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Strike Back #3
Global Strike
Charles Street was once a highly-respected agent working for MI6, until a terrible mistake cost him his job. Now he's a desperate man, living on past glories and struggling to make ends meet. Until he makes a discovery that has the power to bring down the new President of the United States. But when Street tries to cash in on this discovery, he finds himself pursued by a Russian snatch squad. Strike Back hero John Porter and Regiment renegade John Bald are recruited by their handler to head to Washington, D. C. Their mission: find Street before the Russians. What begins as a routine exfiltration quickly descends into a brutal struggle and the ex-SAS legends will need to use all of their fighting instincts to stay alive. It seems someone is desperate to stop Street from going public with the dossier. Bald and Porter face a race against time to protect him. A startling revelation that leads from the White House to the Kremlin threatens to trigger a new global conflict. . . Author BiographyFormer SAS corporal and the only man to escape death or capture during the Bravo Two Zero operation in the 1991 Gulf War, Chris Ryan turned to writing thrillers to tell the stories the Official Secrets Act stops him putting in his non-fiction. His novels have gone on to inspire the Sky One series Strike Back. Born near Newcastle in 1961, Chris Ryan joined the SAS in 1984. During his ten years there he was involved in overt and covert operations and was also sniper team commander of the anti-terrorist team. During the Gulf War, Chris Ryan was the only member of an eight-man unit to escape from Iraq, where three colleagues were killed and four captured. It was the longest escape and evasion in the history of the SAS. For this he was awarded the Military Medal. He wrote about his experiences in the bestseller The One That Got Away, which was adapted for screen, and since then has written three other works of non-fiction, over twenty bestselling novels and a series of
346 pages, Paperback
Published February 27, 2018
84 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
About the author
Chris Ryan
342 books1,022 followersColin 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 14, 2019
Another excellent adventure by Chris Ryan.
Thrilling action and very real characters plagued by personal demons. This time Porter and Bald find themselves in the USA trying to find a former MI6 Spook on the run from both the FBI and Russan Mob and hiding a secret that as the yanks say ' goes all the way to the top'. It's supposed to be a simple retrieval, but as ever, nothing is quite what it seems.
Thrilling action and very real characters plagued by personal demons. This time Porter and Bald find themselves in the USA trying to find a former MI6 Spook on the run from both the FBI and Russan Mob and hiding a secret that as the yanks say ' goes all the way to the top'. It's supposed to be a simple retrieval, but as ever, nothing is quite what it seems.
May 27, 2019
If you like action packed stories which also combine current events this is the book for you. To achieve this you need to mix together a disgraced ex MI6 agent now working in the private sector in the USA,and a couple of ex SAS operatives now in the employ of MI6. Put these together with a sexually deviant American president, a Russian government who will use any means to spy on people including the Russian Mafia. Add a piece of data that both the American and Russian governments want to get their hands on along with the person or persons who have this info. Plus the British MI6 big wigs desperate to repatriate their disgraced agent before he falls into the wrong hands. This gives you the basis for a great book, brilliantly written by an author who knows his stuff in a manner that will keep you wanting to keep reading late into the night and you have a five book. Read it, you will love it.
September 25, 2024
An awesome and fun fast paced adventure. Plenty of turns to keep you engaged
April 24, 2019
A good solid read from Ryan.
As with all of his novels, Ryan’s time in the SAS shines through his writing and gives it an authentic and believable feel. Global Strike is now different in this regard.
I am a big fan if the John Porter series and find the, hard to put down; so I was a bit surprised that the double agent in this novel was made so obvious so early in the book. It would have been much better later on as a twist you didn’t see coming, rather than something I saw coming from a mile away right at the start. Despite this, it’s still a very good read and the fact that Porter ultimately survives leaves me with hope that he’ll feature in another book soon.
As with all of his novels, Ryan’s time in the SAS shines through his writing and gives it an authentic and believable feel. Global Strike is now different in this regard.
I am a big fan if the John Porter series and find the, hard to put down; so I was a bit surprised that the double agent in this novel was made so obvious so early in the book. It would have been much better later on as a twist you didn’t see coming, rather than something I saw coming from a mile away right at the start. Despite this, it’s still a very good read and the fact that Porter ultimately survives leaves me with hope that he’ll feature in another book soon.
November 21, 2019
As usual this was what I've come to expect from this author. Once again the Porter was sent on a deniable mission by MI6 and what should have been a simple extraction turned out to be much more with plenty of twists and turns along the way. A very engaging read.
June 6, 2018
Excellent book
Very good very exciting never would have expected it to end in that way.
Like the way 3 part book but can be read individual
Very good very exciting never would have expected it to end in that way.
Like the way 3 part book but can be read individual
September 23, 2021
A good story in need of refinement.
I read Blackout by Chris Ryan last year and really enjoyed it. It was a fast paced and well written thriller. I’ll have more of the same please. So seeing three of Chris Ryan’s thrillers being offered for a bargain price was an offer not to be missed.
I liked the sound of the heroes John Porter and John (Jock) Bald and the promise of plenty of action. Sure, this wasn’t going to be a literary masterpiece but I didn’t want that. Give me tough guys I can believe and sympathise with and a story with some pace that keeps me turning those pages.
Now I may not be as successful or accomplished an author as Chris Ryan, but I have read a hell of a lot of action thrillers and have a feel for what makes them an enjoyable read – at least for me – and Global Strike is a book with a number of issues.
I’ll deal with my criticisms first and then move on to what parts of the book I thought was good, as I’d like to finish the review on a more positive note.
Some authors seem to have ‘go to’ words or phrases that keep cropping up in their work to the point it becomes a distraction. This is something that a good editor should pick up on and feed back to the author so they can address them. Unfortunately this does not seem to have happened here. I’ll single out ‘mucker’ here being used instead of pal, friend, colleague, buddy, mate. There are other words in there too – the talk of ‘slotting’ folks – but ‘mucker’ is the one that had me clenching my jaw each time I read it, and that distracts you from the story.
Another issue is the overuse of military acronyms, some of them being only two letters long, which aren’t given enough explanation or variety of use. It gets a bit like being in an SAS briefing (I guess) rather than being immersed in the tense build-up to situations. Again, when you have to pause to work out what the author is on about you lose involvement in the story.
Some of the action scenes are pretty damn good and written with style and pace. Others fall a bit flat. It is rare I’ll put a book down before going to sleep in the middle of an action sequence like a fire-fight, but it happened with this book and that is quite telling.
Another point is I also thought there was a lot of unnecessary swearing in the book. I’m no prude – far from it – and will pepper my prose with profanity if it needs that flavour. But maybe it was a bit overdone here as it became tedious.
Okay, I did promise I had some positive points to make so let’s finish with those.
The story itself is really good, perhaps the strongest part of the book, and that’s no mean feat.
There are a couple of unexpected twists in the plot that are also excellent and plausible. Okay there is one twist you can see coming way before the heroes but we’ll let that one slide. It’s no big deal.
What this book needs is revisiting for some judicious editing and refinement. I think that would make a huge difference, because as it stands now can’t really recommend Global Strike as being worth reading and that is a shame.
However I am aware that Chris Ryan’s Strike Back – the first in the series with these heroes – was made into a Sky1 series with Richard Armitage as John Porter. It is a programme I want to watch, especially as Jed Mercurio, writer of Line of Duty, also wrote some of the episodes.
I am also aware – at least now – that I have read this book out of order as there is a sequence to the series. One of Chris Ryan’s other books I bought was Deathlist, number two in the series, whereas Global Strike is either number three or four depending on your sources!
Of course I’ll still read it at some point but I don’t think my expectations will be quite as high.
JM - May 2021
I read Blackout by Chris Ryan last year and really enjoyed it. It was a fast paced and well written thriller. I’ll have more of the same please. So seeing three of Chris Ryan’s thrillers being offered for a bargain price was an offer not to be missed.
I liked the sound of the heroes John Porter and John (Jock) Bald and the promise of plenty of action. Sure, this wasn’t going to be a literary masterpiece but I didn’t want that. Give me tough guys I can believe and sympathise with and a story with some pace that keeps me turning those pages.
Now I may not be as successful or accomplished an author as Chris Ryan, but I have read a hell of a lot of action thrillers and have a feel for what makes them an enjoyable read – at least for me – and Global Strike is a book with a number of issues.
I’ll deal with my criticisms first and then move on to what parts of the book I thought was good, as I’d like to finish the review on a more positive note.
Some authors seem to have ‘go to’ words or phrases that keep cropping up in their work to the point it becomes a distraction. This is something that a good editor should pick up on and feed back to the author so they can address them. Unfortunately this does not seem to have happened here. I’ll single out ‘mucker’ here being used instead of pal, friend, colleague, buddy, mate. There are other words in there too – the talk of ‘slotting’ folks – but ‘mucker’ is the one that had me clenching my jaw each time I read it, and that distracts you from the story.
Another issue is the overuse of military acronyms, some of them being only two letters long, which aren’t given enough explanation or variety of use. It gets a bit like being in an SAS briefing (I guess) rather than being immersed in the tense build-up to situations. Again, when you have to pause to work out what the author is on about you lose involvement in the story.
Some of the action scenes are pretty damn good and written with style and pace. Others fall a bit flat. It is rare I’ll put a book down before going to sleep in the middle of an action sequence like a fire-fight, but it happened with this book and that is quite telling.
Another point is I also thought there was a lot of unnecessary swearing in the book. I’m no prude – far from it – and will pepper my prose with profanity if it needs that flavour. But maybe it was a bit overdone here as it became tedious.
Okay, I did promise I had some positive points to make so let’s finish with those.
The story itself is really good, perhaps the strongest part of the book, and that’s no mean feat.
There are a couple of unexpected twists in the plot that are also excellent and plausible. Okay there is one twist you can see coming way before the heroes but we’ll let that one slide. It’s no big deal.
What this book needs is revisiting for some judicious editing and refinement. I think that would make a huge difference, because as it stands now can’t really recommend Global Strike as being worth reading and that is a shame.
However I am aware that Chris Ryan’s Strike Back – the first in the series with these heroes – was made into a Sky1 series with Richard Armitage as John Porter. It is a programme I want to watch, especially as Jed Mercurio, writer of Line of Duty, also wrote some of the episodes.
I am also aware – at least now – that I have read this book out of order as there is a sequence to the series. One of Chris Ryan’s other books I bought was Deathlist, number two in the series, whereas Global Strike is either number three or four depending on your sources!
Of course I’ll still read it at some point but I don’t think my expectations will be quite as high.
JM - May 2021
May 28, 2024
Entertaining, a definite improvement from the second novel in the Strike Back series.
I didn't like the second novel that much in the series, but this one was good.
The mission in this novel was exciting, and the unexpected stabs in the back added to the plot.
Although the twist at the end, when the MC finally meets the "boss man", was not so realistic, but it was still good entertainment. And we are reading a "made up fiction" anyways, so I don't mind a little bit of unrealism.
Writing style of Chris is wonderful, I enjoy reading his novels and this one was no different.
Overall, complete entertainment delivered in a box, total value for money!
Five stars to the novel and three cheers to the author!
I didn't like the second novel that much in the series, but this one was good.
The mission in this novel was exciting, and the unexpected stabs in the back added to the plot.
Although the twist at the end, when the MC finally meets the "boss man", was not so realistic, but it was still good entertainment. And we are reading a "made up fiction" anyways, so I don't mind a little bit of unrealism.
Writing style of Chris is wonderful, I enjoy reading his novels and this one was no different.
Overall, complete entertainment delivered in a box, total value for money!
Five stars to the novel and three cheers to the author!
May 1, 2019
I 'sort of' liked this one, although it took a while for the story to become interesting.
Initially reading it was rather tedious and this is one of those times where persevering was not a waste of effort. I enjoyed the ending as the story came to a deeply satisfying conclusion.
Having said that, much of the story was extremely unbelievable and the uneven pace (slow start, better ending) made the reading experience less enjoyable than it could have been.
Overall rating? 3.5 stars rounded down.
Initially reading it was rather tedious and this is one of those times where persevering was not a waste of effort. I enjoyed the ending as the story came to a deeply satisfying conclusion.
Having said that, much of the story was extremely unbelievable and the uneven pace (slow start, better ending) made the reading experience less enjoyable than it could have been.
Overall rating? 3.5 stars rounded down.
September 1, 2020
It seems that the pair are always getting screwed by MI6 or others high up the chain. They are sent to pick up a former MI6 member in the USA and find out about a tape that he has heard about. This leads them to have many confrontations with the Russian mob. This seems like over kill to Porter but is too busy to think about it. There is lots of action and the two main characters are still dealing with their own demons like Porter with his drinking. I have read some of Ryan's Extreme series and the writing in this series seems tighter.
November 22, 2018
I found this a slightly frustrating read. When the action was happening it was fast paced and exhilarating, but when it wasn’t it tended to plod along a bit. I worked out a key part of the story quite quickly, which might have ruined it a bit for me. There were some surprises in there, but the ending disappointed. This was my first read of Chris Ryan and there was definitely enough here to make me want to read more of his books. If half marks were available I would have scored it 3.5 out of 5.
October 13, 2019
Very enjoyable but the plot was not credible.I just regarded this Ryan as a guilty pleasure to read in my idle moments.Of course the descriptions of tradecraft and weapons and tactics are credible and go some way to mitigate the unbelievable plot.The usual gory descriptions of torture as expected but if you chose to read a Ryan,you have to expect that.I think the author should think about a change of direction in his writing or call it a day.
July 4, 2021
My first read of a Chris Ryan novel. I have enjoyed the Strike Back series on television and the story line of this book was similar to a Strikeback episode. I like the pace of writing gradually building up the intensity of the storyline. Implausible? Sure- but that's the fun in reading this type of book. A good page-turner and an entertaining read.
March 3, 2019
A great read
This book was gripping, with excitement all the way through. The technical sides were well covered and the characters were very well drawn up. I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to others who like this genre.
This book was gripping, with excitement all the way through. The technical sides were well covered and the characters were very well drawn up. I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to others who like this genre.
October 17, 2021
4 stars for majority gripping tale. Zero stars for ending and likelihood.
Another Ryan novel grabbing an idea from the orange man across the pond in the white house. I imagine he's got enough inspiration from him to see out his writing days.
Another Ryan novel grabbing an idea from the orange man across the pond in the white house. I imagine he's got enough inspiration from him to see out his writing days.
April 22, 2018
Porter and Bald are back and tasked with a straightforward assignment for MI6. Surprisingly, not everything goes to plan. A fun ride with lots of twists and turns.
November 29, 2018
Not credible. Ryan can do better than that.
April 29, 2019
One of the best
August 29, 2019
Fast paced excitement
Another great exciting read from Chris Ryan. Good storyline with great twist, an enjoyable read. One of the best authors at this genre
Another great exciting read from Chris Ryan. Good storyline with great twist, an enjoyable read. One of the best authors at this genre
September 20, 2019
Thriller
This one had some great changes of pace and kept you engrossed to the very end.loved the twists ,looking forward to the next one.
This one had some great changes of pace and kept you engrossed to the very end.loved the twists ,looking forward to the next one.
October 29, 2019
Great story, unsure of the ending, as i haven't started reading the 4th and final book yet. Another great book by Chris Ryan
March 22, 2020
Good book. Ending seemed a bit rushed.
July 24, 2020
Spannend en leuk verhaal maar niet altijd lekker vertaald. Ik heb nog nooit een Nederlander 'volledig Engels ontbijt' horen zeggen :)
Read
November 27, 2020Too rough for me.
September 12, 2021
Predictable
November 27, 2021
Predictable read, I like Chris Ryan books but I felt this lacked something.
November 30, 2021
Another thoroughly enjoyable Strike Back even if a little credulity is stretched. But I also like Matthew Riley.
September 1, 2022
Tense, drags on a bit but a lot of fun.
December 14, 2022
Ágætis afþreying en dálítið langdregin. Smá spenna í lokin en fjaraði síðan út. Þrjár stjörnur.
December 19, 2022
Finished pretty quickly, but still a great gripping read. Thoroughly enjoying the series
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews