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The Hunt for Red October

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The Hunt for Red October

By: Tom Clancy
Narrated by: Lance C Fuller
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About this listen

The runaway international No.1 bestseller that launched Tom Clancy’s spectacular career – became a blockbuster film – and introduced Jack Ryan.

THE HUNT IS ON…

Silently, beneath the chill Atlantic waters, Russia’s ultra-secret missile submarine, the Red October, is heading west.

The Americans want her. The Russians want her back. With all-out war only seconds away, the superpowers race across the ocean on the most desperate mission of a lifetime.

©1984 Jack Ryan Enterprises, Ltd (P)1984 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Action & Adventure International Mystery & Crime Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Russia Exciting Suspense War Submarine

Critic Reviews

"Flawless authenticity…frighteningly genuine." ( Wall Street Journal)
"Absolutely terrific: entertaining, suspenseful and masterfully written...superlative." ( Washington Times)
"The Pentagon almost exploded when this book was published." ( The Daily Telegraph)
All stars
Most relevant
I thought having seen the movie I’d be disappointed at the end by either versions but I can honestly say I don’t know which is better, the movie or the book.

Captivating

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fantastic story.
felt the reader was a little monotone and unenthusiastic.
now to watch the movie

fantastic story

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Engaging, Technical, and Distinct from the Film
Clancy dives deep into the technical and tactical aspects of submarine warfare, yet manages to keep it engaging and easy to follow for those with some background knowledge. If you’ve seen the film, don’t worry—it’s a solid adaptation, but the book takes a noticeably different and richer narrative path. As for the narration, it’s unremarkable—but that’s perfectly fine. The story carries itself.

Popular for a reason

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Little slow to start off but that's typical with all great espionage. Clancy is well know for his attention to detail and it first it seems a little overwhelming but later it makes for perfect story telling.

The narrator is absolutely the worst I've heard. Very boring and very disinterested. He has 2 voices, an American and a Russian. Regardless of man, woman or child. It's incredibly hard follow as the stops and pauses don't follow and is read in a dis-jointed fashion. As others have said, slip this book or wait for another narrator.

I'll be returning this book.

Great story - Terrible narration.

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I’ve loved this story since I was a teenager and have read the book several times. The story is exciting, at times the pace slows but picks right up again. The narrator really let this down though - a bit monotonous, awful at doing voices to distinguish between characters and if I was Russian I think I’d be mortally offended by the accent.

Great story average narrator

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Great book and great performance. I don't know if I have combined listened and read to a book as often as this one. The reader isn't as good as some that have been used for audio books in this series but is still higher quality than you would normally expect for any other audio book.

3rd time listening to and 6th time in total.

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Truly the gold standard in action spy adventure drama-themed storytelling. Unfortunately, the quality of the performance is a bit of a double-edged sword. While this version is far cleaner and a much clearer, better-recorded narration than one I have heard recorded with a different narrator. The actual performance is not as impressive. Sure in many passages both narrators read in similar ways. But it is the little things that make it a performance. Like being able to correctly pronounce Russian names and cities. Speaking like a Russian talking English. These are small things that really stand out. Check out any of Michael Prichard's performances of other Tom Clancy novels and you will see what I am talking about. But Red October is the flagship of the Tom Clancy fleet. Fail to read it at your peril.

Red October. Classic in every sense of the word.

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For a novel 34 years old it comes across as non fiction even today. The Cold War maybe over but this one feels you are in the moment. Fast paced, plausible and well written. This had me hooked from the moment I started listening.
The narration is perfectly pitched and adds to the action. A great way to pass the time.

Exceptional

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Read the paper back three times, listened to this audio version 4 times, and watched the movie more than 10 times.

My favourite story

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What a fantastic listen! Great narrator and obviously another amazing storyline from one of the best authors. The details regarding the sub hunts, its just like being there! Love it and have re-listened to it a few times over the years and it never loses the 'wow' factor. Just awesome!

Amazing!

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