscript. After his clearance by the NIS, the Navy Institute Press did not know what to do with Clancy's manuscript. The Navy Institute Press does not publish fiction.
What I heard was that the Navy Institute Press decided to publish a 5000 book edition of his novel for their own members, the first fiction book in the Navy Institute Press history, and then they handed the manuscript off to a real fiction publisher who could market the novel correctly. I am a proud owner of one of those Naval Institute Press editions of Red Storm Rising, and I can confidently say that it is one of the best novels ever written in English. In one masterstroke, Clancy invented an entirely new genre of English literature - the techno-thriller. There are few if any English authors alive today who can be said to have invented an entirely new genre of literature, and there are virtually none who can be said to have written such a wonderful and significant work. This novel will live for hundreds of years in English literature as a classic. It is that good. |
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Darren Burton (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
When this book came out, the Kremlin ordered 500 copies! The idea of a Soviet sub commander deciding to defect to the United States with his submarine was their deepest, darkest fear! The U.S. Navy and FBI also were very unhappy - they wanted to know who had been talking to Clancy - they couldn't believe that someone could find out all this by doing research. They were convinced that several people with Top Secret clearances had been talking to Clancy.
The storyline is this: Marko Ramius is the Russian Navy's most experienced and highly decorated submarine commander, who has become disillusioned with the Communist Party. After seeing the plans for the newest Russian submarine - The Red October. A sub that is almost completely silent - a submarine with one purpose - "to start a nuclear war". Ramius decides to steal the submarine with the help of the officers of his crew after he is assigned the command of The Red October. Before leaving port on it's madien run, Marius mails a letter to the Secretary of the Navy telling him of his intent to steal the sub. The letter arrives 2 days after the Red October sails from port. The Soviets in a panic, send their entire fleet in the region after it trying to find and sink the Red October. The Soviets approach the United States telling them that Marius sent a letter to the Secretary of the Navy explaining his intent to launch a nuclear attack against the United States, and ask for help in hunting the sub down and destroying it.
Jack Ryan, currently a CIA analyst, who has written several books on naval warfare strategy, and who has met Marius at a diplomatic party, is asked to consult the President of the United States and the Chiefs of Staff at an emergency meeting. Jack mentions the possibility that the sub may be trying to defect. No one at the meeting believes it, but the President gives Jack permission to join up with an American sub on patrol and to attempt to make contact with the Red October to find out what Marius intentions are.
This book really opened my eyes up to what our capabilities are with submarines - I had no idea how advanced they are. This story is very fast paced and intense. It really makes you wonder how the U.S. would respond under these circumstances. Great read! |
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John (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
Worth reading again. For a thriller, the characters here are fabulous. Ramius is just perfect, very well crafted, as are Ryan and almost all of the supports. The research is spectacular, even though I wish it was more eloquently presented. I gather from various high-up Navy friends that the "silent drive" is still an utter impossibility in real life but Clancy's work is so well done that it seems utterly plausible. His research/descriptions on various other technical subjects - on radiation, etc - are also top notch. Even after all these years, this one is still great. Five Stars! |
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Joseph McCarty (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
This is one of Tom Clancy's best Jack Ryan novels. It is hard to put down once you get started. The plot is intricate and interrelated without all the coincidences that mar some of Clancy's later novels. He also has political points woven into the plot and action without the reader having to plod through page after page of pontification seen in some of his later novels. (Even if you agree with Clancy's political views, it gets tedious in some of his books.) The details of submarine theory, construction and warfare are interesting without getting in the way of the story. If you have seen the movie based on this book, you will still want to read The Hunt for Red October as it is much more detailed and exciting. As other reviewers have also mentioned, this book is much shorter than some of Clancy's more encyclopedic novels. That makes for much crisper reading and less flipping back in the book to sort out who is who. This was an exciting book when it was published, and even though times have changed it is still a good read. |
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Mike (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
In a word, WOW. This book is ranked in the top five greatest books that I've ever read. Clancy uses incredibly specific and intricate descriptions of the nautical military to create a real life atmosphere that the reader can relate to. Real military events were used to shape the plot of the story, and Amazon.com even states that Clancy was rumored to have been debriefed by the White House during the production of this novel.
Clancy also creates an easy way for the reader to understand the complexity of the characters. He uses events from his own life to shape the personality of Jack Ryan, the main character. With character traits that were founded on the experiences of a real-life person, the reader is able to relate to Jack Ryan as if he was a member of reality.
Finally, the theme presented in this book can teach the everyday consumer a very valuable lesson - never jump to conclusions. As Jack Ryan's actions are carried out during the story, he constantly gives a base for this moral to grow off of. By reading and learning the depths of Jack Ryan's personality, we as a society can learn to live by this theme, and greatly enhance our everyday lives. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
When Commander Marko Ramius found out about a new Russian submarine, his thoughts start to fly. Marko's wife had been lost to a poor medical system prior to this, and ever since, Marko Ramius had lost faith in the Soviet Union. Commander Marko Ramius finally saw his chance for revenge; he was going to obtain control this new nuclear submarine and defect. This would give the Americans not only the Russians new nuclear submarine, but also his famed service.
The Hunt for Red October is one of my all time favorite novels. It is the first book in Tom Clancy's famed "Jack Ryan Series". Throughout his series, Tom Clancy continues to develop many of his characters by putting them in unique situations that truly show their character. Without a doubt, this is my favorite part of the novel. Tom Clancy does such a good job of creating each of his characters in this book, and enabling himself to develop their personality further in the rest of his books.
Other than the character development, it was one of those books you could not put down. While the beginning may pick up a bit slow, the book quickly picks up pace into a massive speedy ending.
Just as expected from Tom Clancy, The Hunt for Red October is another action packed book with in depth characters. I would strongly recommend reading not only this book, but to continue on to many of his other books; without continuing on in the series, you will never fully appreciate Tom Clancy's unique characters and their in depth personality. |
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Steven Scheuring (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
The only people who would be disappointed in the book are those who expect a fast battle between Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery. Some readers may be turned off because the book hits you with a bunch of technical or Russian terms (sometimes both at the same time) towards the beginning. Many of these are explained, some are not. He explains in elaborate detail about the submarine systems and how they work, and works all of that into the plot. The author did not breeze through the plot elements; he goes to great lengths to describe objects or events. He takes carefully timed pauses in action to describe the characters' thoughts. The book has the deepest character development I have seen anywhere. There are maybe 10 or 20 pages detailing Ramius' biography.
Although it isn't speedy, the story is certainly well-thought-out. It is astounding how Clancy put the elements together to make this unique story. Ramius made ingenious use of the way the Soviet Navy works to plan his defection. The sailors used their boats' systems to their fullest potential. Furthermore, he builds it into an action-filled sea story involving six submarines in a carefully orchestrated mission.
But this is not merely a story about ships. It is a story about people. It is a story about Russian people trying to break the Communist system to get into America. Clancy does a wonderful job conveying the doom and gloom of workers stuck in the USSR, showing how the Soviet system works, and tapping into Russian thoughts and the Russian way of life. It is a story about the US government trying to solve an unusual problem. The reader gets to see daily life at the CIA, as well as the Joint Chiefs at their finest and CIA agents unison creative assignments to face the task at hand.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-29 00:00>
Typically, Clancy demonstrates his tactic of reader comprehension by giving the reader a detailed and yet sketchy version of events. For instance, when the caterpillar drive on the Red October is first engaged, Clancy starts at the stem of the vessel and describes the system by following the path of the water. This simple yet effective method allows for the reader to imagine him or self being sucked through the pipes and moved through the labyrinth that makes up the Red October. Then in the next chapter the Americans learn about the caterpillar from Captain Skip Tyler, although the reader already is aware of that fact in a sort of dramatic irony.
In addition to the use of descriptive writing, Clancy also has many different situations in the novel, when a main character has to explain the facts of a problem in order to come to a workable solution. Ryan's meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff is crucial in the novel in order to convince the American Government to go after the Red October, but it also serves as an opportunity to inform the reader on the history of Ramius Markus, the Russian commander. Further briefings of this sort allow Ryan access to the British carrier task force and the Los Angeles class submarine U.S.S. Dallas.
Finally there is the fact that Clancy did not use fanciful designs of his own making in the telling of his story. Clancy used what was available and technologically feasible to the navies and the world of the day. He did not write a James Bond type novel with little gadgets that look like postage stamps, but really act as liquid explosive or anything like that. Even the revolutionary design of the Red October was entirely feasible during that time period. The Red October is a member of the Typhoon class of Soviet submarine, which during the 1980s threatened to wipe out the American way of life. Reader of The Hunt for Red October should realize that Tom Clancy is not only a fiction writer; he has written many books on the real life nature of warfare, Submarine and Aircraft Carrier coming immediately to mind.
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1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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