2012 Book Review #40: The Hunt for Red October

[jethrien]

Title: The Hunt for Red October
Author: Tom Clancy
Genre: Military thriller
Thingummies: 5

Synopsis: A Cold War Russian sub captain decides to defect...and bring Russia's newest sub along with him as a Christmas present.

Thingummies: I've read this a couple times, all when I was significantly younger and more ignorant of Russian history and politics. It was pretty interesting to go back and reread it, both from a hindsight perspective and from the perspective of actually understanding what's going on with the Russian politics.

One thing I have to hand to Clancy right off the bat--while I get a lot of nuances I missed in middle school, there's nothing earth-shattering. He did a good enough job explaining things that I got enough of the gist the first time to follow the story. And when talking about Russian politics, that's quite the accomplishment.

This is probably one of the best military thrillers ever written. It's surprisingly short for the genre, and contains very little filler. We bounce between Moscow and Washington, the surface and the bottom of the sea, but it's all necessary to the story. And yet, it's also amazing how many subplots get woven in--a mole in Congress, a mole on the ship, Ryan's budding career, Skip's aborted one. We're introduced to a lot of characters who will play bigger roles in later books, but we get enough of a sense of each right now and no one feels wasted or overdeveloped for the current novel. The pacing is tight, the tension incredibly well drawn out. From what I understand of naval technology and procedure, Clancy's totally on top of his tech.

But what's endearing about this book is the character development. Too many thrillers go only for broad caricatures. This one gives us the details that make people feel human. It's the little gestures--the Russian officer who really wants to try an American cigarette but is too proud to ask, the American sonar operator whose college prank went awry, the fact that people can be jerks and still be good officers and people can be enemies and still be good people. It's amazing how many of the little moments had stuck with me even when action sequences didn't.

Oh, Ryan is a bit of a Marty Stu (he gets worse in later books). He's a self-made millionaire who just happens to be the brilliantest intelligence officer and also friends with the royal family? Really? But it's pretty much expected of the genre, so I'll give it a pass. And he has flaws, plenty of them. He makes some mistakes. And most importantly, he doesn't single-handedly save the day. Like real warfare, this is a collaborative effort, and we see all the men and women who play a part. And each of them come across as a real human being. It's not just engrossing, it's refreshing.

This is now historical instead of current, but it holds up remarkably well. Very few in the genre can say the same. Kudos, Mr. Clancy.

Comments

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

This is the only book I ever read in class because I could not put it down. I read it when I was thirteen. I should probably reread it, huh?

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Sure. There are some bits here and there which I've noticed are weaker than I remembered, but overall, this is still almost as strong as I remembered it.Really like this book.