The Mullah's Storm
A transport plane carrying a high-ranking Taliban prisoner is shot down in a blizzard over Afghanistan's mountainous Hindu Kush. The storm makes rescue impossible, and for two people-navigator Michael Parson and a female Army interpreter, Sergeant Gold-a battle for survival begins against not only the hazards of nature, but the treacheries of man: the Taliban stalking them, the villagers whose loyalties are unknown, and a prisoner who would very much like the three of them to be caught.
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An extraordinary debut novel about courage and survival in Afghanistan, written as only a man who has "been there and done that" could tell it. "When you write fiction, your best work may come from what scares you the most," writes airman Thomas W. Young. "When I first flew to Afghanistan, what scared me the most wasn't the thought of getting shot down and killed. It was the thought of getting shot down and not killed…" A transport plane carrying an important Taliban detainee for interrogation is shot down in a blizzard over the Hindu Kush. The storm makes rescue impossible, and for two people—navigator Michael Parson and a woman Army interpreter, Sergeant Gold—a battle for survival begins across some of the most forbidding terrain on earth against not only the hazards of nature, but the treacheries of man: the Taliban stalking them; the villagers, whose loyalty is unknown; and a prisoner who would very much like the three of them to be caught. All Parson and Gold have is each other, to stay alive. It is a novel of relentless pace and constant surprise, not only in the turns of its plot but in the strength and fleetness of its prose. Thomas Young is a writer—and this is the beginning of a brilliant career.Publishers WeeklyAt the start of Young's well-crafted first novel, a transport plane carrying a high-value prisoner, a radical mullah, is forced down in the rugged Hindu Kush of Afghanistan. Maj. Michael Parson, the plane's co-pilot, and female Master Sergeant Gold, an interpreter who speaks Pashto, must brave a ferocious winter storm and reach a nearby Special Forces team with the mullah, but they wind up in the hands of Taliban insurgents.The SF team rescues Parson, but the Taliban escape, taking the mullah and the translator in opposite directions.The team must try to recapture the mullah, but Parson can't abandon Gold because"You love your comrades more than you hate your enemies."Young (The Speed of Heat: An Airlift Wing at War in Iraq and Afghanistan) draws on his own war experiences for verisimilitude, which, along with believable characters and an exciting plot, makes this one of the better thrillers to come out of the Afghan theater. (Sept.)
\ Publishers WeeklyAt the start of Young's well-crafted first novel, a transport plane carrying a high-value prisoner, a radical mullah, is forced down in the rugged Hindu Kush of Afghanistan. Maj. Michael Parson, the plane's co-pilot, and female Master Sergeant Gold, an interpreter who speaks Pashto, must brave a ferocious winter storm and reach a nearby Special Forces team with the mullah, but they wind up in the hands of Taliban insurgents.The SF team rescues Parson, but the Taliban escape, taking the mullah and the translator in opposite directions.The team must try to recapture the mullah, but Parson can't abandon Gold because"You love your comrades more than you hate your enemies."Young (The Speed of Heat: An Airlift Wing at War in Iraq and Afghanistan) draws on his own war experiences for verisimilitude, which, along with believable characters and an exciting plot, makes this one of the better thrillers to come out of the Afghan theater. (Sept.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalIn his debut novel, decorated war veteran Young gives us the view from the support side of combat but with a twist. While flying through a blizzard, a transport plane carrying a high-value Taliban captive about to be interrogated is shot down, leaving just the captive and two crew members, a navigator and a U.S. Army sergeant. As the three journey to allied forces through the Hindu Kush, the crewmen quickly realize that the blizzard is the least of their problems. Audie Award winner Scott Brick (see Behind the Mike, LJ 10/15/09) effectively narrates this exciting work; his clear, strong baritone moves at a nice clip and suits the material. Public libraries should consider. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/10.—Ed.]—Michael T. Fein, Central Virginia Community Coll. Lib., Lynchburg\ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsAn Air Force major and female Army translator battle for survival in Afghanistan after their transport plane is shot down during a blizzard.\ In this impressive first novel by a decorated former flight engineer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Air National Guard, the conflict in Afghanistan is reduced in gripping personal terms to its basics: Man against man, man against nature, hope against despair, fear against itself. Major Michael Parson is the navigator of a C-130 Hercules carrying a high-ranking Taliban mullah to an interrogation center. After the plane is downed by a shoulder-launched missile and other surviving crew members are killed by insurgents, Parson and interpreter Gold escape with their shackled prisoner. Stranded in the bone-chilling wilds of the Hindu Kush, with no chance of rescue because of low visibility, they hole up in snow caves, nurse injuries and await the enemy. In a terrifying sequence in the first part of the book that brings Parson to tears, they are captured by the Taliban and about to be beheaded. An Afghan-American squad saves Parson but can't prevent the ruthless Marwan and his men from dragging off Gold. When orders from above make saving her a secondary priority, Parson goes after her alone. Ultimately, he is influenced by the sense of morality she maintains even after she is tortured. Young is an excellent storyteller, creating memorable characters with Hemingway-like understatement and precision. His descriptions of the terrain, the sound different weapons make, the feeling of fingers and toes succumbing to frostbite, the way thinks look through night vision goggles, are superb.\ A smart, unsettling, timely novel that puts a human face on the Afghanistan conflict while conveying the immense challenges the United States faces there.\ \ \
