Spartan - Hardcover

Matthew Dunn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0857820192 ISBN 13: 9780857820198

Publisher: Swordfish/Orion Books, 2011

Synopsis

When MI6, Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, calls in the manuscript of a first-time thriller writer's new book, you know that it's no ordinary thriller. And that the author is no ordinary author. Matthew Dunn spent 5 years as a field operative in SIS recruiting and running agents, planning and participating in special operations and operating deep undercover throughout the world. In SPARTAN, Dunn's explosive debut, he draws on his unique background to breathe dynamic new life into the contemporary spy novel. Featuring super-spy Will Cochrane, Dunn paints a nerve-shredding, stunningly suthentic picture of today's secret world. It's a place where trust is precious and betrayal is cheap. And where a violent death is the reward for being outplayed by your enemy. Will Cochrane, the Service's most prized asset and deadliest weapon, has known little else since childhood. And he's never been outplayed. So far...

About this title

About the Author

Matthew Dunn was trained by SIS in all aspects of intelligence collection and direct action including agent running, deep-cover deployments, small-arms, explosives, military unarmed combat, surveillance, anti-surveillance, counter-surveillance, advanced driving, infiltration and exfiltration techniques and covert communications. He used his skills extensively on operations. Although typically he worked alone, but in conducting near seventy missions, he also had significant experience of working with highly-specialised units from the SAS and SBS as well as conducting joint-operations with MI5, GCHQ and the CIA. Medals are never awarded to modern MI6 officers, but Dunn was the recipient of a very rare personal commendation from the Foreign Secretary actions that directly influenced the successful conclusion of a major international incident. He lives in England.

Review

Great talent, great imagination, and real been-there done-that authenticity make this one of the year's best thriller debuts. Highly recommended. -- LEE CHILD Dunn, a former M16 officer, fashions a hero who looks poised to give Lee Child's Jack Reacher a run for his readers ... a twisty, cleverly crafted work. KIRKUS REVIEWS (USA) A nail-biting, edge of your seat page-turner. Matthew Dunn is an explosive new talent. -- SIMON KERNICK A terrific thriller with a superb new hero. Written by a man with the credentials to back him up. Spartan oozes class. Bond and Bourne can take a back seat... -- MATT HILTON Plenty of fireworks, a suitably anguished 21st-century hero and snappy tradecraft make this an intelligent and entertaining summer read. But what really gives Spartan the edge is the author: Matthew Dunn is a highly commended former MI6 field operative ... and the first to write a thriller. This feels solid and authentic. -- Adam LeBor FINANCIAL TIMES Excellent ... I know of no other spy thriller that so successfully blends the fascinating nuances of the business of espionage and intelligence work with full-throttle suspense storytelling. -- JEFFREY DEAVER Readers will want to see more of Dunn's distinctive hero, "the ultimate killer of killers." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (US) This debut novel has the ring of verisimilitude ... no nonsense, pulse-pounding ... readers will want to spend more time in the company of Matthew Dunn's tough agent Will Cochrane CRIMETIME I made the mistake of starting Dunn's novel at 10 o'clock last evening. In no time flat my mind was trapped by the turns of this intense thriller ... this is one of the most startling thriller debuts I've encountered. THE RAP SHEET A thriller with fast action, a great villain, several twists and turns, and enough ambiguity to escape the many obvious pitfalls of genre cliche ... the book pushes forward relentlessly. IRRISTIBLE TARGETS As a thriller, Spartan has pace and style ... Like le Carre and Fleming before him Dunn is the real thing, a former member of SIS turned fictional chronicler of the secret world. His though, is a more muscular creation than Smiley, or even Bond. Meet Will Cochrane, a one man weapon of mass destruction; 007 is a cocktail-sipping lush compared with Cochrane. DAILY TELEGRAPH

About this edition

• Publisher: Swordfish/Orion Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0857820192
• ISBN 13: 9780857820198
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 392