| Title | : | The Kurdish Connection |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1945181060 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781945181061 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 356 |
| Publication | : | Published January 31, 2017 |
"You must swear by Allah never to say a word of what I'm going to tell you. This is the most important secret. Ever!"
In their daily struggle for survival, Iraqi Kurdish scavengers uncover a cache of chemical weapons. They offer the weapons to fellow Kurdish rebels in Turkey and Syria to assist in their quest to free an imprisoned leader and create a unified homeland. After receiving a tip from an unlikely source, the newly formed Special Operations Bedlam team is called to arms!
Travel with Craig Cameron and his international team on their covert operation as they weave their way through war-torn regions seeking to locate and recover the weapons before they can be used to cause irreparable harm and instigate a world crisis.
The odds are stacked against them. Can they manage to keep their operation hidden and prevent further clashes before it's too late?
"The Kurdish Connection--a compelling read. A story of friendship, danger and intrigue."--Ann Everett, Amazon Best Selling Author.
..". Randall's authentic voice adds a powerful push to keep a reader turning the pages." --Janet Taylor-Perry, author of The Raiford Chronicles, The Legend of Draconis Saga, and April Chastain Intrigues.
"Topical - Engaging - Intriguing - Powerful ... A real page turner."--Rikon Gaites , author of Mummy's Little Soldier and Darius Odenkirk .
..". Randall Krzak brings his wealth of experience living in this troubled part of the world and his military knowledge to bear in this exciting story..."--John L. DeBoer , author of When the Reaper Comes.
..". a journey full of history, suspense, intrigue, and action...a MUST READ for all!"--Les Stahl, Retired NSA Executive.
..". Readers need to fasten their seatbelts for a fast-paced tale made believable by a writer who knows what he's writing about."--Preston Holtry , author of the Morgan Westphal mystery series and the Arrius trilogy (forthcoming).
"A behind the scenes story, ripped from today's headlines deepening the reader's understanding of an ancient strife ... filled with the sights and smells of the market place and secret meetings, the reader is admitted to the secret heart, the desperate longings of those that must fight and win, or see continued subjugation by their masters..."--Oliver F. Chase, author of Camelot Games, Levant Mirage, Blind Marsh, and Marsh Island.
The Kurdish Connection Reviews
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Great read. The story is full of tension and action, but I particularly loved all the details about the Kurds life, their values, the food, their social rules, their society… Sometimes I found the names a bit confusing, but I didn’t have problem following the story
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How could I have forgotten to review this book? I want to start by saying I’m not a huge fan for military mysteries (I guess that’s the way to classify this story), but the author Mr. Krzak has got my attention with both books in this series, with the third coming out. I’ve really enjoyed the characters and the story telling. This is one of those stories that you get so wrapped up in that you lose track of all time.
I don’t want to give anything away, but if you’re looking for a juicy series to get sucked into, this is for you. And if you’re like me and not so sure, well trust me, this story and the series are too much fun to pass up. -
I don’t usually pick middle-east military stories, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. What I found was a very detailed history of the Kurds that included Turkey, Syria, and Iraqi. Many POVs gave a complete picture of all the sides, which I appreciated, but it was a lot to keep track of, too. Getting into the heads of the Kurds in the characters Ismet, Dersim, and Hawre to see their side of things was fascinating and what I liked best in the story. When the Kurds found the twenty-year-old chemical weapons and their decision what to do next made sense--from their perspective and history. Then a secret special operative team was sent into three countries to find these weapons before they were used. I was happy with the conclusion of the book. It was an interesting and sometimes eye-opening read, that gave a lot of information to the reader.
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On March 16, 1988, around 7,000 Kurds died and 20,000 were wounded in the Kurdish city of Halabja after Iraq used both Sarin and sulfur mustard gas. This was the largest chemical weapons attack directed against a civilian-populated area in history.
Randall Krzak tells a very convincing story of Kurdish scavengers who discover a deadly cache of Sarin gas canisters leftover from Sadam Hussein. Learning about these scavengers, what they intend to do with this weapon of mass destruction and about the international group who searches for them is a complicated, yet very exciting adventure.
The author's geographical knowledge of Iraq, Syria, and Turkey comes from his experience as a U.S. Army veteran and retired senior civil servant, spending almost thirty years in Europe, Africa, Central America, and the Middle East. This is an award-winning novel that is a must-read, especially in the current military situation where the United States has abandoned the Kurds and left them to the mercy of attacks by the Turkish army. -
Alright, so I've been something of a fan of the authors works over the past year or so. When I heard he got published I just had to buy this book.
Alright so the general premise is that a Kurdish man near Halabja named Dersim finds a cave with a mix of normal weapons as well as chemical weapons from Hussein's attacks back 20 years ago. From there he decides to try and free his imprisoned leader Baziyan from the Turks. US intelligence gets involved, and tries to stop the use of chemical weapons by any means necessary.
Okay, so the pros
-An interwoven braidwork of POVs. I am a big fan of books with multiple POVs, and it works in the book's case.
-Plenty of great action and plot turns. This book was really unpredictable, which really kept me on my feet. I mean you've got the Americans, the Kurds, the Turks, and the Syrians, all of which have differing viewpoints. It gets really interesting.
-Nice, short chapters. As a working man, this is EXTREMELY important to me.
-Character development. Several of the main characters really grow in this book, especially Dersim and Ismet.
On to the cons, which honestly aren't too big of a deal in this case.
-Names of Cities. I really couldn't distinguish the cities from one another as far as a mental picture in my head. They kind of bled into one another at certain points.
-Character Names. Earlier in the book, I remember being confused as to who was who for a while. I think some more physical descriptions of the characters might help the reader develop a good mental image in their head.
-Use of accents. From time to time there is overuse of accents like "Y'all" and "Aye" in the chapters. Y'all is sometimes used towards one person, but is supposed to be used with more than one person. (Not too big a deal, but something I picked up on since I grew up in Dallas, TX)
So in conclusion, if you love action and adventure, I definitely suggest giving this book a shot. It's really good. I look forward to seeing more from this author! -
I won this in one of the Giveaways. I found the story quite interesting and very current with all the turmoil in the Middle East at the moment. Randall has a good knowledge of military as well and this comes out in the book. Will look for future novels from Randall. Thank You
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I love Randall's books. His fast paced action and thriller never bores. His writing is fresh, and he knows so much about the areas he writes about. Sometimes I wonder if he was a secret agent before he retired.
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An amazing debut of a promising author.
The Kurdish Connection is an engaging, fast paced international thriller, keeping the reader on edge, from the start to the very end. It has many cultural motives of Turks and Kurds, and the struggle between the factions, so the background of the story feels very authentic. It seems that the author really knows what he is writing about. This is a recommended read for every lover of quality literature, that also don't want to compromise on interest and action. -
I couldn't put this one down. Clean, solid writing, realistic, believable characters. It hits so close to the events in the world today. One would never know this is the first novel by Mr. Krzak. A natural political thriller storyteller. Great work, Mr. Krzak.
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Good plot
The plot was very good and interesting. I wish the characters would have been developed more. Attempting to follow the action by the locations without a map was difficult. I just had trouble staying interested.
