Strike of the Shark

Mission Survival #6

by Bear Grylls

When Beck Granger is ship-wrecked in the open seas, he needs all of his survival skills to save a small group of passengers.

But the sinking was no accident. In order to stay alive, he’ll have to work out who wants him dead, and why.

That is, if the sharks don’t get him first . . .

An explosive adventure from real-life survival expert Bear Grylls

Genres: Adventure, Survival, Action

320 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2013

About the author

Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. His journey to this acclaim started in the UK on the Isle of Wight, where his late father taught him to climb and sail. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces, serving with 21 SAS. It was here that he perfected many of the skills that his fans all over the world enjoy watching him pit against mother-nature. Despite a free-fall parachuting accident in Africa, where he broke his back in three places, and after enduring months in military rehabilitation, Bear went on to become one of the youngest ever climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Bear went on to star in Discovery Channel's Emmy nominated Man Vs Wild and Born Survivor TV series, which has become one of the most watched shows on the planet. Off screen, Bear has lead record-breaking expeditions, from Antarctica to the Arctic, which in turn have raised over £2.5million for children around the world. In recognition of his expertise and service, Bear was appointed as the youngest ever Chief Scout to 28 million Scouts worldwide, awarded an honorary commission as a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy, and has authored 10 books, including To My Sons.

Reviews

[͙͘͡★ emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was like reading a math textbook.

[Jacob Shute · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do really like reading about bear Grylls but these series of books I don’t like as much. I didn’t really get a satisfying ending on this book.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a boy called Beck Granger who gets shipwrecked with a small group of passengers. But Beck is no ordinary boy. He is the world's youngest survival expert. He has to keep a small group of passengers safe. But someone wants him dead, that is, if the sharks don't get him first. My favourite part is where he has to escape from a secretive oil rig that's about to explode, owned by LUMOS, the energy company whose plans he keeps messing up. They always invest in ideas that ruin the environment. When Beck is taken to the oil rig, called Island Alpha, he disrupts the computer systems to open the security doors. My favourite character is Beck Granger because he has good plans and knows a lot about survival in the wild. I learned that sharks can smell a drop of blood from a olympic swimming pool length away.

[Book Jester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still on my mission to divert my 7 year-old son away from David Baddiel books because although the boy is a fan, it is safe to say that I really am not. And since my son and I love to watch Bear Grylls 'You vs Wild' on Netflix so I thought I'd see how we got on with one of his books.
It might've been better if we had started on book one of the series (instead of book 6) but it was still an enjoyable enough read for both of us. My son might be a bit too young for the intended audience but he still managed to follow the plot (survival skills are more our thing than the social media mumbo-jumbo of most of Baddiel's books).

I might've given this book a 4 star review because of my son's enjoyment of it but there were a few bits which I didn't like - specifically a bit of a weird anti-woman tone in parts. On p.199 there was a paragraph which made me gasp out loud when I read it. The main character (a teenage boy called Beck) is thinking about the only female character (Abby) the book goes: 'He had to remind himself that she might be a completely different creature to him, with a different world view and different values - but she wasn't stupid. Far from it.' But I guess we should be grateful that Bear Grylls is teaching young boys that women aren't stupid. Thanks Bear.

[Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strike of the shark is an action packed adventurous book about trying to survive in the ocean with sharks trying to eat them. Once Beck Granger is shipwrecked he must try and survive in the open ocean and save a group of passengers. Beck soon finds out that his boat sank for a reason. Someone wants him dead. He now has to work out who wants him dead and why, but without getting eaten by sharks…

[Rozachcz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly, I am not a target audience for this one. Being in my mid twenties, reading YA is technically not "for me" anymore. Despite that, I had a pretty decent time with the book. The writing is not very sophisticated, the plot rather straight forward, but I had fun nontheless. I'd recomand this book as some mindless fun.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read in this series about a young boy, Beck Granger, this time set in the Bermuda Triangle. This one follows Beck as he gets shipwrecked on a desert island with the ships captain and a mother and son. However, all is not as it seems with certain people in the group, and Beck soon finds himself in serious danger yet again.

[𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐢 ⋆🕷️° · Rating 1 out of 5]

🦢 | | My god , i believe your a liar if you dare to say “Oh yeah i loved this book” . . . I would rather read the dictionary than this piece of fcking sh!t , The ONLY reason i finished this is because we are having a English project abt it THATS IT. I wouldn’t recommend this book AT ALL. | | 🦢

[Devan Botha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really good book

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

So breath taking with much drama. And ideal rip for the wild.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good info that kids could use. Tons of actions and short chapters. Ok plot and characterisation.

[Highmonkeys Wetdoodle]

This summary would make a great copy and paste for a project..

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read to my boys

My boys(7 &9) loved these books- loads of adventure and with survival tips thrown in. A real treat to read!

[Mete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Çok güzel maceralı bir kitap.

[Jillian Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite within the whole series (I used to really be into sharks)

[Luther.r · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite character and why.

My favourite character in this novel is Beck Granger who is also the main character in this novel.
He is a really normal boy but he has this something about him that makes him special and stand out from everyone else - he does amazing things. He is also very relatable and because of that you are not reading it thinking 'why did he do that, that's stupid' or 'don't do that' because most of the time he is doing the same exact thing you would have done if you were in that situation. This makes this book a lot more suspenseful and fun to read.

What did this text make you fell about and why?

This text made me think about how we all live with this false sense of security - it's like we are in a bubble. But bubbles can be popped so, really, things can change at any moment, at any time or at any place. Also, how not everything is how it seems and that we are lucky in how we live our lives. A lot of people are a lot less fortunate than we are.

[Steven Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my 9 year old, her eagerly picking it up from the library as she has an almost morbid fascination with sharks.

The book itself is reasonably well written, if a little long winded. The story itself is decent and not too dumbed down but still a relatively simple read; enough to keep kids interested.

Unfortunately my daughter's shark fascination wasn't satisfied as the shark in question only makes an appearance for five pages between 205 and 210, never to be seen again.

I thought it was a little disappointing particularly for that but I dare say she was interested enough to want to pick up more of the series.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its pretty good..
This book has a good storyline with Beck Granger taking the leadership role of the adventure just before the ship begins to sink. Although I didn't come across any gore filled scenes, the information being presented by way of adventure was very educational. Will be definitely reading the remaining books by Bear Grylls within the year..

[Letitia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great YA offering from Bear Grylls in the Mission Survival series. This is probably my favourite one to date.

[Rodillagrande · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as much shark as I'd hoped for!

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was very slow story but very good book but also scary

[Rachael Covington]

Om gosh!!!!!

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book recommend it

[Zeb Moaveni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it so much