The Hunt for Red October (A Jack Ryan Novel)

This is one of the most exciting and interesting thriller of them all. The details about submarine warfare enhance the constant fast pace of the story. The story is not the same as the screenplay, so if you have seen the movie, be sure to read the book.

I picked up this book after watching the movie The Hunt for Red October. Tom Clancy does a great job when it comes to details. This book could have been cut 100 pages short if certain personnel histories and show of strength between America and Russia had been shortened. Nevertheless a great book to read.

Originally written as Contemporary Realistic Fiction, this Historical Fiction Novel has all the intrigue of classic spy novels, the suspense of Naval combat, and a perfectly human character in Jack Ryan. A Nuclear Submarine surfaces off the Grand Banks, near the Laurentian Abyssal, apparently suffering a reactor malfunction. It then sinks into the abyssal. At least that's what it looks like. In reality, a far more complex plot is covering-up a high-profile defection.

Great introduction to Clancy and the Jack Ryan series. This is the first one published, and should probably be read first in the series. The details are very accurate, but almost boringly so at times.

Bottom line: Better then the movie, definitely worth reading.

This is actually my fourth time reading this book, two on a paperback and two on KINDLEd, each separated by at least two years. Every time I picked it up to read again, I felt new to it. Just love it. I would recommend it to everyone who loves military thriller. I will begin reading Patriot Game very soon.

After I watched the movie yet again, I decided to read the book again, as books contain more detail than movies can. Even for the umpteenth time, the book is a great read.. As I never remember all the details, I enjoy reading books over and over. This is a great one.

My favorite of the Tom Clancy series! He tells the story of a rogue captain of a cold-war Russian submarine so well, I was sure it really happened. Clancy's knowledge of US and Russian government and military is very thorough and makes for a good read all the way through. Rich with sub-stories surrounding the main event, this one is hard to put down!
Regarding the book itself, it is a nice hard copy with a new slipcover. Well-bound and typeset such that even tired eyes find comfortable to read.

And I liked the movie a lot. Especially liked Sean Connery as Ramius.
The plot and character development were much superior since Clancy had the time that movies don't. Brought the Cold War era back to mind.

Tom Clancy was an insurance salesman living in Maryland in 1984 when he sold his novel, The Hunt for Red October, to the Naval Institute Press. He had been unsuccessful in getting other publishers to accept his manuscript for publication, and finally submitted it to the Naval Institute since he had a relationship with them from writing articles that had appeared in their Proceedings of the Naval Institute. He was not a military veteran but had a strong interest in the military and in writing.

The novel somehow made it to the White House and President Ronald Reagan read it. After his comment that it was a 'perfect yarn', it received great attention and Clancy's career as a writer of techno-thrillers was launched.

I first read this after noticing mention of it in an issue of Time Magazine, probably in 1985 or thereabouts. My hardback copy is one of the original Naval Institute Press printings. This novel has probably gone through dozens of reprinting since that time, in hard cover and paperback.

It's great to have it again now in Kindle to enjoy Jack Ryan's first adventure.

I was captivated throughout the novel with the great story crafted by Tom Clancy. Surprisingly way better than the movie and I can't wait to read the other Jack Ryan books. A great read for anyone who likes books.

Hunt for Red October is a classic that has rarely been matched. This is the third time I have read it and it never fails to entertain me. I am doing the same with the Cardinal of the Kremlin. The character Jack Ryan is believable and human.

The Jack Ryan novels are some good storytelling by Tom Clancy. Adventure, patriotism, politics, intrigue, and some just plain dumb luck combined with storytelling from multiple angles add up to just another day at the office for Jack Ryan.

I enjoyed th movie so much I definitely wanted to read the book which I knew would be different from the movie and it really was a thriller from start to finish. I would hightly recommend this for good reading,

The book arrived right on time and it was in my mailbox just waiting for me to pick it up. It was well wraped and easy to open. Thank you so much for such good service.

This book is a remarkable novel with an intricate plot and extraordinarily detail about the operation of nuclear subs and military strategy during the cold war with the Soviet Union.
Sometimes the jargon is impenetrable, but it is awesome to think that that one person can weave all that detailed and complex information into the story. I got the impression that Clancy had enough knowledge to build and operate a nuclear reactor. It has more than held my interest, but I have read more exciting and astonishing novels so I cannot rate it higher than 3 stars.

I know purists like to say books are always better than the movie adaption, and most of the time I would agree. In this case the filmmakers did a great job of tightening up this sprawling novel. While it was an engaging book, there were too many incidental characters, submarines and sub-plots. In this setting Jack Ryan was just another bit player and the Red October was just one of many subs. If you enjoy Cold War thrillers and lots of military jargon, you'll enjoy this book. Just don't expect it to match the story you saw in the theater.

I've been reading the Jack Ryan stories in chronological order as opposed to the order they were written in and I am very glad I chose to do this. This has been the best of them thus far. Great intrigue and plenty of action. Think I may watch the movie now...

I just finished reading this book. An amazingly well done book for any author, but as the first book published by an author, it's superb. So much detail. Great plotting. One neck of a ride. I loved it and will be looking for more from Tom Clancy. Now to see which book is the next with Jack Ryan.

My favorite author doesn't disappoint, no matter how many times I go back and read his books, especially his early stuff. It's been years since I read this and It was great to read it again. No one tells a story like Clancy.

Absolute insight of the Americans in divulging the Red October objective and capitalizing on it . Movie depicts a portion. But the actual facts that the Russians are not aware of the absolute freedom that our Navy, as well as our freedom in the US is astonishing.They live in an entirely different world and obviously well controlled. I recommend for all to read over and over again.

Hunt for Red October is a thrilling classic military/spy novel. Clancy's technical details make it intensely interesting for those interested in hardware and tactics, while the plot makes you want to keep turning the page. It's not amazing literature, but for what it is, it serves its purpose well.

This is an amazing book. Level of details specially on submarine operations is excellent.
I do not know how accurately author describes the Soviets fleet but overall he manages to make the book a thriller.
Question being: how do you defect with boat load of nuclear bombs where the other side has no way to confirm you are defecting or out to blow them off...

Though the movie is mostly faithful to the storyline, the movie cannot do justice to the book. Clancy does a wonderful job taking us inside the characters' heads. A thrilling tale that's hard to put down.

This was a captivating book, it seemed I was right in the middle of the action most of the time. Toward the end the jumping from place to place got a little too frequent for me, otherwise it was a very enjoyable thriller.

Classic Tom Clancy. The movies does not do the book justice. The details of the story created by Clancy makes all of his books enjoyable reads. This is one of his better stories but it is not even his best. Read them all and enjoy since there will be no more since he has passed.

Until about 5 years ago, I always believed that reading novels was a waste of time,
but I happened to meet the Western mystery author C.J.Box (who is now on the New York
Times bestseller list with his 20 fantastic Western mysteries called the Joe Pickett series)
at the Cheyenne Wyoming rodeo.

After reading one of Box's first books entitled "Below Zero," within three months I read
all of his (then) dozen or so novels - fantastic!

I then started looking for other authors with compelling stories to read for great entertainment and diversion purposes.

I read books from about two dozen popular authors, but did not want to read even a second book from any of them.

That is, until recently, when I found Tom Clancy's Hunt for the Red October. I'm now starting to read Clancy's
great novels.

Bottom line is that after sampling novels written by about two dozen popular authors, the only two I believe to be
of substantial literary talent and compelling enough to spend my time reading their books
is C. J. Box and Tom Clancy. Try them - I believe you'll like them.

the book arrived promptly and in good condition.

the story is gripping, the characters heroic on both sides, and the action is amazing. the research sets it apart from all other techno-writers who followed in clancy's footsteps.