Useful

**romach** · 02-10-2007, 16:00

Has anybody read Soldier by Mike Jackson yet, I have seen it in the oxfam shop.
Would it be £4 well spent or buy a pint a paper?

I read The Faithful Spy by Alex Bereson - pure spetic drivel. It was so bad that I left it on the bus.

went out and bought the Puppet Masers by John Hughes- Wilson - that was a lot better. Worth reading

**BANDSMAN69** · 02-10-2007, 16:25

Normally I don't have a problem with good or bad books, no bad books only bad authors I suppose you could say.

However, I could not finish The Rifles by Mark Urban he picked a good subject matter, but it he didn't seem do a lot with it..or is it just me.

In my youth I used to read the slave-pulp fiction books written by Kyle Onstot (spelling a bit iffy) and Lance Horner...can anybody remember them, or are they best forgotten the latter I suspect.

**scaryspice** · 02-10-2007, 19:51

Any of the "Tom Clancy's" books. I actually quite like his real stuff and nearly cried when I relaised I'd spent £6.99 on one of the Op-Centre chunks of complete poo.

Steven Donaldson. Quite the most pretentious sh1t I have ever read. Don't use one word when six incomprehensible ones will do.....

**Mr Happy** · 03-10-2007, 07:27

Bought the first Op Centre thing, something to do with a sub sinking like 90 bad guys and saving the world or something. Then lo and behold a computer game is released. Awful book and I never bought another from 'that series'.

Though I note they keep pumping them out..

G

**AlienFTM** · 03-10-2007, 11:49

Originally Posted by romach

Has anybody read Soldier by Mike Jackson yet, I have seen it in the oxfam shop.
Would it be £4 well spent or buy a pint a paper?

Did he ever serve uncommissioned? If you have ever been so bored on duty that you would read (IIRC) The Manual of Military Law (or some other dry tome lying around in the orderly room), the opening sentence states that the army consists of Officers and Soldiers.

Given his high rank, I am prepared to bet he never served as the latter and it was therefore bad drills to use it as the title of his book.

**jase2472** · 03-10-2007, 12:01

you are all missing one of the best books out there 'Picking up the Brass'

**Mr Happy** · 03-10-2007, 12:52

Originally Posted by AlienFTM

Originally Posted by romach

Has anybody read Soldier by Mike Jackson yet, I have seen it in the oxfam shop.
Would it be £4 well spent or buy a pint a paper?

Did he ever serve uncommissioned? If you have ever been so bored on duty that you would read (IIRC) The Manual of Military Law (or some other dry tome lying around in the orderly room), the opening sentence states that the army consists of Officers and Soldiers.

Given his high rank, I am prepared to bet he never served as the latter and it was therefore bad drills to use it as the title of his book.

I noted that too..

**romach** · 03-10-2007, 13:11

Originally Posted by Mr Happy

Originally Posted by AlienFTM

Originally Posted by romach

Has anybody read Soldier by Mike Jackson yet, I have seen it in the oxfam shop.
Would it be £4 well spent or buy a pint a paper?

Did he ever serve uncommissioned? If you have ever been so bored on duty that you would read (IIRC) The Manual of Military Law (or some other dry tome lying around in the orderly room), the opening sentence states that the army consists of Officers and Soldiers.

Given his high rank, I am prepared to bet he never served as the latter and it was therefore bad drills to use it as the title of his book.

I noted that too..

This is true, but officer does not have the same effect, he could be mistaken for a rockape, crab or police!

Or that could be volume 2 - Officer - life after plastic surgery.

**Dubb_al_Ibn** · 03-10-2007, 14:56

Not really "worst book" but something that is annoying me (easily done) and does appear in a number of Matthew Reilly books...okay, I'll leave off him, now.

Have you noticed that you buy a run-of-the-mill thriller/action story to pass a few hours in the back of a Tristar/Tesco stock room etc. and find that about twenty pages at the end of the book are devoted to an interview with the "author" where some gormless "journalist" asks the "author" penetrating literary questions. Such as...

"Did you find 9/11 helped you to develop the character of the second assassin or did you base his personality failing on your own relationship with your estranged father ?"

or

"Will we being seeing the character of Willy Thrust, (our hero's slightly shorter and not-as-good-looking, side-kick) develop in any of your future works and how long will we have to wait?" (obvious plug for future "work")

That annoys me as much as books with a famous writer's name on the front but not writen by them....Alistair Maclean, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler etc.

Sorry, rant over