It's 1984, and Marko Alexandrovich Ramius finds himself working for a totalitarian government much like the ones portrayed in the book of the same name. A Lithuanian submarine commander for the Soviet Navy, Ramius is captaining the Red October, a Typhoon-class nuclear submarine. He has recently lost his wife Natalia at the hands of an incompetent doctor, and was deprived of justice because that doctor had connections in the government. Natalia's death is the final straw for Ramius, who has been dissatisfied with Soviet rule for quite some time. He decides to pilot the Red October away from the Soviet Union, and defect to the United States, along with his officers.
A plan is hatched, and the political officer on board the ship is executed. Ramius sends a letter to his wife's uncle, informing him of the plan to defect. The letter is intercepted by government officials, who immediately send the Northern fleet to sink the sub, pretending that they are on a search and rescue mission.
Meanwhile in America, Jack Ryan, CIA analyst extraordinaire, has just returned from London with photos of the Red October in tow. His analysis determines too late that the sub is equipped with a stealth drive, which makes it impossible to detect with Sonar. When Ramius engages the stealth drive, Ryan connects the dots and realizes the intent to defect. He immediately sets out to make sure that the Red October and her crew arrive safely in America. And so The Hunt for Red October begins.
Tom Clancy is a celebrated American author of spy novels. His award-winning books, set during and after the Cold War, portray a fascinating culture of intrigue and espionage, as well as cutting-edge military science. In addition to his own books, Clancy has given various ghost writers license to use his name for similar books, movies, and video games. A native of Baltimore, Clancy is a part-owner of the Orioles, and serves as Vice Chairman of Community Activities and Public Affairs.
"I branched out of my Grisham/Cussler/Crighton reading material and added Clancy for the first time since reading Rainbow Six freshman year of college. I don't know that I had ever actually read this one. It was good. Not exactly as I remember the movie, but a pretty fascinating read, especially considering it was written nearly 30 years ago. Then it is kind of amazing to think of the empire Clancy spawned in the 90s, from books to movies to video games. Now, on to Patriot Games."
—
matteo (4 out of 5 stars)