What do you think?
Rate this book
Nick Stone #8
Aggressor
Ex-deniable operator Nick Stone seems to be living his dream, not a care in the world as he steers his camper van round the surfing and parachuting paradise of Australia, a board on the roof, a freefall rig behind him, and a beautiful young backpacker at his side.
But when he sees a news report of the massacre of women and children in a terrorist outrage the other side of the world, long-suppressed memories are triggered, and Nick knows he must risk everything to repay a longstanding debt of friendship.
As events unfold in the bleak, medieval villages of Georgia and teeming streets of modern Istanbul, Nick finds himself catapulted once more into the murky, clandestine world he thought he'd left behind - a world in the grip of nameless enemies who linger in the shadows, and stalk the corridors of power...
Hurtled at breakneck pace through a deadly landscape of greed, violence and ever-shifting allegiances, the reader will be left in no doubt that McNab is the master of the genre - and Aggressor shows McNab at his searing, blockbusting best.
But when he sees a news report of the massacre of women and children in a terrorist outrage the other side of the world, long-suppressed memories are triggered, and Nick knows he must risk everything to repay a longstanding debt of friendship.
As events unfold in the bleak, medieval villages of Georgia and teeming streets of modern Istanbul, Nick finds himself catapulted once more into the murky, clandestine world he thought he'd left behind - a world in the grip of nameless enemies who linger in the shadows, and stalk the corridors of power...
Hurtled at breakneck pace through a deadly landscape of greed, violence and ever-shifting allegiances, the reader will be left in no doubt that McNab is the master of the genre - and Aggressor shows McNab at his searing, blockbusting best.
477 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
172 people are currently reading
999 people want to read
About the author
Andy McNab
205 books1,160 followersAndy McNab joined the infantry in 1976 as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was badged as a member of 22 SAS Regiment. He served in B Squadron 22 SAS for ten years and worked on both covert and overt special operations worldwide, including anti-terrorist and anti-drug operations in the Middle and Far East, South and Central America and Northern Ireland.
Trained as a specialist in counter terrorism, prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons and tactics, covert surveillance and information gathering in hostile environments, and VIP protection, McNab worked on cooperative operations with police forces, prison services, anti-drug forces and western backed guerrilla movements as well as on conventional special operations. In Northern Ireland he spent two years working as an undercover operator with 14th Intelligence Group, going on to become an instructor.
McNab also worked as an instructor on the SAS selection and training team and instructed foreign special forces in counter terrorism, hostage rescue and survival training.
Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK. To date it has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. The BBC's film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on primetime BBC 1 television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000.
Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of the bestseller lists following the lifting on an ex-parte injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence in September 1995. To date, Immediate Action has now sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK.
McNab is the author of seven fast action thrillers, highly acclaimed for their authenticity and all Sunday Times bestsellers. Published in 1997, Remote Control was hailed as the most authentic thriller ever written and has sold over half a million copies in the UK. McNab's subsequent thrillers, Crisis Four, Firewall, Last Light , Liberation Day , Dark Winter , Deep Black and Aggressor have all gone on to sell equally well. The central character in all the books is Nick Stone, a tough ex-SAS operative working as a 'K' on deniable operations for British Intelligence.
McNab's fiction draws extensively on his experiences and knowledge of Special Forces soldiering. He has been officially registered by Neilsen Bookscan as the bestselling British thriller writer of the last year.
Trained as a specialist in counter terrorism, prime target elimination, demolitions, weapons and tactics, covert surveillance and information gathering in hostile environments, and VIP protection, McNab worked on cooperative operations with police forces, prison services, anti-drug forces and western backed guerrilla movements as well as on conventional special operations. In Northern Ireland he spent two years working as an undercover operator with 14th Intelligence Group, going on to become an instructor.
McNab also worked as an instructor on the SAS selection and training team and instructed foreign special forces in counter terrorism, hostage rescue and survival training.
Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK. To date it has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. The BBC's film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on primetime BBC 1 television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000.
Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of the bestseller lists following the lifting on an ex-parte injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence in September 1995. To date, Immediate Action has now sold over 1.4 million copies in the UK.
McNab is the author of seven fast action thrillers, highly acclaimed for their authenticity and all Sunday Times bestsellers. Published in 1997, Remote Control was hailed as the most authentic thriller ever written and has sold over half a million copies in the UK. McNab's subsequent thrillers, Crisis Four, Firewall, Last Light , Liberation Day , Dark Winter , Deep Black and Aggressor have all gone on to sell equally well. The central character in all the books is Nick Stone, a tough ex-SAS operative working as a 'K' on deniable operations for British Intelligence.
McNab's fiction draws extensively on his experiences and knowledge of Special Forces soldiering. He has been officially registered by Neilsen Bookscan as the bestselling British thriller writer of the last year.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
July 17, 2012
Another in the Nick Stone 'deniable ops' series... nothing need be said - five stars says it all really. McNab seems to have a never ending bank of ideas that are played out in total gripping suspense. The plots never fail to please and his books just get better and better. I agree with the Sunday Times review "McNab's greatest asset is that the heart of his fiction is non-fiction; other thriller writers do their research, but he has actually been there." And it shows! Brilliant.
February 5, 2014
entertaining quick read of trashy fiction - highly unbelievable but very entertaining and something to help turn the brain off.
nothing at all taxing, but you wouldn't expect it from something like this.
nothing at all taxing, but you wouldn't expect it from something like this.
May 17, 2020
I think I’ll start off with a small confession – even though I have “read” every single Nick Stone volume up to this one, “Aggressor” is the first one I’ve actually read/read. I’ve enjoyed all the previous installments in this series in audiobook format.
Why is this fact important? Well, I don’t know if change of “medium” has anything to do with the impression this book has left on me or if it’s just plain bad luck… but darn, this was a slow and boring read. The main story arc gained momentum very late in the book and even when it finally did, it barely kept my interest. The way it was set up, there was only one way it could pan out and you can see it from a mile away.
The saving grace of “Aggressor” is the main character himself and the ‘credit’ he has built with me over the course of the years. By now Nick Stone is my buddy and I genuinely care about what happens with the lad. But I certainly do hope that he’ll stop flapping and gets his shit together in next book of the series.
Why is this fact important? Well, I don’t know if change of “medium” has anything to do with the impression this book has left on me or if it’s just plain bad luck… but darn, this was a slow and boring read. The main story arc gained momentum very late in the book and even when it finally did, it barely kept my interest. The way it was set up, there was only one way it could pan out and you can see it from a mile away.
The saving grace of “Aggressor” is the main character himself and the ‘credit’ he has built with me over the course of the years. By now Nick Stone is my buddy and I genuinely care about what happens with the lad. But I certainly do hope that he’ll stop flapping and gets his shit together in next book of the series.
December 29, 2020
An ok read - not his best.
November 6, 2022
Brilliant and full of action - well worth the time it took to read.
April 26, 2016
I'm a great fan of Andy McNab's thrillers about Nick Stone, and I was not disappointed! There might be a few too convenient plot-twists (that Nick decides to follow Charlie without pay, that they run into the journalist team while on the run, first comes to mind). And yet I buy it all, for the sheer pleasure of reading a story that I have no idea where it will end!
Even the start is a bit of a red herring - it starts in Waco, Texas, on the dreadful bust on the Branch Davidian sect. But that only serves to present two important characters: "Bastard" and Nick's friend Charlie. It could be seen as a distraction, but I'm so fascinated by the telling of the events - McNab makes it seem very plausible, I suspect he has researched the event well. And it gives you a clue to why it went so horribly wrong - talk about "overkill".
Then we go by Australia, where many years later Nick pays a visit to the now retired Charlie and his family. It seems like Nick enjoys living the good life with his cute German girlfriend Silky, but I suspect a part of him is an adrenalin junkie, as he quickly agrees to go and find Charlie when he suddenly disappears.
The description of Georgia, where Charlie and Nick end up on their mission, is not a flattering one - I suspect the authorities would not mind banning this book... But the political critique is scathing - which other thriller writer manages to put in such harsch political commentary and get away with it?
As usual, McNab's book is full of contrasts: wry humour, skilled trade craft in soldiering, horrific violence, and as mentioned, political critique.
The end is too abrupt though - after all this struggle, hux flux and Nick is back in Australia, having failed to protect his old mate Charlie, at least he has brought his body home. But the whole extraction from Georgia via Turkey is just brushed over. Well, in a way I can understand it - the main baddies are dead, and now it is just a matter of sweeping up the last pieces and stash them away.
This is the eighth book in the Nick Stone series, and I still am not tired of the guy! My favourite thrillers used to be Lee Child's books on Jack Reacher, but they have become somewhat repetivite by now. But Andy McNab still manages to surprise and keep up the suspense, so I am really happy that there currently are 9 more books about Nick Stone to read!
Even the start is a bit of a red herring - it starts in Waco, Texas, on the dreadful bust on the Branch Davidian sect. But that only serves to present two important characters: "Bastard" and Nick's friend Charlie. It could be seen as a distraction, but I'm so fascinated by the telling of the events - McNab makes it seem very plausible, I suspect he has researched the event well. And it gives you a clue to why it went so horribly wrong - talk about "overkill".
Then we go by Australia, where many years later Nick pays a visit to the now retired Charlie and his family. It seems like Nick enjoys living the good life with his cute German girlfriend Silky, but I suspect a part of him is an adrenalin junkie, as he quickly agrees to go and find Charlie when he suddenly disappears.
The description of Georgia, where Charlie and Nick end up on their mission, is not a flattering one - I suspect the authorities would not mind banning this book... But the political critique is scathing - which other thriller writer manages to put in such harsch political commentary and get away with it?
As usual, McNab's book is full of contrasts: wry humour, skilled trade craft in soldiering, horrific violence, and as mentioned, political critique.
The end is too abrupt though - after all this struggle, hux flux and Nick is back in Australia, having failed to protect his old mate Charlie, at least he has brought his body home. But the whole extraction from Georgia via Turkey is just brushed over. Well, in a way I can understand it - the main baddies are dead, and now it is just a matter of sweeping up the last pieces and stash them away.
This is the eighth book in the Nick Stone series, and I still am not tired of the guy! My favourite thrillers used to be Lee Child's books on Jack Reacher, but they have become somewhat repetivite by now. But Andy McNab still manages to surprise and keep up the suspense, so I am really happy that there currently are 9 more books about Nick Stone to read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2012
very credible- Good research, pace and empathy.
April 3, 2018
Da cosa cominciare?
La sinossi è sicuramente interessante e attira il lettore che viene invogliato a leggere il libro. Per di più il titolo promette un’avventura entusiasmante e, dato che si parla anche di terrorismo, sempre nella sinossi, si può immaginare che sia anche abbastanza attuale.
Peccato che, a fine romanzo, io ancora non abbia capito chi sia lo sterminatore e il famoso e crudelissimo terrorista sia spuntato fuori circa quaranta pagine prima della fine del libro.
Andy McNab, pseudonimo usato per motivi di sicurezza, ha lavorato nei SAS e quando descrive quel mondo è chiaro che sa di cosa sta parlando, peccato che non tutti noi abbiamo avuto le sue stesse esperienze e, personalmente, certi termini avrei preferito venissero spiegati e non lasciati a una ricerca su google.
Un altro problema del romanzo, da non attribuire assolutamente all’autore, è la traduzione: i tempi verbali cambiano dal passato al presente senza soluzione di continuità e durante una narrazione al passato mi è capitato spesso di leggere parole quali “adesso” ed “ora” che non avevano alcun senso dato che non erano fatti che stavano accadendo ma che si erano già conclusi. Tuttavia la mia edizione è molto vecchia, spero che in una versione più recente questi errori siano stati sistemati.
Nel complesso è avvincente, tira bene fino alla fine e non risulta pesante, anche se per il genere avrei quasi preferito fosse più crudo e le scene, magari anche cruente, fossero spiegate un po’ meglio dato che spesso un’intera azione viene concluse con poche parole lasciandoci sulla bocca la domanda: “ma come è possibile?”.
Una serie di rocambolesche avventure si susseguono senza dare neanche un attimo di tregua a Nick e Charlie che si ritrovano ad essere sballottati a destra e a sinistra e a passare dalla padella alla brace nel giro di pochissime pagine e, quando pensi che le cose non possano andare peggio, McNab riesce a stupirti e a farle andare ancora peggio.
Non è il migliore che lui abbia scritto, questo è certo dato che vi sono sue opere che hanno dato vita a veri e propri capolavori anche sul fronte videoludico e, mi pare, anche cinematografico quale, ad esempio, la serie BATTLEFIELD ormai diventata famosissima.
Nonostante tutto, arrivare in fondo è doveroso. Le ultime quaranta pagine sono la parte migliore del libro e vale la pena arrivarci e godersele: qui, finalmente, le descrizioni si fanno chiare e nitide e anche molto coinvolgenti e drammatiche, se fosse stato tutto così non avrei esitato a dargli il massimo dei voti.
https://arcadialoscaffalesullalaguna....
La sinossi è sicuramente interessante e attira il lettore che viene invogliato a leggere il libro. Per di più il titolo promette un’avventura entusiasmante e, dato che si parla anche di terrorismo, sempre nella sinossi, si può immaginare che sia anche abbastanza attuale.
Peccato che, a fine romanzo, io ancora non abbia capito chi sia lo sterminatore e il famoso e crudelissimo terrorista sia spuntato fuori circa quaranta pagine prima della fine del libro.
Andy McNab, pseudonimo usato per motivi di sicurezza, ha lavorato nei SAS e quando descrive quel mondo è chiaro che sa di cosa sta parlando, peccato che non tutti noi abbiamo avuto le sue stesse esperienze e, personalmente, certi termini avrei preferito venissero spiegati e non lasciati a una ricerca su google.
Un altro problema del romanzo, da non attribuire assolutamente all’autore, è la traduzione: i tempi verbali cambiano dal passato al presente senza soluzione di continuità e durante una narrazione al passato mi è capitato spesso di leggere parole quali “adesso” ed “ora” che non avevano alcun senso dato che non erano fatti che stavano accadendo ma che si erano già conclusi. Tuttavia la mia edizione è molto vecchia, spero che in una versione più recente questi errori siano stati sistemati.
Nel complesso è avvincente, tira bene fino alla fine e non risulta pesante, anche se per il genere avrei quasi preferito fosse più crudo e le scene, magari anche cruente, fossero spiegate un po’ meglio dato che spesso un’intera azione viene concluse con poche parole lasciandoci sulla bocca la domanda: “ma come è possibile?”.
Una serie di rocambolesche avventure si susseguono senza dare neanche un attimo di tregua a Nick e Charlie che si ritrovano ad essere sballottati a destra e a sinistra e a passare dalla padella alla brace nel giro di pochissime pagine e, quando pensi che le cose non possano andare peggio, McNab riesce a stupirti e a farle andare ancora peggio.
Non è il migliore che lui abbia scritto, questo è certo dato che vi sono sue opere che hanno dato vita a veri e propri capolavori anche sul fronte videoludico e, mi pare, anche cinematografico quale, ad esempio, la serie BATTLEFIELD ormai diventata famosissima.
Nonostante tutto, arrivare in fondo è doveroso. Le ultime quaranta pagine sono la parte migliore del libro e vale la pena arrivarci e godersele: qui, finalmente, le descrizioni si fanno chiare e nitide e anche molto coinvolgenti e drammatiche, se fosse stato tutto così non avrei esitato a dargli il massimo dei voti.
https://arcadialoscaffalesullalaguna....
October 4, 2024
It rather breaks my heart to give an Andy McNab book such a low rating. His novel "Cold Blood" is a 5-star triumph, as is his memoir, "Immediate Action". This however is patchy at best and a little too unfocussed. One of McNab's great strengths is that he's a thriller writer who specialises in the non-thriller moments. My favourite parts were the ones away from the action (like the segment in Australia at the start). His other great strength is turning an inch into a mile. By the halfway point of a fairly long book, it took me by surprise how little had actually happened in Georgia. A time came when I simply lost interest in what the characters were there to do and I never really regained my interest in their adventure. It goes on to take on about 4 separate guises, like four stories stapled together and it's all just a bit untidy. Sadly it falls into the category of an author just producing for the sake for it. It's nowhere near his best.
January 27, 2020
Aggressor. Andy McNab
Nick Stone, former SAS, as well as being a deniable operator for the U.S. Military covert operations has finally left the firm with the generals blessing. He is now in Australia, bumming around in a recently purchased used VW camper. Along the way he picked up a young German female hitchhiker and they quickly bonded. They both go to visit his mentor from the SAS , retired in Australia. Unfortunately he has an incurable disease and he has asked Nick to do one last mission with him. He badly needs the money for his wife to live on when he's gone. Nick reluctantly agrees, but in the end his glad he did. They fly to Turkey then the former former Russian state of Georgia. Non stop action, intrigue and a tragic ending. This is an excellent read! Enjoyed immensely!
Nick Stone, former SAS, as well as being a deniable operator for the U.S. Military covert operations has finally left the firm with the generals blessing. He is now in Australia, bumming around in a recently purchased used VW camper. Along the way he picked up a young German female hitchhiker and they quickly bonded. They both go to visit his mentor from the SAS , retired in Australia. Unfortunately he has an incurable disease and he has asked Nick to do one last mission with him. He badly needs the money for his wife to live on when he's gone. Nick reluctantly agrees, but in the end his glad he did. They fly to Turkey then the former former Russian state of Georgia. Non stop action, intrigue and a tragic ending. This is an excellent read! Enjoyed immensely!
August 15, 2023
Slow to begin with but once the action happens you’ll want to keep reading!
The Aggressor was my first McNab book and so my first Nick Stone Novel. I’ll start with the positives, the second half of the book was very fast paced which helped with the flow.
There was a decent amount of humour coming from the main character to help me enjoy him. The characters were all well put together so I knew who they were, for example I enjoyed Nick’s and Charlie’s interactions, it did feel like things friends would say to each other. I also enjoyed seeing Nick talking to himself about eating or taking a shower, which would seem mundane but it wasn’t. Like how he would describe things back at home compared to what he sees.
Negatively, I was very confused about the opening operation and how it took place, it might just be me being confused by the new lingo and the military situation itself. However we were introduced to various characters, Charlie and Buster, which would help with the story later on.
It was also slow to begin with and to be honest it did take me a few weeks to pick the book back up again, I wasn’t immediately hooked. It did also end abruptly but as the main story had finished I guess it was better than reading about Nick going on a plane and such again. Once the second half and action happened I feel it saved it, and of course some of the things that happened could be deemed unbelievable but hey it’s a story after all.
I would probably read this again and so I am giving this Novel a rating of ***.5 (3 and a half stars)
The Aggressor was my first McNab book and so my first Nick Stone Novel. I’ll start with the positives, the second half of the book was very fast paced which helped with the flow.
There was a decent amount of humour coming from the main character to help me enjoy him. The characters were all well put together so I knew who they were, for example I enjoyed Nick’s and Charlie’s interactions, it did feel like things friends would say to each other. I also enjoyed seeing Nick talking to himself about eating or taking a shower, which would seem mundane but it wasn’t. Like how he would describe things back at home compared to what he sees.
Negatively, I was very confused about the opening operation and how it took place, it might just be me being confused by the new lingo and the military situation itself. However we were introduced to various characters, Charlie and Buster, which would help with the story later on.
It was also slow to begin with and to be honest it did take me a few weeks to pick the book back up again, I wasn’t immediately hooked. It did also end abruptly but as the main story had finished I guess it was better than reading about Nick going on a plane and such again. Once the second half and action happened I feel it saved it, and of course some of the things that happened could be deemed unbelievable but hey it’s a story after all.
I would probably read this again and so I am giving this Novel a rating of ***.5 (3 and a half stars)
November 22, 2023
Actually found this quite sad. Maybe it was the mood I was in but come the end, couldn’t help but think ‘this is predictable but it’s good’ and ‘it’s a fucking Andy McNab book, pull yourself together’.
Been a loooong while since I’ve read a McNab. He got me into reading with Remote Control. Sort of lost touch with reading and moved onto other authors but thus I think is his shortest adventure and the length actually lends itself to it. Tighter action and gets to the point quicker. It’s a good read. Probably give it three and a half had I had the option.
Read this if you like action novels. This one comes in the wake of some pretty heavy stuff in Nick Stone’s life so probably needed a little breather before resuming. Good stuff.
Been a loooong while since I’ve read a McNab. He got me into reading with Remote Control. Sort of lost touch with reading and moved onto other authors but thus I think is his shortest adventure and the length actually lends itself to it. Tighter action and gets to the point quicker. It’s a good read. Probably give it three and a half had I had the option.
Read this if you like action novels. This one comes in the wake of some pretty heavy stuff in Nick Stone’s life so probably needed a little breather before resuming. Good stuff.
June 1, 2023
God I wish I was a K! Nick Stone must be my fantasy alter-ego; from the same neighbourhood, but unlike me, has a Ducati and surfs and skydives along the Australian coast between deniable ops, shooting bad guys and saving children. This one was amazing, although the character referred to as ‘Bastard’ was unbelievable, I thought FBI were earnest and fit, seems implausible they’d let in a feckless fat man who can’t swim…
October 24, 2025
I went off this series, as they tended to be too slow and with too much detail. You could argue this one was pretty slow too. If this was a TV show, I almost wonder if this book would be only two or three episodes at most. Having said that, I did enjoy this one and will likely start back up on this series.
January 19, 2018
Dynamic. Full of knowledgeable facts (which is occasionally tedious for someone not interested in weapons or military stuff). Bloody bits not as gorily described as in Lee Child's writing. Fairly well rounded characters.
April 22, 2019
Action all the way through
As per usual a fantastic story from start to finish .Andy McNab at his finest.
Written so well you could most be there in the action .Really enjoyed reading this story .10/10
As per usual a fantastic story from start to finish .Andy McNab at his finest.
Written so well you could most be there in the action .Really enjoyed reading this story .10/10
May 8, 2019
Gripping
As always, a page-turning read. It is a once a soldier always a soldier story. What I most appreciated was how even naked and threatened he simply says to himself, ‘so what’. No one else can write that and it be not heroic (though it is) but believable.
As always, a page-turning read. It is a once a soldier always a soldier story. What I most appreciated was how even naked and threatened he simply says to himself, ‘so what’. No one else can write that and it be not heroic (though it is) but believable.
December 16, 2019
I've read several of the Nick Stone stories and always enjoyed them due to McNab's first hand knowledge of the clandestine military world, as well as Nick Stone's tough, careworn and self-effacing character.
October 1, 2017
Another non-stop action packed adventure of Nick Stone. 8 down, 10 more to go!
December 4, 2017
Yawn, could not finish it, did not keep my interest. Too much military jargon and I am ex-military.
February 3, 2018
Loved it.
Now onto the next book in the series.
Now onto the next book in the series.
August 11, 2018
A most disappoint novel.
No character development, it's as though an action comic has been converted into a long novel.
No character development, it's as though an action comic has been converted into a long novel.
January 21, 2019
good as always...
Read
September 3, 2019Very Good Book
April 26, 2020
Decent book in a brilliant series
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
August 18, 2020
Bullshit.
October 14, 2020
A Great Read
My first Nick Stone, and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Andy McNabb certainly speaks from experience and has a great way with words.
My first Nick Stone, and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Andy McNabb certainly speaks from experience and has a great way with words.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews