The Increment

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Chris Ryan

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Pages: 448 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0099465795

Pub: Arrow Books Ltd

Pub date: 2005-04-21

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 106712

Editorial Review:

The Increment is further proof--if proof were needed--that Chris Ryan has carved out an unassailable position for himself as a purveyor of stripped-down, express-train-style narratives that provide in kinetic action what they might skimp on in characterisation. That's not to say that Ryan doesn't provide exactly as much characterisation as is required; notably in his tough and resourceful protagonist Matt Browning, who is an action hero for the 21st century.
The Increment is the super-secret assassination unit of the SAS--and it has one less member. Matt Browning was served his walking papers after having the temerity to challenge an order. But, needless to say, his association with Britain's premier fighting unit is not at an end: his ex-colleagues enlist him again to help a massive drugs company get rid of illicit copies of medicines manufactured by ruthless European gangsters. The long-term Chris Ryan reader will not be surprised to learn that (as in books such as The Kremlin Device and Zero Option), everything is soon going to hell in a handcart when (among other things) it transpires that an old army colleague of Matt's is on what looks like a psychotic killing spree--and he's not alone. Why are servicemen up and down the country intent on bloodletting? Before long, Matt is in the sights of nothing less than the Increment itself--and his chances of survival are small.

Readers these days demand something more gritty than the high-life heroics that were Ian Fleming's stock-in-trade, and while some might lament the downward trajectory of the secret operative (in a social sense, if nothing else), Chris Ryan is still your man if you want first-rate, no-nonsense, thick-ear action. --Barry Forshaw

Reader Reviews:

Was there a page missing? (0/0 people found this helpful)

I enjoyed this book, in a superficial way. It's the sort of book that you'd read non-stop on the beach and doesn't require too much thinking.

It rattles along at a good speed and keeps your interest pretty well. Can you sense a "but" coming? I read the final 30 or so pages last night, then I re-read the last 3 pages, then I re-read the last 2 pages. All the time I was looking for the missing bit.

It was like Hercule Poirot missing out the "and the murderer is..." bit and then, a couple of pages later in the epilogue, saying "oh.. it was the butler, didn't I mention that?"

So, good book but the sloppy, daft ending left me feeling a bit cheated.

Shame about the end! (0/1 people found this helpful)

I read this book in a day it is that good, well the first 3/4 are! Its fast flowing, energetic and constantly full of action. The last quarter to me turns into a bit of a steven segal film with unrealistic scenarios, we're talking about the increment here (basically a group of around 8 of THE best SAS soldiers who are pretty much assasins) and they decide to come and choke matt browning when they have perfectly good guns to shoot him with.

The book in its entirety id say turns out above average, but couldve been brilliant had it carried on in the same vein as the first 3/4, for arguments sake if one of the main characters had died for instance it would have turned out brilliant. Some of the characters are throw away ones who are introduced by Ryan just to get rid of good guys. You will, as i did predict the downfall of certain characters within 50 pages of their introduction due to the abstract relation to the main characters. Oh, he's a young soldier from russia who wants some action? Of course hes wormfood.

Definately worth a read as i said as it is one of those you cannot put down. Don't let my remarks put you off, as that was my view as i'm not a fan of hollywood endings, if you are, this could be the best book you will ever read.

An enjoyable thriller (0/1 people found this helpful)

I got a signed copy off my mother-in-law for Christmas: Why she signed it I'll never understand but I did enjoy this book. Ok it had some minor flaws with technical accuracy but not enough to spoil it for most, who simply want a well-paced, exciting thriller. The central character, Matt Browning, is generally OK, but I did lose some sympathy with him because of his bed-hopping ways - unrealistic and a bit tedious. The plot was quite good - we don't want anything too elaborate - easy reading escapism being the order of the day. I think it rates more highly than Andy McNab's fiction in terms of characterization. Mr McNab's creations tend to be a bit two-dimensional, with an abrasive, workman-like attitude that starts to bore very quickly. Matt is a little more human. The book shares a fault common to most action thrillers: the 120 seconds to the minute syndrome, where more action takes place than could possibly have occurred in the time span being described. It takes longer to write a sentence than it does to read it and sometimes writers lose their sense of scale. Tea poured in the first paragraph being stone cold in the next, as a general example.
I would recommend this book as an entertaining diversion to most fans of the genre.

Bloody exellant (4/6 people found this helpful)

This book is so cool and super. This was the first Chris Rayn adults book I have read and it blew me away. It was so violent and I zoomed through the pages. Matt Browning is a great main character and Matram is a great villain. The ending is like something from a James Bond movie! This would be a good movie

Full of holes (3/12 people found this helpful)

I read and really enjoyed The Watchman, and I frankly don't believe that this book was written by the same author. The plot makes little sense, the characters are as flat as cardboard, the dialogue's poor, and it's full of mistakes. There's no such pistol as a Marakov, for example: it's a Makarov, and if Chris Ryan doesn't know that, with his background, he should be ashamed of himself. And it's not just this in book that the mistakes are beginning to surface: in another one he refers to a Baretta pistol - yet another weapon that hasn't yet made it into production, though the Beretta is well known.
Chris Ryan's early books are good, but almost all of his later efforts suggest that he's either employing a ghost writer who has no clue about military matters, or his editors simply can't be bothered to check anything and get the details right.
In my opinion, if you want a really GOOD read, pick up anything by Michael Connolly, Lee Child or new author James Barrington. You won't be disappointed.

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