Customer Reviews

Cardinal of the Kremlin

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Of all of Tom Clancy's novels that I've either read or reread, I would think it would be difficult to sit back and say, this novel or that one is the best of them, but if forced to choose, I'd say that "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" is the best one. Contained within the pages of this novel is some of the most fluid writing that one can find in a novel from this genre. From taut political intrigue to suspenseful military action this novel scores in every area.

The particularly great thing that one can anticipate and not be disappointed in when contemplating a Clancy novel, is that he covers all of the bases and leave nothing out. The scope and detail that Clancy worked into this novel is mind boggling as he sets up so many variables and then works you through to the conclusion of every one of those variables.

"The Cardinal of the Kremlin" is author Tom Clancy's fourth novel overall and more importantly, the third in his "Ryanverse." One of the more important things about reading a Clancy novel is the fact that he seems to have set things up for himself rather nicely because you will find "possible" hints at where he's going with either his next book or one down the road. You will find references to the Cardinal, throughout his previous books as well as other references in his earlier novels that are leading to his later novels.

Taut political intriguing + suspenseful military action + in depth characterizations + a plot of epic proportion = "The Cardinal of the Kremlin."

The premise:

"The Cardinal of the Kremlin" is so large in its scope and detail that it may be difficult to summarize the plot here, in so few words available.

What drives this novel, first and foremost, is Dr. Jack Ryan who is by the release of this novel the well known lead character from "The Hunt for Red October" and "Patriot Games." As the novel begins, we find that Dr. Ryan is still working as an analyst for the CIA's DDI, Deputy Director of Intelligence. He's presently trying to work up a paper based the current negotiations between the United States and the USSR on ICBM's.

We're then taken to the "Archer" who is an Afghanistan resistance fighter and part of the mudjaheddin. Due to what the Soviets have done to him and his family, he has no love lost for them, they even captured his son and taken him to the Soviet Union for "reeducation," hence his intense desire to fight and kill as many Soviets as he can.

From there we're introduced to the "Cardinal" of the Kremlin, Misha Filitov who is a Colonel in the Soviet Army and a three time Hero of the Soviet Union from his days as a tank commander in the Great War. Hinted at in previous Clancy novels, this Colonel has been disillusioned by the way of life in the Soviet Union which has caused the death of his wife and his son, hence his having been turned by American agents. In his present position with the Defense Ministry, he has been passing Soviets secrets to the Americans for thirty years.

What follows from there is one of author; Tom Clancy's most intriguing and entertaining novels to date that will have you, the reader, turning the pages voraciously trying to get to the end of it to see how it ends. The scope and detail of this novel is simply incredible.

I highly recommend not only this Clancy novel but all of his novels for he is truly the master of this genre. {ssintrepid}

Kardinal of the Kremlin is one of the best, if most often overlooked, books in the Jack Ryan series.

The plot of Kardinal basically involves three related story lines.

First, both the Russians and the US are attempting to create a ground based laser defense system to shoot down enemy sattelites and nuclear weapons. At its base, the story focuses on both side's efforts to build their respective systems, and to gather intellegence on the other side's progress.

Second, the U.S. has a very high level intellegence source inside the Kremlin itself. A lot of the story focuses on the U.S.'s attempts to maintain his cover, and its actions to save him after he is discovered.

Finally, a backdrop to the story is ongoing strategic arms talks in Moscow, which is eventually used as a cover by the US to arrange the defection of another high ranking Russian official.

Kardinal gives the reader a true insite into the workings of the US government, particularly the CIA, as only Tom Clancy can. The story is very immersive and suspenseful. My one warning to people who have read other Clancy books is that there aren't really any large scale battles or all out wars as in some of his other books. Here, Clancy focuses more on the fine art of playing spy :)

Asside from being a great book on its own, Kardinal does a great job tying in events and characters from earlier books in the Jack Ryan timeline, specifically from The Hunt For Red October and Patriot games.

Just as importantly to all Clancy fans, events related in Kardinal (perhaps more so than any of his other books) are referred to in the novels that Clancy wrote later on.

I am a Tom Clancy fan. I have read most of his material, and I have always found his books entertaining. "Cardinal of the Kremlin" is no exception. Probably the most true spy novel in the Jack Ryan series, "Cardinal" has all of the elements that make an exciting story; mystery, intrigue, honor and vengeance. Clancy takes the time to develop his characters, explaining why each of them has chosen the path they are on, instead of just throwing an exciting scenario at you and letting you figure it out. I also like the way Clancy incorporates characters from previous books, like Captain Ramius from "The Hunt for Red October". Also if you plan to read more of Tom Clancy's work in the future, take note of the brief appearance of "Mr. Clark" because you see much more of him in the books to come. Many believe that this is Clancy's best work, but I disagree. It is a very good book and I would recommend you read it, but I think Clancy's best book is "Without Remorse."

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.

This is one of his best works. Spying, sneaking around, espionage and counter-espionage. It would help if u have read Hunt for Red October but not necessary. Really a great piece of fiction.

This is the second Tom Clancy book I've read (the other was Clear and Present Danger) and he is clearly a writer who can sustain several sub-plots and tie them up neatly at the end. This book focuses on arms control negotiations between the US and the soviet Union towards the end of the cold war, and specifically the development of the Strategic Defence Initiative, and the covert side to these that you are sure would have happened, but would never know about. It is all expertly explained and you do detect an effort by the author to avoid over demonising the villains. The main problem seemed to be the author wearing his heart so firmly on his sleeve with regard to right and wrong in the issues explored in the book. I found that this lead to a lack of tension, being able to predict the fates of characters in advance (I don't mean just Jack Ryan - of COURSE he'll come out smelling of roses - no problem there, but when you are equally confident about the outcome for various other minor characters in the book it does result in a serious loss of tension). That said however the book was a reasonably enjoyable read, enough to persuade me to try another in his jack Ryan series in the future.

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.

This book is a fast paced, high stakes espionage fest that will leave you way behind on your to-do list. From the Archer, to the familiar characters of Ryan, Mancuso, Ramius and back to newer characters like the Foleys and Clark, the characters carry the action to compelling heights. We see the stakes from their perspective, and that helps us to feel the danger that is looming over the world.
Easily the least technical in terms of war machines, this is Clancy's most compelling plot. With Ryan flying everywhere and finding himself in Moscow at the unexpected and satisfying conclusion, readers will applaud another great story.
Strengths: Several subplots are woven seamlessly into a strong finish. Ryan's real human reactions and intelligence give us a protagonist we believe and root for. An intelligent read.
Weaknesses: None come to mind. Doesn't suffer from the sometimes verbose technical descriptions some of his other work has.

This is the first Clancy book I've read but I really enjoyed it. The CARDINAL is a highly placed Soviet war hero who's been spying for America for 30 years. Then the line is broken and the Americans feel the need for loyalty to get him out. It's maybe not as action-packed as some of his other books, but the story was great and really made you empathize for the characters. I was also impressed at how "human" many of the characters become, and whether or not you agreed with their actions, you could usually understand them. It's also very interesting to read it now (2002), and reflect back on what the atmosphere was like when the Cold War was still going strong in the 80's, with the possibility (however real or not) of nuclear war. It also felt strange to think of the Afghans as "good guys" and the Russians as the "bad guys" given the current state of affairs.

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.