For all its detailed research into the weapons and technology of the time, this book did not hold up well for me. To read about the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 2022, and all the events that are going on just in the past year, is interesting from a historical perspective. Yet there is also the patina of the "noble savage" motivated by a Holy War that is jarring in a post-9/11 world. And confusing the authoritarian rule of the USSR with the economic thought of Marxism is just bad scholarship.

That said, the insights into Soviet machinations and a quest for absolute power for its own sake are fascinating. The passing of secrets, tiny little film cartridges and the great detail that Clancy put into every single hand-off are great. What the spies do to maintain their cover and how they are found out are also brilliant. But Clancy constantly trots out the "Marxist-Leninist doctrine" as motivation for the non-US characters in ways that don't fit either the characters or the overall story arch. The women who are mentioned by name at least have some depth or motivation: the good ones are mothers and are US citizens; the bad ones are single and Soviet citizens.

Unlike "A Perfect Spy," this book has just not held up well over the decades when it was written and the events that take place in it. ( )

Dit boek heeft 90 449 2733 7. Weghalen bij 8835386?
https://www.boekwinkeltjes.nl/b/193161469/Kardinaal-van-het-Kremlin/

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The story was OK but I felt there were some behaviours that I didn't enjoy experiencing through Jack. I wasn't comfortable with some parts at all. There was a fair bit of homophobia in this book, which was not a comfortable thing to read either.
I'm going to rest TC books for a while as they are very long and detailed and I began to feel like I was "getting through it" rather than enjoying it. ( )

Een van de beste boeken van [a:Tom Clancy|3892|Tom Clancy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1407672935p2/3892.jpg]. Genoeg spanning, en een hoop techniek. Boek komt soms zeer realistisch over.
Het boek handelt over, onder andere, een hoog geplaatste spion, met de codenaam 'Kardinaal', in de Russische Ministerie van Defensie, die al meer dan 30 jaar informatie doorspeelt. Deze spion dreigt nu echter ontmaskerd te worden. Door zijn hoge status in het ministerie en zijn bekendheid als 'Held van de Sovjet Unie', maken hem bijna onschendbaar.
Terwijl de KGB probeert om de zaak tegen deze spion waterdicht te maken, hoort de CIA van het onderzoek, en in een race tegen de klok proberen ze deze spion te redden voor de KGB hem kan arresteren.

Dit boek is een direct vervolg op [b:The Hunt for Red October|19691|The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan Universe, #4)|Tom Clancy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1281995542s/19691.jpg|1112006]

De actie in dit boek was zeer vlot geschreven, maar op sommige momenten sluipt er dan toch weer een stuk tussen dat wat mij betreft wel weggelaten had kunnen worden.
( )

Like most of Clancy’s books, they are about 200 pages too long. But once it gets going, it does keep you interested. It’s a good story about a double agent deep inside the Russian hierarchy during the Cold War. Ryan gets himself into a couple of scrapes but things work out in the end. The Foleys get themselves outed and thrown out of the country for getting caught with their collective pants down. ( )

This was a slow start, as far as Clancy books go. It was great in its usual fare, with good action, and great attention paid to spies and dirty politics. Not his best, but still a great Jack Ryan read! ( )

Meandering but seriously entertaining. I don't know why everybody complained about the narrator over on Audible... He's fine! ( )

Another winner in the Jack Ryan series. ( )

I liked it but it wasn't my favorite of Clancy's not by a long shot. Still think Patriot Games is his best. Glad I finally finished it. Took a little longer than I thought it would which I think is an indication of how much I liked it. ( )

Spy novel - Misha, KGB - CIA very technical intrigue - okay

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 most important issue of our time.

very good story ( )

most of this book i was wanting to give it 1 star, but the ending kept me far more interested/entertained than the rest of the book, so i was planning on giving it 2 stars. but then i just couldn't, it's just not good enough. i guess i'm just not that into spy novels, but also i was really disappointed in the quality of the writing. if the story had grabbed me, i might not have noticed nearly as much, but because i really didn't care about the story until pretty close to the end, i found the poor writing annoying.

my favorite examples:

"What had been a single dot of light blossomed like an exploding star in a science-fiction movie. But this wasn't science fiction."

and then 160 pages later:

"The sounds came back slowly, and seemed distant, like the noises of a dream. But this was no dream." ( )

Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy was boring. It was about Jack Ryan and his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Filitov. Filitov is an old Soviet turned American spy and Ryan is a CIA agent.
I thought the book was boring. Clancy goes into every little detail which is very boring. I think that’s a problem with Clancy’s books. I’d recommend it to someone who wants to suffer through a book.

Set near the end of the Cold War, The Cardinal of the Kremlin is a fast paced action adventure novel that I had a hard time putting down. Much like Clancy’s other novels, this story is told through multiple points of views, and stars Clancy’s famed protagonist, Jack Ryan. Mainly, it is about an undercover CIA agent, named Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov, who is hidden way high up in the ranks of the Soviet Army. When Filtrov sends information about the new Soviet laser defense system, all havoc breaks loose. A small slip on an exchange was witnessed by a KGB agent, and now the whole chain of CIA spies throughout Moscow is beginning to be uncovered. Jack Ryan and the rest of the CIA must find a way to get Filtrov and his information out of Moscow, while he is still alive.
The Cardinal of the Kremlin was another great masterpiece by Tom Clancy. Even though it may start off a bit dry and slow, Clancy’s meticulous writing skill leaves one satisfied and not begging for questions. I found that this book had one of the most intense few ending chapters of all time (even for Clancy standards), and I read the second half of the book in under three days, whereas the first half took several weeks. It was worth every second because The Cardinal of the Kremlin is a adrenaline fueled action espionage adventure which will make your hands tremble with anticipation with every turn of a page. ( )

Enjoyable, as essentially all Clancy books are. ( )

It always takes me halfway to get into a Clancy book but once I'm there I cannot put it down.

The superpower arms negotiations appear to be making progress, but a US spy satellite reveals that the Soviets are building a massive laser-defence system. ( )

Back when I read Clancy, I enjoyed this book. Less so now. I do miss the old evil empire and the political intrigue we all assumed was going on. Overall, not a bad book. ( )

Jack Ryan of the CIA is back in this Tom Clancy novel.

In a complicated plot, action takes place in Afghanistan where the U.S. is helping the Afghans resist the Russian invasion, in part, by providing missiles to destroy Russian helecopters.

The United States and Russia are competing to develop a Star Wars missile system capable of shooting down enemy satilites. This could be enough for the country possessing this system to control space.

Russian spy Colonel Mikaeil Filitov, "The Cardinal" has been providing U.S. with info about Russia's military for years but now, he must escape from Russia and Jack Ryan must help.

Interesting to re-read this novel and see the many characters who will be part of Clancy's future books. ( )

One of Clancy's better books, although a bit long it has some real excitement in the storyline. ( )

Great spy action - Ryan gets a mission to extract important mole within soviet spy network.
Reommended. ( )

Jack Ryan stars in this Clancy thriller. The top CIA operative deep within the Kremlin must be rescued before he is identified and terminated by the KGB. ( )

I'll do the same review for all Clancy's novels because they're all pretty much the same. Very long, very detailed, and after a while, very repetitive. If you stop after just a few of his books you'd probably give them 4 or 5 stars, but beyond that they start to grate. Especially where Jack Ryan is involved. I mean, Clancy spends hundreds of pages getting his details just right, the settings perfect etc., then he has Ryan dodging more bullets than James Bond! I finally threw my hands up and surrendered when Ryan becomes President. I can't remember what piece of crap that was in.

I've given three stars as a compromise between my reactions when reading my first Clancy (brilliant) and last Clancy (doorstop). ( )