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A Bad Day at Fort Bragg
Bad Day at Fort Bragg is a short story Matthew Reilly wrote in 2001 for the Bulletin. When a by-invitation guided tour of the Fort turns into an ambush executed by disgruntled Delta Force soldiers, Mitchell Raleigh, thriller writer, must use his researched military knowledge to help save his life.
5 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Reilly
68 books6,286 followersBorn in Sydney in 1974, Matthew Reilly was not always a big fan of reading. It was only after he read To Kill A Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies in Year 10 that he realised reading could transport you to another world. Following this revelation, Matthew soon began creating stories of his own and set about writing his first novel, Contest, at the age of 19 while still at university studying law.
Following rejections from all the major publishers, Matthew self-published Contest in 1996, printing 1000 copies. He produced a big-budget-looking novel which he sold into bookshops throughout Sydney, one shop at a time.
In January 1997, a Commissioning Editor for Pan Macmillan Australia walked into Angus & Robertson's Pitt Street Mall store and bought a copy of Contest. The editor tracked Matthew down through his contact details in the front of the book. Interestingly, those original self-published editions of Contest have now become much sought after collectors' items. One recently sold on eBay for $1200!
Matthew Reilly is now the internationally bestselling author of the Scarecrow novels: Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and the novella Hell Island; the Jack West novels: Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, The Five Greatest Warriors, The Four Legendary Kingdoms, and The Three Secret Cities; and the standalone novels Contest, Temple, Hover Car Racer, The Tournament, Troll Mountain, The Great Zoo of China and The Secret Runners of New York.
His books are published in over 20 languages with worldwide sales of over 7 million copies.
Since Seven Ancient Wonders in 2005, Matthew's novels have been the biggest selling new fiction title released in Australia for that year.
Matthew has also written several short stories, including Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl, a special free prequel to The Tournament which is available online. Other short stories include Time Tours, The Mine and the hyper-adrenalised romp, Altitude Rush.
He owns and drives a DeLorean DMC-12, the car made famous in the Back to the Future movies. He also has a life-sized Han Solo in carbonite hanging on the wall of his office! When not writing or penning a film script, Matthew can be found on the golf course.
Matthew Reilly is currently living in Los Angeles.
(source: Amazon)
Following rejections from all the major publishers, Matthew self-published Contest in 1996, printing 1000 copies. He produced a big-budget-looking novel which he sold into bookshops throughout Sydney, one shop at a time.
In January 1997, a Commissioning Editor for Pan Macmillan Australia walked into Angus & Robertson's Pitt Street Mall store and bought a copy of Contest. The editor tracked Matthew down through his contact details in the front of the book. Interestingly, those original self-published editions of Contest have now become much sought after collectors' items. One recently sold on eBay for $1200!
Matthew Reilly is now the internationally bestselling author of the Scarecrow novels: Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and the novella Hell Island; the Jack West novels: Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, The Five Greatest Warriors, The Four Legendary Kingdoms, and The Three Secret Cities; and the standalone novels Contest, Temple, Hover Car Racer, The Tournament, Troll Mountain, The Great Zoo of China and The Secret Runners of New York.
His books are published in over 20 languages with worldwide sales of over 7 million copies.
Since Seven Ancient Wonders in 2005, Matthew's novels have been the biggest selling new fiction title released in Australia for that year.
Matthew has also written several short stories, including Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl, a special free prequel to The Tournament which is available online. Other short stories include Time Tours, The Mine and the hyper-adrenalised romp, Altitude Rush.
He owns and drives a DeLorean DMC-12, the car made famous in the Back to the Future movies. He also has a life-sized Han Solo in carbonite hanging on the wall of his office! When not writing or penning a film script, Matthew can be found on the golf course.
Matthew Reilly is currently living in Los Angeles.
(source: Amazon)
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 5, 2022
An Australian writer visits the American Fort Bragg, while on a book tour to promote his latest thriller.
This is all about a couple of young military guys looking at someone who earns his money by writing about people like them, without having a clue what being a soldier is really like. They want to teach the writer a little lesson about the reality of being a soldier, by hunting him down with real deadly weapons and live ammunition. This is a lesson the writer will not soon forget.
This is just a fun, pulpy short story. It’s got a ton of action and excitement.
This is all about a couple of young military guys looking at someone who earns his money by writing about people like them, without having a clue what being a soldier is really like. They want to teach the writer a little lesson about the reality of being a soldier, by hunting him down with real deadly weapons and live ammunition. This is a lesson the writer will not soon forget.
This is just a fun, pulpy short story. It’s got a ton of action and excitement.
August 10, 2020
More gratuitous MarySue-ing, and - considering the inciting action for the 'story' is an objection to a poor portrayal of the military - an exceedingly offensive portrayal of the military.
November 8, 2018
Link to the story: http://matthewreilly.com/wp-content/u...
This was a bit of fun.
I particularly like how quickly the story starts and it's clear after a just a few sentences what's going on.
I'm only giving it 3 stars because things get a bit silly. It started out with a light but semi-serious tone but then the descriptions seem to get a bit lazy and it feels a little like he was phoning it in. Only a bit though.
Nice twist and enjoyable overall.
This was a bit of fun.
I particularly like how quickly the story starts and it's clear after a just a few sentences what's going on.
I'm only giving it 3 stars because things get a bit silly. It started out with a light but semi-serious tone but then the descriptions seem to get a bit lazy and it feels a little like he was phoning it in. Only a bit though.
Nice twist and enjoyable overall.
August 31, 2017
Matthew Reilly yet again surprises me. His short story 'A Bad Day at Fort Bragg' is just another well written fast paced novel that has been shorted down into a short story without losing any substance! How does he do it? (My favorite short stories are 'Altitude Rush' and 'The Mine')
December 16, 2021
An incredibly short and brilliant little story about an action writer in a shoot out with some military men at Fort Bragg. Incredibly short, only five pages long, but still a really good story filled with all of Reilly’s usual excellent traits that make his books so amazing and popular.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2023
Very short story from Mathew’s site. A writer is invited to visit a military training only to find out he is the target.
April 23, 2022
What an amusing story. I guess you could call it a writer's worst review. I am amazed how much story Reilly can fit into such a short book. It has the action you expect from him but in a small package. Well worth the read.
March 12, 2017
I normally feel ripped off by short stories because they are over so quickly but this one was great. Mitch Raleigh - wonder who the inspiration for that writer is!?! It was a great short read with just the right amount of twist.
December 3, 2023
*3.5 stars*
Mitch Raleigh is a modestly successful Australian author who specialises in geopolitical thrillers. He’s currently doing a promotional book tour of the US and is about to enter the giant military complex that is Fort Bragg.
His most successful book to date was Detachment-5 in which a trio of members of the US Delta Detachment had heroically fought against a rogue band of US Army Rangers.
The book was the reason for his being invited to visit Fort Bragg to see the Delta boys in action. Raleigh was sworn to secrecy about this visit, and not even his tour manager was privy to this diversion from the itinerary of his tour.
However, it seems like some of the military personnel aren’t entirely happy with Raleigh’s book, and he’s about to pay the penalty for it!
Short story but plenty of action!
Downloaded from the author’s website for free http://matthewreilly.com/wp-content/u...
Mitch Raleigh is a modestly successful Australian author who specialises in geopolitical thrillers. He’s currently doing a promotional book tour of the US and is about to enter the giant military complex that is Fort Bragg.
His most successful book to date was Detachment-5 in which a trio of members of the US Delta Detachment had heroically fought against a rogue band of US Army Rangers.
The book was the reason for his being invited to visit Fort Bragg to see the Delta boys in action. Raleigh was sworn to secrecy about this visit, and not even his tour manager was privy to this diversion from the itinerary of his tour.
However, it seems like some of the military personnel aren’t entirely happy with Raleigh’s book, and he’s about to pay the penalty for it!
Short story but plenty of action!
Downloaded from the author’s website for free http://matthewreilly.com/wp-content/u...
September 26, 2011
Another short ego stroke from Matthew Reilly as his alter-ego (who he compares to Tom Clancy) has another action filled adventure this time courtesy of the US military.
February 24, 2012
This is another really great short story about Mitch Raleigh - thriller writer - who seems to get himself into some pretty crazy "real life" predicaments.
May 10, 2012
This story, being the shortest of Matthew Reilly's stories yet, was also the funniest. I can only imagine where his inspiration came from. *grin*
June 6, 2012
Good short story.
August 9, 2012
A bit of a waste of time, this short from Matthew Reilly. Action sequences aside, there wasn't anything in this story to get my attention.
October 19, 2023
3.5 Stars, not a bad read, but a bit short, another couple of pages would have made it read better...
Overall, not as good as his other short stories...
Overall, not as good as his other short stories...
February 8, 2020
It is a good short story in that it delivered a classic Reilly paced story in 15 minutes. A bit predictable and won’t change your world but glad I spent the time reading it
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews