Any British soldier who joins the military — and it doesn’t matter which branch — hears stories about the SAS. And for anyone who’s serious about their soldiering, joining the Regiment has to be one of your aims in life. The be-all and end-all of a military career. But for me, there was a bit more to it than that. If I was going to be a soldier, I wanted my soldiering skills to be the best they could possibly be. If I was going to travel the world, I wanted to really travel the world, to see places and experience things that would never otherwise cross my radar. If I was going to serve my country, I wanted to feel that I was making a difference. To my young eyes, there was only one part of the army which would let me achieve all these things, and that was the SAS.

Over the years I’ve written many books and in all of them, even though most of them are fiction, I’ve tried to give readers a real insight into what life is really like for a SAS soldier. Night Strike is my second novel in my Extremes series and in it we see former SAS hero John Bald at war with himself. He is fighting a losing battle with the bottle but then is reluctantly thrust back into battle when one of America’s most cutting-edge defence contractors suspects a sleeper cell is operating in its midst. Shadowed every step of the way by a ruthless CIA hit man, Bald pursues the sleeper from the ghettos of Florida to the war-torn streets of Tripoli and has to call on all his warrior instincts to stay alive…

I’m really proud of my Extreme series – if you like your writing faster, grittier and even more action-packed then I hope you’ll give these a try. In addition, to thank you all for your support over the years, you’ll also find my short story that I wrote to tie in with the bestselling game, Medal of Honour as an exclusive in the Tesco edition of Night Strike. It’s set in the early days of the war in Afghanistan when the best soldiers in the world come together to fight Al-Qaeda in a battle that will push even the most elite soldiers with the most advanced weaponry to the ultimate test of skill and courage. Having spent the last two years of my own time in the Regiment judging young SAS hopefuls, I can say there is no silver bullet for passing the selection and that just having an incredible level of fitness is not enough. You also need an ability to take on information, and most importantly the capacity to think for yourself and adapt to any hostile territory. These are all qualities that you will see in SAS hero Jock in Medal of Honour and Bald in Night Strike.

To celebrate the publication of Night Strike we’re giving one lucky person the chance to win a selection of the latest top selling EA Games for their PlayStation or Xbox, including Medal of Honour.

To win, describe, in no more than twenty words in the comments section below, what it takes to be a soldier?

Buy Extreme: Night Strike by Chris Ryan in store from 31st January for just £7.00!

Terms and Conditions

1. This competition is for one winner to receive the prize of five EA Games, including Medal of Honor, for either their Playstation or Xbox .

2. The Winner will be selected at random from the entries received in accordance with these terms and conditions by Tesco whose decision will be final.

3. There is no purchase necessary to enter.

4. The competition opens at 28th January 2013 and closes at midnight on 18th February 2013. Any entries received outside these specified times and dates will not be eligible for entry into the competition.

5. The competition is open to any UK residents aged 18 or over except employees of Tesco or their families, or anyone professionally connected to the competition either themselves or through their families.

6. Only one entry per person allowed. Second or subsequent entries will be disqualified. Entries will not be accepted via agents, third parties or in bulk.

7. Tesco is not responsible for contacting or forwarding prizes to entrants who provide unclear or incomplete information or for entries lost, misdirected, delayed or destroyed.

8. Tesco reserves the right to alter the prizes or cancel the competition without notice.  No cash alternatives to prizes will be provided.

9. The Winner will be published on the Tesco Books Blog within 10 working days of the closing date.

10. Tesco will only use email addresses of the entrants, and the Winners’ postal addresses, in compliance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and in accordance with our privacy policy. The emails from the entrants, and from the Winner with their postal addresses (including any other record of the address), will be deleted respectively after the end on the competition and after the prize has been posted.

11. By entering the competition each entrant agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions.