I was surprised to discover that the film (which is one of my favorites) is essentially just the middle act of the whole story. And the other two thirds are just as gripping!

Tightly wound and tense throughout, written in matter-of-fact prose that somehow still seems shot through with dread, this book transcends its time quite well; even if Clancy does get a little preachy with Jack Ryan's patriotism at the end. ("You're gonna learn what freedom is, Ramius! And I think you're gonna love it! Oh man is freedom so great. Freedom freedom freedom. Murica!") I can give it a pass, though, because I felt that throughout the 90s myself.

Clancy also very clearly inspired one of my favorite recent books, The Martian (or they were both inspired by the same predecessor). Good stuff.

All that said, the fact that this is a debut effort is clear. Location is sometimes a bit hard to nail down, even with the datelines heading each section. There are WAY too many characters (a dozen or so heroes, a half dozen villains, scores of side characters that are all given depth so you think they're important only to find out that they're not, all the while leaving Ramius a bit less well-drawn than his Sean Connery film counterpart), and the timeline is a bit muddy; I spent several chapters thinking there was a flash-forward happening, only to find out that they were talking about a DIFFERENT lost Soviet sub with a surviving cook for that whole time.

Still, it's a unique story told in a unique way. Chekhov's gun is deployed elegantly multiple times, and everyone is good at their jobs in tantalizing ways. The (presumably speculative) look behind the Iron Curtain was fascinating. And how is it possible to make the Cold War itself a character? I dunno, but Clancy did it. Glad I finally picked this up.