The Hunt for Red October Clancy's writing style, which included technical details about weaponry, submarines, espionage, and the military. The accurate nature of Clancy's writing was well known among the American military that Clancy remarked in a 1986 interview: “When I met Navy Secretary John Lehman last year, the first thing he asked me about the book was, ‘Who the hell cleared it?’” The novel shares elements with James Clavell’s works, particularly "Shōgun" (1975) and "Noble House" (1981), where political power is used instead of physical confrontation with an enemy. Clancy portrays the Soviets as evil, comparing and contrasting their philosophies, morals, and values from
The Hunt for Red October of numerous technical details. After fixing his work, Clancy then sold "The Hunt for Red October" to the Naval Institute Press for a modest sum of $5,000. Having recently decided to publish fiction, the publication company made Clancy's work as their first published novel. Editor Deborah Grosvenor later recalled convincing the publishers: “I think we have a potential best seller here, and if we don’t grab this thing, somebody else would." She believed Clancy had an "innate storytelling ability, and his characters had this very witty dialogue". The book received critical acclaim, especially from the American government. U.S. President Ronald