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Ocean Strike

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December. Most of the world is preparing for Christmas. But a small fanatical group of lethal terrorists are preparing for something very different - the most devastating terror attack the world has ever witnessed. The target. Britain. A cargo ship has been hi-jacked. It is heading for the British coast. But what is the plan? And how many millions of innocent lives will be lost if it cannot be stopped. All leave cancelled, the Special Boat Squadron is sent in to action. For the small, dedicated squadron tasked with dealing with the threat, it will be the most lethal mission of their careers. And the most vital. The Ocean Strike must be stopped - and the SBS must use whatever force is necessary to foil the terror plot. And if necessary they must lay down their own lives. 'Ocean Strike' is a chillingly authentic military thriller that brilliant combines operational detail with a page-turning story. It is perfect for fans of Andy McNab and Chris Ryan. Damien Lewis has spent twenty years reporting from war, disaster and conflict zones around the world. He has written a dozen non-fiction and fiction books, topping best-seller lists worldwide, and is published in some thirty languages. Two of his books are being made into feature films. Praise for Damien Lewis 'The Night Manager meets Narcos' Saul David 'To catch this criminal took incredible courage and skill. This is James Bond meets Jason Bourne' Bear Grylls 'Lewis has done a terrific job in resurrecting Heaven Platoon, portraying them as the brave, buccaneering heroes they undoubtedly were' Daily Mail 'Another true tale of military derring-do from Lewis' Sunday Express 'Intensively researched and powerfully written. One of the great untold stories of WWII' Bear Grylls 'In SAS Ghost Patrol Lewis reveals a tale of suicidal bravery, untold daring and breath-taking deceit. Told with the panache and verve of a born storyteller, Lewis is in a class of his own' Saul David 'Amazing tale of WWII great escaper's Nazi ruse ... The extraordinary Second World War saga of the SIG and its legacy is revealed.' The Daily Mirror 'British troops dressed in German uniforms and mounted a daredevil raid to take the Libyan port of Tobruk during the Second World War, reveals a fascinating new book' Daily Express 'You couldn't make these stories yet they're true, and Lewis does the memory of these extraordinary men full justice in a tale that is both heart-stopping and moving' Evening Standard

108 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 7, 2013

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About the author

Damien Lewis

83 books454 followers
Not to be confused with the actor, Damian Lewis.

Damien Lewis became an author largely by accident, when a British publisher asked him if he'd be willing to turn a TV documentary he was working on into a book. That film was shot in the Sudan war zone, and told the story of how Arab tribes seized black African slaves in horrific slave raids. Lewis had been to the Sudan war zone dozens of times over the past decade, reporting on that conflict for the BBC, Channel 4 and US and European broadcasters.

His slavery documentary told the story of a young girl from the Nuba tribe, seized in a raid and sold into slavery in Khartoum, Sudan's capital city, and of her epic escape. The publisher asked Lewis if the Nuba girl would be willing to write her life story as a book, with his help as co-author. The book that they co-wrote was called 'Slave', and it was published to great acclaim, becoming a number one bestseller and being translated into some 30 lanc guages worldwide. It won several awards and has been made into a feature film.

Over the preceding fifteen years Lewis had reported from many war, conflict and disaster zones – including Sudan, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Burma, Afghanistan and the Balkans (see Author's Gallery). He (and his film crew) traveled into such areas with aid workers, the British or allied military, UN forces or local military groups, or very much under their own steam. He reported on the horror and human impact of war, as well as the drama of conflict itself. Often, he worked alone. Often, he filmed his own material over extended periods of time living in the war or conflict zone.

During a decade spent reporting from around the world Lewis lived in deserts, rainforests, jungles and chaotic third world cities. In his work and travels he met and interviewed people smugglers, diamond miners, Catholic priests 'gone native', desert nomads, un-contacted tribes, aid workers, bush pilots, arms dealers, genocidal leaders, peacekeepers, game wardens, slum kids, world presidents, heroin traffickers, rebel warlords, child prostitutes, Islamist terrorists, Hindu holy men, mercenaries, bush doctors, soldiers, commanders and spies. He was injured, and was hospitalised with bizarre tropical diseases – including flesh-eating bacteria, worms that burrow through the skin and septicemia – but survived all that and continued to report.

It was only natural that having seen so much of global conflict he would be drawn to stories of war, terrorism, espionage and the often dark causes behind such conflicts when he started writing books. Having written a number of true stories, in 2006 he was chosen as one of the 'nation's 20 favourite authors' and wrote his first fiction, Desert Claw, for the British Government's Quick Read initiative. Desert Claw tells of a group of ex-Special Forces soldiers sent into Iraq to retrieve a looted Van Gogh painting, with a savage twist to the tale. That fiction was followed up by Cobra Gold, an equally compelling tale of global drama and intrigue and shadowy betrayal.

Damien Lewis's work, books and films have won the Index on Censorship (UK), CECRA (Spain), Project Censored (US), Commonwealth Relations (UK), Discovery-NHK BANFF (Canada), Rory Peck (UK), BBC One World (UK), BBC-WWF Wildscreen (UK), International Peace Prize (US), Elle Magazine Grande Prix (US), Victor Gollanz (Germany), and BBC One World (UK) Awards. He is a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

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5 stars
38 (29%)
4 stars
27 (20%)
3 stars
45 (34%)
2 stars
14 (10%)
1 star
6 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Scott Andrews.
64 reviews
July 25, 2020
Ordered this not know it was fiction, which would have put me off from reading it. That being said, I stuck with it. Damien, delivers his usual gripping tension & suspense. I enjoyed it but, found it didn't have his usual level of detail and character development. Will be sticking to his Non-fiction, which is far superior work.
Profile Image for Daniel Ace.
227 reviews36 followers
October 13, 2014
This was very disappointing. When 10% of the ebook is a preview of a separate ebook, that's a bad sign there. This felt like a short story stretched to look like a full ebook.
Profile Image for Eager Reader.
68 reviews
December 8, 2022
All right. So I got this book because someone I follow gave it two stars but I thought it looked good.
Now I'm giving it twoo stars too.
One star is because it's written in easy to understand language.
The other star is because it's mercifully short.
It's not great. Here's some reasons how come:
- There are backwards apostrophes all the way through.
- THere are a lot of commas missing, which means sentences mean something else to what the writer wanted em to mean.
- There's a sergeant major briefing the team on the mission. They all kjnow each other and they all know their job. The sgt major explains to the group that they'll be using RIBs then he tells em what RIB means. (page 37). I mean, come on man, they alredy know this.
- immediately after telling the commando team to kill the ship's crew in their bunks, the guy in charge says "We can't be 100% certain she's a terrorist vessel packed with nerve gas. Right now, there's still a fraction of a chance she's a civvie ship, and that's why we're sending you guys in." ... Huh? So you're sending them in to kill a bunch of civilians? IS that what that means? Or does it mean you're sending them in to check if they're civilians...but kill them all while you're chekcing them? (This is page 41)
- Immeidately after THAT, one of the commandoes says to the other, "the only right those b****s should have is the right to choose how to die." WHAT??! So you mean if they don't want you to kill them, then they can choose to not die that way? They can choose to release the nerve gas on the coast and kill themselves that way???

You know what, I'll stop there. Becuase it didn't get better. I had to stop on page 68 when the writer tells his readers what an alarm sounds like. I kid you not, he writes this:
WHAAARP! WHAAARP! WHAAARP!
I mean, its not a comic book, dude. Seriously.

Ok, I'll really stop here. Don't buy it. DOn't encourage this kind of writing.
Profile Image for Kas.
415 reviews7 followers
August 21, 2020
This was a short fictional story which was well formed and full of advenure
Profile Image for Neil.
543 reviews57 followers
January 9, 2014
A great book if you don't want to read something that will mentally tax you too much. It's a typical male's book with guns and explosions and such like. The slight difference being that it is based around the SBS, who are less well known than there close relatives the SAS. I only noticed one glaring error but maany would just skip over it if they don't know the area. As far as I am aware Yeovilton has never had the RAF title associated with it. Would I read more of these books, most definitely :o)
Profile Image for Ian.
Author 7 books15 followers
July 26, 2013
Terrorists plan to use a hijacked cargo ship in a devastating attack against the UK and only the Special Boat Service can save the day.

Ocean Strike gets off to a promising start and builds tension nicely despite a string of minor errors that really should have been picked up by a good editor.

This novella starts to fall apart around halfway through though with illogical plot decisions that harm the credibility of the tale. The resultant ending feels rather flat.
36 reviews
May 24, 2015
Ocean Strike

I liked the book very much. I will be reAding more from this author. Bravo Mr. Lewis. Very interesting subject, as well.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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