Last Light (Nick Stone, Book 4) [Import] [Paperback]

Andy McNab (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Corgi Books; New Ed edition (2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552147982
• ISBN-13: 978-0552147989
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,850,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, not great., October 18, 2002

By 

Jeremy "63271864410" (Dublin, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Last Light: A Nick Stone Mission (Hardcover)

So far I have had difficulty putting McNab's books down. Last Light was different - the book did meander a little on more than one occassion and admittedly I read about a third of the book and I wasn't really motivated to come back to it for several weeks.

I did enjoy it while I read it, but there was in general something missing from Last Light that was present in McNab's previous books. The story is good, but not great. Several chapters are a little on the dull side (maybe 'dull' is the wrong word and 'less gripping' is better) and at the end of the book I felt that not enough had really happened from cover to cover.

Personally, I found the climax a little disappointing and less intense than McNab's previous writings. The ending chapter seemed somewhat disconnected from the story itself and more of a re-introduction to the usual beat of the series, but even this failed to capture some of the more touching moments we've previously witnessed with Nick Stone's softer side.

If you're a McNab fan like me, then get this book. You won't be disappointed and you'll remain up to date with the life of Nick Stone. However, this book feels to me to be more of a 'standalone' than part of the Nick Stone series and you'll feel that this isn't quite going to fill the gap as you await the next update.

If you don't know of McNab, I can well recommend earlier Nick Stone books first as I feel that any interest you may potentially have in following this character may not be sparked up by Last Light. I can well recommend Firewall (best novel I ever read) for ultimate excitement, but there is benefit to starting at the beginning of the series too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More real action in each chapter than most authors..., February 9, 2006

By 

Robert Hazelwood (Arizona USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Light: A Nick Stone Mission (Hardcover)

... produce in a lifetime. Mr. McNab's SAS training and the degree to which he absorbed it and can recreate that type of thinking on the page combine to make a nearly unparalleled reading experience. His protagonists are far more capable, observant, knowledgeable, experienced, and (his term) switched-on than any I've met in other books. There is simply no comparison between how Nick Stone here sees, thinks, and works, and how your average thriller author imagines it might go. Last Light is so dense with pure thought, planning, detail, and tradecraft that I could hardly point to an outstanding passage. It's all good. That people like Mr. McNab exist and can do what he describes so expertly is astonishing. Thanks so much for putting this on paper, Mr. McNab. And by the way - you and your mates are awesome. Glad you're in our camp.

Having said all that, this book does suffer from plot super-sizing. Just as in Crisis Four, Mr. McNab creates a huge conspiracy within which his agent thrashes around, and which the author simply can't resolve. It's too bad because if he just crafted the story of some mission without global complications it would be a jewel. As it is, Last Light abruptly ends in confused mid-plot. Why can't Nick be on a legit SAS mission instead of having it all forced out of him by the powers that be?

And the backstory of Kelly, which I suppose is there to make Nick more of a person (and to provide plot hooks) soon becomes tiresome. I'm not interested in Nick Stone as a struggling surrogate father - but I'll be reading every page I can find describing him in the field. It's just too good to miss.

An added benny of Mr. McNab's writing is that you get some thoughtful and highly observant commentary on the environments in which his agent moves. Last Light taught me a lot about Panama and the Canal situation. The downside to his books is that you can't face another action novel for a while, because you know that even a good one will be dishwater next to this.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nick Stone the Human, not Nick Stone the Soldier, August 21, 2003

By 

David Hassall (Wichita, KS) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Last Light: A Nick Stone Mission (Mass Market Paperback)

Last Light is the fourth in the series of books written by Andy McNab. The whole series of books is great and this is no exception. Andy McNab obviously decided when writing this book that he needed to give his character some extra depth. In this book we see Nick Stone make some serious human decisions.

After reading this book you come away with a lesson in survival, in a way it teaches you jungle tracking skills and gives you a good insight into how special operations are coordinated. If you're an SAS or any kind of Special Forces enthusiast it's a good read just to get inside the mind of a professional elite soldier.

I enjoyed this book greatly, the plot keeps you guessing, and its never obvious what's going to happen. Am not going to spoil the book am sure if you want to find out what its about you just read the Amazon.com review but if you enjoyed the rest of the Nick Stone series this book is going to make you very happy.

4 Stars