The first book in the hugely popular Danny Black series by the creator of the hit TV show Strikeback.

Paris. An elderly man is assassinated as he takes his morning walk.

In the war-torn cities of Syria, government forces wage a bloody war against their own people.

The Russians are propping up the government, the French are backing one rebel fraction and the British are backing another.

In north Africa, young SAS trooper Danny Black is coming to the end of a gruelling tour of duty, or so he thinks.

Danny has a new mission. An MI6 agent needs to make contact with Syrian rebel forces, and also with the private military contractors who are - unofficially - training this rebel faction as it struggles to bring down their government and establish a new regime that will be favourable to British business interests. Danny will learn who the masters of war, the men who call the shots, really are.

Danny discovers a world where death is dispensed by the highest bidder and individuals will betray anybody if the price is right.

Death seemed their servant

About the Author
Former SAS corporal and the only man to escape death or capture during the Bravo Two Zero operation in the 1991 Gulf War, Chris Ryan turned to writing thrillers to tell the stories the Official Secrets Act stops him putting in his non-fiction. His novels have gone on to inspire the Sky One series Strike Back. Born near Newcastle in 1961, Chris Ryan joined the SAS in 1984. During his ten years there he was involved in overt and covert operations and was also sniper team commander of the anti-terrorist team. During the Gulf War, Chris Ryan was the only member of an eight-man unit to escape from Iraq, where three colleagues were killed and four captured. It was the longest escape and evasion in the history of the SAS. For this he was awarded the Military Medal. He wrote about his experiences in the bestseller The One That Got Away, which was adapted for screen, and since then has written three other works of non-fiction, over twenty bestselling novels and a series of children's books.

Reviews
This Newcastle-born former SAS sergeant is firmly established as one of our most popular action authors. * Daily Mail *
This Newcastle-born former SAS sergeant is firmly established as one of our most popular action authors. * Daily Mail *
Chris Ryan is as hard as nails. * Mirror *
Chris Ryan is as hard as nails. * Mirror *
Relentless pace and gritty brutal realism... accurate descriptions of modern warfare... this is a book that could only have been there by someone who has been there, done that and got the T-shirt. * Soldier *
Relentless pace and gritty brutal realism... accurate descriptions of modern warfare... this is a book that could only have been there by someone who has been there, done that and got the T-shirt. * Soldier *
Praise for Chris Ryan * : *
'This Newcastle-born former SAS sergeant is firmly established as one of our most popular action authors. It is not difficult to see why in this bleak story centred on SAS man Joe Mansfield, who happens to be in the compound in Pakistan when the Americans descend from their Black Hawks and kill Osama bin Laden... This is a far darker, more complex tale than Ryan's more familiar tales of derring-do, for Mansfield is plunged into a world of treachery. The pace never flags for a moment, and Ryan's insider knowledge is to the fore, but even the SAS's skills are no longer quite enough. New, less honourable talents are required. Bravery is not the only solution.' * Daily Mail *
Praise for Chris Ryan: * various *
Nobody takes you to the action better than Ryan, because he's the real deal, and this muscle-and-bone thriller will have fans' blood pumping * Evening Standard *
'The books are masterpieces of social realism. [Chris Ryan] has lived the virtual life he writes about - and that makes him the right kind of war novelist for this generation. These storylines are dependent on a bustle of verbs that lead in every instance to blood and explosions, desperate screams and increasing levels of difficulty: it is never long before we find things and people being zapped, fried, crunched, toasted and skewered, as the bad deeds of the world are comprehensively avenged' * London Review of Books *
'Relentless pace and gritty brutal realism... accurate descriptions of modern warfare... this is a book that could only have been there by someone who has been there, done that and got the T-shirt.' * Soldier *
'Chris Ryan has always been underrated as a novelist of ideas... a welter of treachery and mayhem.' * Daily Telegraph *
'A shockingly authentic tale to keep your adrenaline pumping as fast as the blood on the pages.' * The Sun *
'Bone-crunching action races to a denouement that Frederick Forsyth would be proud of. Ryan's Boy's Own bravado is tempered with sharp political insight and a neat line in treachery.' * Daily Mail *



Book Information
ISBN 9781444706499
Author Chris Ryan
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Coronet Books
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 289g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 137mm * 26mm