Andy Mcnab
Forum
Ah, the famous Billy?
>>By Lynn (Saturday, 27 Sep 2008 20:50)
Yep and the way things are going I may need a whole room of bookcases waits thats a library lol
>>By BookWormGeek (Tuesday, 7 Oct 2008 16:51)
Interview on audio - Greymansland with Andy !!!!
Coming soon. If Jon is as quick as I hope he will be that is.
It's really awesome!!!
>>By Lynn (Friday, 17 Oct 2008 00:36)
The interview is up now!!
Go to http://greymansland.com/andymcnabnews/
:-)
>>By Lynn (Wednesday, 22 Oct 2008 20:23)
Great news, thanks Lynn!
>>By angel_22 (Wednesday, 22 Oct 2008 21:07)
BRUTE FORCE extract!
Between the Lines (Transworld) published a little piece while we're waiting for the publication of Brute Force on the 7th November. Have a read...
I watched Benjamin Lesser hunch over the TPU, remove a penknife from his jeans and unscrew the lid. He turned the Parkway anti-clockwise, lifted out the rubber pad and dropped it and the knife onto the deck. Then he made his way back the way he had come. He was walking, not running. Good drills: he didn’t want to break a leg and be stuck down here when the device kicked off. He wanted to make sure he could get upstairs before the Parkway did its bit.
The moment he’d disappeared, I legged it towards the TPU. He’d set the Parkway to fifteen minutes. I grabbed the rubber, jammed it into place and turned the dial back down to zero.
I picked up the knife and cut the ring main about three metres from the detonator. Whatever happened now, only three metres of det cord would ignite. It had the power to rip through human flesh, but it wasn’t going to do much damage to the ship.
I edged round beside the first dustbin lid and waited. Big Ben would be back. He was too professional and committed to just shrug his shoulders when it didn’t detonate.
I kept reminding myself that his death had to look like an accident. I imagined the frantic activity up on deck as they tried to get the boats away before it detonated.
The fifteen minutes passed.
He’d give it maybe another two, three at the most. I felt a sneaking admiration for him. Me, I had no commitment to anything. Maybe that was because no one had any commitment to me. I heard the beat of a helicopter’s rotors above the ship, and then Ben’s large and menacing frame filled the doorway. There could be no finesse in this. It had to be short and sharp. He mustn’t get near the TPU.
Head down, teeth clenched, I jumped out and rammed him against the stack of crates.
My head was buried in his gut, my neck taking the strain. He bellowed like a wounded animal and his two clenched fists pile-drove down each side of my spine. I took the pain as best I could; my kidneys felt like they were exploding.
I struggled to force up my head, trying to get my hands round the back of his so I could make contact with the fucking thing. It would be OK to damage his face. It had to be. His face was going to get the worst of it anyway.
I could smell his stale sweat and the nicotine on his breath. His greasy hair fell over me like a clump of seaweed. Then he simply brushed me away as if I was an annoying kid.
His entire focus was on the TPU.
I grabbed his arm as he moved away from me and used his momentum to swing him around. He turned, and I let go. He banged his head against a stanchion and went down on his knees. I grabbed hold of the three metres of det cord still connected to the TPU, flicked it like a skipping rope over his back, whipped out the rubber pad and dived for cover.
The det cord kicked off and the concussion wave hit me, short and sharp, as my face was sprayed with warm blood. The detonation rattled around the cargo hold.
I jumped back up, in case he was doing the same.
He lay on the deck. The det cord had crossed his chest and the left side of his head. The explosion had cut a deep groove in his flesh and muscle, as if someone had run a chain-saw all the way down his body. He was still alive, still kicking out to fight the pain, but not shouting. He still had a job to do. He dragged himself towards the TPU, smearing blood over the carpet of wheat grains.
I wiped his blood from my eyes. I knelt next to him. He tried to push forwards, but it was no good. I put my right hand over his mouth and nose and my left behind what was left of his neck and pushed them together. He fought it. His hands came up but he knew it wasn’t going to help him. His eyes burned with hatred and defiance.
After thirty seconds he started to struggle furiously, with all the frenzied strength that a man draws on when he knows he’s dying. But no matter what he did now, he wouldn’t be getting up.
His hands scrabbled at my face. I bobbed and weaved to avoid them, but maintained the pressure on his nose and mouth.
Gradually at first, his frenzy subsided. Soon there was no more than a spasmodic twitching in his legs. His hands stopped grasping. Moments later, he was unconscious.
I gave it another thirty seconds. His chest stopped moving. Another thirty and I released him. He slumped face down in the wheat grains, grease and dirt.
:-)
>>By Lynn (Sunday, 26 Oct 2008 15:35)
Andy guested on the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio this morning at 8 o'clock until about 8.45. Plugging the DVD release of Tour of Duty but actually very little plugging.
http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/djs_shows/
shows/breakfast/podcasts/index.html
I don't think the show will be available to listen to until tomorrow morning.
>>By Lisle45 (Friday, 31 Oct 2008 10:03)
Thanks Lisle!! Great to hear from you again :-))
And with such good news too !
>>By Lynn (Thursday, 6 Nov 2008 17:12)
Brute Force: Tour de Force! As fresh, interesting, and authentic as ever. One for the faithful too with lots of references to the earlier books and the return of Colonel Lynn. Plenty of gritty wit and funny asides as always but with more in depth geographical and historical content than usual; quite a lot to be learned here about the lost archeology of the middle east and the times of the Roman occupation of that region. Skillful intertwining of old enemies, Libya and the IRA. Satisfaction guaranteed.
>>By camban (Friday, 7 Nov 2008 11:52)
Sounds awesome Cam! Hope my book arrives soon too, can't wait.
So Colonel Lynn returns, ha! Should have thought 'colonel' when I adopted this Flork name.
But then.. I can act like one! Apart from the bald thing. And the male thing. Is he cute too though? ;-)
I've been behind with my posts but added a lot to Greymans yesterday, lots of interviews there so instead of repeating them all here.. be my guest over there!
:-)
>>By Lynn (Friday, 7 Nov 2008 13:37)
Brute Force really IS great Cam, I'm in the last pages and 'our' Jon already finished it. Since he's offlline at the moment I'll post his review.
Brute Force is the Dog’s Bollocks - Review by Jon
Having become a bit jaded after reading McNab’s entire output, I expected little from Brute Force. I reckoned it would be more of the same and less of the good stuff.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Brute Force is right up there with Remote Control and Firewall, a return to what I’ve considered McNab’s strong point–using “normal” characters (as opposed to SAS commandos) to bring us into the action from our point of view while also showing Nick Stone’s concern for the people around him.
The novel has everything that makes us love McNab — the humour, the fast pace, and the exotic locations painted so clearly the book could serve as a travel guide. It also provides something that I for one have been missing with his last few — realistic details of tactical and operational methods. If you’ve been wondering how to craft a nice shaped-charge to blow a hole in a boat’s hull, Brute Force is for you.
The only criticism I have is minor. At one point in the book, McNab points out that the truck he’s driving is an automatic, allowing him to ram through a checkpoint if necessary without taking his hands off the wheel. A mere three or four pages later, the same vehicle becomes a standard shift, and he’s working the clutch like a madman. It reminds me of Dark Winter, where Sundance or Trainers (can’t remember which one) wields a revolver with a suppressor attached. You would think Mr. “Attention to detail, check and re-check,” having spent his life around weapons, would realize that attaching a suppressor to a revolver wouldn’t accomplish much (the gasses escape through the cylinder), just as you’d think a motor enthusiast would mind the difference between a standard and an automatic transmission. But that’s where I think the editors come in.
I don’t think he has a “ghost writer” in the traditional sense, but I think these two examples alone show other hands at work. And really, Andy doesn’t need them.
His own voice comes through so clearly in Brute Force and his other greats, it makes me wish he will one day send his editors the way of the Yes Man.
Jon
>>By Lynn (Friday, 14 Nov 2008 19:52)
Interesting review....I tend to agree with it, but found Brute Force to be a little more Popeye. The title is only skimmed and if reading with a couple of beverages one might forget why he titled the book as he did.
I did enjoy and reading the book with the speed of a cock roach eating a left over crumb inside my couch. As always Andy satisfied my need to shoot things.
One question from above under the title of "minor criticisms". Lynn states early in her post that Jon is currently off line. I would have no idea what Jon is, but some how she gets a hold of a review of Brute Force. Which clearly he wrote. No one can imitate the clever style he uses. Not even a doubty Amsterdam leftest pretending to be a fan of a war mongered killer. So as Jon explains the minor attention to details all authors sometimes do when writing. Usually when the break and return to writing after a pause. I digress. So somehow with 500 miles between the two lovelies Lynn obtains a copy of a review to conveniently for a sheer enjoyment posts a review from a guy that supposedly is "Off line"
So as a minor criticism, I wonder if he air mailed the review and Lynn retyped, or did he travel to Holland for free pot, when he simply could have gone to downtown San Fran, and saved a few bucks to buy internet service or are we being sold a cheap look-a-like?
Please reveal....
>>By My Cheatin Heart (Tuesday, 18 Nov 2008 15:19)
whoops, that should have been 5000 miles....like 9000 K's for you Euro rejects...or so!
>>By My Cheatin Heart (Tuesday, 18 Nov 2008 15:20)
And how I got it is important... because...??
I rather you call me a liar straight. Fits fine with the other insults.
>>By Lynn (Tuesday, 18 Nov 2008 22:09)
That Cheatin Heart woman really hates the entity known as Jon don't you think? Could be the clue is in the name, just one more in a long succession of rejected lovers, a woman spurned and all that.
Interesting that observation about the gearbox that morphed. Having read very many of the most talented thriller authors, I can state that it is a recurring theme. For all of their enviable genius in creating plausible plots, and believable characters, when it comes to cars and fast driving sequences their ability degenerates into that of a prepubescent child writing a school essay, I mean, why don't they just ask somebody who understands these things? Or maybe, in this case, sack the editor.
>>By camban (Wednesday, 19 Nov 2008 15:28)
Pitching for a job Cam ? And with good reason, I am sure you will do a great job too. And for the "woman scorned " comment, makes me think you are a romantic at heart. A nice change after all the backstabbing in the latest few posts.
>>By Ninjawoman (Thursday, 20 Nov 2008 21:21)
Hi guys - Just to pitch in a few words about gear shifts: it looks like there's some confusion about Tiptronic transmissions (which the Audi Q7 has) which are common in Europe but maybe not in the US. Vehicles with Tiptronic transmission have both automatic AND manual functions - you just flick from one gate to the other, depending on road conditions or if you're going off-road. It's a Porsche invention, but licensed to Audi and others. Here's a bit from wiki on the topic (Tiptopic?): "A Tiptronic transmission can operate in the same manner as a conventional type of automatic transmission, but the second and sometimes third mode also allows the driver an additional method of manually overriding the automatic shift changes, by moving the shift lever into a second shift gate, equipped with two spring-loaded positions: "upshift" and "downshift". Once the lever is in this gate, the driver takes over most of the gear shifting decisions, which would ordinarily be performed by the transmission's computer, permitting, for example, the delaying of an upshift for increased acceleration, to increase the effect of the engine braking, to prevent shifts in curves, to shift down before passing, or to shift early in economic acceleration."
>>By fastball (Friday, 28 Nov 2008 23:11)
Seems that is out of the way ;-)
Thanks for clearing that up Fastball, good to hear from you again!
>>By Lynn (Saturday, 29 Nov 2008 15:14)
No it's not Lynn, whilst it is very magnanimous of Fastball to leap into defence of the text, it is clearly not the case described in the book; otherwise it would have been explained. A normal automatic can similarly be held in gear if required but the important issue, pertaining to the text, is that tiptronic lacks a manual clutch pedal and therefore cannot be used as described. Important to get these things right you know.
>>By camban (Monday, 1 Dec 2008 16:17)
Camban - Aha, I suddenly see what you're talking about. I thought it was confusion about paddle shifts and semi-automatic boxes, but when I reread the text I saw you're absolutely right. I emailed the publisher: they said they're already on to it and the confusion will be removed for the paperback. Apparently two sentences saying the vehicle was automatic had been struck out, but gremlin'd their way back in at the production stage.
>>By fastball (Monday, 1 Dec 2008 19:25)
Camban, I'm impressed.. Gnooks isn't just play, it leads to great discoveries ;-))
Ok, NOW it should be cleared up, I was just too soon to respond.
>>By Lynn (Monday, 1 Dec 2008 20:03)
And for something else....
Grey Man’s Land has got one copy of Andy McNab’s latest Nick Stone novel ‘Brute Force’ to give away!!
If you haven’t read it yet, but dying to… answer the following question: We asked Andy in a Q & A what project he would love to do, but which probably never will be developped. What did he answer?
E-mail your answer to lynn@greymansland.com and the book can be yours!
We pick a winner on 15 December, so it could be a Christmas present.
:-)
PS
Hate mail addressed to me will be published in UK's Attitude Magazine (figure it out), hate mail addressed to Jon will be printed and used as wall paper as he collects it.
>>By Lynn (Monday, 1 Dec 2008 23:56)
Lynn Said:
PS
Hate mail addressed to me will be published in UK's Attitude Magazine (figure it out), hate mail addressed to Jon will be printed and used as wall paper as he collects it.
I just S*H*I*T my pants! Tough girl
>>By My Cheatin Heart (Tuesday, 2 Dec 2008 17:01)
As Lynns computer is in repair, she's officially ' offline' so she send me a homing pigeon with the request to be on top of the Kilimanjaro on 3 December 0900 hours. From the Eifel Tower she sent smoke signals, asking me to log in under her name on Flork and write this message:
"goodie, guess who I was thinking about when I wrote that PS"
I have no idea what she' s talking about but I'm only too willing too oblige since she has a habit of threatening with World's Peace. Imagine that!
Regards, J
>>By Lynn (Wednesday, 3 Dec 2008 11:58)
It's been awfully quiet here but then there hasn't been much news to report after the hectic 2008 projects... Tour of Duty, Seven Troop, Brute Force etc.
There have also been the Sun's Millies where Andy was one of the judges, an article about this event, with photo of the judges (Andy in a suit!):
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ [ LOSE SPACE ] news/campaigns/our_boys/article2025753.ece
An interview with Andy in the Post "Soldier of Fortune" you can find here:
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/ [ LOSE SPACE ] 2008/11/23/story37628.asp
"Andy McNab signs a book deal with 3" - SAS soldier turned best-selling author Andy McNab is extending his reach further into the mobile market through a deal with phone operator 3.
You can read all about this deal here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009 [ LOSE SPACE ] /jan/15/andy-mcnab-signs-books-deal-with-3
And finally, Tour of Duty on DVD: promotion clips on Amazon can be found here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andy-McNabs- [ LOSE SPACE ] Tour-Duty-Mcnab/dp/B001E8V6DC
:-)
>>By Lynn (Sunday, 8 Feb 2009 19:12)
Lynn said:
It's been awfully quiet here but then there hasn't been much news to report after the hectic 2008 projects... Tour of Duty, Seven Troop, Brute Force etc.
There might be a reason for it? Dunno but I have my guesses!!
>>By My Cheatin Heart (Thursday, 12 Feb 2009 16:48)
The (work-) title of the new Nick Stone novel is "Exit Wound"
:-)
>>By Lynn (Saturday, 28 Feb 2009 15:18)
on http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/andy-mcnab/ it has 2 books as coming out this year Exit wound and drop zone book one and neither are in the Nick Stone series how strange.
>>By Psicosis (Sunday, 15 Mar 2009 21:15)
Exit Wound is the new Nick Stone, don't know why they haven't got it in the Stone list, perhaps since there is no synopsis yet?? Dropzone is another matter but we'll have to wait for more info on that :-)
>>By Lynn (Wednesday, 18 Mar 2009 12:47)
And there it is..
Andy McNab to Random Children's
27.03.09
Random House Children's Books has signed a two book deal for a young adult adventure series by Andy McNab. Random House bought UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada) and EU rights from Philippa Milnes-Smith, managing director of LAW agency.
The series, titled Dropzone will launch in Spring 2010 in Doubleday hardback and will draw on McNab's own experiences of working undercover in the SAS. The series will feature a teenage sky-diving team who undertake secret missions around the globe.
See full article here: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/81241-page.html
>>By Lynn (Friday, 27 Mar 2009 23:11)
The discussion board is currently closed.
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