Marc Cameron has done an admirable job on this installment and I think Tom Clancy fans will be very happy. The book starts off with a defection at a McDonald's and immediately dives into the Ryan family earlier than we have met them before.. Even seasoned readers may find themselves referring back to the Principal Characters List at the beginning of this book . This book keeps you thinking and involved until the last page.


Thanks to NetGalley, Marc Cameron, and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is part of the Men At War series but could be read as a stand alone. The story is set in 1985 in East Berlin and the Nevada dessert. A top secret plane has crashed in the Nevada desert and there is a defector in East Berlin that has information valuable to the West. There is a mole in CIA who is threatening the mission and other agents. This features a young Jack Ryan and other characters from past books. We get a glimpse of their past stories. The book is filled with suspense that will keep you wondering what happens next, will the good guys prevail. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I've always thought Marc Cameron is criminally underrated but with Red Winter that should no longer be the case. During the Cold War in 1985, espionage was the name of the game. Everyone was spying on everyone. A top-secret plane crashes in the Nevada desert. Before the scene is secured, a foreign spy is able to retrieve a piece of the highly classified technology. Meanwhile, an embassy official goes missing in West Berlin and a stranger contacts the CIA and says he has high-level information on his government in exchange for asylum. Jack Ryan and Mary Pat Foley are sent behind the Iron Curtain to vet the source and figure out what exactly is happening.

Ok, secret time. I've never read an actual Tom Clancy authored book. My introduction to Tom Clancy has been within the last 10ish years thus I enjoyed seeing an inexperienced Ryan as well as a seeing Mary Pat Foley and John Clarke in their element as younger badasses.

Cameron has written a classic, Cold War spy thriller with plenty of intrigue, action, tension and a cast of shady characters. I read Cameron had to rush to finish Red Winter but you would never be able to tell it. I think Red Winter is Marc Cameron's finest work to-date. Whether you are new to this series or a hardcore fan of Jack Ryan, Red Winter checks every box of a great espionage thriller!

My sincere thanks to Marc Cameron, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing an advanced copy of Red Winter.

This book felt just like vintage Clancy. The pacing and story were exciting and kept me coming back for more. I was very happy to see an actual Jack Ryan Sr. book that tells a story between Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, with a bunch of characters that I thought were gone forever. It was extremely nostaligic of my early reading years. I sincerely hope that there are more "in between" stories that give that vintage feel that we can enjoy for years to come. Marc Cameron is a phenomenal writer and I would recommend this to any Clancy fan. 5 stars easy.

Intense, brutal and fast-paced, Red Winter is a stone-cold Cold War spy classic. Marc Cameron has delivered his most Clancy-esque novel to date in this realistic, brilliantly designed and executed story from the heyday of democracy vs. communism.

Flashback to 1985. An East German wants to defect and offers the CIA vital secrets in return, while one of his compatriots in deep cover within the US is attempting to steal innovative technology and bring it home for research and development. Enter the old stalwarts we know and love. Dan Murray is tasked with leading the manhunt for the spy on the run in the US. James Greer sends Mary Pat Foley and Jack Ryan to venture into East Berlin to vet the would-be defector. And John Clark does what John Clark does best – stay in the shadows until his particular set of lethal skills are needed then strike hard, fast and without remorse. Tensions could not be higher during this high-stakes cat and mouse game with massive implications at the height of the Cold War.

Huge thanks to Marc Cameron for dropping a throwback Clancy espionage thriller into our laps. For those of us who grew up on Tom Clancy novels, this one is both fresh and nostalgic at the same time. It brings back beloved characters in a way that adds to their backstories, which is honestly not something I ever expected or thought I needed. But after reading Red Winter, I can say with 100% certainty that it is a brilliant choice that adds tremendously to the Jack Ryan universe. To see a young Mary Pat Foley completely in her element behind enemy lines while mentoring an inexperienced Jack Ryan is breathtaking given what we know about her importance and their relationship through the years. Then to witness Dan Murray’s investigative skills and John Clark’s baddassery on full display is a treat. Not to mention James Greer’s genius intuition and growing influence within the CIA. Whoa baby! And the best part is if you’re not familiar with these characters, this book provides the perfect entry point into this world that’s been around for decades.

Just a masterful job by Marc Cameron. Red Winter is an absolute treat!

Its 1985, and a top secret aircraft has crashed in the Nevada desert, and the Soviets will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. Meanwhile, in East Berlin, a mysterious figure contacts the CIA with details of his government’s espionage plans in exchange for asylum. Not knowing if the offer is genuine, the CIA needs someone to go behind the Berlin Wall to investigate the defector and Deputy Director only trusts one man with this job: Jack Ryan.

With Red Winter, Marc Cameron has written a great story of espionage and mystery focusing on a previously unknown event that occurred earlier in Jack Ryan’s career. By returning to the early days of Ryan’s career, Cameron has channeled Tom Clancy’s original series and brought to life characters fans have not seen in awhile. This was a great read full of action, military thrills, and Clancy nostalgia.

I've always thought that Jack Ryan and the Tom Clancy universe as a whole were rightfully creatures of the eighties and nineties and having a new novel that returns Ryan to his rightful context is a real treat.

I get why the publisher created Jack Ryan Jr. and made such an effort to bring the franchise into the contemporary world, but it honestly never set right with me. There's something about the junior-thing that is irretrievably cheesy and too nakedly commercial for me to take it entirely seriously. But -- HOT DAMN! - now we've got the real Jack Ryan back and he's even in the right decade.

Marc Cameron did an absolutely bang-up job of returning us back to the glory years of the original Tom Clancy novels. I have no doubt that Clancy himself would give Cameron a hearty tip-of-the-hat for what he has accomplished.

Highly, highly recommended.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope he writes more! I am totally hooked!

This book tells of an early adventure of Jack Ryan, one where he meets Mary Pat Foley and John Clark for the first time. There were two storylines, both involving East Germany. One had our heroes in East Germany and the other with agents chasing an East German spy in the western US. Good characters and pacing.

It’s 1985 and the Cold War is still looming over the world. The Americans and Communists are in the fight to best the other in both technology and spy craft, all while keeping up the appearance that nothing is amiss. An embassy official goes missing in West Germany. A plane crashes in the American Southwest. Two puzzles, worlds apart - Tom Clancy Red Winter delivers the action and mystery so familiar to fans of the Jack Ryan series.

Marc Cameron masterfully delivers a story packed with both technical military knowledge and cultural aspects of the word during the Cold War. This builds a wonderful backdrop for the character development Cameron uses to knit together multiple story lines across the world, and just across the Berlin Wall, from one another. While fan favorite Jack Ryan is central to plot lines later in the novel, we see other characters take the main stage early in the book, setting the stage for the penultimate scenes of betrayal, combat, and rescue. Ryan and the team must navigate covert action behind enemy lines while being uncertain of who they can trust – even among the team.

I give Tom Clancy Red Winter a 5 out of 5 stars. Marc Cameron has delivered another page turner I could not put down. The late arrival of Jack Ryan as a central character in the storyline might be a disappointment to some readers, but the development of the other leading characters along the way delivers the same action and intensity we expect from Ryan. This novel is not a continuation of the Ryan timeline, but a jump back in history to a point where the submarine Red October was just recently led into dock in Norfolk, Virginia, and Ryan has been serving at his post in London.

I recommend this novel to readers who are well versed in the Ryan franchise and those new to his storyline. While Cameron connects Red Winter to many of Tom Clancy’s original storylines from this period of the character’s history, this novel could be a stand-alone read for those not familiar with the series. If you love spy thrillers, military history, or Cold War fiction, Tom Clancy Red Winter is the book for you!

Marc Cameron writes a lean and mean genuine Clancy thriller but he wonderfully adapts it to the modern audience with a deathly-fast pace and riveting action in keeping with an intense realism most often associated with Clancy-verse.

Red Winter takes us back to the days of Cold War where a dangerous chain of events is set in motion by a defector in East Berlin requesting asylum in the US in exchange for secrets about government’s espionage program. To authenticate the legitimacy of this new asset, Jack Ryan Sr. is hurried off to Berlin so that he can complete his mission before all hell breaks loose. At the same time, a top secret Airforce program with the stealthy F117 Nighthawk aircraft hits a roadblock when the plane crashes and a race ensues to get hands on the secretive material used in the making of the sleek cutting-edge aircraft. Coincidence or not, US forces working abroad and at home must efficiently uncover the threat and put a stop to it.


Cameron continues to display his prowess at writing multiple simultaneous plotlines without losing track of the big picture. The change in sceneries serves a pivotal role in preserving the unpredictable nature of the narrative by keeping readers on their toes between the multiple characters and situations. Whether it’s Jack Ryan in Berlin or FBI agent Dan Murray in Nevada, the excitement factor ratchets up the page as we’re constantly suckered in for the quest to uncover the truth. Each character gets his/her due in the spotlight with unique personalities and the narrative invokes a strong feeling of nostalgia as we go back in time to see our iconic heroes at the beginning before they crossed paths.

The fast-paced narrative is packed with crisp hard-hitting action, which is where John Clark comes in to the picture. After all, who else would take on bad guys in such brutal and unforgiving manner in the Clancy-verse? With unadulterated sequences of precision shootouts and dirty hand-to-hand combat, Cameron keeps the pedal to the metal all the way to the last page.

Red Winter is a breathtakingly exciting throwback to the chaotic and severe last days of the Cold War era. Marc Cameron actually transports you to another time with his engrossing writing through and through.


Full review on https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain