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SAND AND FIRE by Tom Young

SAND AND FIRE

by Tom Young

Pub Date: July 10th, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16688-4
Publisher: Putnam

A Marine hero re-enlists to bring down a North African terrorist who's been orchestrating a string of chemical attacks. 

Air National Guardsman Young (The Warriors, 2013, etc.) delivers the latest addition to his growing list of realistic military thrillers. The protagonist is a 6-foot-8-inch gunnery sergeant named A.E. Blount who is nearing retirement after bravely serving his country in a number of dangerous deployments. However, a quiet life with his wife and two daughters on their little slice of Carolina paradise is put on hold when an unusual terrorist modeled on the Barbary pirates of yesteryear initiates a series of sarin gas attacks. When duty calls, retirement can wait, and Blount finds himself once again at the tip of the American military spear. Recurring characters from previous Young novels—Army translator Sophia Gold and Lt. Col. Michael Parson—play supporting roles when they lead efforts to rescue Blount after a botched mission leaves the large Marine in the clutches of terrorists, where he faces imminent decapitation. Yet when Blount turns his formidable fighting prowess against his captors, it may be the terrorists who need saving. Rather than relying on crude violence and gratuitous action scenes, Young takes the time to offer the reader a window into the deliberative process of these military men and women of action. There are, nonetheless, hearty helpings of realistic shootouts and fistfights.

 A realistic portrayal of contemporary military action.