Customer Reviews
Real issues wrapped up in brilliant fiction - By: Mohamed, 09 Nov 2008 
Terrorism alll wrapped up with the issues of veterans returning to civilian life & alll the anxiety that it brings. As far as thrillers go this was very good. The characters were deep & enthrallling, keeping your interest alll the way through. There was enough suspense to keep you turning the pages, & plenty of action. If you enjoy Lee Child`s Jack Reacher books then this will please you. I`m a series fan & enjoy Child & Michael Connelly books immensely, if you like the terrorist plot kind of thriller read the `Soft Target` books by Conrad Jones. They are frightening & unputdownable!! The new Andy Mcnab is also a winner, I read it in two sittings. Back to the review, ten out of ten.
Ryan's best novel for some years. - By: Mr. D. Mann, 22 Sep 2008 You know what to expect when you start reading a Chris Ryan novel. The formula has been well established by now & the author has become, over time, extremely proficient at his work. Readers familiar with Mr Ryan's style will naturallly expect certain elements to be present in the work - the trademark action sequences & procedural details, for example - but many reviews of the authors' last few novels seem to suggest that, in doing so, the work has lost some of the immediacy that Mr Ryan's earlier novels undoubtedly possessed. An unfair assessment, to say the very least!
Firefight is certainly one of the best novels Ryan has written in many years, & that is said by a reader who has greatly enjoyed the most recent offerings, as much as the first 'glory days' of Geordie Sharp. Mr Ryan's novels are always tremendous fun to read & in this respect Firefight is no disappointment. As to the formulaic nature of Mr Ryan's style, the old cliche about 'not fixing it if it isn't broken' works well. Indeed in Firefight & many of the more recent novels the author does indeed seem to be breaking new ground from within a highly effective structure. Strike Back, with it's central character of a troubled, homeless veteran looked at the darker side of life after the army & the problems that often are encountered. Firefight also looks at some of the strains & traumas that ex-soldiers experience, while never failing to keep the excitement & energy one expects from Mr Ryan's novels, at full throttle. The plot works extremely well, based as it is around compelling anxieties, about the threat of terrorism, that are very much in the public consciousness. Taking his themes & ideas from the 'headlines' & predominant cultural anxieties has proved to be another of Mr Ryan's strengths. His work always have some degree of popular relevance to support the trademark excitement. While Mr Ryan's style is unmistakable & reassuringly familiar in Firefight, it is a pleasure to read the novel & notice how the author's work has evolved.
In short, Firefight comes extremely well recommended. As ever, the action sequences are superb, the characters engaging & empathetic & the plot is one of the best that Mr Ryan has come up with in many years. Let's hope there will be more like this to come. An outstanding novel.
