The Hunt For Red October - Tom Clancy

Published by Fontana Paperbacks/William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd: Glasgow, 1986.
First published by the United States Naval Institute Press, 1984.

I've seen the movie version of The Hunt for Red October years ago, and if you haven't, I reckon its a pretty good watch. Seeing Sean Connery play a Russian with his natural Scottish accent is worth the time, even before the story kicks in. However, if you are planning on reading the book and haven't seen the film, I would recommend not watching the film before reading the book. This is because, as much as the cover promises a thrilling action-packed edge-of-your-seat adventure, I didn't find that to be the case in reading Red October. Perhaps its because it is an 'action' book written in the 1980s, and the expectations of audiences have increased. Perhaps it's because I already knew the twists and turns. Perhaps it's because, for a long period of reading this book, I was reading it during silent reading time in my classes, and as a result each scene was taking far too long to get through and I was losing focus too often thanks to my students needing attention.

Anyway, the story itself is interesting. The Red October is a cutting-edge Russian submarine that hopes to defect to the US during the Cold War. The captain, Ramius, leaves a note for his commanders informing them of his defection intentions, so that there will be no chance of backing out. He believes the technological advancement of Red October, combined with his skills as a captain, will be enough to help them avoid detection. His hand-picked selection of officers support him in his quest.

Meanwhile, the Americans, including CIA liason Jack Ryan in his first novel appearance (this is also Clancy's debut novel) start figuring out what is going on, and seek to find Red October before the Soviets do, then hoping to make contact with the defecting Russians and determine if there is any way for America to hold on to their prize if they do.

There are moments of action, including some submarine crashes and a random helicopter crash, but a lot of the book is talking about strategy and politics - interesting enough in its own right, but not what I expected from a 'thriller', and certainly not the best choice to read in a classroom full of distracting teenagers.

I was happy to finish this one.

Completed 21 July 2024.

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