Exeterman's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 05 Jul 2018 00:51:18 -0700 60 Exeterman's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Going Around The Bend 29862564
‘I’ve learned the hard way not to approach immigration officials whilst eating a Scotch Egg.� ~ Mark Time

Mark Time is leaving the Royal Marines. He decides the ideal way to prepare for ‘Civvy Street� is to participate in a kayaking expedition down the Mississippi River with three other commandos. Armed with nothing more than audacity and a poor pancake recipe, Mark’s journey is typically one of hilarity and misfortune punctuated with surreal vignettes that venture off like the tributaries of the great river itself. As one does, Mark gets inextricably involved with, death, elk murdering Christians, heroin addicted teachers, stigmata, and a parrot called Humphrey, all while painting a unique caricature of the ‘Big Muddy�.

Pioneering as a military/travel crossover, Mark’s unique style now follows his true passion. His already loyal audience will now expand to the many travel fans tired of sycophantic travel blogs.]]>
360 Mark Time 0993547028 Exeterman 5 to-read
I'm a big Bryson fan and Mark Time is a worthy successor. I'm hoping he now writes more travel stuff.]]>
4.40 Going Around The Bend
author: Mark Time
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/01
date added: 2018/07/05
shelves: to-read
review:
I actually think this is the best of the the three.

I'm a big Bryson fan and Mark Time is a worthy successor. I'm hoping he now writes more travel stuff.
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Going All The Way 29862523 Mark Time’s latest military memoir brims with emotion, bouncing between hilarious disasters and sobering confrontation.

‘The folly of youth needn’t define who we become.� ~ Mark Time

Now a commando, yet still more a poster boy for children’s underpants than the Royal Marines, Mark Time hones his newfound military skills and discovers the noble art of transvestism. He plunges into a world of sun, sea and sangars, where he jumps between the dystopian world of colonial peacekeeping and the hedonistic lifestyle of a military with no wars to join.
Whether he is scuppering fermented diesel in the jungle or being sledgehammered by the unfiltered suffering of conflict, Mark carries a dark secret that weighs heavier than the equipment he carries on his back.
Often controversial, this book’s provocative nature is certainly not for the faint-hearted, yet is a humorous and uplifting account of a troubled bon vivant.

Like his first book, Going All The Way will appeal to a wider audience than the usual military fare, offering insight into many topical issues including military strategy and mental health, all glazed with his synonymous humour, as Mark’s ethos lies in ‘painting the world with colour�.

WARNING: Contains scenes of sex, violence, and commandos wearing lipstick.]]>
322 Mark Time 9780993547 Exeterman 5 Really liked this guy's first book as it was a million miles away from all the hard man stuff but to be honest when you read these you actually find out who the hard men really are.
Not withstanding the ups and downs of this lad's life the book starts as it means to go on - with rib splitting humour.

It's like a travel book for the marines - one minute you're in Northern Ireland the next minute the Caribbean each with its own take on his life. Unlike my recent review of stating how dislikable Bond is on the page, I'd love to have a beer with this lad.

Wasn't disappointed and really look forward to his next one.]]>
4.50 Going All The Way
author: Mark Time
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/15
date added: 2018/04/07
shelves:
review:
Managed to get an early copy from Amazon.
Really liked this guy's first book as it was a million miles away from all the hard man stuff but to be honest when you read these you actually find out who the hard men really are.
Not withstanding the ups and downs of this lad's life the book starts as it means to go on - with rib splitting humour.

It's like a travel book for the marines - one minute you're in Northern Ireland the next minute the Caribbean each with its own take on his life. Unlike my recent review of stating how dislikable Bond is on the page, I'd love to have a beer with this lad.

Wasn't disappointed and really look forward to his next one.
]]>
<![CDATA[Going Commando (Bootneck Threesome Book 1)]]> 21521716
At 16, Mark Time wants to become either a geologist or a Royal Marines Commando. Despite his love of basalt, he chooses the career that teaches him how to kill� and shit in plastic bags.

Knowing his weak body will have to shape up to complete 30 weeks of commando training, Mark prepares for the Royal Marines by sleeping in his shed wearing only plastic bags. He braves pain by ordering his mate to attack him while trapped in a sleeping bag. He even starves himself in a stupid urban survival exercise, turning down the offer of his favourite crispy pancakes from his mother.

He knows about cold, he can endure pain, and he can resist crispy pancakes.
He is ready.
Some, might say, for the nut house...

Often hilarious and yet shockingly sobering, Going Commando is the true story of a boy who joins one of the world’s most elite military units with only naivety and incompetence equalling his will to succeed. As the first book in the ‘Bootneck Threesome� series, it will appeal mainly to military enthusiasts, and any former/current/future military personnel. Humorous in tone, the book will also be enjoyed by lads� mag readers, and audiences worldwide will be able to relate to Mark Time’s story, for whilst the military is the book’s subtext, it is really a motivational tale of spirit; of a young man who will go through anything to reach his dreams.]]>
258 Mark Time 178306742X Exeterman 5
OK, So I am a former Royal Marines Commando, and I still live within earshot of Commando Training Centre so slightly biased, but this reads like no other military book out there.

Witty, thoughtful, full of contrast and emotion it is a book that should be on the shelf of anyone with links to the military and anyone who has never read such a genre could do worse than read this as a well written conduit into life in the military.

It is the antithesis of Andy McNAb et al and therefore the truest account of a military man you will ever read. No BS, it tells it like it is and I shuddered as his writing brought back all those memories

Quite simply brilliant.]]>
4.37 2014 Going Commando (Bootneck Threesome Book 1)
author: Mark Time
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2014/06/05
date added: 2016/04/14
shelves:
review:
Read this based upon its Amazon reviews. All I can say is that it is the funniest book I have ever read.

OK, So I am a former Royal Marines Commando, and I still live within earshot of Commando Training Centre so slightly biased, but this reads like no other military book out there.

Witty, thoughtful, full of contrast and emotion it is a book that should be on the shelf of anyone with links to the military and anyone who has never read such a genre could do worse than read this as a well written conduit into life in the military.

It is the antithesis of Andy McNAb et al and therefore the truest account of a military man you will ever read. No BS, it tells it like it is and I shuddered as his writing brought back all those memories

Quite simply brilliant.
]]>
Wilt (Wilt, #1) 420966
After a peculiarly nasty experience at a party thrown by particularly nasty Americans, Wilt finds himself in several embarrassing positions: Eva stalks out in stratospheric dudgeon, and Wilt, under the inspiration of gin, puts one of his more vindictive fantasies into effect. But suspicions are instantly aroused and Wilt rapidly achieves an unenviable notoriety in the role of The Man Helping Police With Their Enquiries. Or is he exactly helping? Wilt's problem -although he's on the other side of the fence -is the same as Inspector Flint's: where is Eva Wilt? But Wilt begins to flourish in the heat of the investigation, and as the police stoke the flames of circumstantial evidence, Wilt deploys all his powers to show that the Law can't tell a Missing Person from a hole in the ground.]]>
336 Tom Sharpe 0099435489 Exeterman 5 If only to relive my youth I got this on a whim.

As hilarious as the first time I read it 30 years ago, only now I find myself, as similarly aged to poor old Henry, feeling even more empathy for his trials.

RIP TS. You were a writer in the true sense of the word]]>
3.95 1976 Wilt (Wilt, #1)
author: Tom Sharpe
name: Exeterman
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1976
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/14
shelves:
review:
As with Riotous Assembly I bought this at a car boot fair.
If only to relive my youth I got this on a whim.

As hilarious as the first time I read it 30 years ago, only now I find myself, as similarly aged to poor old Henry, feeling even more empathy for his trials.

RIP TS. You were a writer in the true sense of the word
]]>
<![CDATA[Amongst the Marines: The Untold Story]]> 844454 400 Steven Preece 1840188529 Exeterman 1 As with all repeated shocks it wears a little thin after a while.

Probably the worst book I've ever read on the Royal Marines. I'm sure much of what is written went on, but it didn't even make a decent read.

One of only a few books I have failed to finish.]]>
4.21 2004 Amongst the Marines: The Untold Story
author: Steven Preece
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2004
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2016/04/14
shelves:
review:
Tries to shock.
As with all repeated shocks it wears a little thin after a while.

Probably the worst book I've ever read on the Royal Marines. I'm sure much of what is written went on, but it didn't even make a decent read.

One of only a few books I have failed to finish.
]]>
Riotous Assembly 58506 249 Tom Sharpe 0871131439 Exeterman 5
Brought back what a fantastic mind he had, sadly his kind are in short supply these days.

Am now going to read his whole library from a bookshop - I feel it only fair I give the great man a few quid in recompense for the joy he has brought me]]>
4.14 1971 Riotous Assembly
author: Tom Sharpe
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1971
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/15
date added: 2016/04/14
shelves:
review:
I read many TS books through my teens and as he seems sadly popular on the car boot book market where I picked up a tatty old edition of Riotous Assembly. And how glad I did.

Brought back what a fantastic mind he had, sadly his kind are in short supply these days.

Am now going to read his whole library from a bookshop - I feel it only fair I give the great man a few quid in recompense for the joy he has brought me
]]>
Kiting the Hurricane 27870795 Hurricanes such as Katrina and Rita with the power of a nuclear bomb destroyed everything in thier path leaving massive devastation in their wake.
Dom Mee was attempting to cross the north Atlantic Ocean in the world's first boat powered by kites until he was hit by the tail end of five hurricanes during the
deadly season. In mountainous seas trapped on the notorious Grand Banks off Canada he battles against the elements and wrestles with his inner demons.
Dom Mee finally tells the full story of his ordeal fighting the most powerful force on earth and living to tell the tale.
It is a story of pioneering adventure, failure, survival and ultimate triumph against all the odds.]]>
122 Dom Mee 151360533X Exeterman 5
Wow, while it's short it is probably as punchy as you can get for an adventure book. Managed to complete it on a LH flight in one sitting although reading of people in hurricanes on the atlantic is probably not a good idea while flying over it...

On a wide ocean it all happened in a tiny cabin so it's as much as a psychological thriller as an adventure story.

People like Dom Mee are why Britons are famed for their adventurous spirt. He is a modern day Scott and shows how heart and soul can get you through any situation.

Hope he succeeds in his writing adventures

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4.11 Kiting the Hurricane
author: Dom Mee
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/14
shelves:
review:
Got this as I'd seen the story on local news.

Wow, while it's short it is probably as punchy as you can get for an adventure book. Managed to complete it on a LH flight in one sitting although reading of people in hurricanes on the atlantic is probably not a good idea while flying over it...

On a wide ocean it all happened in a tiny cabin so it's as much as a psychological thriller as an adventure story.

People like Dom Mee are why Britons are famed for their adventurous spirt. He is a modern day Scott and shows how heart and soul can get you through any situation.

Hope he succeeds in his writing adventures


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<![CDATA[The SPECTRE Trilogy: Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice (James Bond - Extended)]]> 26841155 ThunderballUpon M’s insistence, James Bond takes a two-week respite in a secluded natural health spa. But amid the bland teas, tasteless yogurts, and the spine stretcher the guests lovingly call “The Rack,� Bond stumbles onto the trail of a lethal man with ties to a new secret organization called SPECTRE. When SPECTRE hijacks two A-bombs, a frantic global search for the weapons ensues, and M’s hunch that the plane containing the bombs will make a clean drop into the ocean sends Bond to the Bahamas to investigate.

On the island paradise, 007 finds a wealthy pleasure seeker’s treasure hunt and meets Domino Vitali, the gorgeous mistress of Emilio Largo, otherwise known as SPECTRE’s Number 1. But as powerful as Number 1 is, he works for someone else: Ernst Stavro Blofeld, a peculiar man with a deadly creative mind.

Thunderball marks the beginnings of one of the most iconic villains in history, and the only match for the wits of James Bond.

On Her Majesty’s Secret ServiceIn the aftermath of Operation Thunderball, Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s trail has gone cold—and so has 007’s love for his job. The only thing that can rekindle his passion is Contessa Teresa “Tracy� di Vicenzo, a troubled young woman who shares his taste for fast cars and danger. She’s the daughter of a powerful crime boss, and he thinks Bond’s hand in marriage may be the solution to all her problems. Bond’s not ready to settle down—yet—but he soon finds himself falling for the enigmatic Tracy.

After finally tracking the SPECTRE chief to a stronghold in the Swiss Alps, Bond uncovers the details of Blofeld’s latest plot: a biological warfare scheme more audacious than anything the fiend has tried before. Now Bond must save the world once again—and survive Blofeld’s last, very personal, act of vengeance.

You Only Live TwiceThe tragic end to James Bond’s last mission—courtesy of Ernst Stavro Blofeld—has left 007 a broken man and of little use to the British Secret Service. At his wit’s end, M decides that the only way to snap his best agent out of his torpor is to send him on an impossible diplomatic mission to Japan. Bond’s contact there is the formidable Japanese spymaster Tiger Tanaka, who agrees to do business with the West if Bond will assassinate one of his enemies: a mysterious Swiss botanist named Dr. Guntram Shatterhand.

Shatterhand is not who he seems, however, and his impregnable fortress—known to the locals as the “Castle of Death”—is a gauntlet of traps no gaijin has ever penetrated. But through rigorous ninja training, and with some help from the beautiful and able Kissy Suzuki, Bond manages to gain access to Shatterhand’s lair. Inside lurks certain doom at the hands of 007’s bitterest foe—or a final chance to exact ultimate vengeance.

The text in this edition has been restored by the Fleming family company, Ian Fleming Publications, to reflect the work as it was originally published.

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834 Ian Fleming 150399807X Exeterman 3
No one can dispute Fleming as a great writer, I just find the Bond character, how can I put it, rather dislikable... i actually found myself having more admiration for Largo and Bloefeld, at least they didn't leer at a woman every time they saw one.

Certainly a book of its time.

And yes I'm a crusty old fart myself]]>
4.28 1997 The SPECTRE Trilogy: Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice (James Bond - Extended)
author: Ian Fleming
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/04/14
shelves:
review:
Maybe we've all just been brainwashed with the movies and see Bond in a certain way...

No one can dispute Fleming as a great writer, I just find the Bond character, how can I put it, rather dislikable... i actually found myself having more admiration for Largo and Bloefeld, at least they didn't leer at a woman every time they saw one.

Certainly a book of its time.

And yes I'm a crusty old fart myself
]]>
The Virgin Soldiers 1821208 400 Leslie Thomas 009949003X Exeterman 4 3.70 1966 The Virgin Soldiers
author: Leslie Thomas
name: Exeterman
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1966
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/08/15
shelves:
review:
Classic tale of military naivety set in the humid jingles of South East Asia. Not a tale of action more of the banality of life under a colonial flag. Great read, sometimes, sometimes rather poignant, it's a reality check for those who want to remember a bygone era through rose tinted glasses.
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First in Action 144741 452 Duncan Falconer 0751526304 Exeterman 4 4.23 1998 First in Action
author: Duncan Falconer
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/07/07
shelves:
review:
A real bootneck legend. The subtle humour shows the humility of the writer and makes the reader warm to him more than his contemporaries.
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The Road to Wigan Pier 30553 215 George Orwell Exeterman 4 3.92 1937 The Road to Wigan Pier
author: George Orwell
name: Exeterman
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1937
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/07/07
shelves:
review:

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Filth 23966
There are some sizable flies in the ointment, though: a missing wife and child, a nagging cocaine habit, some painful below-the-belt eczema, and a string of demanding extramarital affairs. The last thing Robertson needs is a messy, racially fraught murder, even if it means overtime—and the opportunity to clinch the promotion he craves. Then there's that nutritionally demanding (and psychologically acute) intestinal parasite in his gut. Yes, things are going badly for this utterly corrupt tribune of the law, but in an Irvine Welsh novel nothing is ever so bad that it can't get a whole lot worse. . .

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393 Irvine Welsh 0393318680 Exeterman 4 3.81 1998 Filth
author: Irvine Welsh
name: Exeterman
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/07/07
shelves:
review:

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Going Commando 20968163 258 Mark Time 178306286X Exeterman 5
Quite simply a tour de force in the military genre, I found this book gave the personal touch that so many of this genre lack. It is certainly the truest account of military training out there, a true warts and all account and shows that it is not all about being a 'Rambo' or Andy McNab of this world that make our Forces what they are.

While it is a military book it is written in a manner that crosses many genres and encompasses many ethics of modern society and shows rewards are rarely won easily.
My wife took a motherly approach to the author's trials and my teenage son found him inspiring.

Well done Royal cant wait for book 2!]]>
4.11 2014 Going Commando
author: Mark Time
name: Exeterman
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/07/07
shelves:
review:
While I may be biased being a former Royal Marine and still living within earshot of COmmando Training Centre, I write this from purely a literary point of view.

Quite simply a tour de force in the military genre, I found this book gave the personal touch that so many of this genre lack. It is certainly the truest account of military training out there, a true warts and all account and shows that it is not all about being a 'Rambo' or Andy McNab of this world that make our Forces what they are.

While it is a military book it is written in a manner that crosses many genres and encompasses many ethics of modern society and shows rewards are rarely won easily.
My wife took a motherly approach to the author's trials and my teenage son found him inspiring.

Well done Royal cant wait for book 2!
]]>