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Boy Soldier #4
Meltdown
Once again, Danny Watts and his grandfather Fergus are on the run. But when Dudley, a top MI5 agent, tracks them down for help with a new mission, they finally have the chance to clear their names once and for all.
Danny and Fergus must find the makers of a dangerous new drug called Meltdown and destroy it before it can enter the mainstream, or even worse, fall into the hands of a radical terrorist group. But in order to do this, they must infiltrate the drug production network and once again get behind enemy lines, even fighting alongside their nemesis, Special Agent Deveraux. After all that they have been through, will Danny and Fergus finally be able to stop running?
Danny and Fergus must find the makers of a dangerous new drug called Meltdown and destroy it before it can enter the mainstream, or even worse, fall into the hands of a radical terrorist group. But in order to do this, they must infiltrate the drug production network and once again get behind enemy lines, even fighting alongside their nemesis, Special Agent Deveraux. After all that they have been through, will Danny and Fergus finally be able to stop running?
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2007
11 people are currently reading
513 people want to read
About the author
Andy McNab
205 books1,171 followersAndy McNab joined the infantry in 1976 as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was badged as a member of 22 SAS Regiment. He served in B Squadron 22 SAS for ten years and worked on both covert and overt special operations worldwide, including anti-terrorist and anti-drug operations in the Middle and Far East, South and Central America and Northern Ireland.
Trained as a specialist in counter terrorism, prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons and tactics, covert surveillance and information gathering in hostile environments, and VIP protection, McNab worked on cooperative operations with police forces, prison services, anti-drug forces and western backed guerrilla movements as well as on conventional special operations. In Northern Ireland he spent two years working as an undercover operator with 14th Intelligence Group, going on to become an instructor.
McNab also worked as an instructor on the SAS selection and training team and instructed foreign special forces in counter terrorism, hostage rescue and survival training.
Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK. To date it has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. The BBC's film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on primetime BBC 1 television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000.
Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of the bestseller lists following the lifting on an ex-parte injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence in September 1995. To date, Immediate Action has now sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK.
McNab is the author of seven fast action thrillers, highly acclaimed for their authenticity and all Sunday Times bestsellers. Published in 1997, Remote Control was hailed as the most authentic thriller ever written and has sold over half a million copies in the UK. McNab's subsequent thrillers, Crisis Four, Firewall, Last Light , Liberation Day , Dark Winter , Deep Black and Aggressor have all gone on to sell equally well. The central character in all the books is Nick Stone, a tough ex-SAS operative working as a 'K' on deniable operations for British Intelligence.
McNab's fiction draws extensively on his experiences and knowledge of Special Forces soldiering. He has been officially registered by Neilsen Bookscan as the bestselling British thriller writer of the last year.
Trained as a specialist in counter terrorism, prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons and tactics, covert surveillance and information gathering in hostile environments, and VIP protection, McNab worked on cooperative operations with police forces, prison services, anti-drug forces and western backed guerrilla movements as well as on conventional special operations. In Northern Ireland he spent two years working as an undercover operator with 14th Intelligence Group, going on to become an instructor.
McNab also worked as an instructor on the SAS selection and training team and instructed foreign special forces in counter terrorism, hostage rescue and survival training.
Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK. To date it has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. The BBC's film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on primetime BBC 1 television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000.
Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of the bestseller lists following the lifting on an ex-parte injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence in September 1995. To date, Immediate Action has now sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK.
McNab is the author of seven fast action thrillers, highly acclaimed for their authenticity and all Sunday Times bestsellers. Published in 1997, Remote Control was hailed as the most authentic thriller ever written and has sold over half a million copies in the UK. McNab's subsequent thrillers, Crisis Four, Firewall, Last Light , Liberation Day , Dark Winter , Deep Black and Aggressor have all gone on to sell equally well. The central character in all the books is Nick Stone, a tough ex-SAS operative working as a 'K' on deniable operations for British Intelligence.
McNab's fiction draws extensively on his experiences and knowledge of Special Forces soldiering. He has been officially registered by Neilsen Bookscan as the bestselling British thriller writer of the last year.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 28, 2017
I decided to read this book because I had run out of Cherub and Henderson's boys books to read,so I needed a new action packed series.
A book written in 2005-2007,my own choice
A book with a male main character
My favorite quote from his book was "Honor Among Thieves" because it meant that he operated by a simple rule,when he went into business with another criminal, he would never do the dirty on his new partner unless they did the dirty on him. If they did the revenge would be swift, merciless and final. That's why it never happened. The reason I liked this quote is because it makes Fergus sound like a smart operative who knows his stuff,whilst also being tactical with how he makes people think.
Something new I learned from this book was that even if MI6 has the location of a known drug lab or weapons dealer,they'll keep an eye on them,try to get someone inside the gang and study what goes on and where stuff goes before they destroy the place. A character that I liked was Fergus,because he showed massive amounts of courage and bravery,especially when going to meet the gang bosses, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind. He also is a strong operator for MI6 because he's been in the forces for 10-20 years so he definitely knows his stuff when it comes to explosives,or weaponry. Cheers Luke
A book written in 2005-2007,my own choice
A book with a male main character
My favorite quote from his book was "Honor Among Thieves" because it meant that he operated by a simple rule,when he went into business with another criminal, he would never do the dirty on his new partner unless they did the dirty on him. If they did the revenge would be swift, merciless and final. That's why it never happened. The reason I liked this quote is because it makes Fergus sound like a smart operative who knows his stuff,whilst also being tactical with how he makes people think.
Something new I learned from this book was that even if MI6 has the location of a known drug lab or weapons dealer,they'll keep an eye on them,try to get someone inside the gang and study what goes on and where stuff goes before they destroy the place. A character that I liked was Fergus,because he showed massive amounts of courage and bravery,especially when going to meet the gang bosses, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind. He also is a strong operator for MI6 because he's been in the forces for 10-20 years so he definitely knows his stuff when it comes to explosives,or weaponry. Cheers Luke
January 22, 2014
This was a great read and finished off the series nicely. I liked the collaboration between McNab and Rigby. I have read a few of McNab's books and while I've enjoyed them, the writing often leaves a lot to be desired.
April 4, 2018
A lethal new drug with devastating side effects, known as Meltdown, is threatening to destabilize society. Dudley knows that the security services have to act fast, and when his 4 x 4 arrives at their remote hideout in the Canadian lakes, eighteen-year-old Danny and his grandfather, ex-SAS hero Fergus Watts, are once again sucked into a deadly undercover operation and a race against time.
Their search for the mastermind behind a pair of murderous gangland twins takes them from the clubs of Manchester to Spain and Germany, and Danny needs all his newly learned expertise when he comes up against an old adversary - someone he hoped never to encounter again. And this time, when the battle is joined, it is a battle to the end.
Their search for the mastermind behind a pair of murderous gangland twins takes them from the clubs of Manchester to Spain and Germany, and Danny needs all his newly learned expertise when he comes up against an old adversary - someone he hoped never to encounter again. And this time, when the battle is joined, it is a battle to the end.
June 18, 2020
Finally, a better ending (for the boy soldier series)
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
July 24, 2020
The series ended as it started, didn’t get better but didn’t get worse. Good story, average writing. Prefer McNab’s nonfiction.
April 3, 2023
Loved the series but from all 4 books this one was okay Payback and Avenger were my favourites
July 7, 2024
Another good read
Read
August 16, 2025Lekkere actie.
March 13, 2017
Great book
Love all the boy soldier books. I'm really sad that this was the last one though!
I would advise everyone to read this!
Love all the boy soldier books. I'm really sad that this was the last one though!
I would advise everyone to read this!
August 20, 2014
The final installment of the Watts family adventures is the most action-packed yet!
Once again, Danny Watts and his grandfather Fergus are on the run. But when Dudley, a top MI5 agent, tracks them down for help with a new mission, they finally have the chance to clear their names once and for all.
Danny and Fergus must find the makers of a dangerous new drug called Meltdown and destroy it before it can enter the mainstream, or even worse, fall into the hands of a radical terrorist group. But in order to do this, they must infiltrate the drug production network and once again get behind enemy lines, even fighting alongside their nemesis, Special Agent Deveraux. After all that they have been through, will Danny and Fergus finally be able to stop running?
Filled with all the action, excitement and SAS special operations techniques that have kept this series on the UK bestseller lists, Meltdown completes the Watts saga in grand fashion.
From School Library JournalGrade 7 Up—Meltdown is a new designer drug that can have devastating effects, including a violent and instantaneous death. Fergus, a longtime military operative with a checkered past, and Danny, his 18-year-old grandson, who has a penchant for allowing emotion to cause him to deviate from standard operating procedure, are recruited to locate the melt labs and destroy them. This novel, the final one in the series, moves quickly, winding through Danny's training, bouncing disjointedly between various viewpoints to cover all angles of the operation. Set in the United Kingdom, the story is loaded with military acronyms. Though there is a glossary, the narrative employs far more terms than are included, and the frequent flipping back and forth is awkward. What the tale lacks in literary merit, it makes up for in raw action, espionage, and violence; blood spraying from victims' heads as they are "double tapped" by the hero and trucks exploding in a ball of fire are par for the course. Purchase where the series is popular.—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Danny Watts and his secret-agent grandfather, Fergus, last seen in Avenger (2007), return for this final series installment. British intelligence suspects that the distributors of Meltdown, a lethal new drug, have dark, terrifying motives, and Danny and his grandfather are called on to investigate. In the Danny Watts novels, the world of intelligence is morally murky; those in the intelligence service are often as ruthless as those they hunt, and the authors don’t flinch from explicit descriptions of violence. At the end, Danny exacts coldhearted revenge on a fellow British agent and without regret begins his career in MI-5. Grades 8-11. --Todd Morning
June 4, 2013
Andy McNab and Robert Rigby’s Meltdown, the forth book in the Danny and Fergus Watts saga is an epic struggle to clear the Watts soiled family name. When Danny, 19 and Fergus, Danny’s grandfather find sanctuary from the British government after over a year of being hunted for Fergus and ex special forces of the military being framed for crimes against his country. After running away from a deal with the government, they are once again discovered from the shadows and asked to join with the British government to take down the creators of a new illegal drug, Meltdown. They are given an interesting offer, if they quit the quiet life, they will no longer be hunted and their file will be erased. However, doing so it runs the risk of Fergus putting his only grandson in danger once more.
This exiting and suspenseful novel and series will shake you to the core. Its twists and turns will leave you trembling on every page. The descriptive writing of this book is unbelievable and makes me feel as though I’m watching the action in front of me unfold before my eyes. I can easily recommend this book for anyone out there looking for a good suspense novel. I may not get into reading as other people but this book and series is by far my favorite. Witness how Danny, a young and innocent boy, slowly turn into a natural James Bond and master assassin. I read each book in the series cover to cover and I’d do it again; the ending of the exiting book left me begging for more, but to know the end, you’ll have to find for yourself.
This exiting and suspenseful novel and series will shake you to the core. Its twists and turns will leave you trembling on every page. The descriptive writing of this book is unbelievable and makes me feel as though I’m watching the action in front of me unfold before my eyes. I can easily recommend this book for anyone out there looking for a good suspense novel. I may not get into reading as other people but this book and series is by far my favorite. Witness how Danny, a young and innocent boy, slowly turn into a natural James Bond and master assassin. I read each book in the series cover to cover and I’d do it again; the ending of the exiting book left me begging for more, but to know the end, you’ll have to find for yourself.
February 21, 2010
This is the conclusion of the Boy Soldier series. Danny and Fergus are called in to locate and destroy a designer drub lab- twin chemists have designed an irresistibly addictive and deadly drug that is sweeping Britain and Europe- no one can find the manufacturing site or the distributors- the fallout of the drug promises to collapse social order, health and law enforcement infrastructure. If Fergus and Danny can successfully find the lab and eliminate all the criminals involved Fergus will be cleared and can truly retire.
This is a great action adventure I gave it two stars because it reads like a police report- the novelization and interpersonal plot lines that enriched the earlier books of the series is not here- at the same time, Fergus and Danny are somewhat estranged and preparing to part ways, Elena is gone so that story line is absent...
This is a great action adventure I gave it two stars because it reads like a police report- the novelization and interpersonal plot lines that enriched the earlier books of the series is not here- at the same time, Fergus and Danny are somewhat estranged and preparing to part ways, Elena is gone so that story line is absent...
January 4, 2010
the final book in the set of four... It was a very interesting. :) It catches you off gaurd, and has something new around every corner. I also find the great descriptions helpful on getting a picture of what the book is talking about.
This along with all of the other books keep you turning the pages. It is full of action. so if you like a book that has a lot of action poping out of the pages at you every time you flip the page... Then this is the book for you.
This along with all of the other books keep you turning the pages. It is full of action. so if you like a book that has a lot of action poping out of the pages at you every time you flip the page... Then this is the book for you.
January 17, 2011
Ytterligare en actionthriller i snabbt tempo. Dödsdrogen känns dessvärre mer som en tonårsbok än något jag skulle vänta mig finna bland vuxentitlarna. Berättelsen är en klassisk blandning av agenter, krigsveteraner, och härdade skurkar. Karaktärerna är dock väldigt stereotypa och allt i boken är antingen överdrivet förenklat, eller alldeles för väntat. Få överraskningar med andra ord, men för de yngre läsarna kan boken säkert fungera!
June 18, 2008
In the final chapter of the unlikely spy masters, Danny and Fergus Watts find themselves undercover at the request of the British Secret Service. Offered a chance to clear their names if they undertake one more mission, the Watts team infiltrates a drug dealer's ring.
Although the story clearly comes to an end, there is room for new adventures involving Danny. Fast paced and enjoyable!
Although the story clearly comes to an end, there is room for new adventures involving Danny. Fast paced and enjoyable!
September 2, 2011
Brilliant end to a series that got better and better with each book, liked the way halfway through the book when they started one of the chapters but never said who they were referring to in the manner that the person was out to get their own revenge on Andre....good twist that I never seen coming. Nicely wrapped up at the end too.
April 9, 2013
The final book in the Boy Soldier series I found not quite as good as the first three but still worthy of four stars for its action, thrills and fast paced story line. Reading all four books together is highly recommended.
December 6, 2009
AWESOME!
Read
May 27, 2011the beginning starts off with action I think the book will be very interesting i think they will find the drug producers and destroy them
July 19, 2012
Had me on the edge of my seat the entire ride.
November 6, 2013
One of my favourite endings ever.
Read
November 8, 2016I liked it a lot but i want another book to the series but its been 9 years so i do not think we will get one.
Read
May 31, 2017A lethal new drug with devastating side effects, known as Meltdown, is threatening to destabilize society. Dudley knows that the security services have to act fast, and when his 4 x 4 arrives at their remote hideout in the Canadian lakes, eighteen-year-old Danny and his grandfather, ex-SAS hero Fergus Watts, are once again sucked into a deadly undercover operation and a race against time. Their search for the mastermind behind a pair of murderous gangland twins takes them from the clubs of Manchester to Spain and Germany, and Danny needs all his newly learned expertise when he comes up against an old adversary - someone he hoped never to encounter again. And this time, when the battle is joined, it is a battle to the end.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews