** Interview with Andy McNab (author of DropZone)

Last month I wrote a glowing review of DropZone, the new book from ex-SAS member Andy McNab. DropZone is the first in a new series of books from Mr McNab, focusing on the adventures of Ethan Blake as he joins a team of young skydiving addicts who are also involved in covert military operations. Mr McNab was very kind to take time out from doing film work in the US to answer the questions I sent him.

DropZone is very different from your previous Boy Soldier series. How did you get the idea for it?

It was while I was freefalling in Switzerland two summers ago. There was a group of French teenagers who would stay at the DZ for a couple days jumping, then would disappear for a couple of days before reappearing for some more jumping. They were always driven about in an old minibus by an older guy who was in charge.  It got me thinking, what a great cover story this group potentially had. They could be freefalling for a couple of days, then go off and save the world before returning to do a bit more freefall, just as if nothing had happened.  And I thought maybe that would make a good story?

DropZone is the first book in your new series. Do you know how many books you hope to have in the series and have you plotted out the storylines for any of these already?

DZ 2 is nearly complete but for now I haven’t thought of any further storylines. I’m hoping that readers enjoy the first two books so that I can write some more!

What in your opinion are the main differences between writing for adults and writing for Young Adult market?

Not much, that's probably because I'm not that clever. Of course, I have to be more guarded about things such as violence and swearing but I think there is already far too much out there for teenagers that is patronising. They are more switched on than they generally get credit for.  I just write the stories as they come into my head.  It's really just a collection of pictures that I try to put down on paper so, to me, it doesn't matter if it's for a teenager or an adult reader.

What do you see as the main influences on your writing?

I think the main one is the hours of TV I watched when I was a kid. I don't think in chapters, but in scenes. To me, the end of a chapter is a commercial break.  When I write I just try and get a group of scenes in line so they make sense!  As for technique and trying to give the reader a sense of place, Joe Simpson's book, Touching The Void has had a big impact on me. The way he describes being wet and cold and at the same time what was going on in his head is excellent.  I must have read the book at least 20 times.

The skydiving you did with the Air Troop obviously helped you a lot with the research for DropZone. What other research did you have to carry out?

I have 1832 freefall jumps and maybe 200-ish static line jumps. I didn't start jumping until I joined the Special Air Service where I learnt how to static jump out of C130 Hercules aircraft to earn my wings.  Then I was sent to Air Troop where I learnt how to freefall. I just loved it and it became a passion that I carry on now as a sport. So I suppose that’s all the research I’ve done.

DropZone has some really interesting characters. Are any of them based on people you know? Will we find out more about the mysterious Natalya in future books?

Yes, on both counts.  The only way that I can create characters is by basing them on people that I know.  Those in this story are amalgamations of people who I knew whilst I was in the Army. It's just a quicker and easier way of creating characters. Why try to make one up when you already know a good one? Obviously, all of Ethan’s good points really belong to me!

Do you have a favourite author? What really appeals to you about their work?

I know it's a cliché but it’s Charles Dickens. His characters are totally believable and when they are sad, you are. But it's just not the characters, it's the stories and the way that he wraps human emotions around them. Great Expectations, I think, is his best. If you replaced the horses and carriages with cars, and the coal fires with central heating, you would think that it was written last year.

Are there any books or authors that you would recommend fans of your books to read?

Without a doubt, Joe Simpson’s Touching The Void and Dickens’ Great Expectations.

Can you recommend one book that you think every boy should read at some point?

It has to be the same books.

Do you feel that it is important that young people should read for enjoyment? Did you read a lot when you were younger?

Yes, very important. I never read when I was a kid, I just watched TV. That was the reason I had a reading age of an 11-year-old when I joined the Army. In fact, the first book I ever read was as an Army recruit and it was written for a primary school kid.  But the feeling of joy and accomplishment I got after reading a whole book was indescribable.

Can you give us any hints as to what we can expect from your next book in the series?

Yep, more freefall - and cage fighting.  What more do you need in life?


Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Andy and I hope this new series is a great success. DropZone is due to be released by Doubleday as a hardcover edition today, 4th February. 

Review: DropZone by Andy McNab

Ethan Blake is seventeen and desperate to escape from his dead-end life. When he sees someone B.A.S.E. jump from the top of his block of flats, it changes the way he sees the world for ever. Soon, Ethan is caught up in the adrenaline-fuelled world of skydiving. He's a natural, so it's no surprise when he's invited to join an elite skydive team, but is he signing up for more than just jumping out of planes? The team's involved in covert military operations - missions that require a special kind of guts, missions so secret even MI5 denies all knowledge.

You had better fasten your seatbelts, for this book is one hell of a ride! In fact, after finishing it I almost felt like I needed a few hours to get my breath back. I say almost.... I was so wired by the non-stop action in the final scenes of the book that instead I popped the Wesley Snipes movie of the same name in my DVD player for another fix of extreme skydiving action. 

Ethan, the story's main character, comes from a troubled home where is mother has to endure a constant stream of verbal and physical abuse from his drunken father. Ethan himself, is not immune from this and is regularly informed that he is useless and his life will amount to nothing. Ethan is determined not to be like his father, but like many 17 year-olds he still has not found any direction in his life, and has no idea what he will do once he completes his A-Level studies in a year's time. One night he observes someone BASE jump (parachute) from the tower block where he lives, and so begins his adventure into the adrenalin-fuelled world of skydiving.

Everyone knows that before becoming an author Andy McNab was in the SAS. What you may not know is that during this time he learned to skydive as a member of the Air Troop, and has so far made over 1500 freefall jumps, at locations all over the world. Many fledging authors are advised to "write what you know"and whilst there is no way that Mr McNab can be described as 'fledgling' due to the number of books he has written for both the adult and YA markets, his books are always more the better because he writes from experience. I'm no skydiving expert, but speaking as a layman his descriptions of the skydiving scenes seem very realistic, and I am willing to believe that they are because of his first-hand knowledge of this activity.

This is the first book in a series, so in a similar vein to Robert Muchamore's The Recruit (first book in the CHERUB series), Mr McNab is using this story to set the scene for future books. This means, that despite the synopsis' promise of a Covert Operations team, it is only towards the end of the book that this part of the plot is fully revealed. The majority of the book focuses on Ethan's introduction to skydiving, his training and his bonding with the other members of the team. This is not to say that these earlier scenes are boring; in fact they are anything but. Andy McNab knows how to construct a thriller by varying the pace of his narrative; he knows where the quieter scenes are needed in order to help buld the tension to make the faster-paced scenes seem even more dynamic. 

The author also knows how to use quieter moments of the story to develop his characters. I felt Ethan was developed very well throughout the story, but the supporting characters not so. However, this is something we often see in the first book of a series which has to focus on the development of the main character; I expect we will learn a lot more about the others in future books. Despite not being fully developed, the characters in DropZone are certainly memorable, and the dialogue between them is sparkling and full of friendly banter. However, I guess in order to add more realism Mr McNab has spiced up this language with a few swear words in places. However, from experience I know that they are no worse than anything that can be heard on the average secondary school playground at breaktime. However, if you are not happy with your children reading dialogue like this then best you don't buy them this book. Similarly, some of the scenes towards the end of the book are fairly violent and not for younger readers, but this book will definitely appeal to boys (and many girls) aged 13+. If future DropZone books are as well written then Mr McNab may well have created a series to rival Muchamore's CHERUB.

DropZone is published as a hardcover edition in the UK by Doubleday on 4th February 2010. Thank you to the kind people at RHCB for sending me this copy to review.