Duncan Williamson: Book Review The Increment rya3.html

As I was reading this I felt that it's a good job I never get involved with anyone remotely resembling the people in such books as this. Given Chris Ryan's career as a soldier and bodyguard I have to conclude that he writes about the things that he knows and whilst it's probably true that there is an element of fantasy in at least some of what he writes, there must be a lot of truth in it too.

Gulp! I can't imagine coming face to face with the people in this book and taking them on in the way that we read about here. A crack force of assassins comes to my home and within seconds I would be dead. Easy peasy lemon squeasy!

Ryan's characters are trained to fight back, to out think and out smart their enemy and to live to fight another day. Just think about it: minding your own business when four crack troops are sent to track you down. They do track you down. What on earth would you do? Even if you're in your car, could you escape through a busy crowded city such as London without harming anyone else? Would you have the wit to shake your enemy off your trail using physical and mental strength alone?

See the point? Read the book then if you like such tales of military mayhem.

The story is a credible one with several twists: our hero is recruited after years of retirement to a life in Spain when the outfit turns up out of the blue to give him just one more job or lose everything he has and owns.

He takes on the job even though his partner tells him that he walks out of the door and he never walks back in again. She dies!

The job seems above board and the "lady" assigned to the case is a stunner who says she'll never sleep with the hero so he can forget it: that's like being told by a doctor that you won't live through the night only to find yourself still alive and kicking three years later! It's a cert that they'll do it!

The job gets done, in the Ukraine. The lady becomes more than just an assistant or secretary and she has interesting sexual proclivities ... read the book to find out.

There is a sub plot: former soldiers suddenly being murdered and our hero becomes embroiled in that story too. This part of the story is hauntingly realistic in today's UK I'm afraid, ghastly as it is. He sleeps with the woman at the centre of that story, too: not to give too much away.

The sub plots runs throughout the book and the main plot becomes nasty. Our hero copes, sleeps with a woman and copes some more. Hiding, living rough, fighting are the mainstays of this story that has a lot of characters in it. Our hero gets a good run for his money and not all of the goodies live to fight another day.

The "lady" has her own story and that adds grist to the mill that didn't come as much of a surprise when it did finally come but at least it turns her from a rock hard case to a character with greater depth.

There are undercurrents to this book that seem to me both scary and real: I can imagine that there are businesses like this, there are people like this and there are heroes like this running around heroically.

A good read from a man with a talent for a good story.