I remember being intrigued by nothing more than the name - "Tom Clancy" - as far back as my earlier years of High School (I guess it was because I associated his name with such videogames as Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six). I picked up one of his books once and read a few pages ... before deciding it was too boring. But that was years ago, and I've still never quite gotten the desire to read him out of my system. Well, I finally decided to do it. And the only book I had on my shelf was Red Rabbit. One that I lately discovered is considered amongst his fans to be one of the worst things he's ever written. Since I haven't read any of his other (apparently better) stuff, I had nothing to compare this book with. And as a result, I found it mostly an excellent book. Very surprisingly, there was almost no violence (not even a single gun-shot) throughout the entire story. But instead of finding this underwhelming - (as it seems most fans did) - I thought it was rather admirable. As despite the lack of violence (and even, admittedly, any real tension, due to the absence of any plot complication), the book is still a very entertaining and, for the most part, engaging read. While it's officially classed as a Jack Ryan book, the character himself has little importance until the last hundred or so pages, where he gets off his arse and stops going to the pub to discuss Russian politics with Simon Harding, whilst simultaneously being praised by his boss for his analytical work which we never actually see him doing. The main focus of this story - easily the strongest of the various interchanging narratives - was the defection of communications officer, Oleg Zaitzev, from inside the KGB. The first half of this book, where he makes his secret exchanges with the American agent, Ed Foley, on the Moscow metro system, was always fun to follow. While none of the characters are dull or pointless - even the KGB officers are portrayed as interesting (even somewhat likeable) human beings - the most engaging were easily Oleg Zaitzev, and the American spook couple, Ed and Mary Pat. I can see where those who disliked this book are coming from. Even though I found it pretty cool that Clancy was brave enough to tell a story without resorting to the text-book requirements laid down for this genre, (fucking, Lee Child, I'm looking at you), I would not have objected to a little more hiccups in the defection. It all just went so smoohtly that I was always on the edge of my seat waiting for something to go wrong. But no ... even those dodgy Hungarian smugglers didn't try to fuck them over ( ..."Ah, guys? That was the embassy we just passed," ... "Change of plan, comrade ... we're not going to the embassy. Lock the doors, Markov. In the back you'll find my chainsaw"). At least "His Holiness" got shot in the end. Didn't think I'd ever be saying that. So yeah, the story is pretty uneventful - despite all the engaging characters, interesting plot development, and first-class writing. Red Rabbit is more like a very realistic look into the life of American officials working for the US embassy at the sinister heart's core of communism ... monotonies and all. There was only one thing I particularly didn't like about the book. Though by saying that, I don't mean it damaged the book's overall quality, or would have been better omitted. It was just something that seemed very out-of-place and rather tasteless coming from the otherwise very likeable mind of Tom Clancy. The entire Operation Beatrix thing - (get the defector out without the Russians even realizing he had defected) - was very clever and made for some great political intrigue. (Those words always go together in Tom Clancy reviews ... like James Patterson and "bullshit"). But it struck me as very wrong the way the British and American agencies go about hoping for the death of two adults and a four-year-old little girl, in order to use the cadavers to trick the Russians into thinking their traitors were dead. Tom Clancy certainly didn't shy away from being as graphic as possible. He goes to great length to describe the process of transferring the charred corpses overseas and into a lab, so that two unlucky (and understandably troubled) men could burn their features way beyond recognition. I was fortunate enough to be eating my dinner when the little girl's head was singed bald, and her left eye-ball exploded from its socket and melted down her smouldered cheek as they cooked her face off with a blow torch. I mean, fuck, if this had been a horror story then I have enjoyed that kind of shit. But my defences were down with this one, because otherwise the violence is non-existent, and the whole idea of these supposed "good guys" stealing the bodies from their grieving relatives in order to use them for political gain stuck me as decidedly sick, and it left a very unpleasant taste in my mouth. You would feel the same if you were watching the Tellytubbies, and all of a sudden, Poe got raped by that vacuum cleaner thing and then Tinky Winky tried to ide the evidence by cutting her up and turning her into Tubby Toast. It just really jarred with the tone of the rest of the book, and I always felt a little uncomfortable whenever Clancy returned to that part of the story. Fucking, before I die of old age, I better conclude this review though. Overall it was a very good book. In fact, simply calling it good is an understatement. I understand that not everyone likes this part of the Jack Ryan series. But personally I loved it. And if this is Tom Clancy at his worst, I can't wait to read him at his best. I really enjoyed his writing style. He has a very readable way of telling a story. I also found it pleasantly surprising to learn that he had a strong propensity to explore religious values with all his characters. I never would have placed Clancy as a religious man. I always figured him to be a hard-edged, aviator-wearing, pro-military American "realist". But no; evidently he has quite a close relationship with his Catholic upbringing. As an avid reader of Stephen King and the likes of most famous authors these days, it seemed almost absurd (though welcomingly so) to have a protagonist who was more than slightly devoted to his Catholic values. I bet that Stephen King guy hates Tom Clancy and probably thinks he locked his daughter in the closet for not praying every night. Fucking asshole. People need to stop being so fucking ignorant towards Catholics by assuming they're all bewildered pedophiles and/or psychopaths. Thank you, Tom Clancy. And God rest you soul, for not being another one of those.
SUBJECTIVE READER REVIEW FOLLOWS:I was a bit surprised to see the average Goodreads rating at four stars for this magnificent novel. Perhaps it was a bit weighty for some, and at 340,000 words is even epic by my own long-winded standards as an author. But if you commit to Clancy, you gotta stick with him all the way. And let me tell ya, he don't let you down with Red Rabbit. Tying this novel into the actual assassination attempt on Pope Karol Wojtyla, John Paul II, was such an excellent insertion of a novella into reality that I've used it myself a few times! Who knew Jack Ryan almost prevented the hit? Not me! Really though, the whole development of the defection by conscience--as opposed to money--was well played by Clancy, and very believable. Will we ever get tired of Cold War KGB-MI6-CIA war stories? Not me, because as long as Putin's the President of Russia, the KGB of old lives on--as do the Oprichniki. I think that if you've got the perseverance to wade through it, you will really, really appreciate the storyline writing genius that Tom Clancy was. Plus it fills in another section of the Jack Ryan chronology. In this one he's stationed in London, actually working at Century House, the old MI6 HQ as a shared analyst. So my advice is to jump on and enjoy the ride!SPOILER PLOT SUMMARY FOLLOWS:Operation Beatrix via Mincemeat. Jack Ryan finds himself posted to London, but works at Century House, MI6 HQ, as a shared analyst. Ed and Mary Pat Foley are assigned to Moscow, where he is the Chief of Station. Early on in his tenure, Ed is stealthily tagged on the Moscow subway by an apparent KGB Communications Center officer who wants to defect. After he and Mary Pat pass Oleg Zaitzev with due diligence they contact Langley to advise they've got a hot rabbit and want immediate extraction for he and his family. Oleg is a Major who handles all cypher traffic during his shift, and is one day struck with a confliction of conscience when a letter written by the new Polish Pope to the people of Poland stirs high level anxiety among the Politburo. The Presidium is stoked by KGB Director Yuri Andropov into believing the Pope's encouragement of common Poles will trigger a revolutionary reaction and must be stopped at all costs. Oleg is first alerted to this via Andropov's message to the Rome Rezident inquiring about the Pope's vulnerability. The Rome Rezident quickly replies that the situation is far too delicate for the Rome rezidentura to be involved, with the clear implication that if the KGB is in anyway implicated, the repercussions in Eastern Bloc countries could be extreme. Torn to pieces, Oleg makes the move to contact the man who is obviously American on the subway, and is torn by his desire to protect the Pope versus treason. Langley quickly agrees to the snatch, but the CIA Budapest CoS is badly burned and tagged PNG. Langley goes to MI6 on bended knee to seek assistance, dangling the carrot that the rabbit knows of spies within Whitehall and can help them clean up. MI6 and the PM jump at the chance, but between Bas Charleston and Ed Foley they come up with a repeat of Operation Mincemeat, where the defectors are presumed dead instead of gone. Operation Beatrix is set in play as dead bodies matching the physical characteristics of Oleg, Irina and Svetlana are collected from house fires in England and Boston and shipped in dry ice in diplomatic boxes to Budapest. With everything set up, Ryan is dispatched to Budapest to escort the rabbits across the border via smuggling arranged by MI6 in Budapest. Oleg the loyal cypher officer is granted long overdue vacation to Budapest where his wife can admire the opera, and the family gets on a train to oblivion. Ryan and the MI6 chaps carefully play them in Budapest, where Oleg gives Irina two hours notice before the snatch begins. After Jack escorts them from the hotel, the MI6 officers carry the three prepared scorched bodies up to the hotel room and carefully set it ablaze. By the time the KGB discovers one of their own has died in Budapest, Ryan and the rabbits are on a plane out of Zagreb, Yugoslavia, to Manchester, UK, where the debriefing begins. It quickly becomes apparent that Oleg is pure gold as a defector, but the seeming impatience of Andropov to take the Pope out is overriding and MI6 finally agrees to cover the upcoming Wednesday People's Audience the Pope always conducts from the Pope Mobile. Ryan heads to Rome to assist the MI6 officers, who know that Bulgarian AVH killer COL Boris Strokov has assumed responsibility for the hit. With pictures galore and an elevated spotter, the MI6 posse spots Strokov in the crowd and Ryan gets the jump on him, sticks a pistol in his back and disarms him just as shots ring out and the Pope is hit. Jack and Tom Sharp grab Strokov and take him to the UK Embassy basement. After Strokov figures out the jig is up and MI6 knows the entire conspiracy, he sings like the bird before succumbing to the sux. Ryan jumps on the next BA bird out, is rerouted to Mildenhall where he escorts the rabbits to DC and straight to Langley, where he is once again the Golden Boy.
What do You think about Red Rabbit (2002)?
I have to agree - I'm on page 40 and just about to give up, other than a couple smart points about Moscow, this work is plain dull, boring and repetitive so far. Was wondering if it kicks in or not, but so it doesn't according to yous. I'll move on to another book so, thanks for that.
—George
Not really a mystery and definitely not an action-packed thriller. Around the end of 400 pages a few things finally begin to happen. There is no real ACTION until 518. Lots of things are repeated 3 and 4 times. Jack Ryan has been involved in previous adventures. One of those adventures involved a helicopter. He does not like flying. Eye surgery, which his wife does, turns his stomach. His wife is a better judge of character and unspoken meaning. Jack thinks his father-in-law is a greedy, soulless, money-grubber. This repetition feels like dead weight padding or lack of a good editor. The author has definite ideas on history and politics and interjects those in a thoughtful manner. There is a very superficial treatment of the current and historical situation of Russia and it is made obvious that the sitting U.S. President is Reagan. This is my first Tom Clancy, purchased second hand when we ran out of books on vacation. I will not go out of my way to read any more.
—Mommalibrarian
I am exceedingly glad I only paid $1 for this book at a library book sale. It may be worth that much, but no more. Red Rabbit reads as though Tom Clancy needed to write 618 pages in a hurry because he needed the money. It's full of cliches and boringly repetitious with the characters' introspection. Clancy tells us many times how the food is different in England than it is in America, how it's different in Italy than in America, how it's different in Bulgaria than in America...boring after a while. Clancy has become too comfortable with his writing and, in this book at least, writes like a formalistic hack. There were some interesting tidbits scattered here and there, but not enough to make it better than just OK. If you read and liked Hunt for Red October or Patriot Games or other of his earlier novels, you might want to skip this one if you wish to continue holding Clancy in good repute.
—John
