Deathlist

Strike Back #1

by Chris Ryan

John Porter, hero of the original Strikeback novel and TV series returns in an exciting adventure, when old enemies attack the SAS.

1999. A bitterly cold morning in the Brecon Beacons, and the soldiers trying out for SAS Selection are preparing to face their toughest test yet. Overseeing the soldiers is John Porter: once a promising young Blade, now a broken man and a drunk, seeing out his days in the Regiment Training Wing.

But before the Fan Dance can begin, six masked gunmen carry out a devastating attack. Dozens of soldiers are killed. In the aftermath of the massacre, and with a government desperate for action, Porter and another surviving operator, John Bald, are taken to a secretive briefing in London. Their orders - to hunt down and kill those responsible for the attack.

What follows is a deadly game of kill or be killed as Bald and Porter lead a Strike Team across Europe on a blood-soaked mission of revenge. But as they draw closer to their ultimate target, the men discover that there is a greater threat - much closer to home...

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Military Fiction, Audiobook, War, Action

309 pages, Hardcover

First published January 14, 2016

About the author

Colin Armstrong (b. 1961), usually known by the pen-name Chris Ryan, is a British author, television presenter, security consultant and former Special Air Service sergeant.
After the publication of fellow patrol member Andy McNab's Bravo Two Zero in 1993, Ryan published his own account of his experiences during the Bravo Two Zero mission in 1995, entitled The One That Got Away. Since retiring from the British Army Ryan has published several fiction and non-fiction books, including Strike Back, which was subsequently adapted into a television series for Sky 1, and co-created the ITV action series Ultimate Force. He has also presented or appeared in numerous television documentaries connected to the military or law enforcement.

Reviews

[Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus] · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audiobook - 10:55 hours - Narrator: Barnaby Edwards
1.0 out of 5.0 stars - DNF
Quite frankly I became bored with the whole "I was in the SAS" style of writing in this novel. For example, SAS members were referred to as "Blades", not once or twice, but all-the-bloody-time! Ditto, their mates were called "Muckers", people who were shot had been "Slotted", or "Brassed", and so on. Another thing was the gratuitous use of the "C..." word. In my experience, since the almost universal acceptance of the "F" word, the "C" word has generally been avoided or used sparingly, by most authors whose books I have read. Personally, swearing ('cussing') doesn't worry me at all. I use most swear words including "fuck" (I am an Aussie after all!), but I never use the "C" word. It's a matter of personal choice, but I consider the word derogatory and sexist and I don't like it at all. The use of this and the SAS language began to distract me from a story that I wasn't really interested in, so after pushing to half way through the book, it was 'slotted' and dumped on the DNF shelf!

[L.M. Mountford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had thought this would be a direct sequel to StrikeBack, however, it feels more like a prequel, only it's set somewhere in the time space that seperates Strikeback's two parts. As such, i would recommend reading that book before this, it's not required but it would give away something that happens.

This is a damn good read, dark and gritty, but i felt the ending sequence was killed off a bit too quickly. The characters are rather 2d with little in the way of development, but this isn't that sort of read so if that's what your looking for then stay away. Great if you enjoy action and thrillers.

[Mike Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

The story captivated me straight away reading the book you wanted the two main characters to get their revenge. It fast paced flowed from chapter to chapter really well. Loved it can wait to see if there is more

[MB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book, made all the more scary because of how much it draws on what's happening in the world today.

[Nick Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly average output here. A mildly interesting start with a hit on an unarmed SAS training unit, but this doesn't really flow with any logic or direction. It features one of the characters from the Strikeback TV series, but the plot takes us in directions that Ryan has already covered in one of his other books, an unnofficial hit team.

One of the weakest offerings from Ryan in some while, the writing feels far less confident and fluent and it uses language and phrases I have not seen from Ryan before, it almost felt like he had not written it or had written it a long time ago.
Not great.

[Steven Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEATHLIST is the second entry in Chris Ryan's STRIKE BACK series, and it's an improvement on the original installment.

The basic plot is that several years after the Beirut operation that served as the catalyst for the original novel, John Porter is now assigned to the Regiment's Training Wing. As a new class prepares to start the Fan Dance, they're brutally attacked and murdered by Serbian elements, assisted by a former Selection washout. Porter and the other survivor, John Bald, are approached by MI-6 with an offer: resign from the Regiment, become private contractors, and hunt down the attackers by any means necessary.

There are a few bits where there is gore for gore's sake. Some readers may be put off by that, though I wasn't. I was put off by a character that adhered to some unsavory beliefs and voiced those beliefs regularly without challenge from the other characters, but that was rectified by how that character's story arc was resolved.

The reason this falls short and gets 4 stars out of me instead of 5 is that the original novel made it appear that after the Beirut operation, Porter became a drunkard and a vagrant, and then later redeemed himself and went to work for Military Intelligence. Without giving away the plot, it felt like this book ignored that ending and left a plot hole in the series. Whether that was unintentional or by design is up for debate, but I wasn't too keen on that. Additionally, the novel ended a bit suddenly for me and I felt like a more proper denouement would have been in order.

Overall, though, I was entertained, and that's really all you can ask for out of a book like this.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your boy loves meters, every page has an average of 3-5 distances given in meters.

People don’t get into cars, the fold themselves in. People don’t get out of cars, they unfold themselves.

Brand names are used constantly and weirdly obtrusively, its not a watch, its a Casio G-Shock Tough watch.

Overall, good story, easy read and kept me coming back but with a few things in the writing style that were a bit jarring.

[Lore_vanhemelrijck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het begon redelijk traag en was soms wat langdradig. Maar het was wel spannend van begin tot eind en goed geschreven!

[Jonathan Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Ryan has walked the walk as an SAS soldier, and it shows in his writing. I enjoyed the original Strike Back book, and the TV series. This story takes place before there was a Section 20, with a washed-up drunk John Porter basically failing at life. After an attack on The Regiment, he teams up with another operator down on his luck, in an exciting sorry of revenge and redemption. I listened to the audiobook version, which was well read, with a variety of (mostly) accurate accents adding to the emersion.

[Tom Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

A very good story interesting. and full of action an exciting moments I look forward to reading more of these actoin adventure

[Muslim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book stands out for its fascinating plot which makes you wonder what will happen in the next chapters, much like Dan Brown's books. It has an intriguing plot, starting out with some Serbs killing officers along with students who are there to recruit students for the SAS. After slaying a bunch of the SAS recruits, John Bald with John Porter go over the stumble upon the corpse of two of the guys. They start following the traces of the killers until they come across them. There, at that scene, they kill some of them while the rest of them escape from them. The following week they are recruited by the MI6 to track down the criminals(Serbian gangs), only to find out in the end after accomplishing the mission that they have been duped by MI6 that they won't get their reward.

You will learn so much apart from the fact that you will enjoy the novel more than any action movie. However, the novel contain so much swearing that looks like being trapped in the middle of a gang fight down the road, a very intensive vulgar language that makes me feel sick.

The author tells you about a very important subject in the 1990s when the Serbs started the genocide of the Bosnians merely for being Muslim, in which lots of corporations and organizations are involved.

The novel makes you thrilled by the things that happen one after another, while it makes you wonder what might happen next.

[Zoe Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel terrible because reading has been on the back burner whilst my final essay was being sent and I also have an exam in 2 weeks... anyway, this book has been a little mistreated and I stopped reading for a few weeks half way through to fit everything in.

Despite that, this book just builds, and builds, and builds until you reach the crescendo. A brilliant page turner, with interesting characters and a twisting plot. A decent read for anyone interested in the SAS or thrillers.

I also enjoyed the landscape of the Brecon Beacons. Many happy childhood memories in Hereford too!

[Funklab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. Great plot, somewhat interesting characters. The author needs to get hold of a thesaurus though. I'm not British, but I highly doubt everyone in the SAS only refers to their teammates as "muckers" or says "old fruit" ten or twenty times per conversation. A little variety would be nice is all I'm saying.

[Anthony Ambrose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished reading this today and like another reviewer has said it is a prequel between the last book Strike back and the next one Shadow Kill.
I enjoyed reading it, the ending did feel a little rushed, but still it's a good read.
I'm looking forward it starting the next book in the series, probably later on today.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody amazing as always. Once I start a Chris Ryan book everything else goes out of the window. I am completely hooked. Another brilliant insight into the SAS and it's darker side. Well done Chris Ryan

[Ian · Rating 1 out of 5]

So macho!

First and last Chris Ryan I’ve read. Is this guy for real, a sexist, macho man who hopefully is not representative of the armed forces. A minimal plot full of stereotypes chasing around committing pointless violence and uttering pathetic one liners.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This was a great book, I loved it and had everything you've come to expect from this author. I got into it really quickly then couldn't put it down. If you're a fan of Chris Ryan, you'll love it too.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's quite a short book, but enjoyable. John Bald has been in a number of Ryan's novels and it was hard to place the timeline, though.

[Kevin Freck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure from this seasoned author. I enjoy the fast pace and gritty action, with a great down to earth approach. A winner in my view.

[David Telky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Read

It's a fast auctioned good read to fill in time and pleasantly spend a few hours a good holiday read

[Kronos Ananthsimha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The StrikeBack series is way more messed up and serious in the books than in the amazing TV show, and I experienced it with the first in the series – Deathlist – which continues the story a few years after the original StrikeBack novel. John Porter, the protagonist of the original story, is a drunk who’s gone off control with his regret and disgrace from an incident a few years earlier, but is thrust into action when a coordinated terror attack hits the SAS training center massacring the new batch of graduating commandos. Porter and John Bald, the two surviving members of the attack, are picked up by the SIS(MI6) for a secret mission to strike back at those responsible for the attack. The plot seems simple and usual for the genre, but the book stands out from most in this genre in ways that shocked, amazed, and surprised me in provocative ways.



While the action thriller genre is overflowing with heroic, entertaining, acceptable protagonists, the characters on all sides of this story go overboard in their use of profanity, vices, violence, dark & cynical humor, to an extent that this book is definitely not for the fainthearted. Many of the main characters are racist, sexist, struggling with many personal demons, a lot more than borderline psychotic, and messed up in ways that are not done in most action thrillers. This may sound like a problem for some, but I liked that former commandos turned deniable killers on a blood-soaked revenge spree are shown as messed up humans instead of the stereotypical heroic and unrealistically moral characters that are common within the genre. I like those unrealistic heroes, but this book’s gloriously inappropriate boldness was a fun experience.



Deathlist flows at a good pace and takes its time to establish and develop all its characters and the plot which eventually leads to the creation of Section20 by the end after many double crosses, betrayals, tricks, lies, and a high amount of violence and shady, morally ambiguous events that make the StikeBack books a lot grayer than the TV show. Set in the late 90s, the political elements of the plot revolve around the Kosovo conflict and connect a genocidal warlord turned crime boss to secret far-right crusading traitors in the west, but most of the book is driven through Porter and Bald, and is written with high amounts of tactical detail and operational realism to make their black ops killing spree somewhat more believable than the usual fare of action thrillers.



Porter starts the story as a dysfunctional and self loathing alcoholic but develops into a smart and tough operator through the events of the story, and I liked that this development took its slow pace to happen instead of flipping his character immediately which would be unrealistic but done in many thrillers that I’ve read. Bald is a cynical and darkly comedic moron for most of the story who’s hiding his own secrets, but is brutally efficient and smart on the job, and is weirdly awesome by the end. Accompanying them are a few mercs from a Private Military Company, two female operatives from the SIS(MI6), and a few spymasters, all with their own agendas that clash in the end. Each kill from their Deathlist is accompanied by high amounts of planning, recon, and logistical detail, making it appear realistic without any entertaining action, but the scenes of torture and violence get too gory than the usual revenge action thrillers.



The main protagonists, Porter and Bald, are a mix of anti-heroes, heroes, and messed up psychopaths put together with many manipulative and cunning forces who use them as pawns, which is a concept done a lot in this genre, but Chris Ryan’s writing takes it far grimmer than most. The audiobook narration which I experienced felt cinematic or like a video game level production, and I’d recommend Deathlist for the aficionados of the genre who are in the mood for a darker, revenge fueled, action thriller.

For more long-form book reviews, check out - www.kronosananthsimha.com/book-blog/

[Brad Audiobibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I've tried by Chris Ryan, thinking it was the first book in the Strike Back series since it's shown as Strike Back #1, though I then found out that there was a previous book called Strike Back from several years previously, set in a time before this book.

No matter, I liked the sound of this book and quite enjoyed the story, the characters and the plot. While the foul language, violence and gore didn't concern me I was put off by the endlessly repetitive use of "mucker" and the spy boss who calls everyone "Old Fruit" in almost every sentence. Does anyone really talk like that? It just seems like a poorly done and unfunny caricature to me but maybe the author knows weird people that talk that way.

There were a number of abbreviations and acronyms that might make perfect sense to anyone in the forces or who watches military type TV shows but some of them baffled me and had to resort to Google to figure them out. Maybe an initial explanation on the first use would have helped.

I have mixed feelings about the narrator. He was pleasant enough to listen to and did a good job with numerous accents, male and female voices and appeared to pronounce foreign words and locations without difficulty. Sadly he messed up some pretty basic english words and phrases that were quite cringeworthy. For example, he pronounced "op", an abbreviation for operation, as "O.P." and Frigid was pronounced with a hard G instead of a soft G, so FriGid etc. Schoolboy errors that let the narration down.

I hope the next book in the series is improved as I'd like to hear what happens next, though perhaps I'll go and find the earlier "Strike Back" to learn of the character's history first.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a few Chris Ryan books in the past, including at least half of the Strikeback book, around 10 or so years ago, possibly even the whole book but I can’t recall exactly. These 5 books in the strike back series are a prequel to the strike back novel. After reading around 20% of this first book in the Strike Back series I decided to buy all 5 books. I will read them and then the strike back novel again. I am now 82% into the book. I have extremely enjoyed the plot of the first book so far, one of the best Chris Ryan books, if not the best I have read so far. I noticed one reviewer leaving a 1 star review as the book contained too many uses of the F and C word for their liking, and also didn’t like the other terminology used throughout the book. I agree with this reviewer in the sense that usually I do not like this language, and this book does indeed contain many uses of these words. However, I think that it actually adds to the genuine SAS/military theme through these books and am not surprised if soldiers do use such words on a regular bases, replacing verbs, and adjectives with these words. This can be seen from many SAS type programmes on TV, and I think is kind of suspected when reading a novel about the SAS written by an ex SAS solider. I would personally not downgrade this book on the basis of the chosen lingo throughout the book, and as previously stated believe it adds to the character of the book and the genre it is in. These guys in the book get the job done. And Chris Ryan definitely gets the job done with creating an engaging story that is bound to grab and keep your attention the throughout the book.

[Kirsty (BookBlogger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deathlist by Chris Ryan

Blurb

1999. A bitterly cold morning in the Brecon Beacons, and the soldiers trying out for SAS Selection are preparing to face their toughest test yet. Overseeing the soldiers is John Porter: once a promising young Blade, now a broken man and a drunk, seeing out his days in the Regiment Training Wing.

But before the Fan Dance can begin, six masked gunmen carry out a devastating attack. Dozens of soldiers are killed. In the aftermath of the massacre, and with a government desperate for action, Porter and another surviving operator, John Bald, are taken to a secretive briefing in London. Their orders - to hunt down and kill those responsible for the attack.

What follows is a deadly game of kill or be killed as Bald and Porter lead a Strike Team across Europe on a blood-soaked mission of revenge. But as they draw closer to their ultimate target, the men discover that there is a greater threat - much closer to home...

My Opinion

This is not a book I would have chosen for myself, it was given to me in a bag of books that I am reading and then passing on. This was an okay book, but it didn't grab me. I have a few more backs to read by Chris Ryan so I will have to see if I can get used to the writing style. Looking at the reviews for this, there is a mixture with the majority of people really enjoying it - sadly it just wasn't for me.

Rating 3/5

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy Chris Ryan books for what they are - low brow but entertaining and at times gripping. This is my least favourite book of any I've come across, out of perhaps the 15 or so I've been through.

There's a much more macho edge to this book. Racial slurs have a place in stories, and that place is in the dialogue between characters to build an image or reflect how people genuinely spoke at the time (think Tony Soprano or Huckleberry Finn). However I never want to read/hear a narrator use racial slurs and this is where I hated the book. The "grin like a wanking Jap" line early on is just offensive. Perhaps it was a squaddie coin of phrase in the 80s or 90s but it has no place in any published work.

[Smith Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as interesting as the first one in Strikeback series. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, I did, but the first one was way more interesting.
This was all about mission, catching this guy catching that guy and on and on. The mission was interesting, the action was interesting, loved that part.
The twist at the end was not a surprise, but it surprised me from where it came. I was expecting a different character to play the surprise, as the author planned when writing the diversion.
All in all, it was fine, enjoyed it.

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another exciting SAS Strike Back thriller. Revenge is the main theme in this one. I guess I was just a tad surprised that Chris did not have John do more. The book is indeed not all about him, he is just another character in the story. Maybe he spends a little more time with John. But the action is spread out among several characters. Plot twists galore. Looking forward to more from Chris, Stephen Leather, Simon Kernick, and Andy McNabb.

[James Flack · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much a typical Chris Ryan book, quite violent in places but you can suspend your disbelief here if you want. I always give value to his books as being authentic in terms of the operational ideas presented in the stories, as he's been there and knows it from personal experience, albeit less extreme that what we see. I'll be back for more - an occasional meander into a type of book I read less of nowadays but still enjoyable

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, it helped that it was set close to my home town in parts of the book, so I could relate to the wherabouts, but that aside, I really enjoyed it. Gruesome in areas but kept me intersted all the way though.

[Phillip McGrath]

Action packed

Imaginative and flowing. I am pleased I kept faith with Chris Ryan and enjoyed this read. One of those books I was loathed to put down and will read again at some point.