BOOK REVIEW: Nigerian Terror (Nick Woods Book 4) by Stan R. Mitchell

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You’ve seen Stan Mitchell featured on this blog before, both in interviews and reviews, and you’ll continue to see him pop up from time to time as long as he keeps releasing top-quality action-thrillers. In the interest of full disclosure, I should state that over the years, Stan and I have become online buddies with grandiose plans to purchase matching luxury cabins on a private lake in Colorado once we become internationally-renowned, multi-millionaire action authors. Does that make this review biased? Hell, man, does a bear shit in the woods? (Actually, now that I think about it, I’ve never actually seen a bear shit in the woods…)

Anyway, action aficionados who despise the doorstop bloat of many modern day thrillers will find the Nick Woods series as refreshing as chilled watermelon on a hot summer day. I’m sure there are readers out there who prefer 600-page slog-fests, but I’m not one of them, and few authors operating in today's thriller market write as crisp and lean as Mitchell; he’s the kind of guy that sees no reason to use 10 words when 9 will suffice.

In Nigerian Terror, Nick and his Shield, Safeguard, and Shelter (S3) team of ready-to-rock trigger-pullers lock horns with Boko Harem terrorist thugs and pretty much kick all kinds of bad guy butt. And by "kick," I mean "shoot with 5.56mm projectiles." Because praise the ammunition gods, the bullet count is high in this one. If Mitchell got paid a buck for every round fired in this book, he’d be a lot closer to that aforementioned Colorado cabin.

In addition to the blistering firefights, this novel features some brutal hand-to-hand combat sequences that spice things up and trust me, you'll feel the blows slamming off the page so vividly that you'll risk concussion just reading about them. No fancy martial arts choreography, just good guys slugging it out with bad guys in rough, dirty, jaw-rattling brawls.

Bottom line, the violence quotient is plenty high enough to satisfy fans of this kind of literary carnage. And if you’re not a fan of literary carnage, why on earth are you reading a blog called Guns ‘n’ Guts?

Nick Woods must be getting tired from all these bullet-blazing missions, but here's hoping the grumpy gunslinger doesn't get too much down-time before rocketing off on another job in Book 5. After all, there’s no rest for the wicked … or the heroic. I don't care if Nick’s leading the S3 pack or going lone wolf (actually, I prefer lone wolf Nick), just so long as he keeps strapping on his guns and getting down to the business of ventilating villains. Pay attention, action junkies, because Stan R. Mitchell is quickly becoming one of those can't-miss authors in the genre. And if you buy enough of his books, maybe Stan will pay for both our cabins…

Downbeat Endings (or, Do Authors Owe Readers What They Want?)

WARNING: This blog post contains major spoilers for both the ending of my novel, The Assassin’s Prayer, and the season one finale of the TV show SIX (History Channel). If you plan on reading/watching either of those, pretend I just posted naked photos of Donald Trump and look away as fast as you can.

OK, with the spoiler alerts dispensed with, let’s buckle down to business…

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To this day, I can still hear the voice (well, if you can “hear” a “voice” via Facebook Messenger) of one of my most trusted beta readers, Stan Mitchell: “Mark, The Assassin’s Prayer is fantastic, but you have to change the ending. Seriously, bro, I’m begging you not to go with that ending. Reader backlash will be epic.” (I may be paraphrasing … or not.)

You see, at the end of The Assassin’s Prayer, Travis Kain dies in a hail of gunfire as he sacrifices himself to save the woman he loves. It was not the ending I envisioned when I conceived the novel, but it came about organically, the natural progression of the story unfolding. It also played nicely into one of my favorite themes: redemptive sacrifice. You see, Kain is a contract killer, and while I make it clear that he never targets innocents, he still kills for cash. Nobody is going to mistake him for some kind of saint, so what better way to atone for his sins than an act of sacrificial love?

Problem was, it was not what readers expected and for damn sure was not what they wanted. Nobody cared if it was the “right” ending … it was not the ending they expected. After a brief burst of skyrocketing sales, the negative reviews started popping up and the “epic backlash” Mr. Mitchell had predicted started to take its toll and The Assassin’s Prayer gradually downgraded from bestseller to meh-seller.

The “artist” in me knows Kain’s death was the correct ending, but it wasn’t until I watched the season finale of SIX that I fully realized what I had done to readers. Because SIX had the audacity to make me root for the redemption of Richard “Rip” Taggert, a former Navy SEAL who got all twisted up inside and executed a man in cold blood, and then after Rip earned that redemption, ended the season by having him gunned down. As I watched the bullets strike the character in whom I had become invested, I wanted to grab the producers/screenwriters by the throat and yell, “Why would you do that to me?”

Because making Rip Taggert pay for his sins in blood was a ballsy, righteous move … but it was definitely not how I wanted his story arc to close. At that moment, I understood how many readers felt as they read the last few pages of The Assassin’s Prayer and discovered there would be no happy ending.

So how ‘bout it? Do authors have some sort of obligation to give readers what they want? From a purely commercial viewpoint, the answer is probably yes. These days, gratification is the name of the game and challenging readers with grim, downbeat, nontraditional climaxes will, more often than not, piss off those readers because you failed to give them what they want. And angry readers do not make the best fan base.

That said, there is an argument to be made that authors should just tell the story as it’s meant to be told, to follow the ebb and flow to whatever conclusion is logical and appropriate, even if that runs counter to readers’ wants and expectations. Then again, even as I type the previous sentence, I detect a whiff of latent pretentiousness in my own words, an unwanted and unintended insinuation that what readers want is less important than what the author wants. Ultimately, a balance must be struck.

Sure, anyone can be an author. But if you want to be a read author, then you need readers, and that means factoring their wants into the equation. It’s a symbiotic relationship. Does that mean writers must always cater to reader demands? Not just no, but hell no. But authors who ignore reader expectations—as I did with The Assassin’s Prayer—do so at their own peril.

Then again, Jack died at the end of Titanic and it still made almost $2 billion, so you just never know…

BOOK REVIEW: "Mexican Heat" by Stan R. Mitchell



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I should probably preface this review by confessing that I know Stan. Well, know him about as well as you can know someone you've never actually met but chat with for hours every month on Facebook. And you know what? He kicks ass. No, seriously, the guy's a martial artist, so he actually does kick ass.

 

He's also a kickass writer in the "guns 'n' guts" genre, having created with his debut novel, Sold Out, a kickass (are you sensing a pattern here?) hero in the form of warrior-sniper Nick Woods. Well, Stan recently released Mexican Heat, the second novel in the series of Nick Woods thrillers, and if you're wondering if it also kicks ass, well, read on.

 

This second Nick Woods adventure finds him reluctantly hired by the CIA to take a team of hot-shot trigger-pullers into Mexico to tackle the powerful Godesto cartel after it slaughters a SEAL team and targets the president. Now, boiling the plot down to its bare skeleton makes it sound a bit thin, but trust me, it's not. The story is actually quite ambitious for an action novel, full of the kind of political intrigue that made Vince Flynn a household name.

 

To say things get hot would be an understatement on par with saying a .45 packs more punch than a BB gun. And the heat isn't limited to explosions and firefights--though there are plenty of those--it also comes from Isabella, a curvaceous team member with sensual Latina sizzle to spare, the kind of woman that can turn even Nick Woods' head. Mitchell wisely avoids turning this into a romance novel, but let's just say not all the action comes from the end of a gun.

Listen, if the thought of a novel that reads like Tom Clancy on steroids gets you excited, prepare to pop wood like you chugged a bottle of Viagra. Mexican Heat spins an intricate, political story much like Clancy, but cranks up the gunplay, hand-to-hand combat, and overall action quotient while chopping out all the boring stuff. (Don't look at me like that; you know damn well Clancy has plenty of boring parts.) Much like Nick Woods himself, this book is lean and mean and packed with hard muscle. Mitchell knows how to write a book that moves at high velocity with prose that is stripped to the bone.

Bottom line, if you enjoy stories where the good guys kick the crap out of the bad guys, then this novel needs to be in your hands most ricky-tick.

INTERVIEW: Stan R. Mitchell

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I first came across fellow guns 'n' guts author Stan R. Mitchell when another action author, Jack Badelaire, reviewed Stan's stellar novel, Sold Out (ain't networking grand?). It sounded exactly like my literary cup o' bullets and as it turned out, it was. Eventually I reached out to Stan and through Facebook, phone, and text, we got to know each other. But just because I know him doesn't mean you do, something you won't be able to say after this interview. Read on to find out what makes Stan tick ... and try to forgive him for liking rap music.

MARK: What is it about the action genre that draws you to it?

STAN: Interesting question with no quick answer. The short of it is, I wrote a fair amount of literature in one of my writing phases right after college. At that point, I was a bit disillusioned with action books. Having chased my childhood dream of serving in the Marine Corps, I'd learned the harsh truth that actually being in the infantry isn't nearly as fun or glamorous as the books make it out to be.

That's when I wrote a fair amount of literature, which I'd generically define as writing about "real life." But the literature I wrote was really dark and black and hellish ... much like real life!

Long story short, I'll stick to writing fun stories, since for me, there's nothing that beats a great book that pulls me out of my present reality and transplants me into an awesome life-and-death struggle.

As for why I write in the action genre over mystery and other genres, that's pretty simple. Action books are what I've read my entire life. I feel I know and understand the genre and it's where I'm most comfortable trying to make it as an author.

MARK: Any interest in eventually branching out into other genres?

STAN: Some, but I think it's best to stay disciplined as an author and try to create a recognizeable brand.

MARK: Well, disciplined and driven are definitely two words that describe you. What made you that way?

STAN: Part of it is an inner-city school thing. You face so many obstacles and temptations growing up in an inner city that if you're lucky to break free from it all, you'll find yourself intensely confident that you can do whatever you set your mind to. Plus, growing up without money makes you desire the security it provides more than you can possible explain.

A second part of my intense drive stems from the Marine Corps, which injected into me a lot of something--not sure what--but most people just call it brainwashing. The Corps taught me I can do whatever I set my mind to if I'm just crazy enough to never give up and outwork those around me, and I adhere to this philosophy wholeheartedly. Most people think Marines are crazy, and I won't disagree that I fall into that category. Let me add, though, that I am very thankful that I do.

MARK: Craziness and creativity are often traveling companions. What do you consider to be the best action novel ever written?

STAN: That's such an unfair question. I will say that, while it's impossible for me to answer that, Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter is probably right up there. It's what influenced me to write Sold Out and it made--and still makes--a heck of an impression on me.

MARK: Anyone who enjoys Hunter's Bob Lee Swagger series will also enjoy Sold Out. What kind of music do you listen to while you write?

STAN: I'm on vastly different ends of the spectrum. Mostly, I listen to either rap or country. And if I'm not listening to that, I'm listening to rock. That's a weird spread, I know, but I grew up in an inner-city school, which taught me to love rap. But on the other hand, my family roots are mostly out in the country, which of course taught me to love country music.

MARK: I'd rather eat a hollowpoint than listen to rap, but enough about me. How would you describe your writing style?

STAN: I'd love to say hard-hitting and super-fast, with very little description, but honestly, I think this is something only the reader gets to judge and describe.

MARK: Fine. Since I'm a reader of your work, I'll describe it as hard-hitting and super-fast. What would you say is the most important thing a writer needs in order to achieve success in the action genre?

STAN: I think you better be able to move the story along at a fast pace while constantly ramping up the tension and making things worse and worse for your main character or team.

MARK: What do you think is the single worst mistake new authors make?

STAN: Publishing too soon. Then quitting and giving up. Life is going to punch you in the face. My philosophy is that you need to pick yourself up, smile as sick as you can, and say, "Is that the best you've got?"

Also, while there are some who publish too soon, there are probably just as many who never publish at all. I think there are hundreds of talented writers who never, ever publish. Their fears keep them from putting it out there. Goodness knows, I've faced those same demons. But at some point as a writer, you have to believe in yourself and say your story is good enough. And don't be too hard on yourself for not believing in your book. Remember, even Stephen King trashed Carrie. But thankfully for all of us, his wife saw it, yanked it out, and encouraged him to finish it.

MARK: Good wives always save the day. How do you respond to critics who dismiss the action-adventure genre, alleging it glorifies gun violence?

STAN: I don't.

MARK: Nice! Is there any subject matter you consider taboo?

STAN: I think you should go easy on descriptive sex scenes. Better to imply rather than show. At least, that's how I approach it.

MARK: As already mentioned, you are a big Stephen Hunter fan. What did you think of the movie Shooter, based on Hunter's classic novel Point of Impact?

STAN: Not much of a fan. I mean, you have a chance to produce a movie based on Bob Lee Swagger and you give the role to Mark Wahlberg? And that's not a dis on Wahlberg. I like him a lot and think he pretty much nailed the part they wrote for him. I'm just saying, where's the grumpy old man that we all love so much? And how do you take a story as amazing as Point of Impact and decide it would be better to use a character that's younger?

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MARK: You have written two novels: Little Man and Sold Out. Which one is your favorite and why?

STAN: Man, you're cruel! I guess if I had to pick one, I'd pick Sold Out. I spent twelve years on that book and it took everything that I had. Plus, I think the main character, Nick Woods, is the strongest character I've ever created and hopefully he's as badass as Bob Lee Swagger, aka Bob the Nailer.

MARK: Nick Woods is badass and let no man say otherwise. Let's wrap up this interview by having you tell us what's next for you.

STAN: I'm wrapping up the final touches on Mexican Heat, the follow up to Sold Out. I even have the third book of the series, in which Nick Woods gets sent to Afghanistan, about halfway done, so I'm clearly in love with Nick, his crew, and the way the storyline is going.

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