John Stratton Books In Order

Publication Order of John Stratton Books

Chronological Order of John Stratton Books:

Despite one book being a flashback to the early days of Stratton, the chronological order of the John Stratton books remains the same as the publication order, and should be read in that regard.

About John Stratton:

John Stratton is a fictional character created by the British author Duncan Falconer. This is a pen name as his real name in unknown. He was a Royal Marines commando and also became a Special Boat Service operator. Much of his knowledge is used in creating his fiction.

John Stratton follows a remarkably similar path. He is a soldier in the British Special Boat Service. This is a highly trained division that performs duties akin to their american counterparts the Navy Seals. It is an elite fighting unit used for infiltration, rescues, reconnaissance and demolition. Among all of these well trained soldiers John Stratton is the best.

John Stratton: The Perfect Soldier

Stratton had been in the force for a while at the start of the series and seems to have no ideas of stepping down anytime soon. He his a handsome, strong man, with piercing eyes. Stratton could is the epitome of a soldier. We are not privy to too much information about his past. We are not given any insight into what made him decide to enlist, or even why he is so proficient at performing his duties. He is a solitary man, having never been married and without any serious steady female in his life. He has given himself over to military life, the time constraints would not allow for real romance anyway. He is fiercely loyal and would die in order to dave the life of one of his comrades in arms. He is respectful of authority but maintains enough independence to do thing in a way he sees fit. He stands behind his decisions and is willing to suffer the consequences for decisions taken where he knows he was right.

John Stratton is a strong, steady character. Perfect for the spy genre.

The Hostage

In this first story of the John Stratton series we are engulfed in a classic spy thriller. The premise is an undercover operation gone wrong. A British agent monitoring the Real IRA goes missing. The only man who can possibly get the agent out is John Stratton. The plot thickens when it is realized that the only way the agent could have been compromised was by someone within MI5 working with the enemy.

A disastrous surveillance mission is performed in Paris, with hopes of uncovering the double agent. The mission ends with a colleague captured and his wife being forced to work for the IRA. They are planning a terrorist attack on London, the biggest to date. John Stratton is the only hope to thwart the plan.

This story is packed with action and brings the reader back to classic spy novels. It was a great beginning to the series. It allows the reader to jump right into the story. Since Stratton is a no nonsense kind of macho hero there is not a lot of time spent of his emotional development. You get what you see, and he is truly and action hero.

The Hijack

If the first novel proved to be a good introduction to the character of John Stratton and his formidable abilities, the second novel takes it one step further. Falconer has improved his story telling immensely and has created a spy novel that is fast paced and engaging.

The story begins with the hero John Stratton working as a bodyguard and is thoroughly bored by his predicament. Things quickly change when a group of Palestine terrorists decide to hijack a super tanker. The action begins and does not end until the novel does. London, Gaza Strip, Latvia, Jerusalem, this novel has a wealth of interesting settings The reader is quickly gripped by the action and the novel becomes difficult to put down as you want to know what comes next!

We are given a little more insight into what makes John Stratton tick. This is where the series is different from others in this genre. Although John Stratton is a typical “good guy” he is also a person who seems to have conflicting desires. This provides him with a complexity that characters in this genre often lack. This character development is taken even further when dealing with the enemies. It is very difficult to sympathize with the enemy in a spy novel as they are often out to destroy everything that the characters, and by extension the reader, holds dear. Falconer manages to portray the antagonists in such a way that a connection and understanding is formed. These are not your cut and dry evil doers, they are given backgrounds and developed as people, who just happen to be on the opposite site of the spectrum. This is quite a coup as it is very difficult to sympathize with someone who is attempting to start World War III.

Realism

Although John Stratton is a fictional character, likely embodying all of the positives of a modern soldier, it cannot be forgotten that the author held the same tittle as the protagonist. It is difficult to imagine that Duncan Falconer was placed in the same situations as John Stratton, the degree of realism remains. The items at the hero’s disposal and the tactics that he utilizes are likely based in reality. Often writers who specialize in this kind of work have a tendency to embellish. They often create objects that are fictitious and situations that are beyond the scope of the possible. That is not to say that the situations that John Stratton must face are not a little extreme, it simply means that the manner in which he approaches the situation and the tactics he applies are based on experience and fact rather than simply fantasy.

The John Stratton series is a well written, action packed adventure. John Stratton is a great character who has integrity, strength and a conscious. No situation is beyond his capacities. He is only really alive when action calls and tackles each mission with a cunning intellect. There are many novels in this style that come off as being simply ludicrous: they are series of violent acts held together by the slimmest of threads. In this series Falconer has created stories that are superior to the average spy adventure. Anyone who enjoys fast paced action would enjoy this series and likely read the entire run in quick order.