Apr 29, 2009
The Hunt for Red October
Author: Tom Clancy
Pages: 480
Year Published: 1984
At this point, who doesn’t know the initial premise for The Hunt for Red October? Even if you’ve never read the book, the movie was a huge success and we all got to listen to Sean Connery’s Scottish accent as he played a Soviet submarine captain. However, just in case you’re so young you’ve encountered neither, and there are some of you out there, here it is: a Soviet submarine captain and his officers attempt to defect to the United States and surrender the pride of the Soviet Navy – the ballistic missile submarine Red October.
The novel, appearing during some of the tensest moments in Cold War history since the Cuban Missile Crisis, was a huge success and put Tom Clancy’s name on the proverbial map. Clancy would later go on to have a string of successes and become one of the wealthiest authors in the 20th century. His books would continue to follow the reluctant hero, Jack Ryan, all the way to his ascension to presidency itself.
However, the novel is steeped in the Cold War and the world has changed much since the Soviet Union fell in 1991. This begged the question: would it still hold up in a post-9/11 world? For me it does. There might be some rust here and there, but Red October is still a first rate thriller. As I considered what might happen as I re-read the book for the first time in over twenty years, I also considered the very successful adaptations of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne novels, all Cold War spy thrillers.
What has changed though, is what used to be considered a “cutting-edge” thriller, has now moved into the “historical thriller” category. That is an achievement on its own, but I suspect that might also be due to the bias of this reviewer. So keep that in mind. However, to my mind, it certainly deserves its place in history.
-K
You know, I’ve seen (and enjoyed) the movie, but I’ve never read Clancy. I guess I always thought that I wouldn’t dig his stuff because of its (perceived) Right Wing machismo. Even as I type that, I realize how silly it sounds, and I think I may have done the guy a disservice. I have always respected his success as an author and as a video game entrepreneur.
That’s my roundabout way of saying I should read me some Clancy.
I’ve really enjoyed all the games bearing his name that have come out for the XBox(360). The Splinter Cell series is my favorite, but I love stealth games in general anyway.
-K