The Network: A Novel - Hardcover

Elliot, Jason

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1608190358 ISBN 13: 9781608190355

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2010

Synopsis

In this bold novel, Jason Elliot illuminates the dark recesses of the intelligence community during a crucial moment in history: the struggle to avoid a terrorist attack.

In the months before 9/11, former army officer Anthony Taverner is leading a quiet life in the English countryside. But his recruitment for a dangerous mission to Afghanistan by the British Secret Intelligence Service―better known as MI6―shatters his fragile peace and plunges him into the kaleidoscopic world of spying. Under the expert guidance of an old-school hero and veteran of the elite British Special Air Service, Taverner prepares to enter Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to destroy a cache of the CIA 's precious Stinger missiles before they can fall into the hands of al-Qaeda. In Britain and America, the intelligence community is poised for a catastrophe that must be kept secret from the public, one that Taverner must attempt to avert―all without exposing a dangerous secret all his own.

Based on real characters and drawing on the author's extensive firsthand knowledge of Afghanistan, this is a thriller of rare authenticity, providing sustained insight into influences surrounding 9/11 and raising questions about the role of intelligence agencies in historical events deliberately hidden from the public eye.

About this title

About the Author

Jason Elliot is the author of An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan, which was a New York Times bestseller. He lives in London.

Reviews

This intriguing first novel takes another look at the world of espionage in Afghanistan. A travel writer with firsthand knowledge of the area, Elliot effectively combines action and landscape in a thriller set prior to 9/11. Anthony Taverner, a recent recruit to MI6, the British Secret Service, is sent to Afghanistan to destroy several Stinger missiles before al-Qaeda can get its hands on them. With the help of a veteran and friend, Taverner undergoes extensive training to prepare himself for the deadly mission and the forbidding terrain. He quickly learns that the success of the mission will depend on cunning as well as conditioning: secrets abound in the spy world, and nothing is what it seems. The Afghan setting is vividly rendered, but the slow pace of the story will make it a hard sell for readers expecting something in the Vince Flynn or Brad Thor vein. For those wanting a realistic look behind the news, however, Elliot delivers the goods. --Jeff Ayers

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1608190358
• ISBN 13: 9781608190355
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352