Red Rabbit vs The Day of the Jackal: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Assassination attempts, Attempted assassination, Thriller, Fiction

Red Rabbit Tom Clancy · 1998 ★★★★☆ 3.8 636 pages · ≈ 11 h 47 m · Moderate

Jack Ryan's first days with the CIA may be the Pope's last days alive. Long before he was President or head of the CIA, before he fought terrorist attacks on the Super Bowl or the White House, even before a submarine…

Popes Ryan Jack Ryan Intelligence officers

Find on Amazon More like this →

The Day of the Jackal Frederick Forsyth · 1971 ★★★★☆ 4.3 377 pages · ≈ 6 h 59 m · Moderate

In a class by itself. Unputdownable' Sunday TimesOne of the most celebrated thrillers ever written, The Day of the Jackal is the electrifying story of an anonymous Englishman who in, the spring of 1963, was hired by…

1 film adaptation

Fiction - Espionage Literature and fiction Assassins Espionage

Find on Amazon More like this →

Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate The Day of the Jackal highest: The Day of the Jackal 4.3 · Red Rabbit 3.8.
The Day of the Jackal is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 11 for Red Rabbit.
The Day of the Jackal has the widest readership — 149030 ratings behind its score.

Red Rabbit: Check price →The Day of the Jackal: Check price →

Affiliate links: we may earn a commission on purchases.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? The Day of the Jackal ≈ 6h vs 11h for Red Rabbit Want the crowd-tested pick? The Day of the Jackal 149030 ratings vs 35466 for Red Rabbit Just want the better-reviewed one? The Day of the Jackal 4.3 vs 3.8 from readers

Scores by source

	Red Rabbit	The Day of the Jackal
Goodreads	3.8 (35466)	4.3 (149030)
Hardcover	3.3 (90)	4.2 (204)
Google Books	3.5 (6)	5.0 (1)
Apple Books	4.0 (673)	4.5 (384)
	Check price →	Check price →

Reception

	Red Rabbit	The Day of the Jackal
Ratings	35466	149030
Editions	29	69
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	14689	295
Reading it now	2448	6
Written reviews	1139	16
Wikipedia attention	3378	21957
Pages	636	377
	Check price →	Check price →

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Red Rabbit or The Day of the Jackal?

The Day of the Jackal has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Day of the Jackal 4.3/5, Red Rabbit 3.8/5).

Which is shorter to read: Red Rabbit or The Day of the Jackal?

The Day of the Jackal is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Day of the Jackal (377 pages, ≈ 6 h 59 m); Red Rabbit (636 pages, ≈ 11 h 47 m).

Which is harder to read: Red Rabbit or The Day of the Jackal?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Red Rabbit: Moderate; The Day of the Jackal: Moderate.

Have both books been made into films?

Red Rabbit: no film adaptation on record; The Day of the Jackal: 2 film adaptations.