The Hunt for Red October The Hunt for Red October The Hunt for Red October is the debut novel by Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984 by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutting-edge ballistic missile submarine "Red October", and marks the first appearance of Clancy's most popular fictional character Jack Ryan, an analyst working for the Central Intelligence Agency, as he must prove his theory that Ramius had intended to defect to the United States. The book was loosely inspired by the mutiny on the Soviet frigate "Storozhevoy" in
The Hunt for Red October the American “heroes”, which are U.S. military officers, who in turn are competent and dedicated in their professions, a central theme the author would explore in his later novels. In addition, "The Hunt for Red October" is considered as a coming-of-age story regarding the main character Jack Ryan. However, instead of running away from responsibilities, a theme common in contemporary American literature, Clancy subverts the convention by having Ryan rushing toward the burdens of the adult world. Moreover, it introduced Jack Ryan as a new archetype of the American hero — an everyman who uses his prior knowledge instead of