Land of Fire

While other Ryan novels (for all their virtues) have occasionally utilised well-worn plots, this one is absolutely fresh as paint. The narrative (spanning many years) packs all the requisite pace and action, but Ryan never forgets how crucial characterisation is. Black's relationship with the girl who was once his enemy is brilliantly and economically realised. --Barry Forshaw

Reader Reviews:

Non-stop excitement (0/2 people found this helpful)

I'm reviewing the audiobook version of this story and right from the start this was the sort of book that had your attention - and kept it. Sometimes we had to pause it whilst driving as our attention was so taken by the story that we weren't paying enough attention to the route. That's not something that happens to me very often and was a notable aspect to this book.

The story covers two events, the Falklands campaign in 1982 and a revisit to the Falklands twenty years later. The hero, Mark Black, is a young and fresh SAS member during the first campaign, struggling to find his own position in the SAS with his overprotective brother shielding him. Their major operation during the war goes wrong and they end up having to walk out to the border with Chile, an excellently described journey of a week in the freezing and inhospitable environment. Having also had to contend with a helicopter crash, a ship sinking, loss of fellow SAS men and even the discovery of a young Argentine female spy, there's a lot going on in young Mark's life.

The story moves on twenty years when Mark is on his last tour with the SAS and is a completely different sort of character, older and wiser and with failed relationships in his past. When he and the rest of the team are asked to carry out an observation mission on an Argentine airbase it seems like a fairly straightforward, if dangerous, job. However as they leave the Falklands it seems there may be sabotage and as they arrive in Argentina and suffer losses of personnel and almost constant danger, Mark finds himself teaming up with an unlikely new comrade and being one of the few people who can potentially avert the Argentinians retaking the Falklands. There's danger, double-crossing, firefights, secrecy and more. It's always a gripping ride.

Although overall I loved this book there were a few negatives. The dialogue was pretty dodgy in places and the writing was pretty simple without that much depth, although this is fine for this genre of book, I imagine; it ended a little bit abruptly and I would have liked a little epilogue to tell me what happened in the future, particularly for Mark, but also to explain a couple of loose ends (for example, who caused the food poisoning incident on the Falkland Islands); I was also somewhat surprised at how Mark and the others seemed to extract themselves from almost certain doom many times - it felt rather like a James Bond film in that they always managed to get away. Mark's character was interesting - he is clearly great at soldiering but not so good at reading people, at planning and at relating to women - there's a rather awkward scene that treads perilously close to rape at which point the female character apparently ditches her anti-British sentiment, firmly held for over 20 years, and falls in with him. Still, despite these few reservations this was a great book with the chilly background of Argentina with its cold wind and snow adding much to the enjoyment.

Good bed-time read. (10/10 people found this helpful)

A thoroughly enjoyable read of the sort I have come to expect from Mr Ryan. Bits were a trifle contrived with a little coincidence that was hard to take, but on the whole, it is an entertaining read, with some very realistic and entertaining characters.

Give me a break! (1/24 people found this helpful)

I read this book a while ago, and I�ve just skimmed through it again. It didn�t get any better second time around. The plot's just about believable, but the book's frankly badly-written and has a very amateurish feel about it, the characterisation is paper-thin and the dialogue's clumsy. The identity of the 'villain' is entirely predictable, almost from the first page.
But what really annoyed me about the book is Ryan's apparent conviction that if you give a woman a jolly good rogering - or better still rape her a few times - she'll magically abandon the beliefs she's held passionately for the last twenty years and be instantly converted to the point of view of the hero. I mean, good God! Does ANYONE REALLY think like this these days? This is not only deeply insulting to any woman, anywhere, but complete rubbish. Chris Ryan should be ashamed of himself.

Chris Ryan - SAS writer or sicko (1/24 people found this helpful)

On recieving this book last chrismas I have to admit to being a little sceptical about its litterary merit. I stupidly thought boys own SAS novels written by ex SAS solders are for mid-life crisis victims or spotty adolecent virgins with dreams of shooting argentines in the face. How wrong I was. While this book hits all the bases you expect, eg. High octane shootouts, unexpected ambushes and expert weapons descriptions, it also has a far deeper, realistic and rewarding love story at its core. Ryans handling of the 20 year love affair between Argentine spy and British SAS soldier is nothing short of heartwrenching. Who would have expected this rough tough soldier to understand the workings of a womans mind so well. Ryan obviously respects and adores all women, how else could one explain the sensitivity and realism that flows from his pen when describing the couples first night together.
Only joking. Ryans lead character (obviosly based on himself) teaches the female argentine spy "how to behave" by slapping her in the face and raping her three times, that was ridiculous, but then reading that she enjoyed it so much that the SAS soldier is now her "enemy lover"? Thats insulting to everyone in Argentina, the whole female sex and the reader, who by this time is only reading the book to see just how unrealistic, ill-informed and badly written it can get. The only enjoyment I got out of this book was quoting paragraphs to friends who also found it hilarious that a published novel could miss the point on so many levels.
Ryan may think he is being heroicaly politically incorrect, but he clearly just doesnt have a clue. If he really had acted like this while on service he�d be in jail with Melosevic.
Dont buy this novel it is sick.

Simply the Best (11/26 people found this helpful)

This book is a must, you have to read it keeps you on tender hooks till the very end, and it still twists then

Chris Ryan

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