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.
“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
