Now, Andy McNab I think, is one of those writers whose fiction books you'll either like or you won't. His language is incredibly basic, no frills and with metaphors and character analogies so unpretentious they come across as refreshingly honest. However, the basic 'squaddie' language I think is the whole part of their charm and style and what makes his books so great to read - you really get a sense that he know's what he's taking about when he writes which of course, being ex-SAS, he absolutely does. His writing comes from experience and this really comes through when you read and makes his action scenes come to life. Personally, anyone who says that McNab's books are rubbish obviously hasn't read any of them.
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Recoil is the 9th book in the series following the character of Nick Stone. I have read the first three in the series: Remote Control, Crisis Four and Firewall which have given the reader a great deal of info on Stone's character, the reasons why he is the way he is and how he came to become guardian of his dead mate's daughter, Kelly. As Recoil is the 9th in the series he doesn't touch on the Kelly issue at all so I guess the major questions get answered in books 4-8. In Recoil however, Stone thinks he's fallen in love and it's interesting to see McNab tackle some of those issues that he hadn't in the others that I've read so far. The story this time is based in Africa where Stone travels to retrieve his girlfriend who's run off to do relief work in the war-torn Congo jungle. Ultiimately they realise they don't know each other at all what with them both being at either ends of the social spectrum - him with a gun in his hand and shooting people and her with a medic degree and patching up the mess. Most of the story is taken up with Stone and some of his old crew helping to defend the tin mine from the militant LRG who are good at using the local malnourished kids to fight their war. As with the other books you don't really need to read it in series order as each has it's own story you can read independently which is great if you just want to pick up an easy read you can really get into and probably finish in a weekend. McNab's books are great for this especially if you want the thrill of the chase without having to plough through a whole lot of political mumbo jumbo like you get in, say, Ludlum's novels (which incidently are fantasic books if you are in for the whole story with all it's political in's and out's and twists and turns etc. I can particularly recommend The Altman Code). This book is great for a beach read or if you want a weekend quickie and won't fail to deliver action - you'll probably even pick up a handy SAS tip or two! All in all a great read and with McNab's field experience and no-nonsence prose you really get the feel of being out there in the middle of it all.
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And at the end of the day, whether you like McNab or not, parts of the story are heart-breaking and harrowing and bring up some really thought-provoking points about how we in the West live and the inpact this has on the third-world, and in my opinion this can never be a bad thing.
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Recoil is the 9th book in the series following the character of Nick Stone. I have read the first three in the series: Remote Control, Crisis Four and Firewall which have given the reader a great deal of info on Stone's character, the reasons why he is the way he is and how he came to become guardian of his dead mate's daughter, Kelly. As Recoil is the 9th in the series he doesn't touch on the Kelly issue at all so I guess the major questions get answered in books 4-8. In Recoil however, Stone thinks he's fallen in love and it's interesting to see McNab tackle some of those issues that he hadn't in the others that I've read so far. The story this time is based in Africa where Stone travels to retrieve his girlfriend who's run off to do relief work in the war-torn Congo jungle. Ultiimately they realise they don't know each other at all what with them both being at either ends of the social spectrum - him with a gun in his hand and shooting people and her with a medic degree and patching up the mess. Most of the story is taken up with Stone and some of his old crew helping to defend the tin mine from the militant LRG who are good at using the local malnourished kids to fight their war. As with the other books you don't really need to read it in series order as each has it's own story you can read independently which is great if you just want to pick up an easy read you can really get into and probably finish in a weekend. McNab's books are great for this especially if you want the thrill of the chase without having to plough through a whole lot of political mumbo jumbo like you get in, say, Ludlum's novels (which incidently are fantasic books if you are in for the whole story with all it's political in's and out's and twists and turns etc. I can particularly recommend The Altman Code). This book is great for a beach read or if you want a weekend quickie and won't fail to deliver action - you'll probably even pick up a handy SAS tip or two! All in all a great read and with McNab's field experience and no-nonsence prose you really get the feel of being out there in the middle of it all.
.
And at the end of the day, whether you like McNab or not, parts of the story are heart-breaking and harrowing and bring up some really thought-provoking points about how we in the West live and the inpact this has on the third-world, and in my opinion this can never be a bad thing.
