Land of the Blind

War is a terrible combination of mostly stupidity and tragedy.

Land of the Blind is the fictionalised memoir that tells the untold story behind the scenes of the intelligence war in Afghanistan. It follows the operational tour of a military intelligence officer working in a small team of soldiers attached to the Afghan National Security Directive, whilst navigating the orders of their overly-ambitious commanding officer and the coalition's increasingly confused mission in the sixth 'decisive year' since the invasion.

The close-knit team includes an experienced and infamous sergeant major, a young enthusiastic and idealistic corporal and his best friend Jim. When Jim is killed in a roadside bomb, the team recruit an eclectic cast of allies in their quest to hunt down the Taliban bomb maker responsible, whatever the cost.

"Owen's novel captures with unique vividness and authenticity the human realities of war in Afghanistan. The vast incomprehension of the allied occupying forces of the people they had come to liberate, the stoicism and dark humor that sustained soldiers in the field, the shock of loss when a comrade is killed, the tangled politics of undercover operations and the enduring need for deep human connections ... all this is conveyed in an irresistibly compelling story." -John Gray, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals

"The story is exceptional. It's so rare these days to come across someone with high level military and intelligence expertise who can also write wonderfully well." -Charles Cummings, The Spanish Game

"Owen has written both an earnest story of what it is really like over there, and a sly indictment of the wider society that sent him. With this effort, he has instantly become one of my favorite military writers from across the pond." -Brian Van Reet, Spoils

"Land of the Blind is both gripping and deeply moving. The writing is evocative, characteristically so. It has humour, conveys the Catch 22 absurdity of the war, without losing sight of its human dimensions." -Cecile Fabre, Spying Through a Glass Darkly

"War is a terrible combination of mostly stupidity and tragedy, with the occasional injection of comedy. Land of the Blind reflects this. It also goes a long way towards explaining why we lost these small wars. Andy Owen deserves credit for his honesty, courage and bluntness. It's also a great story." -Frank Ledwige, Losing Small Wars

Andy Owen is a former soldier who served in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan with the British Army. He now writes on the ethics and philosophy of war, and regularly writes on geo-politics for several media publications in the US and UK. He lives in London, UK.

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