Rating: 
Summary: Breathtaking Story-telling
Review: After two autobiographical works, Andy McNab ventured into the world of fiction with Remote Control - a story so believable you wonder whether it actually happened and the author was actually there. With Crisis Four he's done it again: fiction mixed with fact so cleverly that you find yourself shouting advice at the pages, angry and even upset when Nick Stone, the British 'deniable operator', doesn't heed your warnings! After taking you on a breathtaking ride through the first three-quarters of the novel, in the last few chapters McNab allows you to read between the lines and 'catch on' before he does. This is an outstanding thriller - please tell me, Mr McNab, there are plenty more to come!
Rating: 
Summary: Characteristic
Review: Again a typical McNab thriller. Thrilling until the very end (the last ten pages) !
Rating:
Summary: An action hero who is so real it's scary
Review: Andy McNab is a former British Special Operations Agent who has written both fact and fiction. Nick Stone, McNab's alter ego of sorts, is sent to track down fellow counter terrorist agent and former lover Sarah Greenwood who is in the U.S. and may have gone to the other side. He goes to a redneck supply store and a WalMart to stock up for a night of recon and spots Sarah and an Arab looking dude coming out of a lakeside retreat the next day. I trust that McNab didn't do everything Nick Stone does, but his SAS Elite and most decorated Brit soldier background make Nick the most credible of the current genre of super agents. The human side of Nick the assassin, who is totally competent in the field yet so easily manipulated, and McNab's descriptions of the mundane details of surveillance and pursuit make Nick seem real. British slang and lingo unfamiliar to the reader create a crystal clear picture when spoken by Nick. On page 160 he's ordered to kill Sarah. Twenty-five pages later he's dragging her through the Carolina woods dodging choppers (helis), dogs and automatic weapons. The flaws in the plot match the flaws in Nick and balance out to a huge leg up on Ludlum, Clancy, Follett et al. It's also kind of cool that the title doesn't come into play until page 345. "Crisis Four" is one of four command posts in the White House where the good guys and the bad guys will ultimately sort out.
Rating: 
Summary: A good plot ruined by slang and expletives
Review: Andy McNab seems to have the details of special ops down, and the plot was superb. The characterization of Nick Stone is strong, and the story line is interesting. As my first introduction to McNab's writing, it was disappointing to see the text littered with so many unnecessary expletives and British slang. I'm no prude, but it was extremely distracting.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Another awesome book by Andy Mcnab, my idol.
Rating: 
Summary: Like drinking pure alcohol
Review: As with such a drink, reading this book has two effects. First, with few exceptions, other "action" thrillers suddenly appear miserably inadequate in real secret agent knowledge and fieldcraft. Armchair novelists - even those who are gifted, work hard and do lots of research - just can't know how it's really done. McNab does, from his contemporary SAS training. Any of several episodes from this book will give you more true action than a whole set of novels by the many hack writers around. Reading the hero's approach to the guarded house, and his invasion of it, is an experience to be savored. You could pick up "Crisis Four" for this alone. More, Mr. McNab, please!
But while the pure stuff has a great effect, you badly miss the other elements of a really fine drink. McNab does a decent job of putting together a character, and placing him in a situation. But like so many authors, he can't handle his own plot. Events go increasingly overboard, and the characters and their actions become decreasingly believable, as he struggles to a conclusion. It finally degenerates into superhero antics.
Why do thriller writers seek ever more outrageous plots, with complexities they can't begin to handle? (And why do ex-SAS authors always have to include a gorgeous but deadly MI5 agent of uncertain loyalties?) It seems like paint-by-numbers after a while. Chris Ryan's "Greed" is a similar book, ruined by its ludicrous plot and development.
Having said all this... I will certainly grab the next McNab.
Rating:
Summary: Crisis Four is a great continuation of the Nick Stone series
Review: Crisis Four picks up were 'Remote Control' left off. Nick Stone the Ex SAS trooper does deniable operations for the British Intelligence Service. In this story Nick Stone is Blackmailed to hunt down an old 'friend' believed to have changed her allegiance. This story is great, I really enjoy reading Andy McNab's books, his writing style is so down to Earth, and he gets his point across with remarkable ease. I like the way he emphasizes that although Nick Stone is well trained, he isn't superman. He can't bust down a door, dive on in and take out 5 bad guys with 5 well aimed shots as he would if he was starring in a Hollywood movie. Life isn't like that, as McNab served in the SAS and is, himself, a well trained soldier, there is no one better to write this kind of book. Its fiction but its believable, and as the events in this book unfold, you realize that Nick Stone is just a human and years and years of SAS training can only do so much. The poor guy is still a sucker to his emotions. This is a really great book but I really recommend reading it in order, McNab doesn't spend much time explaining what happened in the previous book so in order to fully get the story I recommend reading 'Remote Control' First. 4 Stars, although a great book, its not the best of the series. Stone series
Rating:
Summary: Crisis Four is a great continuation of the Nick Stone series
Review: Crisis Four picks up were 'Remote Control' left off. Nick Stone the Ex SAS trooper does deniable operations for the British Intelligence Service. In this story Nick Stone is Blackmailed to hunt down an old 'friend' believed to have changed her allegiance. This story is great, I really enjoy reading Andy McNab's books, his writing style is so down to Earth, and he gets his point across with remarkable ease. I like the way he emphasizes that although Nick Stone is well trained, he isn't superman. He can't bust down a door, dive on in and take out 5 bad guys with 5 well aimed shots as he would if he was starring in a Hollywood movie. Life isn't like that, as McNab served in the SAS and is, himself, a well trained soldier, there is no one better to write this kind of book. Its fiction but its believable, and as the events in this book unfold, you realize that Nick Stone is just a human and years and years of SAS training can only do so much. The poor guy is still a sucker to his emotions. This is a really great book but I really recommend reading it in order, McNab doesn't spend much time explaining what happened in the previous book so in order to fully get the story I recommend reading 'Remote Control' First. 4 Stars, although a great book, its not the best of the series. Stone series
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Remote Control
Review: First things first. I absolutely loved Remote Control. I scanned Amazon regularly to see when Andy McNab's next book was out and ordered it the day it appeared. I put down another book the minute Crisis Four showed up. Now that I've read it, I'm a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong - it's not bad. It just pales in comparison to Remote Control. Oh, sure, most of the action will knock you out of your chair (two insanely great scenes - clearing the lake house and the pursuit through the woods). The tradecraft has an authentic feel to it. The characters are a bit less flat than Remote Control. So why the disappointment? The components are all there, but they don't add up to a very exciting whole. McNab is an entertaining writer, once he gets going. It's just that the basic premise of this story is not all that compelling. In addition, the characters, while a little bit less flat than Remote Control's, are also less interesting. Sarah is not very sympathetic. Lynn and Elizabeth are barely there. Josh is just a sap. Compare these characters to Slack Pat and Euan - there might not have been much detail to them, but they were memorable. So, bottom line: Crisis Four is pretty good. It's not as good as Remote Control. Even still, I look forward to the next adventure of Nick Stone.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping action delivered the McNab way.
Review: From the very beginning I was deeply absorbed in this thriller, and with it's romance, Government conspiracy, roaring action and heart stopping suspense there really is something for everyone. Originally a fan of McNab's non-fiction work, the idea of him writing fiction took a little getting used to, but after reading the equally brilliant 'Remote Control' I was well and truly hooked. McNab excels as a descriptive writer and 'Crisis Four' is arguably his best yet. Chris Stone - an ex-SAS special forces operative is ordered to locate a former colleague who has mysteriously disappeared. Along the way it becomes evident that this could be the most devastating mission of his life... The pace of the book surges along and his action sequences have to be read to be believed - perhaps to the point of being unbelievable in some cases, but not many. Surprisingly tender and empathic in amongst all the action, one can't help thinking that if Andy McNab blew his nose on a piece of file paper, it would be readable.
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