Andy Mcnab

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Hello,

Took a bit but I finally got this thing to work! I only recently found Andy McNab's books but I read B20 and his first four novels in a little over a week. I had finals that week too or it probably wouldn't have taken me that long to read them all.

McNab really writes a fantastic story and I really like Nick! Haven't read Liberation Day yet, but it's next on my list. So far, I think I like Remote Control best but thats just because he's really interacting with Kelly. I really enjoy how Nick changes and grows. I like McNab's attention to detail and how he puts information into the story without distracting from the story.

Thanks for the interview links. It gives me something else to read for the next bit while I'm taking a break from trying to read all 63 pages of posts. :)

Dare

>>By Dare   (Thursday, 7 Aug 2003 05:45)


Welcome, Dare...

If you made it through finals and five AM books in one week, you'll be able to get through these 63 pgs in no time!

I hope you'll forgive me but I always seem to have questions. I take it that you started with B20, but am I assuming correctly that by "first four novels" you mean AM's fiction (RC, CF, F, and LL) and that you have yet to read Immediate Action and LD? Being as you're in the US like me (yea!), I'm curious how you happened to find/read AM in the first place -- library or purchase? I found B20 in my library but had to purchase the rest (not that I minded!).

Since you like AM, you might want to check out Dean Francis, a yet-to-be-published author we all like very much! You will find sample chapters of two of his books on his website -- www.dean-francis.uk.com. He also has a messageboard -- www.gnooks.com/discussion/dean+francis.html. I'll warn you, though, misery loves company! We're all quite impatient and miserable waiting for his books to be published because we're hanging to find out what happens!

>>By am-i-binned   (Thursday, 7 Aug 2003 07:53)


Hola everyone!

Just popping by to inspect the that all boots are polished and creases impeccable (yeah, army humour, I know).

I'm well established in civvie street, although I suspect our infamous SAS-buddies have probably found it more difficult.

Still true to the army-way of doing things, this is purely one-way communication. I've briefly stopped by work to "get rid of various loose ends" (had I been in the covert business, that remark might have generatated suspicions of an interesting story or two). Although one might never know.... ;)
Anyway, I won't be able to respond until I've gained Internet-access at college (which is 18 August -->).

So until then.... may the (Ghost) Force be with you, and go easy on the cam-cream.

Cheerio!

>>By ortlieb   (Thursday, 7 Aug 2003 13:39)


Hey Alice i have ordered it from my libray it should be here soon.

>>By christina   (Friday, 8 Aug 2003 15:22)


In fact just got a phone call it's here now pick it up tommorow.

>>By christina   (Friday, 8 Aug 2003 20:46)


Hi, All...

Just happened across a magazine ad for BBC series -- MI-5 -- being broadcast in US on A&E on Tuesday nights:

http://www.aetv.com/tv/shows/mi5/mi5_homepage.html

Apparently, I've missed the first three episodes, and it seems like they're building off of "24" from the looks of their website. Has anyone seen this program? I don't recall seeing or hearing anything about it, here or elsewhere, but maybe those brain cells have died...

The website also includes some interesting "spy academy" games. So far, I've blown myself up at least thirty or so times, the car bombers just laugh at me, I'm clueless at cracking code, and feeling very guilty about everyone in MI-5 being gassed cuz I can't close the stupid vents in time. My only redeeming skill seems to be I could id the perp with composite drawings! Yea! There's hope for me yet -- and something (albeit frustrating) to help while away the time waiting, waiting, waiting for November 6... :o)

>>By am-i-binned   (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 09:42)


Hey i watch that programme it's called Spooks over here. It's really good you should watch it.

>>By christina   (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 11:34)


Dawgonnit! If "Spooks" is "MI-5", I wonder if "Ultimate Force" has a different name, too. Maybe these programs are more available than I thought.

I'm being lazy (and I'm also pressed for time today) -- do you have web links/sites, Christina?

>>By am-i-binned   (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 13:30)


Hey just been gym going to have a shower now what kind of links do you mean? Ultimate force links???

>>By christina   (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 13:33)


Actually, Christina (or anyone else?), are there links to "Spooks" and/or "Ultimate Force" or any other SAS-related/reality show -- wasn't there one about being "tough enough" or something? :o)

Oooh, and if anyone thinks there's overt "AM/NS obsession" going on here, you should read some of the posting re: "24" and Keifer Sutherland! LOL! No comparison whatsoever!

Here's how one particular thread of 545+ posts begins -- it's a 12-step program!

http://forums.prospero.com/n/main.asp?webtag=
fox24&msg=5874.1
______

"Hello, my name is________ and I'm a ....KieferAddict

By request, this is an area for the people formerly known as the "Jack is Hot" crowd to be able to share and discuss their addiction to a man called Sutherland. Kiefer Sutherland.

This group is kind and gentle, and we do not use our real names, occupations, locations, or severity of addiction. We understand that you may:

-be addicted
-become a blithering idiot
-be constantly drooling
-know each movie by name
-know each shirt color/shirt change of each movie
-recite movie dialogue by heart
-be unable to look directly at him because no words come out
-have worn out any and all DVD's/tapes of him, including the new ones from 24
-may watch Donald Sutherland movies just because he is Kiefer's dad

We understand. We are not here to judge, but to help. Join us without fear of ridicule. Please be forewarned-there are no drugs available for this illness and there is no known cure (although your family/spouse may want one.)

Thank you for your kind and anonymous responses. :) "
______

So see, fellas, we've actually got it under control -- all things considered, it could be a lot worse.... LOL!!! ;oD

>>By am-i-binned   (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 17:11)


That is pretty scary stuff and i think i will be brave in saying i never actually knew he did any movies or his name in that case i had to visit the link to find out who you were talking about i can't even remember his screen name and i went through a phase of calling him john??

>>By christina   (Saturday, 9 Aug 2003 17:51)


Good grief! Two news reports, both very tragic, but in very different ways....

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/content_
objectid=13271397_method=full_siteid=50143_
headline=-THE-EX-SAS-MAN-FACING-EXECUTION
-name_page.html

THE EX-SAS MAN FACING EXECUTION


http://www.people.co.uk/homepage/news/page.
cfm?objectid=13273997&method=thepeople_
full&siteid=79490

VIOLENT SEX SWAP SAS NUT STALKS QUEEN

>>By am-i-binned   (Sunday, 10 Aug 2003 09:04)


Just my god dam luck i start reading the first article and we have a power cut and couldn't get back on the computer for another hour oh and i lost my essay i had to wirte aswell it already would have taken me all day but now i have to start again argh!!!

>>By christina   (Sunday, 10 Aug 2003 11:50)


Hello AIB!

Well it's not my speed-reading that gets in the way, its all the other RL stuff I have to do in a day. :) Of course I didn't get to sleep until 4AM last night. Talk about wasted opportunity!

I found AM through a friend from Canada who has a mutual interest in military and covert ops. He's been telling me about AM for over a year now. I bought B20 first, then got the novels. I have them in paperback and hardback. I haven't read IA or LD yet, though I did sit in a Barnes and Noble to read the last chapter or so of LD 'cause I couldn't wait to see how Nick was doing.

I'll check DF out. I'm always looking for new material. :) I have a couple of friends who are (hopefully) soon-to-be published authors. I'm one of their prrofreaders (mostly a cheerleader or eg-booer though).

>>By Dare   (Sunday, 10 Aug 2003 20:05)


You might not be able to tell from "prrofreaders" that I am also a fairly decent speller. ;)

>>By Dare   (Monday, 11 Aug 2003 04:50)


Not to worry, Dare, I just figured you were testing us... LOL!
[Whispered] What I'm not sure about is "RL" (real life?) and "eg-booer" (ego booster?)

Curious: Have you invited your Canadian friend to join us too? Unless lurking, I don't think we have anyone from the Great White North. And he's such a good friend -- excellent advice and persistent, too!

I'm grinning that you have both paper- and hardbacks -- hello, fellow collector! Only start to worry when you get into comparing your UK versions with your US ones (vbg! vbw!)....

Hmmm, come to think of it, would you please ask your friend to check his version (a Canadian publication, I assume) of Remote Control -- exactly what is happening when his first chapter begins?
(Stand by, F Troop -- the survey continues...)

>>By am-i-binned   (Monday, 11 Aug 2003 07:23)


No she has started again argh!!!! lol

Don't know whether i will be back had anothr power fucking cut!!!!

Has everybody met my best friend the dictionary? Dare you'll have to teach me how to spell cause i just can't!

oohh it was the last episode of 24 yesterday very interesting!!! did anybody else watch it??

>>By christina   (Monday, 11 Aug 2003 11:51)


I must be the only person on earth never to have watched 24 and now I feel like a freak.

AIB you must catch spooks/mi5 if you can it's very good, and tom quinn is lush (lush - does anyone actually say that anymore apart from me just now?).

Off to library tonight anyone got any good suggestions? Apart from AM been there done that, she might get pissed off with me if I take them out again. Tried Holding the Zero by Gerald Seymour wasn't that impressed. Roll on November.... as long as the sunshine stays!

>>By Bethan   (Tuesday, 12 Aug 2003 14:54)


Bethan i agree with you about tom i taped yesterdays last in series argh what shall we do. Im don't say lush and i don't think i have ever said it before. If you haven't read then you should pick up The lions Game Nelson Demille or Up Country Nelson Demille.

Started Without remorse!! so far so good

>>By christina   (Tuesday, 12 Aug 2003 17:51)


This has been a terrible three weeks, totally McNabless and no other decent books, and then this terrible heat.
It's too hot to even go swimming, as soon as you go outside you get fried.
We have no airco yet (this is totally unDutch weather).

Reading McNab's books ruined me for other thrillers(or is it ruined other thrillers for me) :(
None of the books you recommended on this board were available here(not a big town).
I ordered some from the library, hope it works out.

If it doesn't, I'll have to go to Amsterdam.
If I get lucky the trains will ride (there's problems because the heat makes the rails buckle or something).
Then there's Ebay, I bought B20 the book, with the story told on CD by Andy McNab, but I have trouble using PayPal.

I got bored with Jarhead after a while, sorry for recommending it AIB.
It started of very innovative and deep, but after a while he started repeating himself.

I need a book or I'll go crazy!

>>By Lethe   (Tuesday, 12 Aug 2003 20:57)


Hello,

AIB suggested I cross-post this from allreaders, so here it is. :)

>>>> I think AM's work is wonderful from the beginning and Nick's journey to grow and become something more than he was at the beginning, is what makes AM's writing so good. I don't think the one-liners in CF are a sign of immaturity in AM's writing or in Nick. More like a coping mechanism. Whether for Nick or for Andy is hard to say and probably beside the point. The humor is understandable. Nick has to survive. It's what he does. But he doesn't just have to survive physically, he has to survive mentally and emotionally, as well. People who come from the background described in the books build up their defenses and coping mechanisms so they can function in the world. Most people who do use these mechanisms that early on, never grow past them or can't see them for what they and so maintain them because it's what they know and what worked for them. Even if those mechanisms no longer work. Nick is getting past them and learning that he does have some value above and beyond what his bosses choose to assign to him, beyond the mission.

I don't know anything about AM beside what I read in B20. Whether his books are cathartic or not, he is a fine writer who tells a great story and I hope he doesn't stop writing anytime soon. :) They do ME a world of good.

PS. I especially hope he doesn't stop writing about Nick anytime soon. <<<<


I really like Nick. I wanted to smack Josh for giving him such a hard time in LL. I can understand why Josh is upset with him but .... I still want to smack him for treating Nick badly. And Nick is not a dwarf! :P

>>By Dare   (Tuesday, 12 Aug 2003 23:38)


Thanks, Dare, for sharing your comments on both boards. I agree with you about humour being a coping skill, and AM's use of that skill was particularly obvious to me when I first read B20. We've done lists of one-liners from almost all of AM's books but I don't think we've ever gone through B20. Maybe part of why we haven't is because, considering the circumstances, so much of B20's humour is dark and not as readily appreciated taken out of context. That's not to say B20 doesn't have its share of funny, non-dark anecdotes -- the "tape-tossing war" and "counting the worms for my Uncle George" are two of my absolute favourites. And a while ago on pg 50 Bethan (aka Beth – vbw!) mentioned the "pooh" predicament. Dinger's "Oh, fucking cheers. This is my house, this -- would you do this in your own place?" and AM's "three compensations" always get me laughing.

And as to the Josh issue -- Yes! I would definitely like to smack him upside his head for his attitude toward Nick. I could see him being upset maybe, but I really cannot understand why he is so angry with Nick, why he does not see Nick as also being a victim of Sarah! After all, Nick was duped and shot just the same as Josh was, albeit his scar is not as obvious. The only thing that might justify Josh’s continued anger might be if he learned of Nick and Sarah's contingency plan for his family at the house that morning -- but why would Nick ever even reveal that part of their plan, particularly to Josh? Hmmm -- maybe that’s another piece of AM’s writing that got lost in the editing.... :o)

Now, speaking of editing....
Aaarrrggghhh! I have now seen Episodes 3 and 4 of "MI-5" -- but I cannot say I have really seen "Spooks" -- Why? Because stupid A&E has to run commercials so they've edited 60 minutes down to 44 minutes -- you can miss a lot in 5 minutes, let alone 16! What I have seen, however, I like very much. Guess I'll just have to hope that PBS picks up the series. (Public Broadcasting System does not air commercials, altho their fund-raising season is brutal.)

Lethe, Christina's recommends of Up Country and The Lion's Game are both ones I enjoyed, and also Without Remorse. Another Tom Clancy I really liked was The Cardinal in the Kremlin – but I feel bad suggesting any of these if it’s difficult for you to get these books from your library. I’d much rather read first then decide to buy. Of course, there's always the fall-back position -- re-read andything AM... LOL!

>>By am-i-binned   (Wednesday, 13 Aug 2003 07:33)


Thanks for the tip, Aib, maybe I will.
Reread McNab that is.

I read those reports you mentioned, I was shocked.
Ofcourse one can't exactly know how Colin Berry was involved, but isn't it outrageous that he gets no help?
He looks like he's in a lot of pain, and no matter what happened, no human being should be treated like that ofcourse.
I thought we westerners valued life(officially) and would not desert one of our own(officially)
Well, ofcourse I should know better after reading McNab's books and lots of articles about the subject.
So maybe we don't value life enough, and maybe we do desert our own.
So maybe that makes us no better than the Iraki's, and the ones who imprison Colin Berry.

About the other article, about the man stalking the queen, does anyone know who they're talking about?
Maybe I should not be curious, but I am.
A crossdressing ex-SAS man, ex-SPS man, linguist, served alongside Andy McNab, was on the Special Projects Team, in the US Delta Force, served in Brunei, Africa and South America.
He has his own website.
Does it ring a bell?

Dare, thanks for your comment, I totally agree.
I think it's incredibly brave if someone can grow beyond his trauma induced confines.
I hope you know what I mean, I have trouble expressing myself(not only in English, also in my own language) when it comes to this subject.
But fortunately you already said it very well and clear.

>>By Lethe   (Wednesday, 13 Aug 2003 14:38)


Hi, Lethe...

Re: Colin Berry
How horrible! Absolutely betrayal and abandonment -- appallingly betrayed by the US and abandoned by the UK! Also shades of how AM always includes the risk of Nick getting stitched up (as in LL).

Re: Ex-SAS Stalker
I'm almost afraid to try to put the clues together -- too tragic to consider. I confess, however, that I do wonder. It would require a bit of homework but might be doable...

>>By am-i-binned   (Wednesday, 13 Aug 2003 16:38)


I don't particually want to know who it was i mean they would have put his name in the article if they wanted us to know if you do find out don't place it on the board please. thanx

>>By christina   (Wednesday, 13 Aug 2003 17:01)


Yes, Christina, you are definitely right about not posting who it might be -- it would still be speculation! -- in this public forum. Such speculation or any more extensive discussions (if they're going to occur) should absolutely remain "offboard" -- either in flork or emails. As for me, I'm undecided about researching further. I don't really think I want to know (doesn't stop curiosity tho)... ah, so sad sometimes, the weakness of human nature...

>>By am-i-binned   (Wednesday, 13 Aug 2003 17:30)


You're right, Christina.
I shouldn't have asked "onboard".
I still want to know though.
I don't think curiosity is a weakness, AIB.
I heard that curiosity is an advantage to the human race's development(must have been on Discovery or something) ;)

They said on CNN that the heatwave in Europe would soon be over.
I went outside and it started to rain!
I'm impressed.
You do really hear everything on CNN first :D

>>By Lethe   (Wednesday, 13 Aug 2003 23:42)


Lethe, just to be sure we're on the same wavelength -- I fully understood you asking onboard. After all, I posted the article, in part because I was curious, too. But the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became with the idea of publicly speculating about who it might be. I admire these men far too much and wouldn't want to see that kind of conjecture posted here. As to curiosity, I think it can be both -- a strength when seeking knowledge for beneficial or useful pursuits (i.e., Discovery Channel), but a definite weakness when only nosey, gossipy or prurient.

Oooh, speaking of CNN and a change in the weather -- I thought I caught the tag end of a news report tonight about someone in the Netherlands who is able to influence weather patterns merely by going outdoors... ;o)


Now, totally shifting gears -- and this has nothing whatsoever to do with AM, NS, SAS, etc., except that we all live under the same sky, a friend sent this tonight and I want to pass this along:

>Talk about a once in a lifetime opportunity!
>
>Never again in your (or my) lifetime will the Red
>Planet be so spectacular! This month and next, Earth
>is catching up with Mars, an encounter that will
>culminate in the closest approach between the two
>planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may
>come this close is in 2287. Due to the way
>Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit,
>astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come
>this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may
>be as long as 60,000 years. The encounter will
>culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within
>34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the moon) the
>brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a
>magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds
>wide. At a modest 75-power magnification, Mars will
>look as large as the full moon to the naked eye!
>
>Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August,
>Mars will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its
>azimuth at about 3 a.m. But by the end of August when
>the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at
>nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at
>12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient when it comes to
>seeing something that no human has seen in recorded
>history!
>
>So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to
>see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter
>throughout the month. Share this! No one alive today
>will ever see this again!

Disclaimer: I'm assuming the times are US Daylight Savings and that the positions will be the same for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, but please bear in mind that I am also astronomically-handicapped... :o)

>>By am-i-binned   (Thursday, 14 Aug 2003 09:30)


Question for All:

Has anyone here read any of the SAS Soldier A, B, C, etc. books? Would you recommend them?

>>By am-i-binned   (Thursday, 14 Aug 2003 16:07)


Never heard of them what are they?

>>By christina   (Thursday, 14 Aug 2003 17:39)


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