Ex-SAS hero Andy McNab explains why he thinks reading can answer the world’s problems
The Sun’s Security Expert has just penned the 18th Nick Stone thriller, Cold Blood
FORMER SAS hero Andy McNab has just penned the 18th Nick Stone thriller, Cold Blood – another rip-roaring read that fans will devour.
This year The Sun’s Security Expert was nominated for the Ruth Rendell Award, a new prize for boosting literacy.
We speak to Andy, 56, about Nick Stone, national service and why reading is the answer to the world’s problems.
He says of his new thriller: “In Cold Blood, Nick is suffering because the two people he cared for most are gone.
“When he’s summoned as close protection on a trek to the North Pole by an old SAS officer, he accepts unthinkingly, desperate for the chance to escape his own misery.”
In 23 years, Andy has written 32 books for adults and kids but insists he won’t stop writing about his most well-known protagonist any time soon.
He adds: “I meet people who have grown up with Nick Stone and they don’t ever want the series to end, so I’ll have to go on until the readers — or I — drop dead.”
It was Bravo Two Zero, the 1993 story of an SAS patrol behind enemy lines in Iraq, that launched a new career for the ex-soldier.
But despite his prolific output since then, being an author still does not come easily.
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He says: “Writing is chaos because there’s no rhythm to it. I’m often massively busy and I don’t do anything for ages and then I’ll write for a few hours here and there when I get the time.
“I can’t follow a formula. I usually get the first draft down as soon as possible and then think, ‘Oh, that’s crap’.”
When Andy joined the Army, his reading age was lower than 11.
It is a problem he now works hard to combat in others.
He says: “When I go into prisons it astounds me how low the literacy levels are. There’s a direct link with low literacy levels and going to prison.
“I know that reading changed my life and I’m determined to get that message across to as many people as possible.”
However, the key is to write books that people want to read.
He says: “A lot of books for young people are quite patronising, which doesn’t resonate with kids — they don’t want to read a book that’s basically telling them what to do or taking the moral high ground.”
Despite his own positive Army experience, Andy does not see national service as a solution to youth problems.
He says: “Some teenagers benefit from it but it definitely isn’t the right environment for a lot of people.
“The military don’t want conscription because it degrades it, and who wants to be with a load of young men who don’t want to be there?”
Instead, Andy believes the answer lies in books.
He says: “Reading saved me and it’s the one thing that makes a difference to people’s lives — and there has never been so many good books available.”
— Cold Blood is out now.