Strike Back [Import] [Mass Market Paperback]

Chris Ryan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008

Two soldiers: one a celebrated military hero and the other a broken veteran living in the gutters of London. Their paths last crossed nearly twenty years ago. Now, amidst a hostage crisis in the Middle East, their lives are about to collide again. And the Strike Back is about to begin.

John Porter was involved in a hostage raid in Lebanon in 1989. The raid went disastrously wrong; several Regiment men died. John spared the life of a Lebanese fighter and blames himself for the deaths. Struggling to come to terms with the past, John has hit the bottle and is sleeping rough.

Colonel Peregrine Collinson was involved in the same raid. Unbeknownst to his colleagues, it was Peregrine’s fault that the mission went wrong. He was awarded a Military Cross and is heralded as a military hero for something he didn’t do.

After the disastrous raid, the lives of the two men couldn’t have been further apart. Until now. A hostage crisis in the Middle East draws the enemies back together again. Who will be the hero this time?


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Chock full of military fat to chew on... will keep you awake until dawn."
—Irish Times

"Explosive plot... gritted teeth adrenaline." 
—Financial Times



From the Trade Paperback edition.

About the Author

CHRIS RYAN was born near Newcastle in 1961. He joined the SAS in 1984. During his ten years he was involved in  overt and covert operations and was also Sniper team commander of the anti-terrorist team. During the Gulf War, Chris was the only member of an eight-man team to escape from Iraq, of which three colleagues were killed and four captured. It was the longest escape and evasion in the history of the SAS. For this he was awarded the Military Medal. For his last two years he was selecting and training potential recruits for the SAS.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Arrow (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099492156
• ISBN-13: 978-0099492153
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,638,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, quick read., December 31, 2010

By 

Jenn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strike Back (Mass Market Paperback)

Love Chris Ryan's style as opposed to the embellished, drawn-out ramblings of Andy McNab. Ryan is able to move past technical detail and focus a little more on characters. While military junkies probably feed off of McNab's military experience, knowledge and gore, Ryan keeps the rest of us entertained with his up-front, fast and character driven narratives.

I was interested in the plot of Strike Back long before the tv show came out and was very pleased with the book. It has plenty of twists and turns to keep you entertained without loosing your interest or revealing the resolution before finishing the book.

The only drawback is that the book resembles most of Ryan's other works and ends abruptly.

Like the other reviews say, this is a great, little action book with a lot of punch. While you might not pick it up and thumb through it in years to come, if you're into military intrigue, it's definitely worth your time.

1.0 out of 5 stars Strike Back, January 25, 2012

By 

Wolveman - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strike Back (Paperback)

The TV series stated it was based on this novel. The novel did not track with the
series in any way. it was not even a rieveting book and I found it hard not to
skip over parts just to finish it.

3.0 out of 5 stars ok read., April 6, 2010

By 

two zero (Seattle.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strike Back (Paperback)

This novel is a ok read. Pretty standard and stright forward. This author has written much better stories and is worth keeping an eye on.