From Goodreads:
Spring 1971. As the snows melt on the Tibetan Plateau, the last desperate chapters of a secret and forgotten war unfold. After twenty years of fighting, a few Khampa rebels, with ever dwindling CIA support, are now the only resistance to the Chinese, occupiers of Tibet for twenty years. Eager for adventure, an ex-British soldier known only as Smith is drawn into this alien and fast disappearing world. In constant danger, he and a small band of rebels range across the harsh Tibetan landscape, harrying the Chinese wherever they can. But as a web of intrigue stretching from London to New Delhi, Kathmandu and Lhasa begins to engulf him, Smith comes to realise that the Chinese are not his only enemy. If he is to survive, he must escape from the Land of the Snows. And a young nun is determined to make the journey with him so that her culture will survive in the West.
This book was a fresh look into a world I haven’t traveled before. I have never read anything based in Tibet or about Tibetan culture. It was fascinating. I found myself looking up customs and other various items from the book. What a vibrant culture!
The book is magnificent. Robertshaw is a true master at detail and he draws you in further and further as the book progresses. I found myself outraged at what the Chinese were doing to this ancient culture. Robertshaw has a way of making you care very much in a very subtle manner. It sneaks up on you. Before you know it you are hooked and turning pages so fast the book may go up in flames from the friction.
The setting details are wondrous. I found myself thinking of what it would be like to live among such history.
Smith is an interesting guy. He is complex but simple. I thought of him as a rough and rugged but intelligent handsome fella with dirty hands and a complex mind.
Kinda like James Bond without the ego and fancy gadgets.
I felt horrible for the nuns and the people of Tibet. I can’t imagine the horror of what they experienced. Robertshaw does a brilliant job of bringing these issues to light in a way that breeds emotion.
I think it was important for Robertshaw to include the gritty details of war. It’s imperative that these issues be shown as they are. In all their horrifying glory. We should never condone or allow such actions. Politicians rarely care about morals when a goal can be achieved.
I hated what happened at the end but it was one of the most real endings I have read in a fiction book in awhile.
Robertshaw has impressed the crap out of me with this book. I hope there is a second.
I give this book the full 5 stars.
This book has the AlliesOpinions official stamp of approval.
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The Unknown Soldier: Fighting for Tibet
The Technical Data:
Title: The Unknown Soldier | Author(s): Alan Robertshaw |
Publisher: Ohm Books / Publication Date: 7-5-2014 | Pages: 294 (Paperback) |ISBN: 9780957502338 | Genre(s): Action and Adventure | Language:English |Rating: 5 out of 5 | Date Read: 12-31-2015 | Source: Copy From Author
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