Book review: “The Hunt for Red October”

Reviewed by Jon Benton

The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy’s breakthrough novel, is a Cold War-era thriller following a Soviet’s attempt at betraying his nation and America’s attempt at covering his tracks.

Marko Ramius, a Lithuanian submarine commander, has been unhappy with his mother country for a while. He makes the decision that he will turn over his submarine, the Red October, to America, along with its top-secret information. The U.S. has to convince the Soviet Union that Ramius’s ship is sunk, in order to keep the USSR in the dark. Many obstacles are faced throughout this struggle by both the dissidents and the U.S., but the end result is completely worth it for the United States in the grand scheme of the Cold War.

The Hunt for Red October is a good introduction for how Tom Clancy would write his books. If you have ever read and enjoyed other Tom Clancy novels, this first installment of the Jack Ryan series is a must read. I would not recommend the novel for children, as the difficulty level of the reading is probably a bit out of reach, but I would highly recommend it for adults who are a fan of the genre.

Jon Benton is a senior in the Gifted program at Hahnville High. He enjoys sports, listening to music, and plans to be a sports broadcaster in the future.

Editor’s note: Book reviews are published weekly during the summer in agreement with Hahnville High School gifted English teacher Deborah Unger in conjunction with the Brown Foundation Service Learning Program.

 

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