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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Well, I certainly learned a lot about submarines!
This book wasn't half bad, actually! I liked the military seriousness of the characters, and all the dialogue was the kind of terse, spy thriller shit that I can really get behind sometimes.
The plot really drags for like 70% of the book though, and there is a ton of overly detailed descriptions of submarines. The two action set-pieces near the end are pretty cool and well done, even if the second one consisted almost entirely of submarines pinging each other and then moving their rudders ten degrees right on a three-five-zero course.
The Russians are either enamored with the utopia that is USA, or completely insane. That seems to be the dichotomy. And Jack Ryan spends a lot of time explaining the word "freedom" in a somewhat nauseating fashion.
I am interested to read more Jack Ryan books. I want to read one where it doesn't all take place on a submarine. Although I am worried that with less submarine description, there might be more time for Tom Clancy to go off on weird political digressions, give characters annoying monologues, and just generally get in the way of his own story in a way he didn't quite manage to do in this one.
And I tried my darnedest not to picture Jack Ryan as Jim from The Office but I failed, and to be honest, it made the reading experience much worse. Next time, I will try to picture him as Harrison Ford.
This book wasn't half bad, actually! I liked the military seriousness of the characters, and all the dialogue was the kind of terse, spy thriller shit that I can really get behind sometimes.
The plot really drags for like 70% of the book though, and there is a ton of overly detailed descriptions of submarines. The two action set-pieces near the end are pretty cool and well done, even if the second one consisted almost entirely of submarines pinging each other and then moving their rudders ten degrees right on a three-five-zero course.
The Russians are either enamored with the utopia that is USA, or completely insane. That seems to be the dichotomy. And Jack Ryan spends a lot of time explaining the word "freedom" in a somewhat nauseating fashion.
I am interested to read more Jack Ryan books. I want to read one where it doesn't all take place on a submarine. Although I am worried that with less submarine description, there might be more time for Tom Clancy to go off on weird political digressions, give characters annoying monologues, and just generally get in the way of his own story in a way he didn't quite manage to do in this one.
And I tried my darnedest not to picture Jack Ryan as Jim from The Office but I failed, and to be honest, it made the reading experience much worse. Next time, I will try to picture him as Harrison Ford.
I wish I had just watched the movie instead. It became so technical as to become tedious rather than informative. The last 50 or so pages were exciting but not enough to make up for the drudgery of all that came before. This was a tough read but not the enjoyable kind.
Thrilling in most parts but spoiled somewhat with the technical terms which was a large part.
watched the movie of the same name,was intrigued,decided to go for the book hoping it will be better(as in most of the cases).But Holy Cow,what an utter disappointment.
It is not a thriller for a reader invested in story,character development and smooth progression of a story.rather it is full of highly technical military jargon,tons of characters doing their military shit and frequent jump from one event to another.admittedly the research is very good,which is why i think military people and military buff has great affection for the book.
The portrayal of USA and Russia is laughingly one sided. the portrayal of US military in a noble war against the tyranny of the soviets sometimes give me the idea that this may be a propaganda book ala TOP GUN.(the amount of money human waste in the name of security is so depressing).whenever the event involves with the soviets,the event is described in the real life as in squabbling,back stabbing etc,but the portrayal of US events make you think as if it is a UTOPIA where all go smoothly.could have ignored that, cause the writer is an US citizen.But in the event of not investing much attention to the painstaking military and technical detail that the writer pour in the book,this becomes a big issue for me.
this is a book that contains 95% of military people doing their usual thing and that certainly cannot be a good thing for a reader who is not a military buff.
Will not recommend rather discourage people who are not military buffs,to read this.
It is not a thriller for a reader invested in story,character development and smooth progression of a story.rather it is full of highly technical military jargon,tons of characters doing their military shit and frequent jump from one event to another.admittedly the research is very good,which is why i think military people and military buff has great affection for the book.
The portrayal of USA and Russia is laughingly one sided. the portrayal of US military in a noble war against the tyranny of the soviets sometimes give me the idea that this may be a propaganda book ala TOP GUN.(the amount of money human waste in the name of security is so depressing).whenever the event involves with the soviets,the event is described in the real life as in squabbling,back stabbing etc,but the portrayal of US events make you think as if it is a UTOPIA where all go smoothly.could have ignored that, cause the writer is an US citizen.But in the event of not investing much attention to the painstaking military and technical detail that the writer pour in the book,this becomes a big issue for me.
this is a book that contains 95% of military people doing their usual thing and that certainly cannot be a good thing for a reader who is not a military buff.
Will not recommend rather discourage people who are not military buffs,to read this.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
3.5 stars. Definitely a riveting story, but I got bogged down in the technical details and the many characters involved in accomplishing the goal. I don’t doubt that it would have taken that many people if the situation were to happen in real life, but I wonder if the story could have still be told in a realistic way but with a less confusing structure.
I picked up The Hunt for Red October because my friend Erik said it was the best place to start if I was Clancy curious. The book explores Cold War era war games through the eyes of every level of decision maker - from the sonar men of submarines to heads of state. The plot itself could be exciting at times, particularly at the story’s climax but I had a difficult time getting through the dense military history and technical details in the middle of the book. I’d like to see the movie to better grasp the story. This was a good book to get outside my comfort zone but I’m not sure I’ll pick up another Clancy.
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense