Decided to read this book after watching the BBC series. The movie and the book were very similar, except for some minor details; although its quite interesting to see how the ending differs between the movie and the book.

I would be honest upfront. This is just simple hostage-rescue book. There is nothing is special about the story. But once you get into reading it, Chris Ryan's writing style takes over and you cannot put it down. It's gripping. You can guess the story and anticipate the next move but still cannot stop reading it thanks to the writing style.

This is my first time with Chris Ryan and I might have chosen poorly for my first adventure.

The story is good, however, the writing style felt rushed as if this was done to a short deadline. I would like to read some of his earlier works, to try and get a bit more of a feel to him.

Quite a good book, pacy action, but as I am more used to more intelligent and twisty spy thrillers I found the easy plot with gaping holes a bit too simple. Enjoyable read though.

Went into this expecting an old boring war book about guns and military tactics but instead I got a really fast paced and action filled story about a hero I was really rooting for. I wasn't just dropped into the middle of the action it was built up and explained and we got to see where the hero was coming from. I have never read a book like this before and was pleasantly surprised I liked it. My only complaints about this were the gross description of women and how they were viewed and the fact that almost every single page had racist remarks. After the 50th racist line directed at Arabs I'd gotten the point but it kept going and for that it lost a star.

Chris Ryan's Strike Back is not my usual choice of reading material. But I had watched and very much enjoyed the British TV series that was adapted from it and was frustrated with the way the second series was handled (a US/UK reboot with the lead character being killed off within 15 minutes of the first episode). Picking up the book felt like a natural choice after that.

Like the TV series, the book does suffer from flaky characterisations and weak storytelling and ultimately is a bit of male fantasy fiction. Despite this, the story is tight and suspenseful, something that keeps you on the edge of your seat and glued to the pages. Author Chris Ryan's writing was a bit clunky and awkward, which I had suspected it would be, but it was solid enough to do the job.

The protagonist, John Porter, is an intriguing character, an ex-SAS officer who left the Regiment when things went wrong on a mission. When the books kicks off, he's an alcoholic living on the streets and in a bad way, and the struggle he has to "clean up" and rebuild his reputation makes of an interesting read, however much it's quickly shoved into the background. I do like the TV series interpretation of John Porter better, though I think it's because the actor (Richard Armitage) is such a charismatic actor. On paper, TV!Porter is pretty much a Gary-Stu – too perfect to be believable - but on screen he's utterly compelling thanks to Armitage's acting skills.

That, and TV!Porter hits my narrative kink for being someone who gets hurt pretty badly, but still manages to get out of trouble on their own by being a badass.

Every other character in Ryan's book, however, fell flat to me. I did feel like there was the potential for the characters of Layla and Peregrine "Perry" Collinson to be developed and expanded, but the story is ultimately too focused on the edge-of-your-seat tension and drama, which Collinson and Layla are removed from.

The ending suffers from the same problem the last book I read did. It's too busy waving it's hands around screaming "sequel! There's going to be a sequel! POSSIBLY A WHOLE SERIES!" rather than summing up what's happened. Strike Back is even more annoying because this book was published in 2007 and despite Ryan regularly publishing books, there is no sequel, nor any other sign that there will be one. It would have been more satisfying if Ryan had cut this from the book and allowed what came before – Porter's reunion with his estranged daughter – to stand on its own as the final word on Porter.

Strike Back is what I'd call a "popcorn" read – it's fast, enjoyable and not that deep. It's got a list of flaws a mile long and it is a male fantasy piece. But it's a fun, tense read that I can't really put a lot effort into hating.

Fast paced and adventurous. A truly great action novel