What do you think?
Rate this book
Nick Stone #16
For Valour
Ex-SAS, ex-Black Ops, Nick Stone is back in action in his most heart-stopping adventure yet.
When a young trooper is shot in the head at the Regiment's renowned Killing House, Nick Stone is perfectly qualified to investigate the mysterious circumstances more deeply. He has just returned from Moscow -- still trying to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend and baby son are safer there without him -- so combines an unrivalled understanding of the Special Forces landscape with a detachment that should allow him to remain in cover.
But less than forty-eight hours later, a second death catapults him back into the firing line -- into the telescopic sights of an unknown assassin bent on protecting a secret that could strike at the heart of the establishment that Stone has, in his maverick fashion, spent most of his life fighting to protect.
And now the clock is ticking, Stone hurtles from the solitude of a remote Welsh confessional to Glencoe -- whose shadows still whisper of murder and betrayal -- and on to Southern Spain, in an increasingly desperate quest to uncover the truth about a chain of events that began in the darkness of an Afghan hillside, and left a young man haunted by the never-ending screams of a friend the Taliban skinned alive.
Nick Stone's most heart-stopping adventure yet will force the reader to recognise the thinness of the line that separates sacrifice from suicide, to share the nightmares that walk hand in hand with heroism -- and to count the real cost of actions taken in the name of loyalty.
When a young trooper is shot in the head at the Regiment's renowned Killing House, Nick Stone is perfectly qualified to investigate the mysterious circumstances more deeply. He has just returned from Moscow -- still trying to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend and baby son are safer there without him -- so combines an unrivalled understanding of the Special Forces landscape with a detachment that should allow him to remain in cover.
But less than forty-eight hours later, a second death catapults him back into the firing line -- into the telescopic sights of an unknown assassin bent on protecting a secret that could strike at the heart of the establishment that Stone has, in his maverick fashion, spent most of his life fighting to protect.
And now the clock is ticking, Stone hurtles from the solitude of a remote Welsh confessional to Glencoe -- whose shadows still whisper of murder and betrayal -- and on to Southern Spain, in an increasingly desperate quest to uncover the truth about a chain of events that began in the darkness of an Afghan hillside, and left a young man haunted by the never-ending screams of a friend the Taliban skinned alive.
Nick Stone's most heart-stopping adventure yet will force the reader to recognise the thinness of the line that separates sacrifice from suicide, to share the nightmares that walk hand in hand with heroism -- and to count the real cost of actions taken in the name of loyalty.
448 pages, Paperback
First published October 17, 2014
173 people are currently reading
679 people want to read
About the author
Andy McNab
205 books1,170 followersAndy McNab joined the infantry in 1976 as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was badged as a member of 22 SAS Regiment. He served in B Squadron 22 SAS for ten years and worked on both covert and overt special operations worldwide, including anti-terrorist and anti-drug operations in the Middle and Far East, South and Central America and Northern Ireland.
Trained as a specialist in counter terrorism, prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons and tactics, covert surveillance and information gathering in hostile environments, and VIP protection, McNab worked on cooperative operations with police forces, prison services, anti-drug forces and western backed guerrilla movements as well as on conventional special operations. In Northern Ireland he spent two years working as an undercover operator with 14th Intelligence Group, going on to become an instructor.
McNab also worked as an instructor on the SAS selection and training team and instructed foreign special forces in counter terrorism, hostage rescue and survival training.
Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK. To date it has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. The BBC's film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on primetime BBC 1 television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000.
Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of the bestseller lists following the lifting on an ex-parte injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence in September 1995. To date, Immediate Action has now sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK.
McNab is the author of seven fast action thrillers, highly acclaimed for their authenticity and all Sunday Times bestsellers. Published in 1997, Remote Control was hailed as the most authentic thriller ever written and has sold over half a million copies in the UK. McNab's subsequent thrillers, Crisis Four, Firewall, Last Light , Liberation Day , Dark Winter , Deep Black and Aggressor have all gone on to sell equally well. The central character in all the books is Nick Stone, a tough ex-SAS operative working as a 'K' on deniable operations for British Intelligence.
McNab's fiction draws extensively on his experiences and knowledge of Special Forces soldiering. He has been officially registered by Neilsen Bookscan as the bestselling British thriller writer of the last year.
Trained as a specialist in counter terrorism, prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons and tactics, covert surveillance and information gathering in hostile environments, and VIP protection, McNab worked on cooperative operations with police forces, prison services, anti-drug forces and western backed guerrilla movements as well as on conventional special operations. In Northern Ireland he spent two years working as an undercover operator with 14th Intelligence Group, going on to become an instructor.
McNab also worked as an instructor on the SAS selection and training team and instructed foreign special forces in counter terrorism, hostage rescue and survival training.
Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK. To date it has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. The BBC's film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on primetime BBC 1 television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000.
Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of the bestseller lists following the lifting on an ex-parte injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence in September 1995. To date, Immediate Action has now sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK.
McNab is the author of seven fast action thrillers, highly acclaimed for their authenticity and all Sunday Times bestsellers. Published in 1997, Remote Control was hailed as the most authentic thriller ever written and has sold over half a million copies in the UK. McNab's subsequent thrillers, Crisis Four, Firewall, Last Light , Liberation Day , Dark Winter , Deep Black and Aggressor have all gone on to sell equally well. The central character in all the books is Nick Stone, a tough ex-SAS operative working as a 'K' on deniable operations for British Intelligence.
McNab's fiction draws extensively on his experiences and knowledge of Special Forces soldiering. He has been officially registered by Neilsen Bookscan as the bestselling British thriller writer of the last year.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
September 21, 2017
Standard Andy McNab, which to me is good. Don't read this unless you like McNab.
Plot was a bit weak and the locations weren't as exotic as usual. Felt a bit like a filler book.
Saying that, McNab has got a really nice conversational style of writing. It always reminds me not to get too formal in my own work.
Plot was a bit weak and the locations weren't as exotic as usual. Felt a bit like a filler book.
Saying that, McNab has got a really nice conversational style of writing. It always reminds me not to get too formal in my own work.
June 3, 2015
I only read Mcnab on the side as I'm not big into Military based stories. This is the first I've read in a while, and I was a little disappointed.
I actually really liked the main character, Nick Stone, and most of the characters throughout. I did find, however, the there were names being thrown in haphazardly. I often found myself wondering who certain people were, who he was talking to, or about.
Unfortunately, the story suffered in the same way as the characters. Haphazard, and in parts, unnecessary - it was a trail-blazing adventure set between the wonderfully wintery UK, the Meditaranean, Africa etc. It felt like a lot of scenes were placed purely to add pages of irrelevant, and at times, confusing story.
I did enjoy the action throughout. I find a lot of authors tend to be hasty when it comes to adding the right amount of intensity to scenes, but McNab captures it brilliantly. The moments are well thought out; tense, and well paced enough to keep interest without over-doing it.
Quite disappointing for an Andy McNab, but an overall enjoyable read for fans of the Nick Stone series.
I actually really liked the main character, Nick Stone, and most of the characters throughout. I did find, however, the there were names being thrown in haphazardly. I often found myself wondering who certain people were, who he was talking to, or about.
Unfortunately, the story suffered in the same way as the characters. Haphazard, and in parts, unnecessary - it was a trail-blazing adventure set between the wonderfully wintery UK, the Meditaranean, Africa etc. It felt like a lot of scenes were placed purely to add pages of irrelevant, and at times, confusing story.
I did enjoy the action throughout. I find a lot of authors tend to be hasty when it comes to adding the right amount of intensity to scenes, but McNab captures it brilliantly. The moments are well thought out; tense, and well paced enough to keep interest without over-doing it.
Quite disappointing for an Andy McNab, but an overall enjoyable read for fans of the Nick Stone series.
March 18, 2015
Andy McNab’s latest Nick Stone thriller has an interesting premise and any link back to the SAS always has potential.
Here, an SAS soldier is killed during training and it looks like there may be a cover up of something bigger. Stone has a connection and starts his own investigation, uncovering links to the past.
I found this readable, but one of the weaker Stone novels. Lots of traveling to different countries at the drop of a hat, some pretty poor tradecraft from Stone and a final ‘reveal’ that is very underwhelming. The frustration is that there was probably a good story in here, it just feels that the author didn’t spend enough time polishing it and letting the plot drive the story.
Here, an SAS soldier is killed during training and it looks like there may be a cover up of something bigger. Stone has a connection and starts his own investigation, uncovering links to the past.
I found this readable, but one of the weaker Stone novels. Lots of traveling to different countries at the drop of a hat, some pretty poor tradecraft from Stone and a final ‘reveal’ that is very underwhelming. The frustration is that there was probably a good story in here, it just feels that the author didn’t spend enough time polishing it and letting the plot drive the story.
May 31, 2020
Trying out this genre. It's fast-paced in the sense that most chapters are a page long, the action is very abrupt and kinda hard to follow because of the lack of context.
A thing I found interesting is how much of the book is Nick flying to a series of European holiday destinations to have a brief meeting with someone (usually ending with them getting murdered) - it makes me wonder if this is how this genre signals sophistication, that Nick is cool and aspirational because he is comfortable with frequent air travel and familiar with other cultures in a "mini-break tourist" kind of way, but it left me with strong "this meeting could have been an email" vibes. It did make me wonder if jet-setting to popular tourist destinations is to spy fiction what camping is to high fantasy?
The story really only kicks in for the last 50 pages, and it's ok, but not terribly satisfying.
A thing I found interesting is how much of the book is Nick flying to a series of European holiday destinations to have a brief meeting with someone (usually ending with them getting murdered) - it makes me wonder if this is how this genre signals sophistication, that Nick is cool and aspirational because he is comfortable with frequent air travel and familiar with other cultures in a "mini-break tourist" kind of way, but it left me with strong "this meeting could have been an email" vibes. It did make me wonder if jet-setting to popular tourist destinations is to spy fiction what camping is to high fantasy?
The story really only kicks in for the last 50 pages, and it's ok, but not terribly satisfying.
July 5, 2019
I'm a big fan of the pulps from the 1930's and beyond - Doc Savage, The Avenger, The Shadow, etc. They tended to be very simple but there are more unique characters, snappy dialogue, and intriguing plots in one chapter of any of those old pulps than in this novel. I took a chance at a four for a dollar paperback sale and still paid too much for this.
June 14, 2017
For Valour was more of a thriller and less action than most Andy McNab books but I enjoyed it all the same, mostly. What really annoyed me was the stupidity of Nick Stone whom having got away with the prize half way through the book did the most stupid thing of all to get it back into the baddies hands by ignoring all of the tradecraft he'd banged on about in all of his other books and half of this one.
The plot generally was pretty silly and once it was all revealed at the end it all makes even less sense but its a decent adventure while it lasts.
The plot generally was pretty silly and once it was all revealed at the end it all makes even less sense but its a decent adventure while it lasts.
February 11, 2015
This started off well but ultimately got way too confusing with lots of random characters, enjoyed up to the conclusion of the 1st sniper incident and after that just I just got lost with the amount of people popping up throughout the book. I ended up rushing through the final 150 pages just to finish it and it was more of a relief than a pleasure to get to the end, I'm a big fan of Andy McNab but did not enjoy this book.
July 20, 2015
Another Nick Stone Winner!
After reading twenty plus Nick Stone books in this series you know what your getting before you read the first paragraph. This latest installment is no different, loaded with action and great storytelling, you can never go wrong with Andy McNab in any situation. A very solid 4 stars. Can't wait till the next chapter in the Nick Stone saga...Thank you Andy for another great guilty pleasure!
After reading twenty plus Nick Stone books in this series you know what your getting before you read the first paragraph. This latest installment is no different, loaded with action and great storytelling, you can never go wrong with Andy McNab in any situation. A very solid 4 stars. Can't wait till the next chapter in the Nick Stone saga...Thank you Andy for another great guilty pleasure!
September 7, 2017
Va!our?
Nick's walk down memory lane is a much different feel than other books in this series. It gives a new texture to a solid hero and series, deepens the reasons for and why he is as he is. I liked it, but not like the first half dozen in the series. They were and are the benchmark for the genre.
Nick's walk down memory lane is a much different feel than other books in this series. It gives a new texture to a solid hero and series, deepens the reasons for and why he is as he is. I liked it, but not like the first half dozen in the series. They were and are the benchmark for the genre.
July 26, 2016
Nothing need be said really - other than Andy McNab is still writing at his best with this, his sixteenth Nick Stone thriller. Gritty, edge of seat reading throughout. If youlike the genre, just try one. You will not be disappointed. The back cover gives enough detail to avoid spoilers here.
November 17, 2015
Your typical McNab, though it did get rather hard to keep track of who was who, where was where, and why certain things were happening. Enjoyable in a 'switch off and ingest' way, but the story and characters wereweaker than usual.
November 3, 2014
Another fantastic read in the Nick Stone series. Gritty and to the point with a great believable storyline.
December 2, 2014
Another great book from Andy McNab. His stories move along at a nice pace.
February 13, 2015
I like Nick Stone stories, but with this one McNab seems to be trying his hand at a detective story and doesn't quite pull it off.
December 26, 2015
Andy's books are normally pretty easy to read and quite entertaining but this one seemed particularly formulaic and a bit dull. Yawn
January 1, 2016
Great stuff! Always packed with actions and realistic technical details n
November 22, 2018
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
When a young trooper is shot in the head at the Regiment's renowned Killing House, Nick Stone is perfectly qualified to investigate the mysterious circumstances more deeply. He has just returned from Moscow -- still trying to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend and baby son are safer there without him -- so combines an unrivalled understanding of the Special Forces landscape with a detachment that should allow him to remain in cover.
But less than forty-eight hours later, a second death catapults him back into the firing line -- into the telescopic sights of an unknown assassin bent on protecting a secret that could strike at the heart of the establishment that Stone has, in his maverick fashion, spent most of his life fighting to protect.
And now the clock is ticking, Stone hurtles from the solitude of a remote Welsh confessional to Glencoe -- whose shadows still whisper of murder and betrayal -- and on to Southern Spain, in an increasingly desperate quest to uncover the truth about a chain of events that began in the darkness of an Afghan hillside, and left a young man haunted by the never-ending screams of a friend the Taliban skinned alive.
Nick Stone's most heart-stopping adventure yet will force the reader to recognise the thinness of the line that separates sacrifice from suicide, to share the nightmares that walk hand in hand with heroism -- and to count the real cost of actions taken in the name of loyalty.
If you like Andy McNab, then you will probably love this book. His usual attention to detail, action sequences and military knowledge make this an enjoyable read. The writing isn't terribly deep, but more of a conversational style that makes engagement with the story very simple. While there is nothing terribly new in this story, it still is a decent example of his work.
If you haven't read him before, I would suggest going back to the beginning of the Nick Stone series and starting there. Lots going on in this that backstory would certainly help with.
Paul
ARH
When a young trooper is shot in the head at the Regiment's renowned Killing House, Nick Stone is perfectly qualified to investigate the mysterious circumstances more deeply. He has just returned from Moscow -- still trying to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend and baby son are safer there without him -- so combines an unrivalled understanding of the Special Forces landscape with a detachment that should allow him to remain in cover.
But less than forty-eight hours later, a second death catapults him back into the firing line -- into the telescopic sights of an unknown assassin bent on protecting a secret that could strike at the heart of the establishment that Stone has, in his maverick fashion, spent most of his life fighting to protect.
And now the clock is ticking, Stone hurtles from the solitude of a remote Welsh confessional to Glencoe -- whose shadows still whisper of murder and betrayal -- and on to Southern Spain, in an increasingly desperate quest to uncover the truth about a chain of events that began in the darkness of an Afghan hillside, and left a young man haunted by the never-ending screams of a friend the Taliban skinned alive.
Nick Stone's most heart-stopping adventure yet will force the reader to recognise the thinness of the line that separates sacrifice from suicide, to share the nightmares that walk hand in hand with heroism -- and to count the real cost of actions taken in the name of loyalty.
If you like Andy McNab, then you will probably love this book. His usual attention to detail, action sequences and military knowledge make this an enjoyable read. The writing isn't terribly deep, but more of a conversational style that makes engagement with the story very simple. While there is nothing terribly new in this story, it still is a decent example of his work.
If you haven't read him before, I would suggest going back to the beginning of the Nick Stone series and starting there. Lots going on in this that backstory would certainly help with.
Paul
ARH
November 4, 2023
McNab can go off on tangents at times, but generally they are entertaining (somewhat) and integral to the plot. In For Valour, this was not the case. Too many tangents that failed to push the story forward and only dragged the plot along.
One of the endearing things about Nick Stone is the realism. He's not going to zip through the missions unchallenged. In fact, he gets his ass kicked probably more than he does the kicking. But in For Valour, this was taken a little too far. Nick takes precautions. Impressive precautions. By the time he's done shaking a tail (that isn't even evident, but he's being extra cautious), you're impressed with how he went above and beyond. So why was he getting caught more than usual? Is he horrible at black ops? Is he just terrible at what he does? Get caught once, then it's bad luck. Get caught three times and either you're not cut out for this or the story is bad. Which are we supposed to believe?
The weakest Nick Stone book to date.
One of the endearing things about Nick Stone is the realism. He's not going to zip through the missions unchallenged. In fact, he gets his ass kicked probably more than he does the kicking. But in For Valour, this was taken a little too far. Nick takes precautions. Impressive precautions. By the time he's done shaking a tail (that isn't even evident, but he's being extra cautious), you're impressed with how he went above and beyond. So why was he getting caught more than usual? Is he horrible at black ops? Is he just terrible at what he does? Get caught once, then it's bad luck. Get caught three times and either you're not cut out for this or the story is bad. Which are we supposed to believe?
The weakest Nick Stone book to date.
December 26, 2019
I bounced into this book from the dire Dan Brown book which was so dire I've forgotten the title already. So it was a pleasure to switch of my critical filters and just let the story take me along turning the pages. And thats what you get with a McNab book. I see in the other reviews some people love it some people hate it, some people (probably not ex SAS) get picky with his "tradecraft" for goodness sake its bloody fiction guys. Give the man a break - he's done his bit let him earn his crust by writing.
All I wanted was a book that drags me along with it and this one did. These types of books a like Heinz Ketchup, you know what you are going to get and this one did what it said on the cover. Fair enough.
All I wanted was a book that drags me along with it and this one did. These types of books a like Heinz Ketchup, you know what you are going to get and this one did what it said on the cover. Fair enough.
February 3, 2024
A good, but not top notch, Andy McNab book. I've been a fan of the Nick Stone series for a while, and picked this one up since it's been a few years since I've read one. It delivered the realistic and gritty depiction of an operator's world that you expect from McNab, as well as a plotline that is not formulaic. As always, there are no neat and tidy happy endings - much like in real life, things are messier than that. This is something I've always appreciated about the Stone series. There was nothing particularly wrong with this one - I liked it, but I liked others better.
October 7, 2018
This is my second book from Andy and I must say that it will also be the last one. Most probably I don't like this military style but I think he loses the whole story in too much words. I read the 2 books one after the other and I noticed he repeated himself with the exact same words in some point. I enjoyed the fact that he put some history in it but he definitely is not between my favourite authors.
March 30, 2020
Big fan of the Stone series having read all 16 of them up to now but i felt this was not up to usual high standards. Plot seemed a bit all over the place rather than his usual targetted mission, lot of random trips for Nick all over the place, an unbelievable amount of times he gets lifted without being killed, and a general lack of action in the middle 100 pages or so. Also a lot of minor characters all seemed very similar or indistinguishable. Will still read the next one though¡
May 20, 2017
Not the best in term of managing the pace of the book. The book basically meander all over the place to the point of losing the plot at time. I felt some of the chapter is not relevant only to bulk up the book. Most of the book felt like beating around the Bush more than stepping up the pace of the storytelling. It is only toward the end of the book that I felt it is worth while.
July 21, 2017
A great thriller!!
I don't know whether it's because of my busy days having to read it in increments but it felt like it's started slower than the other Nick Stones but my goodness towards the final chapters it sped up and left you open mouthed and wanting it to go on. A great book as always and looking fo to the next installment!!
I don't know whether it's because of my busy days having to read it in increments but it felt like it's started slower than the other Nick Stones but my goodness towards the final chapters it sped up and left you open mouthed and wanting it to go on. A great book as always and looking fo to the next installment!!
January 12, 2019
No Stone Unturned
Nick Stone still manages to keep getting in and out of trouble, having read all the others it's taken a while to pick up this Nick Stone thriller but this is a good read and kept me entertained and eagerly awaiting to carry on playing catch up with Nick Stone in the rest of the series
Nick Stone still manages to keep getting in and out of trouble, having read all the others it's taken a while to pick up this Nick Stone thriller but this is a good read and kept me entertained and eagerly awaiting to carry on playing catch up with Nick Stone in the rest of the series
May 27, 2019
Another in the series of Nick Stone. I like McNabs book because they are easy to read and pass the time very quickly.
My overall reaction to the boom was, lots of build up with the action rushed at the end. This novel is a good read for Stone fans and at the end of it I do want to read the next boom, just not straight away.
My overall reaction to the boom was, lots of build up with the action rushed at the end. This novel is a good read for Stone fans and at the end of it I do want to read the next boom, just not straight away.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2020
A good read. Thoroughly enjoyed the story line although I think it wandered away from the plot on a few occasions. I got a little confused with some of the military terms and abreviations but managed to put two and two together in the end. I like Nick Stone, he is a good character to follow and I have read a few in this series now. Recommended, but not his best. 3 - 4*
March 12, 2018
More of a thriller/mystery than the full on action that I have come to expect of "Nick", seemed to become a but confused with the number of characters introduced.
Having said that an enjoyable read over a wet week.
Having said that an enjoyable read over a wet week.
March 23, 2020
Disconnected
I usually enjoy McNab novels, but I struggled with this one. Stone zooms about the world, seeming to learn little, and for logic I often found difficult to follow. A story needs a thread and rhythm and I couldn’t find either in this. Sorry Andy!
I usually enjoy McNab novels, but I struggled with this one. Stone zooms about the world, seeming to learn little, and for logic I often found difficult to follow. A story needs a thread and rhythm and I couldn’t find either in this. Sorry Andy!
September 20, 2018
This is not James Bond, but it's just as good.
Loved it from page one, all that was missing was some sort of shoot out.
Loved it from page one, all that was missing was some sort of shoot out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews