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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Another excellent Cold War thriller from Tom Clancy. This one is really a classic, especially with the movie adaptation, but I've found the book holds up remarkably well. There are some moments, like the delirious joy of using a Cray-2, which date it, even more than the Soviet defection, but as the main part of the book is the thrill of the chase and learning the characters involved, it's more of a temporary sidetrack than something that derails your thoughts.
Well worth a read (or reread).
Well worth a read (or reread).
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
I was bored out of my mind and kept having to reread lines to figure out what was happening. It's a bit too dry for my taste; just not my type of book at all.
Well-paced for most of it, but I felt it had a few slow parts (and much longer than I expected). It probably would have been a lot more interesting for someone who was into military things or Cold War. Pretty idealistic view of good America vs bad USSR (not that I have enough background to make specific critiques).
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
The very beginning of the book, before the Soviets go all out, was pretty underwhelming somehow, it felt like very amateurish. That may be because I've read a few Clancy novels before and I had some high expectations for the Red October, and that it was his first novel to begin with.
But as soon as the military thriller machine kicked into gear pretty early along the way, the book just flowed through.
I enjoyed the high-level gameplay and the actual happenings on the field alike. Just as I was highly entertained by the endless yapping about BQQ-5 sonars and the rest of the hi-tech jargon, what Clancy readers appear to have grown into. How on Earth did the author get all his minute details back in the day baffles me.
The incredible amount of "hooray USA, HOORAY USA WE ARE AWESOME!" back-patting was kind of hilarious, quite propaganda-like even. IIRC this novel has nothing on the Red Storm Rising on this front, though, as it wasn't quite as thickly laid here. Some people love that aspect, I quite don't care much. But I knew to expect it to be there.
All in all, the evil soviets either defect or die and the good 'muricans win the day for the freedom, screaming bald eagles and pie. Or something like it. Lots of fun in any case.
But as soon as the military thriller machine kicked into gear pretty early along the way, the book just flowed through.
I enjoyed the high-level gameplay and the actual happenings on the field alike. Just as I was highly entertained by the endless yapping about BQQ-5 sonars and the rest of the hi-tech jargon, what Clancy readers appear to have grown into. How on Earth did the author get all his minute details back in the day baffles me.
The incredible amount of "hooray USA, HOORAY USA WE ARE AWESOME!" back-patting was kind of hilarious, quite propaganda-like even. IIRC this novel has nothing on the Red Storm Rising on this front, though, as it wasn't quite as thickly laid here. Some people love that aspect, I quite don't care much. But I knew to expect it to be there.
All in all, the evil soviets either defect or die and the good 'muricans win the day for the freedom, screaming bald eagles and pie. Or something like it. Lots of fun in any case.