Red Rabbit
Clancy, Tom. 2003. Red Rabbit. Berkley.
Rating:
6
Review:
The story is set on the eve of the collapse of the communist regimes in Poland, East Germany and eventually Russia. The basic idea is that the current Pope has sent a letter to the government of Poland with the intent of forcing them to allow greater civil freedoms. Because of the turbulent situation in Poland at the time of the letter Russia realizes that they must do something to prevent the Pope’s threat from being realized or the entire government of Poland could collapse. Their answer: assassinate the Pope. Though the historical setting is interesting, the conclusion (the collapse of the soviet empire) is left unexplored. The main focus of the story is on a defector from Russia’s secret service who works in the communications department. Jack Ryan serves as his escort out of Hungary and eventually back to the U.S.A.
I listened to this book on tape while driving to and from Washington DC. I usually enjoy Tom Clancy novels because of the intrigue and the action. Though I must admit to enjoying the novel because it kept my interest, it was something of a let down. This was supposed to be another book in the Jack Ryan series but Jack does, I’ll apologize in advance for the bad pun, ‘jack’. The book is really about the defector and Jack only plays a minor part in the story. Perhaps Tom Clancy has run out of plots, who knows. I don’t think it’s his best work.