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Aidan Snow #1
Cold Blood
SAS officer Aidan Snow is in charge of training a new Polish unit when he is called to lead the barely-trained men into an operation to foil a bank robbery.
Disaster strikes when the criminals blow the convoy to hell, and Snow is left fighting for his life in a car’s wreckage.
A green-eyed soldier stands over him and watches what he believes are Snow’s last breaths, but he doesn’t pull the trigger.
Ten years on and Snow is teaching in Ukraine, keeping a low profile.
But events will force Snow into a life-or-death chase.
The green-eyed man, Taurus Pashinski – also known as the Bull – is employed by old military contacts to help smuggle arms and drugs over the border of Ukraine.
A young, vengeful ex-solider is drawn into the Bull’s plot when he persuades him that two British investors are his older brother’s killers.
The murders will spark a manhunt in Britain and a series of dramatic events in Ukraine which will drag Snow and his friends into deeper and deeper trouble.
With crooked intelligence officers, ambitious businessmen and bloodthirsty ex-military, Ukraine rapidly becomes a killing zone.
Has Aidan Snow still got what it takes to come out of retirement and face the Bull?
What is the Bull really after, and what will he do to get it?
Will the ex-SAS soldier be able to defeat his old nemesis before he destroys everything Snow holds dear?
Disaster strikes when the criminals blow the convoy to hell, and Snow is left fighting for his life in a car’s wreckage.
A green-eyed soldier stands over him and watches what he believes are Snow’s last breaths, but he doesn’t pull the trigger.
Ten years on and Snow is teaching in Ukraine, keeping a low profile.
But events will force Snow into a life-or-death chase.
The green-eyed man, Taurus Pashinski – also known as the Bull – is employed by old military contacts to help smuggle arms and drugs over the border of Ukraine.
A young, vengeful ex-solider is drawn into the Bull’s plot when he persuades him that two British investors are his older brother’s killers.
The murders will spark a manhunt in Britain and a series of dramatic events in Ukraine which will drag Snow and his friends into deeper and deeper trouble.
With crooked intelligence officers, ambitious businessmen and bloodthirsty ex-military, Ukraine rapidly becomes a killing zone.
Has Aidan Snow still got what it takes to come out of retirement and face the Bull?
What is the Bull really after, and what will he do to get it?
Will the ex-SAS soldier be able to defeat his old nemesis before he destroys everything Snow holds dear?
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2014
332 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
Alex Shaw
22 books159 followersALEX SHAW B.A.(Hons), P.G.C.E. spent the second half of the 1990s in Kyiv, Ukraine, teaching Drama and running his own business consultancy before being head-hunted for a division of Siemens. The next few years saw him doing business for the company across the former USSR, the Middle East, and Africa.
Alex is an active member of the ITW (The International Thriller Writers organisation) and the CWA (the Crime Writers Association). He is the author of the #1 International Kindle Bestselling 'Aidan Snow SAS thrillers' HETMAN & COLD BLACK and the new DELTA FORCE VAMPIRE series of books. His writing has also been published in the thriller anthologies DEATH TOLL, DEATH TOLL 2 and ACTION PULSE POUNDING TALES 2 alongside International Bestselling authors Stephen Leather and Matt Hilton. DANGEROUS, DEADLY, ELITE - The third Aidan Snow Thriller will be available in October 2014.
COLD BLACK is commercially published by ENDEAVOUR PRESS.
Alex, his wife and their two sons divide their time between homes in Kyiv, Ukraine and Worthing, England. Alex can be contacted via his website www.alexwshaw.com You can also follow Alex on twitter: @alexshawhetman
Alex is an active member of the ITW (The International Thriller Writers organisation) and the CWA (the Crime Writers Association). He is the author of the #1 International Kindle Bestselling 'Aidan Snow SAS thrillers' HETMAN & COLD BLACK and the new DELTA FORCE VAMPIRE series of books. His writing has also been published in the thriller anthologies DEATH TOLL, DEATH TOLL 2 and ACTION PULSE POUNDING TALES 2 alongside International Bestselling authors Stephen Leather and Matt Hilton. DANGEROUS, DEADLY, ELITE - The third Aidan Snow Thriller will be available in October 2014.
COLD BLACK is commercially published by ENDEAVOUR PRESS.
Alex, his wife and their two sons divide their time between homes in Kyiv, Ukraine and Worthing, England. Alex can be contacted via his website www.alexwshaw.com You can also follow Alex on twitter: @alexshawhetman
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 16, 2019
Thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publishers for a ARC copy for review.
Aidan Snow thought he could escape his past. But now it’s back, with a vengeance.
Ten years ago, SAS Trooper Aidan Snow was left fighting for his life after a mission went wrong and ever since he has been haunted by the image of the man with green eyes. The man who should have killed him.
Now, Snow is finally living a peaceful life in Ukraine… Until Taurus Pashinski, the green-eyed man, returns.
As Snow’s past catches up with him he finds himself thrown back into the world of espionage with a vengeance. Taking in the end of the Soviet Union, it draws a picture of the ensuing lawlessness, especially in its southern Moldavian and Trans-Dniester region.
This was an interesting read, a good main character in Snow. my problem with the books was all the real difficult "Russian" names, too many characters with names I could not remember, so found it difficult to follow who was on what side, who was good or who was bad,Snow and Vickers fine.
Although a basis for a good thriller become very hard to follow and keep up to date with so many characters in the different countries.
So with apologies only three stars for me, but I do believe this author is good, and with being able to understand and follows the characters would have gained an extra star from me.
Aidan Snow thought he could escape his past. But now it’s back, with a vengeance.
Ten years ago, SAS Trooper Aidan Snow was left fighting for his life after a mission went wrong and ever since he has been haunted by the image of the man with green eyes. The man who should have killed him.
Now, Snow is finally living a peaceful life in Ukraine… Until Taurus Pashinski, the green-eyed man, returns.
As Snow’s past catches up with him he finds himself thrown back into the world of espionage with a vengeance. Taking in the end of the Soviet Union, it draws a picture of the ensuing lawlessness, especially in its southern Moldavian and Trans-Dniester region.
This was an interesting read, a good main character in Snow. my problem with the books was all the real difficult "Russian" names, too many characters with names I could not remember, so found it difficult to follow who was on what side, who was good or who was bad,Snow and Vickers fine.
Although a basis for a good thriller become very hard to follow and keep up to date with so many characters in the different countries.
So with apologies only three stars for me, but I do believe this author is good, and with being able to understand and follows the characters would have gained an extra star from me.
September 13, 2018
'Cold Blood' is the first book of a new political espionage series featuring ex-SAS trooper Aidan Snow, who is now working as a physical education teacher in Ukraine.
I thoroughly enjoy my spy thrillers, but I found this one a little tame if i'm honest. I know this is the series opener and we obviously need to get to know lead character Mr Snow in order to decide whether we are to continue with the rest of the series, but I felt this was much more of a character based story with a lack of attention given to the plot until the very last minute. The premise is most definitely a sound and tasty one, However, the slow pace made getting through most of the book a chore rather than a pleasure. It certainly did not have the requisite thrills, spills and chills to label it a thriller. There was also an issue with many characters being introduced, most of whom were completely unnecessary to the unfolding story. One thing I will say is that the setting came across as very authentically described, so I wasn't surprised to learn the author had lived in Kiev, Ukraine in the 1990s. It does however jump around unexpectedly between characters and countries which is not always easy to follow. I did like Shaw's writing style, but with the other issues it wasn't much of a redeeming feature. Hopefully it'll be a feature I continue to enjoy in upcoming books. I have high hopes for this author as he appears to have all of the components to create a bestseller if he can just execute his idea well enough!
You may really appreciate this is you like your thrillers relatively slow and more character based than anything else. I won't write off this series as of yet with it just being the first book, I hope that the following books are much more tense and suspenseful than this one was, and that the monotony of the scene setting disappears as we progress. As I have a fascination with eastern european countries and cultures, the setting really piqued my interest massively, and i'm pleased to say that the author made the most of it. I look forward to revisiting Ukraine in future books!
Many thanks to HQ Digital for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
I thoroughly enjoy my spy thrillers, but I found this one a little tame if i'm honest. I know this is the series opener and we obviously need to get to know lead character Mr Snow in order to decide whether we are to continue with the rest of the series, but I felt this was much more of a character based story with a lack of attention given to the plot until the very last minute. The premise is most definitely a sound and tasty one, However, the slow pace made getting through most of the book a chore rather than a pleasure. It certainly did not have the requisite thrills, spills and chills to label it a thriller. There was also an issue with many characters being introduced, most of whom were completely unnecessary to the unfolding story. One thing I will say is that the setting came across as very authentically described, so I wasn't surprised to learn the author had lived in Kiev, Ukraine in the 1990s. It does however jump around unexpectedly between characters and countries which is not always easy to follow. I did like Shaw's writing style, but with the other issues it wasn't much of a redeeming feature. Hopefully it'll be a feature I continue to enjoy in upcoming books. I have high hopes for this author as he appears to have all of the components to create a bestseller if he can just execute his idea well enough!
You may really appreciate this is you like your thrillers relatively slow and more character based than anything else. I won't write off this series as of yet with it just being the first book, I hope that the following books are much more tense and suspenseful than this one was, and that the monotony of the scene setting disappears as we progress. As I have a fascination with eastern european countries and cultures, the setting really piqued my interest massively, and i'm pleased to say that the author made the most of it. I look forward to revisiting Ukraine in future books!
Many thanks to HQ Digital for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
July 31, 2021
Having enjoyed Alex Shaw’s latest book Traitors; especially the British agent Aidan Snow, I felt obliged to learn more about this character in the author’s earlier novels.
This is the standout piece, originally titled ‘Hetman’ and was the first of a series that has now reached four instalments.
Mostly set in Ukraine it is “retirement” story of a SAS crack officer who never recovered from a near-death encounter. Now retrained as a teacher, Snow lives out his life teaching and drinking with his ex-pats buddies.
Life seems to be complete when a new guy joins the staff who he mentors and allows to share his flat. Arnaud becomes almost like a younger brother to Aidan and he begins to open up to his new college about his own past.
Then that past catches up with Snow. All that he holds dear is threatened when a face from his army days reappears. Snow must accept that he cannot run and he cannot hide, but can he count on his previous training and skill set and why is there a reluctance to believe his account of events?
Great pace once the necessary background is revealed. This genre of action based thrillers lends itself to quick reading and are rightly called page-turners. However, while this engagement in a book is very rewarding the merit for me is still the characterisation and locations. The political changes in the post soviet era makes Ukraine a fascinating place to set this book. The various business interests and the influences from and to Russia makes it a shifting stage where democracy is not a safe commodity. While those drawn to places like Kyiv enjoy a good life, the darker past and old ways still carry some sway and exercise control.
This is a credible story with an authentic truth running through it. However, it seems perhaps surprising that Snow was truly satisfied in this environment and his role as a teacher. This is the only aspect to the narrative that doesn’t fully convince me on first reading.
Yet I see Arnaud’s arrival as catalyst to change his thinking and allow Snow to rise from his dormant state. This is an interesting factor in the personality of Aidan Snow. What can transform him back into a state of mind of a soldier and propel him forward into a man of violence? This makes for an interesting hero and gives more impetus to my reading choices to learn more about this character.
This is the standout piece, originally titled ‘Hetman’ and was the first of a series that has now reached four instalments.
Mostly set in Ukraine it is “retirement” story of a SAS crack officer who never recovered from a near-death encounter. Now retrained as a teacher, Snow lives out his life teaching and drinking with his ex-pats buddies.
Life seems to be complete when a new guy joins the staff who he mentors and allows to share his flat. Arnaud becomes almost like a younger brother to Aidan and he begins to open up to his new college about his own past.
Then that past catches up with Snow. All that he holds dear is threatened when a face from his army days reappears. Snow must accept that he cannot run and he cannot hide, but can he count on his previous training and skill set and why is there a reluctance to believe his account of events?
Great pace once the necessary background is revealed. This genre of action based thrillers lends itself to quick reading and are rightly called page-turners. However, while this engagement in a book is very rewarding the merit for me is still the characterisation and locations. The political changes in the post soviet era makes Ukraine a fascinating place to set this book. The various business interests and the influences from and to Russia makes it a shifting stage where democracy is not a safe commodity. While those drawn to places like Kyiv enjoy a good life, the darker past and old ways still carry some sway and exercise control.
This is a credible story with an authentic truth running through it. However, it seems perhaps surprising that Snow was truly satisfied in this environment and his role as a teacher. This is the only aspect to the narrative that doesn’t fully convince me on first reading.
Yet I see Arnaud’s arrival as catalyst to change his thinking and allow Snow to rise from his dormant state. This is an interesting factor in the personality of Aidan Snow. What can transform him back into a state of mind of a soldier and propel him forward into a man of violence? This makes for an interesting hero and gives more impetus to my reading choices to learn more about this character.
September 21, 2015
Cold Blood is an exciting and fast paced story which any fans of authors like Andy Mcnab and Stephen Leather will love.
Aidan Snow used to be in the SAS but having left that life behind has started a new career as a teacher. Unfortunately sometimes events from the past don't stay buried and they return to haunt us.
I have to say to start with I did slightly struggle to get into the story as it is so fast paced. It jumps around from different characters and to different countries. Once I got into it though I was well and truly hooked.
Aidan Snow is a really interesting character who I felt great empathy for. He is trying to get on with his life and seems to be quite settled with the direction his new career has taken him. Due to an old nemesis who wants an eye for an eye, Aidan has to rely on his time in the SAS to out wit his enemy to try and save himself.
Cold Blood is jam packed full of action and is great for anyone who likes an edge of your seat read.
Aidan Snow used to be in the SAS but having left that life behind has started a new career as a teacher. Unfortunately sometimes events from the past don't stay buried and they return to haunt us.
I have to say to start with I did slightly struggle to get into the story as it is so fast paced. It jumps around from different characters and to different countries. Once I got into it though I was well and truly hooked.
Aidan Snow is a really interesting character who I felt great empathy for. He is trying to get on with his life and seems to be quite settled with the direction his new career has taken him. Due to an old nemesis who wants an eye for an eye, Aidan has to rely on his time in the SAS to out wit his enemy to try and save himself.
Cold Blood is jam packed full of action and is great for anyone who likes an edge of your seat read.
January 1, 2017
What most interested me about Cold Blood, a political crime thriller by British author Alex Shaw, is its setting, the former Soviet Union controlled country of Ukraine now dealing with its new status as a market economy in the new Europe.
Most thrillers use standard, ‘safe’ location that are familiar to most world travellers, such as New York, Washington DC, London, Paris and Rome. The Kiev presented in Shaw’s novel feels like the tension levels have been kicked up several gears, with criminal organisations, ex-KGB agents and corrupt politicians causing far more chaos than they could ever get away with in the aforementioned locales.
But Shaw doesn’t ignore the standards that draw readers to political thrillers. We have our obligatory hero in a former SAS trooper, Aiden Snow, retired after a botched attempt to halt a bank robbery in Poland. He’s now teaching Ukrainian students by day and drinking heavily at strip joints by night, but otherwise keeping a low profile. But he’s also making friends, restabilising himself after years of hard-knocks in the military, and building a life for himself.
On the other side we have a devious and ruthless villain, Taurus Pashinski, a former Soviet military officer and veteran of the Russian War in Afghanistan, who is the cause of Snow’s war wounds in Poland and forced change of career.
The first half of the novel is like the opening moves of a long chess game, establishing Snow’s and Pashinski’s lives in modern day Kiev and setting them up for the middle game as it unfolds.
Meanwhile, several English businessmen breaking into the Ukraine market are assassinated, setting into motion a series of violent events tied to gun and drug smuggling.
This is all scene-setting for the second half of the novel, when the two men meet again, and the violence and action race into full throttle while the body count rises.
Alex Shaw certainly presents some interesting characters who are all the more believable because of their flaws, and he sets up his hero Aiden Snow for future adventures. As I said before, the Eastern European scenes really come to life and rise this novel above the norm. This is because Alex Shaw has lived in Ukraine and knows the city intimately, and it shows. I also liked that the action was realistic, giving the novel that extra level of authenticity.
Great read for fans of political action novels.
Most thrillers use standard, ‘safe’ location that are familiar to most world travellers, such as New York, Washington DC, London, Paris and Rome. The Kiev presented in Shaw’s novel feels like the tension levels have been kicked up several gears, with criminal organisations, ex-KGB agents and corrupt politicians causing far more chaos than they could ever get away with in the aforementioned locales.
But Shaw doesn’t ignore the standards that draw readers to political thrillers. We have our obligatory hero in a former SAS trooper, Aiden Snow, retired after a botched attempt to halt a bank robbery in Poland. He’s now teaching Ukrainian students by day and drinking heavily at strip joints by night, but otherwise keeping a low profile. But he’s also making friends, restabilising himself after years of hard-knocks in the military, and building a life for himself.
On the other side we have a devious and ruthless villain, Taurus Pashinski, a former Soviet military officer and veteran of the Russian War in Afghanistan, who is the cause of Snow’s war wounds in Poland and forced change of career.
The first half of the novel is like the opening moves of a long chess game, establishing Snow’s and Pashinski’s lives in modern day Kiev and setting them up for the middle game as it unfolds.
Meanwhile, several English businessmen breaking into the Ukraine market are assassinated, setting into motion a series of violent events tied to gun and drug smuggling.
This is all scene-setting for the second half of the novel, when the two men meet again, and the violence and action race into full throttle while the body count rises.
Alex Shaw certainly presents some interesting characters who are all the more believable because of their flaws, and he sets up his hero Aiden Snow for future adventures. As I said before, the Eastern European scenes really come to life and rise this novel above the norm. This is because Alex Shaw has lived in Ukraine and knows the city intimately, and it shows. I also liked that the action was realistic, giving the novel that extra level of authenticity.
Great read for fans of political action novels.
December 24, 2019
Aidan Snow is a retired SAS trooper, now a PE teacher in Kiev. He left the SAS after an incident that almost killed him, but when he spots the guy that tried to kill him…his peaceful world is shattered.
The author has a background in the Ukraine and is keen to show his knowledge. This book is a slow starter as characters are established and everyday life in Kiev identified. The quiet life of Snow and one of his fellow teachers changes when Snow is outed as someone who could identify the bad guy causing disruption in the city and trace back to his powerful backers. There is a mix in here of crime gangs and intelligence agencies, all with their own agendas.
I liked the fact that the author builds his story and characters and I liked that Snow is capable but not a special-forces super warrior. And this is miles better than the stuff Andy McNab has been pumping out.
The author has a background in the Ukraine and is keen to show his knowledge. This book is a slow starter as characters are established and everyday life in Kiev identified. The quiet life of Snow and one of his fellow teachers changes when Snow is outed as someone who could identify the bad guy causing disruption in the city and trace back to his powerful backers. There is a mix in here of crime gangs and intelligence agencies, all with their own agendas.
I liked the fact that the author builds his story and characters and I liked that Snow is capable but not a special-forces super warrior. And this is miles better than the stuff Andy McNab has been pumping out.
November 7, 2015
The story starts in Poland 10 years earlier (1996), where Aiden Snow is part of a 4 man SAS training team. They were there to advise the Polish Police counter-terrorism team. Lucky them, in their first real action, they happen on a bank robbery in progress. Unfortunately for them, the leader of the gang, Bull, was ex Russian Spetznas and had set up two vehicles with car bombs to aid in their escape. The bombs were detonated just as Snow's convoy was driving by them and he ends up pinned to his seat. Bull decides to let him just bleed out, thus setting the stage for the rest of the story. Fast forward ten years and Snow (guess what, he didn't bleed out) is teaching in Kyiv, Ukraine. Sound boring? Not for long. Bull has this arms export business he wants to expand to Ukraine. But there is a group that is trained to discourage smuggling and organised crime. They must first be dealt with. Let the action begin!
January 24, 2018
The first half is a slow burn with a slew of characters to keep track of. The action kicks into high gear at the midway point and builds crescendo to a rewarding climax. Aidan Snow is my kind of protagonist, an anti-hero with inner demons seeking redemption, backed by a well-defined supporting cast. The writing is strong, as is the dialogue and the descriptive geography. If this is your preferred genre, you won't be disappointed.
November 26, 2020
Alex Shaw kept me awake until 2 in the morning. Again.
I've read several pieces by Alex Shaw, and this one is my favorite so far. Good characterization of hero, villains, and secondary characters in a well-constructed and well-paced plot. Once or twice, Shaw spent a little more cyber-ink than necessary detailing the expats' recreational activities, but that is a nitpick in the big picture. Very absorbing story.
I've read several pieces by Alex Shaw, and this one is my favorite so far. Good characterization of hero, villains, and secondary characters in a well-constructed and well-paced plot. Once or twice, Shaw spent a little more cyber-ink than necessary detailing the expats' recreational activities, but that is a nitpick in the big picture. Very absorbing story.
November 8, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
A well crafted thriller .
Although I found the start a little drawn out , my goodness I’m so glad I stuck with it and I was truly hooked. The author really gives attention to detail (politics & locations ) and its great read for anyone that loves an action packed thriller.
This was my introduction to the author and it certainly won’t be the last .
A well crafted thriller .
Although I found the start a little drawn out , my goodness I’m so glad I stuck with it and I was truly hooked. The author really gives attention to detail (politics & locations ) and its great read for anyone that loves an action packed thriller.
This was my introduction to the author and it certainly won’t be the last .
May 25, 2020
Very Entertaining
I did enjoy the book and found it authentic with a good story line although gets confusing for me with the switching of the Russian characters names! As the have first and second names but then son of names meaning three different permutations......... I'm not the sharpest tool in the box.
Outside of that,great read.
I did enjoy the book and found it authentic with a good story line although gets confusing for me with the switching of the Russian characters names! As the have first and second names but then son of names meaning three different permutations......... I'm not the sharpest tool in the box.
Outside of that,great read.
November 14, 2022
I loved the Jack Tate series by Alex Shaw and hoped that this series would be equally as good, but I just can't get into it. I'm a couple of chapters in but no desire to carry on with it, which is rare for me. I'll give it another chapter just in case but I can't see it becoming more appealing to me.
February 15, 2021
Not my normal genre but enjoyed it, will continue the trilogy.
April 24, 2022
While I received an ARC of this book, I have made an independent decision to post this review. I found this book to be a fast and fascinating read.
August 16, 2025
A few tricky names to keep track of 🤣🤣
November 29, 2022
I almost gave up on this book, but very glad I didn't!
The start is a little slow as far as Mr Snow is concerned it's more 'the life and times of an ex-pat English teacher living in the Ukraine'. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing and interesting storyline revolving around the 'bad guys' and you start to wonder exactly when these two themes will meet. Once they do eventually meet it turns into an enjoyable tale you just need to keep reading. Xx
The start is a little slow as far as Mr Snow is concerned it's more 'the life and times of an ex-pat English teacher living in the Ukraine'. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing and interesting storyline revolving around the 'bad guys' and you start to wonder exactly when these two themes will meet. Once they do eventually meet it turns into an enjoyable tale you just need to keep reading. Xx
March 1, 2016
Cold Blood is a post-cold war thriller set mainly in Ukraine and Britain. Aiden Snow is an ex-SAS man haunted by a mission that went wrong. He is biding his time in the Ukrainian capital as an honest-to-goodness school teacher when his past catches up with him. Post-soviet politics is a very complicated affair, the novel makes clear, with no clear-cut good guys and bad guys, and where loyalties bleed into one another - literally.
I would say rather too complicated. After starting with a bang, author Alex Shaw slows things down to a crawl as he sets up his many dominoes. We jump from Moldova to Britain and several places in Kiev with disorienting regularity, and sometimes we rarely return at all. Add to this the author's propensity for detailing more aspects about life in contemporary Ukraine than is necessary and the reading becomes a bit of a slog in the first half. More troubling, though, is that after the initial dramatic introduction of the hero, he all but disappears from the story until midway through the novel! We follow Snow in his ex-pat life in Kiev, but we get few insights about the man. Rather, he serves as a foil for other, sometimes minor, characters, so that it is occasionally difficult to tell who should be at the centre of the story.
The second half, however, is a fast ride, as Shaw expertly brings all the pieces of his large puzzle together. We get blood and death and chase scenes, but remarkably we don't get loose ends. I did not detect any plot holes. I found a few of deductions made by the characters a bit quick and convenient, sapping some of the dramatic tension, but the plot keeps moving towards an unexpected conclusion.
Shaw spent many years in Ukraine, so he know what he is talking about, and his detailed study of special forces definitely shows. Very convincing.
The text is well-written, within the style of the genre, and is not encumbered with spelling or grammatical errors. Not to sound anally retentive, but I counted but a single spelling error. This is no small feat, as I have read books by long-time authors put out by the Big 5 publishing houses that are replete with errors. The clean text keeps the motor of the plot from choking.
There is some fat to be trimmed from the text, particularly in the first half. Some scenes could have been merged to get the characters where they need to be quicker. It would have improved the pacing and perhaps brought more depth to the Snow character.
I found the casual sexism a bit troubling. True, the ex-pat male community can be sleazy in the ex-USSR, but the conceit was a constant distraction, especially considering that there are no meaningful female characters in the novel! However, this, too, might be within the genre's tradition. I don't normally read thrillers.
All in all, a solid first effort. I found Aidan Snow to be engaging enough for me to want to know where his next stop might be. And who he will fight!
I would say rather too complicated. After starting with a bang, author Alex Shaw slows things down to a crawl as he sets up his many dominoes. We jump from Moldova to Britain and several places in Kiev with disorienting regularity, and sometimes we rarely return at all. Add to this the author's propensity for detailing more aspects about life in contemporary Ukraine than is necessary and the reading becomes a bit of a slog in the first half. More troubling, though, is that after the initial dramatic introduction of the hero, he all but disappears from the story until midway through the novel! We follow Snow in his ex-pat life in Kiev, but we get few insights about the man. Rather, he serves as a foil for other, sometimes minor, characters, so that it is occasionally difficult to tell who should be at the centre of the story.
The second half, however, is a fast ride, as Shaw expertly brings all the pieces of his large puzzle together. We get blood and death and chase scenes, but remarkably we don't get loose ends. I did not detect any plot holes. I found a few of deductions made by the characters a bit quick and convenient, sapping some of the dramatic tension, but the plot keeps moving towards an unexpected conclusion.
Shaw spent many years in Ukraine, so he know what he is talking about, and his detailed study of special forces definitely shows. Very convincing.
The text is well-written, within the style of the genre, and is not encumbered with spelling or grammatical errors. Not to sound anally retentive, but I counted but a single spelling error. This is no small feat, as I have read books by long-time authors put out by the Big 5 publishing houses that are replete with errors. The clean text keeps the motor of the plot from choking.
There is some fat to be trimmed from the text, particularly in the first half. Some scenes could have been merged to get the characters where they need to be quicker. It would have improved the pacing and perhaps brought more depth to the Snow character.
I found the casual sexism a bit troubling. True, the ex-pat male community can be sleazy in the ex-USSR, but the conceit was a constant distraction, especially considering that there are no meaningful female characters in the novel! However, this, too, might be within the genre's tradition. I don't normally read thrillers.
All in all, a solid first effort. I found Aidan Snow to be engaging enough for me to want to know where his next stop might be. And who he will fight!
December 3, 2015
A masterly crafted thriller
Aidan Snow, a trained SAS soldier, is in Poland to help train Polish soldiers using SAS methods. Whilst training, a call goes out that a bank is being robbed. As they are the closest people to the robbery, they respond. What they are not expecting is for two bombs to detonate at either end of the road. Many of the team are badly injured or killed and Aidan is trapped in the vehicle they’d used to travel to the site. The mastermind of the attack looks Aidan in the eye, and on the point of killing him, decides that he’s dying anyway, so spares his life.
Aidan Snow not only survives, but changes his career and becomes a physical instructor at an international school in Kyiv, Ukraine. His days are filled with teaching and his nights with drinking with his mates. One thing he does maintain from his army days is running first thing every morning.
One night whilst out with his usual crowd, he comes face to face with the mastermind; Taurus “Bull” Pashinski. He’s ex-Russian Special Ops, and since the decline of the Soviet Union, is hell bent on making as much money as possible. Using ex-commandos from his old unit, he kidnaps Aidan’s flatmate Arnaud Hirst and his girlfriend, knowing that Aidan will come to rescue them.
Aidan Shaw has one major problem - who will believe him? Taurus “Bull” Pashinski was supposedly killed in a car accident just years after the bank robbery.
Alex Shaw has written a very intense, involved and captivating plot. Aidan Snow grows from being this ex-SAS soldier with a chip on his shoulder because he couldn’t carry on his chosen career, into once again returning to being a force to be reckoned with. Using Ukraine as the background for the plot also made this story that much more exciting, and bringing in ex-USSR trained Special Forces as the “baddies” certainly worked for me.]
Alex Shaw, I can’t wait for the next Aidan Snow instalment. Hurry up and write it!
Treebeard
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
Aidan Snow, a trained SAS soldier, is in Poland to help train Polish soldiers using SAS methods. Whilst training, a call goes out that a bank is being robbed. As they are the closest people to the robbery, they respond. What they are not expecting is for two bombs to detonate at either end of the road. Many of the team are badly injured or killed and Aidan is trapped in the vehicle they’d used to travel to the site. The mastermind of the attack looks Aidan in the eye, and on the point of killing him, decides that he’s dying anyway, so spares his life.
Aidan Snow not only survives, but changes his career and becomes a physical instructor at an international school in Kyiv, Ukraine. His days are filled with teaching and his nights with drinking with his mates. One thing he does maintain from his army days is running first thing every morning.
One night whilst out with his usual crowd, he comes face to face with the mastermind; Taurus “Bull” Pashinski. He’s ex-Russian Special Ops, and since the decline of the Soviet Union, is hell bent on making as much money as possible. Using ex-commandos from his old unit, he kidnaps Aidan’s flatmate Arnaud Hirst and his girlfriend, knowing that Aidan will come to rescue them.
Aidan Shaw has one major problem - who will believe him? Taurus “Bull” Pashinski was supposedly killed in a car accident just years after the bank robbery.
Alex Shaw has written a very intense, involved and captivating plot. Aidan Snow grows from being this ex-SAS soldier with a chip on his shoulder because he couldn’t carry on his chosen career, into once again returning to being a force to be reckoned with. Using Ukraine as the background for the plot also made this story that much more exciting, and bringing in ex-USSR trained Special Forces as the “baddies” certainly worked for me.]
Alex Shaw, I can’t wait for the next Aidan Snow instalment. Hurry up and write it!
Treebeard
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
November 17, 2018
What a brilliant book. I had never read any of Alex’s books before but I’d only reached 17% when I bought the next 2 in the series. Having finished the book I consider my decision was fully justified.
This was a story full of action and all the thrills and spills you would expect from a James Bond or Jason Bourne thriller.
My words can’t do it justice, that’s why and read and not write. Suffice to say I am so looking forward to the next Alex Shaw adventure.
This was a story full of action and all the thrills and spills you would expect from a James Bond or Jason Bourne thriller.
My words can’t do it justice, that’s why and read and not write. Suffice to say I am so looking forward to the next Alex Shaw adventure.
January 18, 2016
Cold blood. Alex Shaw
Book one in the Aidan Snow series. Snows past is laid out in the first part of this action thriller....then the story and action intensifies. Snows S.A.S. training kicks in, as he fights to survive. A very believable thriller, full of an intriguing cast of villains. A great read!!
Book one in the Aidan Snow series. Snows past is laid out in the first part of this action thriller....then the story and action intensifies. Snows S.A.S. training kicks in, as he fights to survive. A very believable thriller, full of an intriguing cast of villains. A great read!!
October 25, 2019
Es soll ein spannender Thriller sein und fängt auch vielversprechend an. Aber dann verliert sich das Buch in langweiligen, ereignislosen und langatmigen Erzählungen über Russland, die Ukraine und das leblose Leben des Protagonisten. Es gibt keinen Spannungsbogen und es ist sehr mühsam, sich durch die Seiten zu quälen, weshalb ich nach ca. 20 Prozent (100 Seiten) das Buch zur Seite gelegt habe.
May 3, 2016
sometimes difficult to track the different characters with proper and common names in different languages used interchangeably.
however, the story line and twists and turns were leading and enjoyable!
however, the story line and twists and turns were leading and enjoyable!
March 23, 2016
the author has a magnificent plot! however, jumping time periods and an over-abundance of eastern european, unpronouncable (therefore unremembered) names makes this a real tough read.
June 4, 2021
A Good story and well written, at times a little slow but basically it was very enjoyable. Would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a good book to read.
December 18, 2015
A very good and intriguing thriller. The main character, Aidan Snow is extremely well-defined and so human! He has his doubts, his fears, his regrets, and his compassion. But the book is not just about him. A web of espionage and treason are woven perfectly by Mr. Shaw. An excellent read with a climactic resolution! Looking forward to more of his work.
Merged review:
A very good and intriguing thriller. The main character, Aidan Snow is extremely well-defined and so human! He has his doubts, his fears, his regrets, and his compassion. But the book is not just about him. A web of espionage and treason are woven perfectly by Mr. Shaw. An excellent read with a climactic resolution! Looking forward to more of his work.
Merged review:
A very good and intriguing thriller. The main character, Aidan Snow is extremely well-defined and so human! He has his doubts, his fears, his regrets, and his compassion. But the book is not just about him. A web of espionage and treason are woven perfectly by Mr. Shaw. An excellent read with a climactic resolution! Looking forward to more of his work.
July 22, 2017
leaving the SAS and a mission that went terribly wrong and almost costs him his life Aiden Snow ......recovers physically if not completely emotionally and moves on to a quiet life of teaching.
But unfortunately the past can not stay buried and comes blasting back into his present....The Bull a ruthless gangland criminal is back after nearly killing Snow all those years ago and this time he is bound and determined to get the job done......Moving from the Ukraine to the UK and back again this story sets a blistering pace told from several points of view....The author is obviously knowledgeable of the differing locations and you really feel as if you are in each one. With full on no holds barred violence and a muscular plot this is a meaty read fuelled with revenge.......I was recommended this book by another author so thought I would give it a try and boy was it worth it! A great read and I look forward to reading his other books.
But unfortunately the past can not stay buried and comes blasting back into his present....The Bull a ruthless gangland criminal is back after nearly killing Snow all those years ago and this time he is bound and determined to get the job done......Moving from the Ukraine to the UK and back again this story sets a blistering pace told from several points of view....The author is obviously knowledgeable of the differing locations and you really feel as if you are in each one. With full on no holds barred violence and a muscular plot this is a meaty read fuelled with revenge.......I was recommended this book by another author so thought I would give it a try and boy was it worth it! A great read and I look forward to reading his other books.
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