Amazing True Story of Maiden Fan in Special Forces Action
WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT?Bravery and stupidity are regular bedfellows – pain is the natural child of that relationship…
‘It’s Only Pain’ is a truly gripping, often funny, extremely violent story of naivety, friendship, family differences, Special Forces operations and guerrilla warfare.
All of the events in this book are based on true experiences.
At the age of seventeen, after a childhood of being trained in various martial arts, Andy Hopwood is invited to travel overseas to join a military combat school; despite the wishes of his family he accepts the invitation - this experience leads him to great friendships, incredible adventures and causes him to be subjected to many violent confrontations and conflict situations, witnessing the deaths of many friends along the way.
This is the story of a young man’s journey from ‘indestructible’ to ‘completely broken’…
Who are the Main Characters?
Andy Hopwood
As the book begins, Andy is 17 years old, of average height with a wiry but athletic physique, he has long fair hair hanging half way down his back and has the attitude of many a 17 year old lad, probably worse than most. It’s not that he thinks that he is invincible; he doesn’t think that at all – he is absolutely certain that he is totally indestructible!
From the age of 6 his parents had taken him to a minimum of two martial arts classes every week. He had an Uncle who ran a karate school and the husband of a lady that his Mother worked with taught Ju-Jitsu locally. Therefore he was raised studying what he thought to be a great range of combat systems, and after 11 years of training, with school playground and street tests at varying frequencies being successfully dealt with, he has an ego that is growing with incredible vigour. That is, until he discovers what it is like to fight when there are no rules and your life is at risk!
Andy finds himself thrust in to a life of violence and special forces battle situations, but this is regularly punctuated by the typical passions of a young mans life – heavy drinking, loud rock music (especially Iron Maiden) and general cavorting.
Johan Blomquist (Joe)
Joe is a couple of years older than Andy. He is over six feet tall, built like a brick wall, with a spiky blond haircut. He shares the same passions in drinking, music and climbing as Andy. The two of them are instant friends when they meet.
Joe was raised in Stockholm in a moderately wealthy, happy family life and had grown up studying Karate. He is just as pig-headed as Andy and swears even more than his English friend. He has a real lust for life and is always ready for a laugh or a practical joke.
He is convinced that he is a Viking, “come to conquer Africa for the glory of Sweden”
Why Will the Book Appeal to Readers?
This is a totally unique and powerfully emotive story and it all actually happened! The book is a superb mix of violence, comedy and raw human emotion that will leave the reader awe-struck.