The Cardinal of the Kremlin

The Cardinal of the Kremlin
By: Tom Clancy
Published: 1988
Follows: The Hunt for Red October
Followed by: Clear and Present Danger

As the Cold War approaches its final years the United States and Soviet Empire both seek to perfect their own versions of the Strategic Defense Initiative and thus render current nuclear doctrines moot. Meanwhile the Soviets are locked in battle with Afghan rebels, supplied with weapons by the Americans. Jack Ryan returns, this time the CIA analyst is assisting in arms reduction treaties when the CIAs highest agent in the Kremlin, CARDINAL (first mentioned in The Hunt for Red October), is compromised. Jack is forced into the field in order to save CARDINAL, a man both patriot and traitor, from the clutches of an ambitious KGB Chairman, in a mission that could destroy any chances of world peace.

Another excellent novel by Tom Clancy, asides a likeable hero in Jack Ryan, Clancy brings to life CARDINAL a tragic and lonely man who has served his country honourabley for years but now finds himself destined to suffer a traitors fate. Kudos to Clancy for fleshing out the KGB agents who hunt CARDINAL and making them human.

***** out of ***** ESSENTIAL READING

CARDINAL is connected to and based on real life spy Oleg Penkovsky