The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Jack Ryan, #4)

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The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Jack Ryan #4)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 18,824 ratings · 261 reviews

Two men possess vital data on Russia's Star Wars missile defense system. One of them is CARDINAL --- America's highest agent in the Kremlin --- and he's about to be terminated by the KGB. The other is the one American who can save CARDINAL and lead the world to the brink of peace ... or war. Here is author Tom Clancy's heart-stopping masterpiece. A riveting novel of the mo...more

Paperback, 547 pages

Published July 1st 1989 by Berkley (first published January 1st 1988)

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Sep 14, 2008 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All Americans, Patriots

Ahh…..here at last we see the character development of Tom Clancy as architect of the Jack Ryan reality and in the character Jack Ryan himself who has in The Cardinal of the Kremlin lost the obnoxious edge to his arrogance, icing it down with a more calculated daring. Edging toward a five star rating here, Clancy leaves behind some of the more irritating components of his first novels (namely Jack’s wife and personal life) to focus more fully upon the fascinating world of international espionage...more

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May 21, 2010 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, spy-stuff

3.0 to 3.5 stars. This was the first Tom Clancy book that I ever read and it turned out to be my least favorite. On the good side, I loved the introduction of "Mr. Clark" who is my favorite character of the Clancy novels. However, the novel seemed to drag in places and I just found myself wanting the plot to move along. Overall, it was still a god read and by other author's standards would have been a 4 star effort at least. However, I hold Clancy to a higher standard based on his later efforts...more

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May 07, 2012 Jerome rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 (name...more 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.(less)

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Mar 04, 2012 Konaka rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Cardinal of the Kremlin
The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy recounts a fictional story of political intrigue and espionage between the United States of America and the United Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.) during the Cold War era. The book is 547 pages long, and was published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 1988. The plot revolves around the two nation’s development of a program akin to the Strategic Defense Initiative originally proposed by Ronald Reagan, which was devoted to serve as...more The Cardinal of the Kremlin
The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy recounts a fictional story of political intrigue and espionage between the United States of America and the United Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.) during the Cold War era. The book is 547 pages long, and was published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 1988. The plot revolves around the two nation’s development of a program akin to the Strategic Defense Initiative originally proposed by Ronald Reagan, which was devoted to serve as an aegis to the country in the event of nuclear war. The main characters are Jack Ryan, a United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) counter-espionage data analyst, and Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov also known as the Cardinal, a highly placed spy in the Soviet Defense Ministry. The Cardinal of the Kremlin is predominantly in the point of view of Jack Ryan, however it does change to encompass Colonel Filitov, the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnasti (KGB) Chairman Gerasimov, and various lower stationed officials. Tom Clancy utilizes characterization, point of view, and setting to present the audience with the full story in a convoluted plot around the clandestine art known as espionage.
Tom Clancy breaks through the traditional “secret agent” archetype in order to present the audience with memorable and relatable characters. The main character, Jack Ryan, is not a clandestine, silver-tongued agent, but rather a wealthy ex-marine who spends most of his time analyzing data at a desk at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Likewise, Colonel “Misha” Filitov is not a dapper young American sympathizer, instead he is an aged Soviet war hero that fulfills a role akin to secretary to the defense minister. With the plethora of spy novels available, Clancy’s characterization of these key figures sets his novel apart. As with any spy novel, The Cardinal of the Kremlin is full of unforeseen plot twists, many of them uncontrollable, and many of them facilitated by these characters themselves. Clancy’s deep and personal characterization allows the reader to understand why characters made the choices that they did.
The way of espionage is “to know” without allowing one’s enemies “to know”, therefore it would not be logical if one character with a single allegiance knows all of the facts. Tom Clancy expertly utilizes point of view to present readers with the full story in a realistic fashion. Usually, Jack Ryan or a lesser functionary is used to convey the United States’ plans and knowledge, while Misha Filitov or Chairman Gerasimov fulfills a similar role for the U.S.S.R. As is true in reality none of these characters, no matter rank, have the full picture. To remedy this, Clancy uses perspective changes to give the reader the entire story while still maintaining realism. Utilizing point of view in this fashion allows for dramatic irony, however given the context it is usually fairly somber.
The Cardinal of the Kremlin is set predominantly in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. However, Clancy also utilizes various locations in the United States and the Afghan-Pakistani border. Due to the sparsely populated nature of the U.S.S.R., the upper echelons of military and civilian society inhabit Moscow, the capital. This means that most of the state decisions are made in Moscow, therefore the majority of politics and intrigue occur there. At this time the Soviet Union is fighting a war against the United States-backed Muhajideen in Afghanistan and Pakistan. By incorporating this location Clancy is able to add action to the novel, without which he would lose many of his reader’s attention. While much of the political machinations take place in Moscow, the United States, particularly Washington D.C. and New Mexico are also settings. These places are where the United States agents and functionaries meet and voice their thoughts and plans. Whereas doing so in Moscow would be committing the unthinkable. Throughout the novel, Clancy maintains a sense of realism which is continued in the setting as all of the locations were important during the Cold War.
Tom Clancy masterfully manipulates characterization, point of view, and setting to present a realistic espionage novel that shatters typical archetypes. Rather than the common furtive, clandestine, spies who typically inhabit “spy” novels, Clancy’s characters are each unique and resemble an everyday person one may meet. Clancy also makes successful use of point of view in order to present the audience with the full story while still making the book believable. His choice of setting serves both to hold the reader’s attention while not detracting from the other facets of the story. The Cardinal of the Kremlin is an engaging espionage novel that breaks the usual boundaries while still maintaining the sense of realism that is eminent in all of his publications.
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Aug 03, 2011 James Korsmo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Both America and the USSR are pushing for supremecy in the arms race, and the focus has turned to missle defense. Both sides are working feverishly on laser-based missile defense systems, to fry satelites and shoot down ballistic missiles before they can do damage to their targets. The US has a highly placed spy, the Cardinal, in the Kremlin, who has been passing them information for decades. Colonol Filiotov was a Hero of the Soviet Union, decorated for his valor in battle numerous times, but h...more Both America and the USSR are pushing for supremecy in the arms race, and the focus has turned to missle defense. Both sides are working feverishly on laser-based missile defense systems, to fry satelites and shoot down ballistic missiles before they can do damage to their targets. The US has a highly placed spy, the Cardinal, in the Kremlin, who has been passing them information for decades. Colonol Filiotov was a Hero of the Soviet Union, decorated for his valor in battle numerous times, but his patriotism had come to turn him against the party and the current power structure after the way his sons and then his wife had died needlessly. So he turned to passing information to the US. As the second-in-command of the Defense Ministry, he was perfectly placed to know all of the particuars about Bright Star, the Soviet missle-defense system. And the Soviets had made an important breakthrough. This valuable information had to get out. So Filitov proceeded to send it out by its usual means, but a small hitch in the courier chain, the inadvertant dropping of the film canaster aboard a subway, was witnessed by an off-duty KGB agent, who recognized the film for what it had to be, and followed the person who dropped it. That accident led to the whole chain falling apart. But the US didn't know how far back the chain had been followed, or if suspicion had fallen on Filitov. The slides on the film were exposed by the agent as soon as he realized he was being followed, but a few partial frames remained, showing something of the Bright Star installation. That limited where the leak could have come from, and suspicion fell to Filitov and his deputy, Bondarenko. Meanwhile, the Americans knew of the compromise, but they also knew that the information that Filitov had was invaluable, so they made another attempt at getting it out, using a brush pass with Mrs. Foley, one of the undercover CIA agents in Moscow. But Filitov was being closely watched, and the pass was broken up just before it happened, and Filitov was taken into custody. After a week of imprisonment, the Soviets broke him, and knew of his activities.

Meanwhile, Ryan was involved as the intelligence analyst on the negotiation of a new arms treaty with the Soviet Union, and the progress of the missile defense systems of both sides was a key to knowing how to negotiate. Cardinal provided essential information about what the Soviets were doing, ad Ryan also investigated the Americans' own progress. But the loss of Filitov complicated matters. Not only was it a major intelligence loss, but it also threatened to destabalize the Politburo, the Soviet ruling council. When it became known that a high-ranking member of the Defense Ministry had been compromised, and with another Politburo member in the pocket of a challenger because of his daughter's involvement as a courier for the CIA, it became clear that the whole power structore of the Politburo could be shifting away from the current leader, Narmanov, and is more open policies to Gerasimov, the head of the KGB, and a return to hardline doctrines. So Ryan and the CIA take action. Ryan puts himself out as bait, sending a message through to the Soviets that he is interested in becoming an informant if the Soviets can help get him out of some supposed FTC problems with some stock trades. They take the bait, and agree to meet with him the next time he is in Moscow for negotiations. But he puts one stipulation on the meet, that he must meet face-to-face with Gerasimov. When this happens, instead of turning informant, he confronts Gerasimov with the threat of making the caputer of the Red October public, as well as other things that would destabalize his power. Ryan tells Gerasmov that instead of making a power play for the Politburo, he and his family, along with the captured Filitov, must defect to America.

Gerasmov makes one last play, sending KGB agents to kidnap Major Gregory, a young genius working on the American missle-defense system. And they are successful in snatching him, but a simple traffic violation leads eventually to their failiure, as the Hostage Rescue Team is called in to recover this most valuable hostage. Had it worked, the great intelligence gained from Gregory might have been enough for Gerasmov to overcome the liabilities of the information the Americans could reveal, but with the failure of his play, Gerasmov decides to give in. He and his wife and daughter agree to the defection. His wife and daughter take off for his wife's home in Estonia, where she is met by John Clark, who has boated in off a US submarine holding just off the coast. Gerasmov himself goes to the prison and takes custody of Filitov, and they drive to the airport, where the US diplomatic delegation is getting ready to depart for home after negotiations. Gerasimov ties up his own driver, releases Filitov, and meets the US plane at the end of the runway. But Golovko, a KGB agent, and some others, have started to figure out that something is going on, and are racing to figure out what it is. They end up getting to the plane just as Gerasmov and Filitov are getting aboard. The Russians get out alright, but Ryan is left standing on the runway. After a few tense minutes, he is brought outside of the city to Prime Minister Narmonov's residence, where he fills the PM in on what has just transpired, or at least some of it. He is then returned to the American Embassy.

This is yet another great book in the Jack Ryan series. Worth reading. Even though some of the geopolitical elements are dated, the action and the characters give it life. And in this one, espionage takes center stage.(less)

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Dec 19, 2011 Peter Meredith rated it 4 of 5 stars

As an author, Clancy brings a workman like approach to The Cardinal of the Kremlin. There is little in the way of fanciful prose, or endearing characters and the story is choppy, however this is far from unusual for him. He relies a good deal on the technical aspects of cutting edge weaponry and good old fashioned spy vs spy action to keep readers turning the page.
Yes, Jack Ryan is back, but even in his second book he is starting to wear thin and thankfully plays only a small, yet important role...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Marie-aimée rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action, fr, novels

Du suspense jusqu'à la fin, le cardinal du Kremlin fait honneur à "Octobre Rouge". Il met en scène, rivalité scientifique et rivalité politique telle que dans l'Histoire de la guerre froide. J'ai adoré cette histoire d'espionnage, de rivalité entre la CIA et le KGB.

"Dissuasion nucléaire : prévention de la guerre par la menace d'un holocauste mutuel. Chaque défense disait à l'autre, en somme : Si vous tuez nos civils sans défense, nous tuerons les vôtres. La défense ne revenait plus à la protecti...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Hilmi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tom-clancy

Dengan tidak disengajakan,Amerika Syarikat (AS) menyedari bahawa Kesatuan Soviet (SU) telah mencapai kemajuan di dalam projek sistem laser anti peluru berpandu balistiknya,yang diberi nama 'Bright Star'. AS dan Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) berasa bimbang dengan situasi ini. Oleh itu,seorang pemberi maklumat atau perisik yang diberi nama kod 'Cardinal' ditugaskan untuk memberikan maklumat yang diperlukan itu. Selaku pembantu peribadi kepada Menteri Pertahanan SU, Kolonel Mikhail Semyonovich...more

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Feb 20, 2010 Douglas rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is very insightful on real espionage. Many of the techniques used in this book are found in many of the nonfiction espionage books. This is one of the most suspenseful books I have ever read.

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Oct 27, 2012 Subhodeep Bandopadhyay rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a very enjoyable book, specially for fans of real espionage(not the James Bond types). This book shows how spies and spy agencies operated post the cold war and how they exploited each other's weaknesses. Spying was more to do with negotiations and mundane activities than breaking into a secret facility with just a handheld weapon and coming out after killing everyone inside.

It takes forward the character of Jack Ryan who now has been included into the top circle of the CIA and how he pl...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Christian Sandoval rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my favorite Clancy novels. If you know and recognize the history surrounding the fiction, the story is very touching. The backstory is interesting (at least if you like military fiction), but far more compelling is the story of the Cardinal's sense of patriotism and the lament for his dead comrades conflicting with his recognition of being a part of a corrupt and degraded system and society. The suspense in the novel stems from the reader actually caring about what happens to Cardinal, an...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Voyou rated it 3 of 5 stars

The collapse of the Soviet Union was a great blow to hopes for international socialism but, perhaps more importantly, had a deleterious effect on the novels of Tom Clancy. This is Clancy's last book to take place against the backdrop of the cold war, and probably also his best book. What makes the difference is that, during the cold war, Clancy found an enemy he (and we as readers) could respect. This has two effects on the book. First, the sense of genuine threat: the USSR is a danger to the in...more The collapse of the Soviet Union was a great blow to hopes for international socialism but, perhaps more importantly, had a deleterious effect on the novels of Tom Clancy. This is Clancy's last book to take place against the backdrop of the cold war, and probably also his best book. What makes the difference is that, during the cold war, Clancy found an enemy he (and we as readers) could respect. This has two effects on the book. First, the sense of genuine threat: the USSR is a danger to the individual characters in the book (particularly, of course, to the characters involved in espionage with the Soviet Union itself), and also a threat to the existence of the United States; the subsequent books all involve threats that the US military can squash without even breaking a sweat, and as such have little serious tension. The second important difference is that the communist enemies here are worthy of respect and so a certain amount of sympathy. Most obviously, this is true of those who, though within the evil empire, place themselves on the side of the good guys by working against their homeland: Ramius, the defecter in The Hunt for Red October, and Filitov, the spy and titular "Cardinal of the Kremlin." However, even those who work for the enemy are portrayed as honorable and professional, and we are sympathetic to the Red Army soldier Bondarenko's attempt to defend himself against the mujahedin, or the two KGB agents' attempts to uncover the treachery of their superiors. In the later books, in the other hand, everyone who isn't American is a figure of pantomime evil, who opposes the US out of sheer bloody-mindedness, a bloody-mindedness which comes to nothing because everyone who isn't American is also obviously inferior to the Americans (the worst example of this might be The Teeth of the Tiger, in which two entirely untrained Americans travel the world assassinating master terrorists in increasingly boring ways).

The book is, obviously, terribly written and politically moronic. But it places engaging characters in tense situations and so tells an entertaining story. These three things are in decreasing supply in Clancy's later books.(less)

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Jun 01, 2011 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: clancy-jack-ryan

The CIA’s most highly-placed agent, codenamed CARDINAL, is Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov a 3 time hero of the Soviet Union. He begins passing information to the US but is compromised so Ryan leads a CIA operation to extract him. The information includes anti-satellite lasers and other SDI-type weapons, and the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Ryan successfully flips Gerasimov the head of KGB, who has seen the writing on the wall, and fetches Filitov from his confinement using his power as the KG...more

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May 10, 2012 Ed rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, favorites

One of the best stories by one of my favorite authors, which I first read in 1992. Whenever one of Tom Clancy's novels deals with any subject I know a little something about, it always strikes me as being well-written and true-to-life. This novel deals with spies and counter-intelligence, subjects about which I know very little; however, based upon what Clancy has written about on other topics, I am left with the strong impression that this story rings true to life, as well. It is based upon the...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Bruce Snell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Book 5 in the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy. (3.5 Stars) The story is set in the late 1980s, to the background of the arms control talks between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both countries are clandestinely working on anti-missile defense systems based on using lasers to shoot down incoming missiles. The CIA's most highly protected agent within the USSR is known as the Cardinal, and he is sending information about the Soviet system to the US, but a small mistake, combined with coinci...more

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Jun 10, 2010 Jayson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 10th-grade-advisory

Cardinal Of The Kremlin
By Tom Clancy
547 pages
ISBN: 0-425-11656-5

This novel was very long and dragged on for long periods and sections.It is a very long story and is very detailed in writing. this novel is about how this one man named Cardinal who is the highest agent in Kremlin which is an organization/group of people. He is being targeted by the KGB not only that but a lot rests on his shoulders. He holds very important information that is vital to the Russian's missile defense system. Through...more

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Dec 16, 2009 Zack rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is a fantastic fit for anyone who loves a fun-filled, fast action paced novel. Tom Clancy already a well known excellent writer of action novels always keeps the reader on edge in this thriller. The Cardinal of the Kremlin is a grouping of two different interwoven stories. The two main characters are a CIA agent named Jack Ryan, and a former Soviet hero turned spy named Colonel Filitov. Both of the characters find themselves in deep trouble for different reasons but both need each othe...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Rob rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cold-war, 2012

The short-short version of what became my review: A gripping spy thriller that brings back all that Cold War Nostalgia; but Tom Clancy has obviously never met a lesbian before in his life.

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Perhaps it goes without saying, but Tom Clancy's work is not high literature. He will never rank up there with Ernest Hemingway [1] or David Foster Wallace or Angela Carter. He'll be published long after his death as an historical literary study, a snapshot of late-stage Cold War Paranoia--but those are elec...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Dave rated it 3 of 5 stars

I gave it a 3 in its category - action novel. This is the second Tom Clancy book I have read and he does a good job. Reminds me of a John Grisham book with military espionage theme. I listened to it via Audible Books.

I haven't read a Stephen King book yet. That is next. Hans recommends "The Green Mile". I have decided for suspense in a novel I'll go with Grisham or Clancy. Ken Follett is definitely out due to is style of adding the salacious to the book I partly read; couldn't finish it.

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Jan 31, 2010 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-thriller, own-it, read-in-2010, reviewed, series, thriller

Jack Ryan is doing his thing at the CIA.

In a complicated plot, action takes place in Afghanistan where the United States is helping the Afghans resist the Russian invasion. United States is unofficially providing the Afghans with misseles to use to destroy Russian helicopters.

Another aspect of the story has the United States and Russia competing to develop a Star Wars missile system that could be used to shoot down enemy satillites and control space.

Ryan is involved with Russian spy Colonel Mik...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Shawn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great story for several reasons. First the espionage is closer to the truth than what you see in James Bond ( though I am a Bond fan). Second, the whole SDI concept was interesting. I remember as a teenager how the media and the democrats criticized the Reagan Administration for SDI.
Third, how previous characters and events keep returning to give continuity to the Ryanverse.
Finally, how Clancy uses real history in the lives of each of the fictional characters.

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May 01, 2008 Joel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks

It is interesting to put yourself back into the paradigm of the cold war. I'd forgotten the fear we used to have that the Russians might launch atomic weapons at us. I like Tom Clancy's books. His greatest talent is the ability to put you in the shoes of every person involved in the plot. For example, I found myself at times hoping the Russian Official acting as a US Spy would escape and other times I was rooting for the Russian police trying to catch the spy. At another time I was hoping the Af...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Philip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: russia, espionage, cold-war-fiction, fiction-series

Superior Cold War fiction -- hard to believe this was only some twenty years ago, as it already feels like ancient history. Unfortunately, Clancy -- like le Carre -- just had a hard time adjusting to the end of the Cold War, and in both cases their latter work really suffered for it. Although from the big picture, this was a relatively small price to pay for the end Western COmmunism as we knew it. I guess...

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Dec 27, 2009 Robert rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Given the change in the world since this book was released the plot seems a little dated. Aside from that this book is also probably the most compelling that Clany has witten. It also relies to some extent on characters from past Clancy novels which may it a little confusing for first time readers.

I didn't find the plot as entralling or suspensful as other Clancy works like the Hunt for Red October or Clear and Present Danger. I still however enjoy Clancy's writing style and plot development and...more

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Jun 23, 2012 A.j. Billings added it

This is the third Clancy book I have read. It is an interesting spy novel but action is hard to come by. The intrigue is enough to keep you reading but I found myself skimming through some points rather than actually reading them all the way through. Even though the action was lacking and some parts dragged on i have given it four stars due to the ending and plot

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Dec 24, 2010 Brett rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book because I wanted to finally read a Tom Clancy book and see what the rave was all about. It turned out that as I randomly picked this among all the Tom Clancy books at the second hand store that it was about missile defense and I was working for missile defense at the time. It was a pleasant coincidence.

It was interesting to read a dramatized story based on the very interesting developments of missile defense and lazers. Even though this book was written a long time ago (in tech...more

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Nov 20, 2008 Jay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book had the slowest start of any Clancy novel and for a while I worried it wouldn't "get interesting". Much time is spent by the author describing Russian government officials sitting in their offices and just thinking. As always, focus shifts periodically between several concurrent events including storylines in Washington/Langley, Russian government, a defense installation, a US submarine, and an Afghan freedom fighter; two thirds way through the book this last timeline still doesn't ha...more

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May 16, 2013 Monique rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed this classic "red scare" spy thriller from the '80s. Americans vs Soviets. Cold War. Competing Star Wars (remember the SDI?) programs, spies, traitors, KGB, threat of nuclear annihilation.

The interesting thing about the novel for me was that part of the action is set in Afghanistan. In the 80s the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan and so I found myself in the odd position of sympathizing with the Soviets (not the mudjaheddin as expected by the author) as they battle the religio...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Jeff Rooks rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story was very good, with nice tension and periods of exhilaration, but the multitude of Russian characters with difficult to pronounce names and a jumble of alphabet soup titles made it difficult to remember each individual. I found myself constantly needing to flip back and re-read sections regarding character development.

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Apr 14, 2013 Angel Serrano rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 821-111-2-3-literatura-estadouniden

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About Tom Clancy

From www.loc.gov: Best-selling author Tom Clancy was an English major at Baltimore’s Loyola College and he had a dream of writing a novel. As a Maryland insurance broker with a passion for naval history, his dream came true with his first effort, The Hunt for Red October (1984). He has since written more than a dozen novels, which have a blend of realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and r...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/382549.The_Cardinal_of_the_Kremlin?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319381380l/382549.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/382549.The_Cardinal_of_the_Kremlin?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy[/url]

The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Jack Ryan #4)

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