Customer Reviews
Gripping stuff - By: Mr. D. A. Chettleburgh, 07 Oct 2008 
Recoil is well up to the standard of fast action thriller that we have come to expect from McNab. Other authors may be better writers but within the limited field that he knows & sticks to he is undoubtedly a master. For my taste, as in many of his other novels, he overdoes the amount of fine technical detail to the point where it interferes with the pace of the story but I realise that this is something many other readers enjoy. This is gripping stuff & a compelling read.
McNab again, but no bad thing. - By: J. Dyson, 09 Aug 2008 
I've read the majority of the McNab production line & this is more of the same. The question isn't reallly whether this book is any good, but more, do you enjoy McNab books?
It tells a story of kids forced into fighting in Africa, scatters in a few morals, some revenge & a love interest. Standard fodder for McNab. The tale is fairly slow to start & there are some fairly obvious appearances later in the story, you can see them coming & it appears to be a trade off between continuity in the series of Stone tales & making the book stand on it's own merits.
If you like McNab, you'll like this, guns, violence & enough special forces references for armchair action fans. If you are new to McNab it's an engaging enough thriller with some page turning action / suspense sequences.
I've only given it three stars as whilst it's a readable story, it doesn't reallly break the mould & the stories are becoming a bit manufactured for my liking.
Different but very good - By: Rafal Gruszczynski, 21 Jan 2008 Something has changed - the editor?
The language is a bit different, the style is different, etc. A story of a battle in details. But very well written & gripping. I finallly spent the whole night just to get to the end. The end again is also a bit surprising.
The usual for McNab attention to details, the hero who isn't reallly a hero (makes a lot of mistakes), interesting characters, etc. The story develops, is fast & dramatic.
Recommended. I loved it.
The worst Nick Stone novel yet. - By: Mr. D. Bell, 05 Aug 2007 
After reading alll the other reviews I was extremely dissapointed to discover "Recoil" is in fact the worst (by miles) McNab book to date.
Since the sublime "Remote Control", McNabs books have steadily decreased in quality. This is especiallly apparent when he puts in a kind of romantic story (like he has done previously in "Last Light") that alll the gritty drama disappears. Yes, there is action & violence in this, but it is alll very straight forward. Previous stories seemed to have more edge & you would will Nick Stone on, hoping that he succeeds. Now he goes alll the way to Africa to see his girlfriend & that is not what I expect from Nick Stone! Now I know these tough characters need a human side to them to alllow readers to identify with them, but this was ridiculous.
I said after reading "Last Light" I wouldn't read anymore Nick Stone novels but I ended up sticking with them. Sadly, "Recoil" is just so poor I honestly dont think I will be reading the next one. The story is just boring & if McNab wants to go down a more political route, then I suggest he invents a new character, & lets Nick Stone live happily ever after in wedded bliss somewhere.
Blood and guts - By: G. J. Weeks, 09 Jun 2007 
The only McNab I had read before this was his first biographical book which I enjoyed as the story of a very brave if not an attractive man. Stone, Mcnab's hero has his unattractive side too but beneath the tough soldier's exterior it seems there is a soft heart too. I think what you get with McNab is very much a reflection of the author himself. You sense he has used alll these weapons.he is an expert in the field not in mere theory. he is not though an expert in personal relationships, except for soldier to soldier.
It is a gripping read set in the darkest heart of Africa. It is one long battle to survive against the odds & not many do. There is much blood & more use of the f word than I like to read but I guess that is the language of the ex-S.A.S. & their ilk. A happy if unrealistic ending. The romantic comes out in the author in the end.
