Remote Control

This is the first Andy McNabb book I've read, after seeing them on bookshop shelves for the last twenty years or so. I'm glad I finally got around to actually reading one. :-)

Characters
The main character in this is Nick Stone, ex-SAS, now a freelancer doing deniable operations. Unsurprising, given that the author is ex-SAS, Nick rang true as a British Army soldier. The attitude and the slang - both different from American - were exactly right. Yes, he's your tough-guy hero - but in a very British way. :-)

Plot
To be fair, there wasn't actually much of a plot. There was a lot of running around trying to find things, or people. The twist at the end was a wee bit obvious. This is one of those books that is more about the journey than the show more destination: it's about watching how Nick deals with the problems (including Kelly), rather than the solutions to the problems or even the problems themselves.

But...
It was still a good, exciting read. I think the evolution of the relationship between Nick and Kelly was done well, and pretty realistically. Will I read the next one? Definitely! show less

Without a doubt the best Nick Stone novel I've read. Just reading this one and skipping the rest is probably not a bad choice.

The story is that Nick Stone, a "deniable asset", is sent to have a look at some PIRA people in the USA. Everything goes belly up and he's suddenly on his own, or well, at least without outside help.

I like the Kelly character even though she is probably as unrealistic as the Nick character.

"Remote Control" is the first in the nick Stone series. With a British Intelligence Operator, I was expecting a spy story. What I got was basically the trials and tribulations of a kidnapper, trying to keep a 7 yr. old happy. It did have action from beginning to end, although it did drag on in some parts.There are flashbacks which I had to reread to see where it fit into the story. The result at the end was what should have happened near the beginning.

WWAMD

You know those little bracelets the Jesus freaks wear, "What Would Jesus Do?" Well, I want "What Would Andy Mcnab Do?" Who the heck is Andy Mcnab? Google him, it's rather interesting to see someone be the real deal.

Anyway, he has a much better series of his non-fiction, but this is the first of his fiction I've tried. Wasn't bad, wasn't great, I'll try another one. It reminds me much of Richard Sharpe, in that he is basically a rather bad fellow, doing what he feels is necessary at the time. Not a lot of traditional action heroes routinely mug people to get cash. I can appreciate that.

Quite good.Iloved reading of narrow escapes=]

A fairly average thriller, I've read better.

Listened to the abridged book on tape. Good book to listen while exercising.