The Network A Novel

by Elliot, Jason

• ISBN13: 9781608190355
• ISBN10: 1608190358
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-09-14
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Jason Elliot is a notable, prize-winning travel writer , whose works include An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan, a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Thomas Cook/Daily Telegraph Travel Book Award , and Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran. The Network is his first novel.

Table of Contents

“Fast-paced and strikingly authentic”—Stella Rimington, former Director-General of MI5

“As sharp as Frederick Forsyth—as exotic as Wilbur Smith.”—Jason Goodwin, author of The Janissary Tree

“A travel writer with firsthand knowledge of the area, Elliot effectively combines action and landscape … The Afghan setting is vividly rendered … For those wanting a realistic look behind the news … Elliot delivers the goods.”—Jeff Ayers, Booklist

“Elliot’s descriptions of Afghanistan and its extraordinary people are so vivid, evocative, and hauntingly real that I found myself reaching for my old camel-hair pakol and 9mm Makarov. His portrayal of the intelligence community’s tactics, techniques, and procedures are so spot-on accurate that one wonders whether travel writer was merely his cover.”—Matthew Bogdanos, Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps and author of Thieves of Baghdad