The hero of Land of Fire--Chris Ryan's latest release--is a man faced with an agonising conflict within himself. Mark Black was a youthful SAS fighter in the Falklands war. To grab a female Argentine spy, he puts his life on the line. Along with his SAS colleagues, he is sent on a dangerous reconnaissance mission before an attack on a fortified airbase. Twenty years pass, and a threatening new Argentine military junta has its sights set on the Falklands again. And Mark Black, ill at ease with memories of his past, becomes involved in a new conflict after British air defences are destroyed in a sneak attack. Black once again meets the girl of his past, and finds that he has to trust an old enemy.
While other Ryan novels (for all their virtues) have occasionally utilised well-worn plots, this one is absolutely fresh as paint. The narrative (spanning many years) packs all the requisite pace and action, but Ryan never forgets how crucial characterisation is. Black's relationship with the girl who was once his enemy is brilliantly and economically realised.