Rating: 
Summary: Superb Novel
Review: Not my favorite Clancy, but it is still head and shoulder's above almost all the competition.
Rating:
Summary: The best spy novel I've ever read
Review: The Cardinal of Kremlin is a great read. The plot the story the delivery I found all fantastic. The book describes international espionage in ways and details that I have never imagined while telling a very interesting story.
Rating: 
Summary: Could be dangerous!
Review: This is how good this book is: I was reading it while walking down the street and was so engrossed I walked into a stop sign! And my only complaint was that I dropped the book and lost my place!More techno than Clancy's best stuff, but a very good read. And, though the Cold War is now history, I read it again last year and it holds up. A good yarn.
Rating: 
Summary: Tiresome.
Review: Clancy is generally great, but this book bored me to death. I read close to 200 (!) pages and NOTHING was happening. In the meantime, I read "Red Storm Rising" (which is longer) three times. Pass on this and try some of his others.
Rating:
Summary: Great One From The Master
Review: I personally think this is the best Clancy book He really did an excellent job weaving the different sub plots into one wonderful story. As always you get a lot of detail and wonderful full descriptions of the characters in the book. He always does a great job of running a number of sub plots through out the whole book and meeting them up at the end. That is always one of the fun things with one of his books, trying to determine ahead of time how the richly described characters are going to play off of one another for a great climax. Another reason I think this is one of his better books is I think the editors had more influence over him at this point in time and that effective editing keeps the book tighter then some of his later work. I have always been confused as to why this one did not get as much attention as some of the other books.
Rating:
Summary: masterpiece...still exciting in a post cold war era...
Review: this was the 2nd book i read by Mr.Clancy, the first having been RAINBOW SIX, which i was somewhat dissapointed with. After hearing other peoples opinions in regard to Tom's work, i decided to read one of his older novels, which was a very smart thing to do. Now i read this book in the year 2001, which is about 10 years after the fall of Communist Russia. Having read this after the demise of the Soviet Union, this still very exciting and gripping.
The plot is basicaly a race between the two superpowers for the ICBM missle defense system-- besicaly what Regan called "Star Wars." Now without giving away to much info in regard to the plot, there is a former Soviet tank commander, (three times hero of stalingrad i believe) who is currently working for the CIA to spy on the Russian's progress of thier missile defense system. He goes by the alias, CARDINAL, and is the CIA's most vital agent in this race for star wars.The book itself largely deals with espinoage (Human Intelliegnce specificaly) and Mr.Clancy gives great attention to the craft of spies. Overall this is one great book, filled with detail, action and a great plot.
Rating:
Summary: CLANCY'S BEST
Review: I have read this one 3 or 4 times and it has always been my favorite by Clancy. I am a big Clancy fan but through the years he has become overly descriptive and long-winded. This was early in his career and he hadn't reached that point yet. This is a classic COLD WAR espionage thriller. The characters are wonderfully written and the action is described with real drama and panache. Check it out and at the very least get chills from the CIA operatives working with the Afghan freedom fighter "The Archer". Yes we helped them fight the Russians. The Russian spy "Cardinal" is an excellent character very realistically written.
Crack this one and enjoy a masterpiece of the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Good - even by Clancy's standards
Review: The only real criticism of The Cardinal of the Kremlin is its slow start. It won't have you properly in it's grasp until you get past about page 150. Focusing less on military hardware and more on espionage, it seems as though Clancy traded away technical accuracy in a vain attempt to develop deep and complex characterizations early on. In the process, he ignored the golden rule of the genre that he himself defined: keep the action going, describe the high-tech toys and get that story-line moving. But don't let this put you off , because the pace does get better - much better. When it comes to military matters, Tom Clancy's know-how runs deep and he is typically skillful at building suspense, with his detailed visions of deep-throat espionage at the height of the Cold War. But while the high-tech weapons and clever spy tricks will still pique your interest, Clancy's attempt to focus on character development never quite lifts off. The main problem seems to be the author's need to wear his heart so obviously on his sleeve when it comes to themes of honor, justice, vengeance, right and wrong. This overt signaling makes it easier to predict the fates of characters in advance; producing an unwanted reduction in the story tension. As a bonus, however, Clancy uses 'Cardinal' to introduce the enigmatic Mr. Clark, who grows through later novels to become Ryan's negative image, Ryan's decisions based on little more than his ethics, Clark being governed by cold reason. Cardinal is also the stepping off point for later major characters like the Foleys of the CIA, Col. Bonderenko, Sergey Golovko, and even Dr. Gregory, who makes an appearance over twelve years later in The Bear and the Dragon. While not quite matching the energy of The Hunt for Red October, or the exhilaration of Clear and Present Danger, Cardinal still gets the pulse racing. It is full of twist, turns, and surprises, and nothing will quite prepare you for the ending which is likely to draw a few tears.
Rating:
Summary: a excellent novel of technology and espionage intrigue
Review: I approached THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN with some apathy, however I soon found myself pleasantly surprised. Beginning to read this book out of necessity, I soon found myself intrigued by the intricate and suspenseful plot of this novel. However, this suspense did not last forever. The book has a tendency to create a suspenseful chapter or two that keeps a person on the edge of their seat, then drops them into a dull, uneventful dialogue or description that can go on forever, or more than necessary at least. Although it did not have the style or zazz that make an author legendary, it did enough to impress me. THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN centers around arms contol negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union in near the end of the Cold War. Both superpowers are secretly working to perfect a laser system that will be used to disrupt satellites and, ultimately, to be used as a National Missile Defense. Both states soon discover that the other is working on the same project, and both states find something in the others laser system that they need. This provides for an excellent spy plot. We are soon introduced, to Colonel Misha Filitov, an old, bitter, but high ranking member of the Soviet Party. We soon learn that he is highly respected, being a Hero of the Great Patriotic War against the German Nazi Facists. Much to the reader's surprise, we soon discover that Misha is, in fact, CARDINAL, a U.S. spy. When information intended to go from CARDINAL to Washington is leaked to the KGB, both countries find themselves immersed into a world of espionage balanced with the tense realm of politics, centering around arms control negoitations between the two superpowers. We also learn of the Archer, an Afghan freedom fighter. He is a soldier fighting the Russian advancement into Afghanistan, and also working as a spy for the United States in return for weapons and ammunition. In my personal opinion, I believe that this is an excellent book. It is filled with high-tech toys that we all just love to hear about and suspense to make Steven Segal urinate on himself. However, Clancy does dot the book with shortcomings. First, there is many a scene of the novel that dulls the reader into a drool. However, this is counterbalanced with many excellent scenes seasoned with suspense, intrigue, and high-tech weaponry. The other shortcoming of the novel is Clancy's attempt, with the exception of Misha, a bitter drunk haunted by the ghosts of his past, to delve into the characters' psyche and provide some in depth personality. This turns out to be an utter failure. Clancy is by no means a literary genius. He uses no notrary literary devices in this novel, with the exception of using accurate vernacular style language. However, this is not a shortcoming, for it is definately not necessary or relevant in this book. THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN is merely a novel made for pure enjoyment or escape, or escape literature, right Mrs. Guillory? Yeah, you know. In conclusion, I would not discourage anyone to read this book. If you like suspense, technology, espionage intrigue, and don't mind reading just for fun, I would definately recommend this book to you.
Rating: 
Summary: Great start, but drags on
Review: When it comes to matters military, Tom Clancy's know-how runs deep, but his depth as a novelist seems rather limited in The Cardinal of the Kremlin. Two loosely-related plots are woven together in this book: 1) the race between the U.S. and Soviet Union to develop laser weapons for shooting down nuclear missiles, and 2) the efforts of a high-ranking Soviet military colonel - who is America's most precious spy - to steal secrets of the Soviet laser program for the CIA. Clancy is typically skillful at building suspense, especially with his detailed visions of high espionage at the height of the Cold War. The scenes shift from war-torn Afghanistan to a laser base in New Mexico, from CIA headquarters at Langley to Lefortovo, the KGB prison in Moscow. But while the high-tech weapons and clever spy tricks will pique your interest, Clancy's attempt to focus on character development falls flat, and the novel drags on perhaps a hundred pages too long. I read this novel because of the recent hype about ballistic missile defense, but I was disappointed by Clancy's simplified presentation of the military systems involved. It seems like the defense wizard traded away technical accuracy in a vain attempt to develop a deep and complicated figure in Old Misha, the spy. In the process, he forgot the first rule of the genre he himself defined: keep up the action and tell us about the high-tech toys! If you're looking for a better novel from Clancy, I would suggest Without Remorse, where his character development is more successful.
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