Rain - Softcover

Campbell, Barney

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405921218 ISBN 13: 9781405921213

Publisher: Michael Joseph, 2016

Synopsis

Drawing on firsthand experience of combat, Rain is a searingly powerful novel in the bestselling tradition of Matterhorn.

     Tom Chamberlain was destined to be a soldier from the moment he discovered a faded picture of his father patrolling the streets of Belfast.
     With the war in Afghanistan at its savage peak, Tom is despatched from home in the dead of an anonymous September night, a blood tribute leaving without fanfare. Full of eagerness, but wracked by self-­doubt, he must discover who he is and what he is capable of.
     But as the bonds with his comrades grow, home -­ and the loved ones left behind -­ seem ever more remote from the surreal violence and exhilaration of war.

About this title

About the Author

BARNEY CAMPBELL lived in many places as a child, due to his father being in the British Army. He was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He in turn joined the Army in 2006, and was commissioned into the Blues and Royals. He served in Afghanistan on a tour of Helmand Province in the winter of 2009-­2010. He lives in the Scottish Borders. Rain is his first novel.

Review

The best book about the experience of soldiering I've read since Robert Graves's First World War classic Goodbye To All That. Campbell is a fantastic writer . . . Rain is a heartbreaking, brutally truthful first novel written with love and respect for the guys in the frontline * Sunday Times * No better on-the-ground description of Britain's war in Afghanistan will ever be written. Rain is what Chickenhawk or, more recently, Matterhorn was to Vietnam. It's unputdownable, except for when the reader needs to draw breath or battle a lump in the throat * Evening Standard * Incredibly powerful. The best thing I've read on the war in Afghanistan . . . Some books have to be read - this is one * Sun * Riveting. The evocation of life in a warzone is captivatingly real . . . As well as the extraordinary detail there's a heartrending emotional depth . . . The result is eye opening and harrowing. A really powerful debut * Sunday Mirror * A wonderfully achieved, enthralling and moving novel of war. Its authenticity is as telling as it is terrifying -- William Boyd Rain is not merely good, it's remarkable. Powerful, at times unbearably harrowing, it captures both the fear and exhilaration of men pushed to breaking point -- Jeremy Paxman One of the most powerful and emotional works ever written about British soldiers in battle. Troubling, funny, upsetting, exhilarating and deeply moving. You will never forget it -- Colonel Richard Kemp A powerful and moving story of war with all the authenticity of a memoir -- Charles Cumming Thrilling, gut-wrenching and profoundly moving, this book, like all the very best novels of war, has the utterly compelling grip of authenticity -- James Holland An extraordinary book: authentic, beautifully written and very moving -- Saul David Simply superb. It could become the defining account of British soldiers in Afghanistan -- Tom Petch, Writer and Director of 'The Patrol' One of the best novels about the Afghanistan war. Brutally honest, it could have been a memoir. Read Rain -- David Axe Gripping . . . the ending is genuinely shocking * Daily Mail * A raw novel about the war in Afghanistan . . . the book smells completely authentic * Observer * A must-read debut -- Tom Newton-Dunn This is without doubt the best and most readable account of a modern combat soldier's life that I have read. The unique relationship between officer and soldier is brilliantly explored, as is the impact of war on loved ones left behind. Then there's the raw fear, the shock of the real thing, the loss of comrades and the sense of absolute mutual commitment that carries the day. I cannot commend it too much. A modern classic -- General Lord Richards

About this edition

• Publisher: Michael Joseph
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1405921218
• ISBN 13: 9781405921213
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 432