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Summary: Traitors Become Heroes. Unfortunately.
Review: The Cardinal of the Kremlin is one of the best books Clancy has written. Full of high-tech thrills, mind-numbing action and page-turning-late-at-night.But unfortunately it is VERY anti-Soviet which isn't very polite. Personally I find it very offensive. You can see the Oh-these-Russians-are-so-dumb every ten or twenty pages if not more frequently. Another thing is that sometimes it gets really boring, especially when the powerplay segments of the story get too long. It simply gets on your nerves when Clancy emphasizes on the struggle within the Soviet government too much, he could have cut it down a bit. Finally, there's overabundance of Russian words which are not explained. It's okay with me since I'm Russian myself but it's full of spelling and grammatical mistakes and it I'm sure that readers who don't know Russian will be lost more than once. Anyway, it's a marvelous book, however the impression was spoiled by Cold War anti-Soviet propaganda present here.
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Summary: Cardinal is Clancy's best work
Review: I am an avid Tom Clancy fan. I have read all of his books, and The Cardinal of the Kremlin is by far the best. Focusing less on military hardware and more on espionage, this book is ripe with themes on honor, justice, and vengance. A much more human tale than some of Clancy's other offerings, The Cardinal of the Kremlin forces the reader to sympathize with agent CARDINAL and to share his hatred for the political system that ruined his family and his life. Jack Ryan returns, making decisions based on his conscience and his strict virtues, and at the same time, Clancy introduces Ryan's counterpart-the enigmatic Mr. Clark. This cool, calculating man of mystery grows throughout Clancy's novels to become Ryan's dramatic foil: while Ryan's choices revolve around ethics, Clark's life is governed by cold reason. Their relationship develops into an intriguing contrast in Clancy's later novels, and Mr. Clark gets his start in Cardinal. To summarize, I would reccomend this book to any Clancy fan or to any reader looking for a challenging, excitng read.
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Summary: The Cardinal of the Kremlin
Review: Clancy is the most action-packed writer I have ever read of. His settings, usually the Cold War and the Superpowers, have intrigued me and always gotten my attention. "Cardinal" is no different. It tells the story of the Hero of the Soviet Union and his sad, insecure life which he has devoted betraying the Rodina (motherland) to help the Americans. It tells the story of detailed spy work, interrogations, and rescue attempts. They are truly well written. However, the only drawback I found was that it had somewhat less action than the Clancy novels I've read (Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, Politika). The ending is great; it was predictable but there was a twist that I didn't expect. Once again, a must read for any espionage fan. Also, pay attention to Captain Ramius, Captain Mancuso, Mr. Clark, and Col. Bondarenko if you decide to read other Clancy novels.
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Summary: An Action-Suspense-Tehcno-Thriller!
Review: Tom Clancy has thrilled us again with this masterpiece. Set back in the 1980's, the Cold War is still at large. Espionoage is the name of the game, and the person who can make the best ICBM defense system first will win the war and ultimatly control the world. The hard part is keeping the project a secret and keeping all of your employees honoest. This is one of the earlier enstallments of Jack Ryan, taking place a little after the novel THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. The Americans have and are develpoing a nuclear balsitic missile defense system, codename TEA CLIPPER. The Russians are also developing a simmilar system codenamed BRIGHT SUN. Both sides are searching for the system that works, and that is a task for spys and informants. Thrown into the mix are Afganstan rebels who are providing chaos in the Russian interior. People will die, secrets will be revealed, frawds will be exposed, and the winner is not always evident. Clancy keeps his readers on the edge by revealing more and more infomation about his characters as the story line advances. An unknown history is make public to the reader, but not always to the opposing side. The names might be confusing, and the ackrnyoms might not always make sense, but it is thrilling to the end. It is hard to put this book down.
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Summary: Cold War Flashback
Review: I read this eleven years ago and picked it up again out of curiosity. I had forgotten what life was like in the 70's and 80's: Afghanistan, Star Wars, the arms race with the Soviet Union, and clever espionage. Clancy interweaves several seemingly unrelated topics to a predictable climax, but it is a fun read and can be difficult to put down if you like a good mix of sci-fi and cloak and dagger.
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Summary: Clancy's Best
Review: This spy novel is an excellent story and my favorite of his books. Jack Ryan conceives a master plot to get a superspy, named Mikhail Filitov, CARDINAL, and the Chairman of the KGB out of the Soviet Union. This is a film that should be converted to film as soon as possible. Even non-Clancy fans should give it a chance. It is simply the best.
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Summary: A Clancy Masterpiece
Review: To sum it all up, this book is awesome. The way that the CIA handled the concept of spying fascinated me. It was amazing how agents communicated with each other right under Communist noses. The way that people got extracted from the Soviet Union and toward freedom was hair-raising indeed. The reader also gets a realistic view of a star wars system and its huge strategic importance to world peace, or war. The new characters Mr. Clancy introduced in this book were interesting people. I hated to part with them. I highly recommend reading this book.
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Summary: Clancy's Best Ever
Review: Without a doubt, this is Tom Clancy's most inspired and finest offering to date. It is original and written in his best narrative. It is an espionage thriller without equal. It winds through years of Cold War intrigue in a flash back type account that excites, engorsses and enlightens. There is enough comic relief to break the tension this book builds and the masterfully devised characters are without parallel. A must read for all spy thriller fans and those who may not like the genre alike. It is a long, cold look into the Cold War and into the hearts of men, told in an agreeable way that makes it next to impossible to put the book down. There are twist and turns, surprises galore and the ending will likely draw a few tears. I would recommend reading this offering first if you are a new Clancy fan. You will come to know the best of his writing and will be objective about his other books thereafter. One final twist, when you finish this book, you will learn the ending of a tremendously successful movie was taken directly from its pages.
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Summary: A Very Interesting Book!
Review: This was a very good book by Tom Clancy. He presented a very well written plot as well as interesting characters. He brings us the first appearance of Mr. Clark who has turned out to be one of Tom Clancy's more dynamic action stars. I was also impressed with Clancy's usage of the Afganistan conflict in his book. Clancy displayed good working knowledge of today's technology in this book as well. The actual Cardinal of the Kremlin was also a very good central character. Of course you have the mention the legendary Jack Ryan. The ending of the story was touching as well. This was a very well written book. Read it. You will not be dissapointed.
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Summary: Clancy approaching the top of his form.
Review: Of all Tom Clancy's Novels, The Cardinal of the Kremlin is long been one of my favorites. While not the most action packed, the suspense is at intensly high levels. This was really the first of the Jack Ryan novels in which Clancy really succesfully layered multiple plots, to form a reralistic whole. The story of Misha Filitov, the militant 'Archer', and the various people working on the opposing 'Star Wars' defense systems all blend together in one almost miraculous whole. Along the way, we get a good look at spys, both for the KGB and the CIA, and a long look at the technology of defensive systems. The heafty technical bent that is partly missing in Patriot Games is back with a vengence. With Misha Filitov, we are presented with a true 'patriot' spy, a man who is honerable, yet horribly lonely and tormented. Cardinal also is a major start off point for the remainder of Clancy's novels. It introduces such major characters as the Foleys of the CIA, Col. Bonderenko,Sergey Golovko, the infamous Mr. Clark, and even Dr. Gregory, who pops back up in The Bear and the Dragon. While not quite matching the exhuberence of The Hunt for Red October, or the pure excitement of Clear and Present Danger, Cardinal still gets up the pulse, and provides a great read. 4/5 stars.
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