Rode winter

Jack Ryan Universe (Publication Order) #34

by Marc Cameron

In this previously untold adventure, a young Jack Ryan goes behind the Iron Curtain to seek the truth about a potential Soviet defector in the most shocking entry in Tom Clancy's #1 New York Times bestselling series.

1985

A top secret F117 aircraft crashes into the Nevada desert. The Nighthawk is the most advanced fighting machine in the world and the Soviets will do anything to get their hands on its secrets.

In East Berlin, a mysterious figure contacts the CIA with an incredible offer—invaluable details of his government’s espionage plans in return for asylum.

It’s an offer they can’t pass up…if it’s genuine, but the risks are too great to blindly stumble into a deal. With the East German secret police closing in, someone will have to go to behind the Berlin Wall to investigate the potential defector. It’s a job Deputy Director James Greer can only trust to one man--Jack Ryan.

Ryan is a former Marine and a brilliant CIA analyst who’s been the architect of some of the CIA’s biggest coups but this time he’s in enemy territory with a professional assassin on his tail. Can he get the right answers before the Cold War turns into a Red Winter?

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Espionage, Audiobook, Mystery, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

479 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 2022

About the author

A native of Texas, Marc Cameron is a retired Chief Deputy US Marshal who spent nearly thirty years in law enforcement. His assignments have taken him from rural Alaska to Manhattan, from Canada to Mexico and points in between. A second degree black belt in jujitsu, he often teaches defensive tactics to other law enforcement agencies and civilian groups. Cameron lives in Alaska with his wife and BMW motorcycle.

Reviews

[Tim Null · Rating 3 out of 5]

As they say, if you like sauerkraut and kielbasa, eat sauerkraut and kielbasa. My wife would give Red Winter a 4+ rating. When you're in the mood for salt-buttered popcorn, nothing satisfies like salt-buttered popcorn. Marc Cameron does a great job of following Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan recipe.

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marc Cameron takes Jack Ryan back to the height of the Cold War in Red Winter, the 34th overall book in the Jack Ryan Universe and sixth by Cameron, chronologically set just after Patriot Games and The Hunt for Red October. I believe the last time we were this early in Jack's career as a newbie CIA analyst was for Clancy's own forgettable Red Rabbit, back in 2002. Thankfully, Red Winter fares much better than that book, on first impression.

While Clancy cut his teeth on Cold War stories, the real world moved much faster than his publishing plans, so we didn't actually get very many Jack Ryan books sets in this era. Moving backward in time is a smart move by Cameron, and also avoids the natural question of just how long we can keep Ryan as President of the United States in the contemporary setting. Granted, Clancy books have always played fast and loose with its own interior timeline, but publishing wise, we've had roughly 13 years of President Ryan since the franchise was resurrected with 2010's Dead or Alive. Eventually he has to leave office, right? Presuming the authors stay true to character and don't betray Ryan's legacy by turning him into some kind of Trumpian, power-mad, ape-like figure who launches an insurrection against his own government all of a sudden, or turn him into some kind of action hero cum cartoon parody a la Mitch Rapp, at least...

But back in 1985, Ryan was still a green recruit and looked at poorly by the higher-ups on the seventh floor as being nothing more than a wet behind the ears academic. James Greer knows better, though, and goddamn is it ever nice to have this old chap back on the page again. I've missed Greer and hope, if we're lucky enough to get more prequel books out of Cameron, that he finds a way to bring Jack's buddy Robby Jackson back, too. The Air Force is running secret test runs on its new stealth technology over the skies of Nevada, prompting speculation and conspiracy theories galore by UFO enthusiasts. When the jet crashes, it's a golden opportunity for Garit Richter, a Stasi spy in America, to steal a piece of new tech to sneak back home. Meanwhile, the CIA has received word of a potential defector in East Berlin. Jack and Mary Pat Foley are dispatched to handle the case, secretly protected by John Clark.

Red Winter is, ultimately, a pretty simplistic storyline, but Cameron does a slick job of making it seem more complicated than it really is thanks to a handful of interpersonal kinks. We've got some domestic drama from a housefrau forced into an affair with a Stasi officer, the FBI's search for a murderous foreign agent in the Nevada mountains, and a mole in the West Berlin office out to upend everything. It's a fun read and fits neatly in the Clancy style, even if it does feel quite a lot more streamlined than Clancy's own works of this period, plus it's just fun to be back in that prime era of the Clancy timeline.

Although I didn't begin reading Clancy until the late '90s, I remember watching the fall of the Berlin Wall on television as a kid. Red Winter captures the paranoia of the '80s Cold War well and, given how long it's been since we've seen Jack as such a young CIA recruit, there's a certain freshness to it, as well. I certainly wouldn't mind it if the Clancy Estate authors decided to take an extended hiatus in the past and worked to fill in some of the gaps, turning the elder Ryan's half of the franchise into some historical Cold War fiction, at least for a little while.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, all you Jack Ryan senior fans, we FINALLY have what we've been wanting for many, many years; a throwback novel detailing some of the exploits of Jack in his early years!! The cast of characters also includes Mary Pat Foley and John Clark, before they reached the living legend status they afterwards acquired. The plot focuses on action behind the Berlin wall, and also a top secret stealth technology. This book was a welcome diversion from the blasé Tom Clancy entries revolving around Jack Jr. A very good effort, and well worth the time expended!!!

[Pierre Tassé (Enjoying Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. Loved it. It gives us a glimpse of of an early Jack Ryan.

[Corey Woodcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

Maybe this should be a 3/5, but I just loved seeing young Jack Ryan, Clark, Mary Pat, etc. again. I mean years and years go by and I pay almost no attention to the “Tom Clancy” books that come out every year…and then I hear about this one that takes place in 1985. I had to have it.

This one involves Ryan having to go behind the lines in East Germany to investigate a potential defector. Someone who could have important info….or they could be walking into a trap.

The story ended up being surprisingly complex for being such a relatively short book, but it remained interesting throughout and Cameron’s writing is plenty competent. I do think that too many characters with too low a page count to really get to know them, was a bit of an issue. Cameron was still introducing us to new characters nearly halfway through. It wasn’t confusing, but he may have tried to cram too much into too little. There was also a lot of lucky happenstance—it’s common for books like this, I know, but our main characters probably would’ve been hanging by their toes in Hohenschönhausen in real life.

But ultimately this is post-Clancy Clancy, and perhaps I’m taking it too seriously. It was a fun book, and I loved having another young Ryanverse novel—as if some secret file of his had just been uncovered. I’d love to say give us more of these, but that may just cheapen it, as some of what made it so enjoyable is that we never ever get these.

Well done Marc Cameron. I enjoyed it!

[Mike Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marc Cameron is back with another Jack Ryan installment. This one is takes place in Jack’s past when he was a young and up and coming CIA Analyst. Jack is recalled from England by his mentor James Geer. He has an offer of a job back in the United States for Jack, but before he does Greer needs him to go to East Germany to verify and bring in a possible new asset. Jack sets off on his mission, along with a few familiar friends. Meanwhile, back in the US, a piece of debris from a secret hi tech plane falls into the wrong hands. Dan Murray of the FBI is brought in to find the piece and arrest the spy before he can deliver it to The enemy.

This was a fantastic entry into the world of Jack Ryan. It was so fun to read about one of his adventures in the CIA before he became the legend. Watching Jack interact with future confidants and friends in the early stages of their relationship was thrilling. Seeing him gain their trust and respect was very interesting.

The plot itself was, like any Jack Ryan Thriller, very dense with numerous characters. While it was dense, it never seemed to drag with lots of actions and events happening throughout. The character index at the beginning of the book, a staple with any Jack Ryan Thriller, was key and I referenced it multiple times.

This book was one of my favorite reads of the year. The throwback to the 1980s Cold War era was different from a lot of books out there currently. It reminded me of the first few books in the series. Overall an amazing thriller that is well worth the read. Thank you to @Netgalley, @MarcCameron1, and @PenguinBooks for a free arc for an honest review.

[Andreas Tornberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jack Ryan series has been vey uneven after tom Clancy but Marc Cameron always delivers and this book is no exception. Actually I think this might be his best and it reminded me a lot of Tom Clancy. I highly recommend this book. It's well-written, intriguing and action-packed.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Edelweiss for this advanced copy.

[Lindsey Barger · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s 1985 and the Cold War is still looming over the world. The Americans and Communists are in the fight to best the other in both technology and spy craft, all while keeping up the appearance that nothing is amiss. An embassy official goes missing in West Germany. A plane crashes in the American Southwest. Two puzzles, worlds apart - Tom Clancy Red Winter delivers the action and mystery so familiar to fans of the Jack Ryan series.

Marc Cameron masterfully delivers a story packed with both technical military knowledge and cultural aspects of the word during the Cold War. This builds a wonderful backdrop for the character development Cameron uses to knit together multiple story lines across the world, and just across the Berlin Wall, from one another. While fan favorite Jack Ryan is central to plot lines later in the novel, we see other characters take the main stage early in the book, setting the stage for the penultimate scenes of betrayal, combat, and rescue. Ryan and the team must navigate covert action behind enemy lines while being uncertain of who they can trust – even among the team.

I give Tom Clancy Red Winter a 5 out of 5 stars. Marc Cameron has delivered another page turner I could not put down. The late arrival of Jack Ryan as a central character in the storyline might be a disappointment to some readers, but the development of the other leading characters along the way delivers the same action and intensity we expect from Ryan. This novel is not a continuation of the Ryan timeline, but a jump back in history to a point where the submarine Red October was just recently led into dock in Norfolk, Virginia, and Ryan has been serving at his post in London.

I recommend this novel to readers who are well versed in the Ryan franchise and those new to his storyline. While Cameron connects Red Winter to many of Tom Clancy’s original storylines from this period of the character’s history, this novel could be a stand-alone read for those not familiar with the series. If you love spy thrillers, military history, or Cold War fiction, Tom Clancy Red Winter is the book for you!

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easily the best non-Tom Clancy written Jack Ryan book since Mark Greany was writing them. The idea to go back and write a prequel and tell a 80s Cold War story was a good one. I love that stuff.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not Ian Fleming, but not terrible either.

[Chuck Segall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marc Cameron is one of my must read authors, and I have loved the Clancyverse ever since reading Hunt for Red October in high school.

It was wonderful to be back in the early days of Jack Ryan, before he became POTUS. This was a good story, and takes place after Red October. My only beef (for lack of a better word) is that this book made it seem like Ryan and Mary Pat Foley had never met or interacted.

However, I believe that the two interacted with each other in Red Rabbit, which occurs before Red October.

Oh well, a great story from a great author.

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the mid-late 1980s, Tom Clancy rose through the bestseller charts with his Cold War thrillers featuring CIA analyst Jack Ryan. Yet, just as Clancy was firmly establishing himself at the top of bestseller lists, the Cold War ended, sending the author to seek new threats for Ryan to face on a journey that took him to the Oval Office. And, except in 2002's Red Rabbit, that's where Clancy and his continuation novelists have left the character. Until now, that is, with Marc Cameron taking readers back into the Cold War career of Ryan with last December's Red Winter.

Set between the events of The Hunt for Red October and Cardinal of the Kremlin, Cameron's Red Winter takes place in prime Cold War territory. It's 1985, and the Cold War is just beginning its final thaw, even as tensions between East and West remain high. Into this comes a potential defector from Communist East Germany (the DDR), a traitor somewhere in American intelligence inside West Germany, an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter crashing in the Nevada desert, and a still-green CIA analyst named Jack Ryan. It's a tapestry of a tale, again in the classic Clancy/Ryan tradition.

Cameron combines Clancy's eye for technothriller details and solid intelligence fiction well. Indeed, by focusing a portion of the narrative on the Nighthawk, Cameron can fill in the early years of stealth in a manner that Clancy only guessed at when writing before it was publically acknowledged. The attention to detail about late Cold War tradecraft and spy tech, too, feels present and correct, including lines of communication between the divided halves of Berlin and an East German spy among UFO watchers on the fringe of the soon-to-be-infamous Area 51 in the Nevada desert. Indeed, arguably they're more on the money than Clancy was in his own prequel Red Rabbit two decades before! And while Cameron's short, pacey chapters depart from Clancy's sometimes lengthy ones, they serve the story he's telling here and make this a solid read.

The large cast of characters is present here, too. Given how far Ryan, John Clark, the Foleys, and Dan Murray have gone in Clancy's later works (not to mention the novels since his passing), there's both a thrill and a challenge in returning to their earliest days. Cameron rises to both, highlighting and capturing how far Ryan had come from Patriot Games and Red October on his journey to becoming the character he would be by the time of Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears. Other familiar names and faces feel present and correct if sometimes popping in for cameo appearances in the cases of Greer and Ritter. The result is that, as well as a thrilling story, Red Winter feels like a reunion with old friends that have been long overdue. And, as a reader who got much out of those early Clancy novels, Cameron's work on Red Winter feels like a return to form.

Even with a few imperfections along the way. The halves of the narrative, the one following Ryan with the defector and the crash of the stealth with the FBI's Dan Murray searching for an escaping spy, never quite intersect in true Clancy style. The large cast of returning characters also comes across in places as a hindrance as much as a help, never quite being a box-checking exercise, but leaving a number of them as cameos or in plotlines that are nice but slightly underwhelming. These are comparatively minor blemishes, given how utterly readable Red Winter is, but ones perhaps to be aware of going into the novel.

And even with them, Red Winter is an unhesitating recommendation for Clancy fans. It's a novel that wonderfully recaptures the feel of those early, classic novels, and sits well alongside them. Not to mention hopefully being the start of a new era for the Jack Ryan continuation novels, something this reader would happily sign up for.

[Jamie Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

1985. In Nevada a mystery plane crashes and it interests more than the UFO spotters. In Berlin an interesting message is received that intimates someone high up in East Germany wants to defect with some top intelligence. Admiral James Greer sends a youngster, Jack Ryan, to find out more, but as it’s the height of the Cold War, Berlin is a place full of spies and assassins.

This is a return to the original Jack Ryan series, the setting for this book is just post Patriot Games and Red October, and it’s a welcome return. The tension of the Cold War and Berlin at that time comes through and even though you know Jack Ryan clearly survives, you still fear as to what might happen. I loved being back in that time and will be interested to see if there are more stories to be told in young Jack Ryan’s career or even John Clark.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead:


What a fun ride seeing Jack Ryan, Sr. back in the early days. Spies, intrigues, an early John Clark, the 1st meeting of Ryan & Mary Pat Foley, & East Berlin. The Berlin Wall & the Cold War were anything but cold.

There is a possible defector from the East side & there may be a mole on the west side. This is the starting point that brings Ryan, Clark, & Foley all to Berlin. Good stuff. John Clark may well be my favorite character in the Clancy world.

There is also an element of the story that deals with a downed prototype Air Force jet. The crash site so happened to be visited by a spy that takes off with some super secret material. This isn’t a bad part of the story but it is the reason for the 4 stars. It was just given such a small place at times. The manhunt at times feels forgotten to me. There was a lot going on & much to keep track I so I get it.

Thanks for the revisit to the former life of all these people.

[Arnold Kanarek · Rating 2 out of 5]

This addition to the Jack Ryan series was a mistake from beginning to end. Marc Cameron takes us back in time before Jack Sr. is president and Mary Pat is Director of CIA. The story is convoluted and the dialogue is very boring. There are two or three side stories going on the at the same time, and the book reads like you are starting and stopping on the D train in the NY subway. The book does not flow and is hard to get through to the end. Personally I feel that Ryan should have died with Clancy, Jason Bourne with Ludlum, and Mitch Rapp with Vince Flynn.

[XOX · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack Ryan has a mission to have a meeting with an East Germany defector.

A woman was kidnapped and so is her child.

A rapist misused his power to sleep with married women.

A whole lot of mess and not enough clarity. Too much of the story is muddled in persons using violence and not having  a clear objective.

I found the writing dry and boring. The focus is not clear enough and the attitude. The characters of the people in East German are more acting like corrupted Russians.

I would give this a 3 stars read only because the ending.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the early years of Ryan, Greer, Foley, Clark, etc. The story started similar to Clancy novels-different plots introduced that intersect and are joined by the end of the story. There’s top secret technology stolen from an air crash and Ryan goes to Russia to discover a mole within the government.

The book was action packed and I’m not upset I read it but the wrap up to join and resolve the different plots seemed rushed at the end.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun thriller harkening back to the classic Cold War Jack Ryan. Marc Cameron continues to do a great job with this series, and it was great seeing a throw back. There was a good amount of humor sprinkled in too that was true to the character and helped move the story. Definitely enjoyable for Jack Ryan fans

[David Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a few 'Tom Clancy' books by Marc Cameron - and others- and he is probably the best at continuing the 'ouvre'. The original Tom Clancy books were great and contributed to my love of reading and the escape from everyday life for a few hours. 'Red Storm Rising' is my all time favourite thriller I have read and through the years have returned to it more than once, still finding it relevant to the era.

Red Winter is set in the late 1980's - ironically at the time that TC himself was actively writing stories with the same characters (notably Jack Ryan) - so the main characters are well known to me. It is a relatively simple story but continues at pace and is an easy read if you want some action, some jeopardy and a few twists without having to work hard at it.

[BookTrib.com]

In RED WINTER (Putnam), Marc Cameron takes Tom Clancy fans back to the early days of John Patrick Ryan stationed in England! A must read for all thriller fans. 😉

Read the full review on Booktrib.com

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting and entertaining! Tom Clancy’s Red Winter by Marc Cameron is engaging from the start to finish. A top secret experimental plane goes down and it sparks a series of events that takes Jack Ryan to East Germany. Some familiar characters play a vital role in securing national secrets.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A flashback to earlier years when Jack Ryan, Sr. was working in London. Circumstances take him and Mary Pat Foley behind the Iron Curtain again, this time in East Germany. Classic cold war Spy vs. Spy: CIA vs. STASI vs. KGB. Defectors, moles, and informants.

[Nichole Bogart · Rating 3 out of 5]

It confused me a bit. Their are so many characters, and it wasn't specific when it changed from 1 character to another. It does give a character list in the front, and I had to revert to it a few times. Good book. It was very interesting. I had several heart palpitating moments. It closes well.

[هادی امینی · Rating 3 out of 5]

thrilling and good

Naturally it was not a comparable piece against original writer titles
It lacked details on important parts, although full of details which was not important.
I liked seeing John Clark here; it was a good combination; though we can’t see a lot of things he did, just a shadow.
On top of all; FBI part to find the German agent in states was really like kid books.
All in All; worth to read

[Greg Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Started a little slow and all over the place, but the 2nd half was a page turner. Nice throwback to Jack Ryan Sr. set in 1985.

[Braden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Quick read. Enjoyable.
Slow start but picked up a bunch. Fast action and a page-turner by the end.
Chapter 5 provides great insight into F-117 operations.

[Jeff Schauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marc Cameron brought the Tom Clancy franchise back to life. It was like a trip back in time to when Tom Clancy was at his best. Kudos to Mr. Cameron. A must read.

[Uma C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Couldn't put it down but then reached a point where I could see how many pages were left and knew they were going to rush the end, and they did.

[Neale Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok

A bit trite and simplistic. Needed more twists and turns. Ok for a quick romp into Berlin in the Cold War.

[John Sturges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Jack Ryan book. Liked cold war story. The progressive female storyline not my favorite.