The Fighting Season: Episode I


Book Description

THIS IS THE FIRST EPISODE OF A SERIALISED THRILLER When the son of an American businessman is kidnapped in Malaysia, it marks the beginning of the unthinkable -- an Islamist uprising that pits Shiites against Sunnis. It’s a civil war that threatens to escalate and set the whole of Southeast Asia ablaze. Maya Raines is the covert operator brought in to help resolve the situation. Half-Malaysian and half-American, she has razor-sharp instincts, and she’s driven by an obsession to settle a personal debt. But her mission will be anything but easy, and as she searches the back alleys and ghettos of a nation on the verge of collapse, she will have to ask herself the hardest question of all: how do you stay moral in an immoral war? *** *** PRAISE FOR JOHN LING’S THRILLERS ‘A fair and balanced account of what’s really happening in the Islamic world today.’ -- Crime Watch ‘An engaging thriller that investigates the psychology of fanaticism.’ -- San Francisco Book Review ‘Thought-provoking themes. Exciting action.’ -- The Sun ‘The surveillance techniques and intelligence analysis bring it to life.’ -- The Star ‘Fast-paced faction; where fact and fiction collide.’ -- The Malaysian Insider ‘A powerful new voice in adventure stories.’ -- Pendulum Press ‘A cracking thriller.’ -- The TBR Pile ‘Realistic and tightly drawn.’ -- Aust Crime Fiction ‘Has the pacing of an action movie.’ -- The Kindle Book Review ‘An intriguing touch. Recommended.’ -- Midwest Book Review ‘I read it in one sitting. Couldn’t put it down.’ -- Beattie’s Book Blog ‘Fight scenes that play out through the pages like a ballet of words.’ -- Write Today ‘A must for lovers of the action tale.’ -- Boogle Books ‘Fast-paced, high-calibre writing. Heartily recommended.’ -- Lighthouse Media One




The Fighting Season


Book Description

The Fighting Season is military fiction of the first order: as tough as nails and packed with the insider knowledge of someone who has done it for real.' - Matthew Reilly 'Action packed, gritty and authentic to the core.' - Merrick Watts An explosive thriller from the heart of Afghanistan Outside the wire, Uruzghan Province, Afghanistan, 2010... In the badlands of central Afghanistan an Australian Special Forces platoon is fatally hit by a roadside bomb. A shadowy Taliban commander, codenamed 'Rapier', is identified as responsible for the deadly attack. Matt Rix, the ultra tough commando who led the ambushed platoon, swears vengeance. Rix is one of Special Forces' most lethal operators. He'll neutralise Rapier - whatever it takes. But in Afghanistan's brutal war, not all things are as they seem.




The Fighting Season


Book Description




Fighting Season


Book Description

'Fighting Season' provides a significant and accomplished account of a soldier's experience in the Afghan campaign.




The Fighting Season: Episode II


Book Description

THIS IS THE SECOND EPISODE OF A SERIALISED THRILLER When the son of an American businessman is kidnapped in Malaysia, it marks the beginning of the unthinkable -- an Islamist uprising that pits Shiites against Sunnis. It’s a civil war that threatens to escalate and set the whole of Southeast Asia ablaze. Maya Raines is the covert operator brought in to help resolve the situation. Half-Malaysian and half-American, she has razor-sharp instincts, and she’s driven by an obsession to settle a personal debt. But her mission will be anything but easy, and as she searches the back alleys and ghettos of a nation on the verge of collapse, she will have to ask herself the hardest question of all: how do you stay moral in an immoral war? *** *** PRAISE FOR JOHN LING’S THRILLERS ‘A fair and balanced account of what’s really happening in the Islamic world today.’ -- Crime Watch ‘An engaging thriller that investigates the psychology of fanaticism.’ -- San Francisco Book Review ‘Thought-provoking themes. Exciting action.’ -- The Sun ‘The surveillance techniques and intelligence analysis bring it to life.’ -- The Star ‘Fast-paced faction; where fact and fiction collide.’ -- The Malaysian Insider ‘A powerful new voice in adventure stories.’ -- Pendulum Press ‘A cracking thriller.’ -- The TBR Pile ‘Realistic and tightly drawn.’ -- Aust Crime Fiction ‘Has the pacing of an action movie.’ -- The Kindle Book Review ‘An intriguing touch. Recommended.’ -- Midwest Book Review ‘I read it in one sitting. Couldn’t put it down.’ -- Beattie’s Book Blog ‘Fight scenes that play out through the pages like a ballet of words.’ -- Write Today ‘A must for lovers of the action tale.’ -- Boogle Books ‘Fast-paced, high-calibre writing. Heartily recommended.’ -- Lighthouse Media One







The Fighting Season


Book Description

Sean Harris Oliver's The Fighting Season is a searing investigation into the Afghan War through the eyes of a Canadian field medic (Kristy), an OR surgeon (Terry), and a recovery room nurse (Karine). When all three medical professionals experience a life-changing event in the operating room of the NATO-controlled Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield, they are sent back to Canada for further evaluation. Through Kristy, Terry and Karine's interwoven monologues we begin to understand the contribution that Canada's medical teams made in Afghanistan, as well as the devastating impact that war has on the ones charged with saving lives.




Fighting Season


Book Description

Every year in Afghanistan, after winter has passed and the opium poppies have been harvested, local men re-emerge to confront the latest foreign 'invader' and the fighting season begins again. The soldier's experience is full of contrasts. From the thrill of adventure in a vast open country to the frustration of being withdrawn from action by behind-the-scenes bureaucrats; from watching a friend fall victim to a suicide bomber to being charmed by ordinary people caught in the conflict. Fighting Season is a no-holds-barred account that will change the reader's view of the Afghan campaign and offers a true perspective on the West's ability to fight terrorism and promote democracy in foreign lands.




Shillelagh


Book Description

For centuries the Irish have been associated with a stick weapon called the Shillelagh. And for generations of Irishmen, the Shillelagh was a badge of honor - a symbol of their courage, their martial prowess and their willingness to fight for their rights and their honor. In modern popular culture, the Shillelagh has acquired a less appealing image, one that attempts to declaw the Irish through negative racial stereotypes of the Victorian era, which depict the Irish as harmless club-weilding Leprecauns or drunken, half-witted brawlers. John Hurley's illuminating study forever alters our view of this much maligned and misunderstood cultural icon by revealing the true martial arts culture of the Irish people, its history, evolution and decline and the resulting effects on the Shillelagh - the most powerful and controversial of Irish icons.




The Afghanistan Papers


Book Description

A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 ​The #1 New York Times bestselling investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock. Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives. Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground. Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.” The Afghanistan Papers is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.