Remote Control

This author describes things to the nth degree(!) making this book a lousy read, with a lousy ending. This is no 'spy thriller' - it's just one long, boring story. If the protagonist, for instance, is going to the corner store, he'll describe every step, every turn, EVERYTHING, it took for him to get there. It took everything I had to finish it. Don't waste your $$ unless you're interested in 500 pages of worthlessness.

Andy McNab's first thriller is a top-notch combination of violent action, pulse-pounding excitement and edge of your seat suspense. In "Remote Control" McNab introduces a new hero, Nick Stone, who makes most other famous fictional heroes look like prancing twits (can you say "Dirk Pitt"?) An ex-SAS operator and current deniable ops specialist for Britain, Stone is something of a cross between Hammett's Continental Op and Alistair MacLean's Phillip Calvert: tough as jacketed hollow points, totally on-task, and cunning enough to beat the bad guys at their own game. Nick Stone has more life in him (and more blood and soul) than any action hero this side of Pendleton era Mack Bolan. The action in "Remote Control" never lets up for more than a few pages, and even when Stone isn't facing guns and fists he's deep into the task at hand and planning 2 or 3 moves ahead so that the pace just keeps up and the tension builds. Stone has to work against a plot without any help after he finds the family of a friend murdered. On the run and out in the cold with his friend's seven year old daughter in tow, Stone uses his training, intelligence and toughness to best advantage. And just when he's past one challenge, an even greater one confronts him. The story is told in first person and it really sounds like authentic dialogue. This is like the golden age of Len Deighton's spy writing but with a tougher and more realistic hero. Hard-boiled stuff! The great relationship between childless Stone and seven year old Kelly is a wonderful thing in this book. I think I worried as much for him when he had to finally tell Kelly her family was dead as when he was in any of the many deadly encounters in the story. McNab obviously knows something about children and Kelly's character is so real it makes the reader very frightened for her safety. The cover quote from author Stephen Coonts claims McNab is "the best suspense thriller writer. . . since Alistair MacLean" and I can't argue with that. This book was everything you'll want in a thriller. I can't wait to start the next one! This is a 5 star effort if ever there was one. Read it.

There are a few books that are so suspenseful and action-packed I have been unable to put them down. Remote Control is one of them. Ex-SAS 'K' Nick Stone is assigned to follow a group of Provisional IRA members on their way to Washington. His mission is cut short, but before leaving, he decides to visit a friend's family. At this point, McNab plunges the reader into a rollercoaster ride of emotions as Stone finds the family savagely murdered. From there on, the action does not stop - Stone finds himself and 7-year-old Kelly, the family's only survivor, pursued by mysterious forces intent on capturing them both. An array of supporting characters add to the drama - 'Slack' Pat the ex-SAS drug addict, Al De Niro the ex-mobster, Euan the best friend, and more. Stone himself is a brilliant creation, a hero with a sizeable share of ruthlessness - you can't help but wonder how much of McNab is in Stone. Remote Control creates a world which is brutal, thrilling and shockingly realistic - quite simply one of the best books you'll find.

From the first page all the way to the final one, Andy McNab's "Remote Control" was a gripping and fantastic read.Readers will follow the main character of Nick Stone from Gilbraltar to London and then on to the United States. While on what is termed a "deniable assignment", Nick contacts a former SAS colleague, only to find upon his arrival at their home that Kev and his family have been brutally murdered. All but one.... their seven year old daughter Kelly.This story never loses its pace. Nick and Kelly are on the run from people trying to kill them at every turn. But it's the growing relationship between Nick and Kelly that I find truly memorable. At first Nick tries his best to protect the young girl from the forces closing in on them, only to slowly find himself growing to rely on Kelly with every turn of the page. I totally agree that this is a "can't put down" novel. Your heart will race at the clever twists and turns McNab has crafted. The supporting cast of characters are highly developed. From the dangerous IRA hitmen, to Stone's British employers at The Firm, to fellow SAS members Pat and Euan, all the way to the federally relocated mobster Big Al DeNiro. Each is a living, breathing character adding to the tension and brilliant storyline!This is a novel that begs a sequel so readers can see what further developments take place between Nick and Kelly. They are two unforgettable characters!Very well done, Mr. McNab!

I absolutely could not put this book down! McNab has a gift for writing action. The tradecraft sure sounds believable to a civillian like me. The characters are a bit cardboard-like, and I wonder how much time McNab has spent with children, but who cares? I was completely sucked in from the first page. The fight in the PIRA office in DC is a stunner, and it's not even the best part of the book. I'm looking forward to McNab's next effort.

REMOTE CONTROL is an exciting, bullet flying, rib cracking, guts spewing story about an ex-SAS man, Nick Stone, who gets caught up in the vicious murder of an old friend and his family. Rescuing the only surviving member of the massacre a seven-year-old shell shocked little girl called Kelly, Nick goes on the run, and finds out that even friends are potential enemies in a world of IRA deals, drug cartels and messy TransAtlantic politics. This is a knuckle bitingly good book and I spent the whole of an evening reading it from cover to cover. Andy McNab is as good a writer of fiction as he is of fact. I liked his hero because it showed the man to be human and not just a killing machine as SAS soldiers are often portrayed in many novels. I hope that McNab thinks of writing a sequel to REMOTE CONTROL as Nick Stone and Kelly make quite a formidable team. A big thumbs up for this cracker of a first novel.