SUBJECTIVE REVIEW FOLLOWS:This was a long and entertaining book, but not one of Clancy's nail biters. The storyline, of the two superpowers having at each other without resorting to nukes is almost borderline hard to believe due to the heavy casualties both sides are imposing on each other. The generalized concept is that the Soviets panic due to a shortage of oil and hard currency and launch a joint land and sea attack against NATO. If anyone thought Clancy exposed Cold War ASW tactics in his other novels, they don't hold a candle to the level of undersea warfare described in incredible detail in Red Storm Rising. The frustrations of land battle are evident in a new and interesting way; the advent of look-down standoff AWACS planes on both sides has greatly alleviated the 'fog of war' generally described by the frustrated commanders and operators of WWII armies. They also become hunted prizes, as they convey their radar intercepts to combat air patrol fighters who do not have to activate search radars to locate bandits. Overall, from a technical perspective this was an interesting read. It was too long, but considering the storyline it had to be; to put this book to the big screen it would take a series like Band of Brothers. All told a good read, but not one of Clancy's home runs.PLOT SPOILER STORY SUMMARY FOLLOWS:Desperate Soviets Launch Operation Polar Glory. A Muslim saboteur gang successfully erupts a major oil refinery in Siberia, the cataclysmic fire destroying the entire oil field well heads, effectively destroying one half of the USSRs refined petroleum products including gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene. The country is broke from a foreign hard currency perspective, so they cannot afford to buy oil, new equipment or grain. Facing impossible odds, the Politburo decides that employment of a long planned military offensive operation called Polar Glory is their only chance for survival. The complicated operation includes taking Iceland and disrupting NATOs acoustic barrier that normally keeps major Soviet Navy moves isolated to the Barents Sea. Once Iceland is invaded and controlled however, the SOSIS line is cut and both the surface and submarine components of the Soviet Navy begin reining down from their bases in Murmansk and their long range bomber and scout bases on the Kola Peninsula. As the Navy and Air Force begin their southern movement, the Soviet Army stationed in East Germany and Poland invades West Germany, creating panic aplenty. The Soviets gain the advantage initially by using the air bases in Iceland for fighter cover to protect their long range recon Bears who can now range south in search of US carrier task forces and merchant marine resupply convoys. Upon locating the Independence convoy, the Soviets pull off a classic bluff and fire off large drones for the combat air patrol and SAM platforms to annihilate. A second flight of supersonic Backfire bombers swoop south with the ship coordinates and fire off killer air to surface missiles from stand-off distance, taking out a US and a French aircraft carrier and badly damaging Independence, which limps into an English port for emergency repairs. The Soviet ground attack in Germany is well equipped, but run into immediate problems when the USAF takes out all bridges over a key north-south river, effectively locking Soviet reserve armored divisions in Poland, unable to move to the front. The entire war is a learning curve, and the Americans learn fast from the Independence Task Group fiasco, by targeting the Bear spotter planes that fix coordinates for the Backfires coming behind them. After losing most of the Bears, the Soviets are severely limited in range the Backfires can operate, as they must be protected by CAP MiG-29s from Kola or Iceland. Recognizing Iceland as a key loss, the Americans begin targeting bombing raids, taking out Soviet radars and SAM units but also taking heavy losses. NATO begins destroying large numbers of Soviet tanks and tracked carriers, but the Soviets seem to have an endless supply of obsolete equipment to throw in replacement of front line armor. NATO finally determines that gas and diesel fuel are in severe shortage for the Soviets from a POW taken in Iceland and begin targeting fuel depots as the Russians become desperate and consider tactical nukes as their only means of survival. GEN Alexseyev, a brilliant field commander who is being jerked around by the Politburo hatches a plan with disenfranchised KGB officers to decapitate the Politburo and approach NATO for a cease-fire and return to former boundaries. Amazingly, an entire war has been fought between the superpowers without employment of nukes.
[Review... coming...]Of course WWIII would start from a terrorist attack, wouldn’t it? And it is a certainty that the Ruskies had been hatching a plan to neutralise NATO for years, which just happens to come in handy when the bottom drops out of their oil supply. Clancy writes thrillers well: that is, he handles the plot brilliantly and though the events are completely fictional and could never be seen as anything else (except when they turn out to be true, as they have once or twice in Clancy’s career), they seem made of the same stuff of reality. Clancy’s masterful use of the law of unintended consequences and coincidence underpins much of his successful plot structure: a carefully planned, but somewhat random terrorist attack on a Russian oil field/refinery sparks WWIII, due to the fear that America will attack the RSFSR when they discover their oil supplies have been reduced by about a third, leaving them vulnerable. The politburo reacts by taking the offensive against NATO, in a bid to open the way to oil resources in the Middle East. The Russians seem surprised at the resistance they encounter – perhaps not giving due attention to the fact that the Germans really don’t want to be invaded by the Russians again (once is more than enough). Ultimately, however, the Russians lose because the politburo insisted on approving all major front line military decisions before action (this was quite funny, because the RSFSR military guidelines advise surprise wherever possible, but this is quite impossible if a bureaucracy has to approve each surprise): running the world is demanding job, and not even politburos can do it. Another thing Clancy is good at is suspense (though he sometimes pushes the bounds of belief) and this book was no exception. Submarine chases, spying, naval, air and land battles, news scoops and political face-offs all combine in at least five simultaneous story lines (there are more, but only about five at any one time) to tell a story of WWIII in a nail-biting thriller. New problems keep cropping up and old ones linger, and all must be worked out before the end can be reached. One example is that nuclear weapons are portrayed not as military but political weapons: the tension is thus concentrated between two (or more) nations, rather than between two armies…Throughout the story, Clancy shows he is aware that the universe is a quirky sort of place and takes full advantage of this by making people do, well, people things. A submarine captain acting on instinct, resulting from long experience, might save the day; vigilante justice creates potential disaster but helps win a battle; fear, loyalty, ambition, honesty and pride drive political and military decisions. Sometimes the situations seem a little too convenient or the answers a little too pat, but the story moves fast enough that you don’t really notice.Perhaps the most compelling thing about this story is that the main struggle is between two (political) worldviews – one which values its citizen’s lives and wellbeing, and the other which only values them insofar as they affect the state. Just like the oil fire at the start, war flames up, but unlike an impersonal refinery, war depends on people and thus there is always a choice to continue or not. Ultimately, though they have already lost the war, a drawn-out death throw is averted by a coup d'état against the politburo, which in turn is caused by the politburo’s ruthless method of political advancement (failure merits execution): the state cannot define right and wrong. People are people and God is God, and Clancy shows communism can’t change that.
What do You think about Red Storm Rising (1988)?
This was my second Tom Clancy book I've read, and I think having read one of his books before (The Hunt for Red October) made all the difference. I was prepared to have fifty million characters and technical mumbo jumbo throughout the book. All in all it was pretty good. It was a little repetitive and perhaps could have been 100 pages shorter. [tank battle, followed by sub battle, followed by naval battle, followed by air battle, followed by tank battle, etc.] Overall though it was an enjoyable read with likeable characters.
—Justin
This is my favorite Tom Clancy novel period, despite not having Jack Ryan among its large cast of characters. The Soviet Union launches World War Three when it finds itself facing a major energy crisis, and it turns out the story's hero is Mike Edwards, an Air Force weatherman/meteorologist turned guerrilla-fighter, who keeps the US informed of the developing situation on Iceland after it is captured by the Soviet Union. Lots of high-tech air-sea-land-and even-space combat delivered at a break-neck pace by the master of the techno-thriller, Tom Clancy. Too bad he didn't find a way to include John Patrick Ryan and include this book in his series of Jack Ryan novels.In the end, the Admiral in command of the Allied invasion fleet that retakes Iceland (thanks to Edwards' vital intel), visits Edwards aboard the hospital ship, pins the Navy Cross on his pillow, and says, "Congratulations, MARINE!""But, Sir! I'm Air Force!""Son, this medal-says you're a Marine!"
—Curtiss
Red Storm Rising is basically a fictitious story about a conventional war between NATO and the Soviet Union. Written by Tom Clancy, it is one of the best books I have read. It is an incredibly realistic portrayal of what a real shooting war would be like. The book begins with Arab extremists sabotaging and ultimately destroying a key soviet oil refinery. Crippling an already shaky economy. In desperation, the soviet leaders, or Politburo, launch an offensive attack against NATO and the US to gain the natural resources that they so desperately need. This book takes place in the middle of the Cold War and is very well written and researched. It gives the feel of reading an account of a real event and not a novel. This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys a good thriller and (like me) hates inaccurate information, because you will not find any in this book. Tom Clancy has written many more novels, all circling a similar theme but all being incredibly "good reads" and I have yet to be disappointed.
—Redditt494
