Customer Reviews

The Cardinal Of The Kremlin

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I do not like Tom Clancy. I despise his totalitarian amoral politics and I canNOT stand him slapping his readers with them in his latest oversized and underwritten duds.

However, Tom Clancy was once an EXCELLENT technothriller writer. He might not have invented the genre, yet he launched it into the stratosphere.

This is HIS BEST BOOK and it is actually very good.
The mid-80's Cold-War atmosphere, the paranoia, the double-agents, the clandestine methods and the hardware are all expertly presented.
Now, him being, well...Clancy there still are stereotypes and bigoted characters galore. Deciding to overcome this however, the reader can actually enjoy this one.

Do not judge CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN based on his deteriorated career.

The cardinal of the kremlin is a great story with interacting an plot and amazing characters. This is one of those books you can't put down easily. Also recommended: The Union Moujik,Russia in search of itself,Spy Handler

After reading more action-intensive novels from the "Ryan-verse" such as "Rainbow Six" and "Patriot Games" I found this book to be more on the political side of things. This made for a suspense filled and exciting story in the world of espionage.

Just finished reading it. The story is awesome, very awesome. There is cliff hanger after cliff hanger.

I had been meaning to read "Cardinal of the Kremlin" now for several years. Published in 1988, it is one of the older Jack Ryan technothrillers, one that I had bypassed when I started reading Clancy's works, first "Red Storm Rising" and then beginning the Jack Ryan saga with "Clear and Present Danger." I had - with the exception of "Without Remorse" and the newly published "Red Rabbit"- read all of the other subsequent books, and those books that I did not read I had seen the movie version (namely "The Hunt For Red October" and "Patriot Games"). I had resisted reading this one, or perhaps I should say I hadn't placed a high priority on this one, as they never filmed it, and it was a book very much steeped in Cold War intrigue, much of the novel taking place in the Soviet Union and involving two staples of the last years of the Cold War; "Star Wars" or the Strategic Defense Initiative (or to be more precise, something equivalent to it in the novel, a high-tech antiballistic missile or ABM system) and the Soviet war in Afghanistan. I was worried it would be antiquated, or that it would depict a Soviet Union that didn't really exist, as the collapse of the USSR in the late 1980s/early 1990s showed that how little the West really understood what the reality of the Soviet Union actually was.

I decided to read the book recently, partially to say I had read all of the Jack Ryan novels, partially because I wanted to know more of Ryan's history (events in this novel were referenced several times in Clancy's later works), and partially because I had decided to treat it as a period piece (and I have in the past enjoyed good tales of Cold War intrigue). I figured it would show an interesting, early Ryan, quite a bit different from the powerful and experienced one who eventually becomes President of the United States later on in the "Ryanverse" series.

I must say I enjoyed it. It wasn't my favorite of the Ryan series but it certainly held my interest and I found it a fast read. It was actually a rather enlightened novel, as it showed the Russians as real people; some were good, some were bad. The Soviets depicted were for the most part fairly well rounded individuals, who just like Americans simply wanted more or less the same thing out of life; basically success and happiness. Some were not good people but even they weren't depicted as moustache-twirling, cackling Cold War villains, though to be sure there were bad guys in the piece. While it is not surprising that the title character of the book - the Cardinal, Colonel Mikhail Filitov, a highly placed spy in the Soviet military - is shown as a good person, it was somewhat surprising that many of those opposed to his actions were not shown as evil or vile but simply as often good people doing their job. In essence, Clancy showed that while the Soviet regime was bad, its people weren't necessarily so. His view of governments versus people - particularly with regards to the Russians - holds true in his later works as well, showing a good deal of consistency in his writing. Perhaps I didn't give Clancy enough credit in this regard, I don't know. In any event I found myself occasionally rooting for characters in the novel who were actually opposed to Filitov, Ryan, and the other protagonists.

The novel itself was as some have said more of a straightforward spy novel than some of the other volumes in the Jack Ryan series, with many classic espionage scenes taking place in Moscow and involving the KGB. Five major plotlines are followed in the novel, with four of these plotlines tightly interwoven; the Soviet Union is pursuing a largely ground-based ABM system (Bright Star), the United States is also pursuing one named Tea Clipper (these plots also involved those in one program trying to spy on the other nation's efforts), Colonel Filitov is spying for the Americans (and related to that plotline, there are Russians trying to uncover him), and Jack Ryan and others in the American government are conducting arms reduction negotiations in Moscow (ultimately the latter storyline becomes subservient to the others) The fifth plotline revolves around an Afghan mudjaheddin named the "Archer" and his actions in Afghanistan against Soviet forces and doesn't tie in hardly at all at first though it does in the end (more or less I think).

Action-wise the book was middle of the road (if anything fairly light) until the end when several plotlines end in some violence (particularly the Archer plot). The storyline with Filitov ended with some surprise for me, though it was an ending hinted at in the later Ryan books I had read.

I am glad I read the book and have an appetite for more, both from Clancy and from another similar author who I have really grown to respect, James W. Huston (I highly recommend his works). Often overlooked by Clancy fans - it certainly was by me - I think it is a shame more haven't read it.

I had a tough time deciding between 3 and 4 stars on this one, so I think I will actually give it 3 1/2 stars. I think the story was good and mostly believable. Clancy gives a great deal of realistic information on spying as well as counter-espionage during the Cold War. Certain parts of the plot require the reader to suspend their disbelief a great deal. This book is fun and exciting to read and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the genre (or thinks they might be).

The Cardinal of the Kremlin, though outdated because it involves the Cold War, is still an exciting read. It is a great spy-thriller. However, if you're looking for an all-out, smash-bang action story reminiscent of the James Bond novels, then this book isn't for you. That isn't to say that it doesn't have any action or thrills in it; it is certainly an exciting and fast-paced read. Tom Clancy's main hero Jack Ryan returns as the famed CIA analyst and attempts a staggering coup aimed at the Soviet KGB. CARDINAL is a CIA mole who has infiltrated the Kremlin in Moscow, and he is the CIA's most trusted agent in the Soviet Union. The story has a great Cold War theme. Clancy makes the book even more intriguing by blending in the story of the Afghan freedom fighters and their fight against Soviet occupation. All in all, I consider this one of the best books Clancy has written. Highly recommended!

Of all the books in the Ryanverse, this is the most true 'spy' novel. "Cardinal" is an American informant deep in the KGB. When things go wrong, he must be extracted and lo and behold...it's up to Jack Ryan to do so! This is classic Clancy intrigue, and provides an introduction to many of the classic supporting characters that are seen in the rest of the series (including the first appearance of JOHN CLARK). One of the shorter Clancy novels, but you get your money's worth by far...and then some!

I loved it! Some of the best action and characters in the whole series.

The Cardinal of the Kremlin is somewhat short, but it is one of my favorite Clancy books. The Cardinal himself is a well thought out and admirable character. The Archer is my favorite Clancy character yet. I would recommend this book to anyone, and I'm sure they would enjoy it. It grips you and makes you wonder what will happen to Cardinal, the Foleys, the Archer, and Jack Ryan. The resolution is almost poetic, and brings true closure to the story. Excellent book, 2 thumbs up!