*THUD*
Just finished reading
'Strike Back' by
Chris Ryan, and it is a very impressive read.
About the author:
Chris Ryan was a member of the British special forces unit dubbed the SAS ('Special Air Service', though these days, like the 'Para' regiments, the air part is just a name and parachute jumps are rarely made).
His service is mostly confidential, as the SAS are largely covert in operation. But his most famous operation is code named 'Bravo Two Zero'. He was part of a reletively small eight man group which was dropped by helicopter behind enemy lines in Iraq (during the first Gulf War). The mission was to collect information about the possitions of SCUD launchers, possibly destroy them, and cut a fibre optic information wire than ran along the desert. Unfortunatly, things went wrong.
He was the only member of his group to escape, without getting captured, by walking 200miles over an eight day period. Which has been claimed "longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper or any other soldier".
About the book:
The action is quite slow if I be honest. It takes a while to get to the thick of it, but there is a very touching aspect to the story that makes it worth while. The attention to detail is very accurate and portrays the grim 'realities' of the situations incredibly well.
The story:
John Porter was a promising young SAS soldier, on a hostage rescue mission deep in Lebanon. After he was blamed for the deaths of three of his colleages, is living in the gutter of London. Peregrine Collinson on the other hand, was commended for his efforts on the same raid, and is seen as a millitary hero.
Now, 17 years later, a new hostage crisis unfolds, and the two men once again cross paths.
(The synopsis on google is pretty much the same thing)
Overall, a very good book. I recomend it to those fans of millitary espionage and war fare. However, it is biased towards the British nationality in terms of humour and speach.
(Sorry for the long post)
Add Site