Welcome to the final discussion of The Hunt for Red October.
What did you think of the end of the book? Did the action conclude the way you thought it would? I thought this section was definitely the most exciting and the most action-packed. I flew through these last pages.
There is a lot of SONAR talk in this last section. Submarines and boats are pinging each other and searching for each other all throughout this last section. I found those sections to be a little confusing because I didn't really know much about SONAR. But, the video below really helped me understand the science behind those scenes. Check it out if you'd like to learn more about how submarines use SONAR to move through the water.
There were so many stressful scenes in these last chapters! First, the shootout between Ramius, Ryan, and the guy, Kamarov who stayed behind on the sub to make sure it didn't fall into the hands of the Americans. I knew he was going to end up being a problem, but I kind of thought that Ryan would be able to talk him down, and I didn't really expect that Kamarov would be killed. He was very dedicated to his beliefs, though, so he was not able to be turned. It was so stressful after that shootout since there were now wounded men on the sub. I can't imagine how scary it would be in that situation to have a problem like that and know that you were so isolated in a submarine.
Obviously, the part where the V.K. Konovalov was hunting the Red October was really intense. First, the Konovalov fires torpedoes at the Red October, but somehow, the Red October is able to maneuver so that they are not blown to bits by the torpedo that hits them. Then, there was a lot of pinging of SONAR and fighting back and forth until the two submarines ran into each other, and the Konovalov was mortally wounded. I was really surprised that was how the whole event ended. I was glad that it was all solved without any escalation to war.
What did you think about all of the Soviet crew members who got a grand American tour before they went home? Did you think more would ask to stay in the U.S? What about the men on the Red October? Wasn't it funny that they were so affected by E.T.? That made me laugh. I wonder how the men fare in America after the book ends?
What outlying character ended up being your favorite? I think Jonesy, the guy who was doing all of the navigating was my favorite. He was so good at his job.
While you were reading, were you curious about how Tom Clancy had such in-depth knowledge of all of the military jargon, technology, and equipment? According to his obituary in The New York Times, Clancy got all of his information from interviews and technical manuals. Isn't that crazy? You would think he was a high-ranking military official because of all of the realistic details in this book.
I hope you enjoyed reading this book this month! If you enjoyed this book and would like to read or watch similar titles, check out this list I created. Please make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list.
I hope you'll check back next month as we read National Velvet by Enid Bagnold. I can't wait to hear all of your thoughts on The Hunt for Red October in the comments section!
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