[.ca] Winter in Kandahar (ISBN 0972948007)

Winter in Khandahar - a noteworthy accomplishment:
Although Winter in Khandahar has been on my reading list for many months, I only got a chance to read it recently, and I'm glad I did. I found it's plot engaging, pulling me through the book at an ever-increasing pace, and the well researched details a source of wonder. The fact that this novel was acknowledged by the PMA speaks volumes. - John Elray, author.

Excellent First Novel:
I read Winter in Kandahar in two days. I just could'nt put it down. Not only is it a page turner but it is quite thought provoking. Being a scientist myself I was fascinated by the DNA specific virus as a weapon. However, the main message I got from this book is the human cost of war and hatred. I had followed the news coverage of the Afghan war and was very interested in how the local people were effected. The author does a magnificient job of showing the human destruction (mental and emotional as well as physical) of hatred intensified into warring factions. His characters are believable and sympathetic. I thought the two quotes about first impressions, one at the beginning and one at the end were a very nice touch. Steven Wilson is going to have a difficult time trying to live up to the high standards his debut novel has established. Without a doubt this is one of the best books I have read recently.

Brilliant, thrilling, page turning, to say the least!!!:
This is a brilliantly written book with many unforseen surprises that keep you on the edge of your seat, and guessing what's gonna happen next. It gripped me from page one, and literally stayed in my hands until I finished it two days later. I absolutely LOVED it! The author draws you into the twisting and turning plots using amazing deftness, thrilling unpredictability, and surprisingly vivid details. So much so that I could actually see the events unfolding infront of me as if I was there. I could feel the excitement of the carnival in Venice; the cool, crisp air in Amsterdam; and the salty, cool ocean breeze on the yacht in Seattle. The scientific angle was just enough to lend intrigue, without being overbearing or too clinical. The love story lends a sense of reality. Enough to let us know that we simply can't live without love even during war - the most trying and hopeless of human circumstances. Once you start, you simply can't put it down. Dr. Steve Wilson is a wonderful author. If his first novel is this great, I can't wait to see what his brilliant mind has in store for us next.

Above Average Afghani Thriller!:
Various peoples of Turkic, Iranian and South Asian origins surround the rugged central Hindu Kush mountain range, but no single group absolutely dominates the nation known as Afghanistan. To the south and east of the Hindu Kush, live approximately 6.5 million Pashtun. They make-up the predominate population of the capital, Kabul, major cities like Jalalabad, Khost and Kandahar, and are almost exclusively Sunni Muslims. Virtually all Taliban are Pashtun. Dominating the mountainous northeast of the country are the Tajiks, numbering around 3.5 million within Afghanistan. They are the most powerful group in the Northern Alliance, and are mostly Sunni Muslims. Ethnic hatred and rivalries have existed between these two groups for centuries. "Winter In Kandahar," deals, in part, with the struggle between the Tajik and Pashtun, and a diabolical plot involving potential genocide. Author Steven E. Wilson begins his extraordinary story in late August 2001, in Taloqan, Afghanistan. A young Tajik Mujaheddin, Ahmed Jan, lost his uncle, as he lost his father before him, in a battle with Taliban forces. Ahmed fights with the Northern Alliance and was ordered to report to Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud at the Khoje Bahauddin base on the Amu Dar'ya River. He reached Massoud in time to be present for the Commander's assassination by al Qaeda terrorists posing as TV journalists. The Lion of Panjshir was dead. The date was September 9, 2001. Three months later, Ahmed Jan reports to elderly Mullah Habid in Kabul. The aging cleric holds a position of leadership with the Tajiks and the Alliance. During a brief period of captivity by the Taliban, the month before, Jan had discovered papers written in Arabic with information about a new, deadly biological weapon. His captors were overtaken and Jan escaped with the papers. The mullah and the young warrior read that the new weapon is to be delivered in Venice during Carnevale. A plan was also outlined to spread the pestilence in Panjsjit, among the Tajik population. Mullah Habid makes Ahmed Jan the leader of a mission to Amsterdam, which will eventually take him to Italy and America in pursuit of the deadly substance. Accompanying him are two men, Mustafa and Mohammedjan, who are to assist him is ever way. They all have appropriate, falsified documents, passports and replacement papers, to use if needed. They are given a credit card and plenty of money to bribe their way through the Khyber Pass to Islamabad where they will catch a plane to the Netherlands. They are specifically told not to go to the Americans, who are "consumed with their own concerns." Ahmed Jan and his countryman are in constant danger on this mission to save his people from ethnic cleansing. They are pursued by al Qaeda and the CIA. This is not just another predictable novel where the bad guys chase the good ones and, after a crisis and denouement, everyone lives happily, etc.. Jan has a medical background, having studied in Saudi Arabia before his country's last war, and comes up with an alternate use for the weapon of terror. The introduction of some scientific material, about genetics, is fascinating and adds much to the storyline. The ending, like the rest of the book, is powerful. The characters are also extremely well developed and give the reader remarkable insight into their culture and customs. The men are all credible. The women are not as strong. There are three major romances, one for Ahmed Jan, and one for each comrade. Although I enjoyed the romantic aspect of the novel, three for three is a bit hokey. The narrative is well written, as is the dialogue, especially between the Tajiks. I really enjoyed "Winter In Kandahar" and look forward to Mr. WIlson's next book. Highly recommended! JANA

A well-crafted page-turner:
The historic hatreds that brew within Afghanistan lie at the root of a tense international adventure reminiscent of Cold War espionage novels that have been popular for so long. Wilson sets his story in the now (beginning in August 2001). He takes as his frame of reference the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan and the intertribal warfare that follows in the mountains and caves of the country. His main characters carry the war to Amsterdam, then to the US and Canada. The author makes use of his medical and biological training to set some of the action in the hospitals of the Middle East and the experimental labs of the Netherlands and Canada. As the story unfolds, his characters imaginatively explore the possibilities of DNA technology to make weapons more effective and more horrible. More dead bodies than one would like litter the scenes. The book contains love (and some limited sex) as well as war; chapters are short and crisp, and there is lots of dialogue. Wilson keeps the names short, the better for Americans to grasp them. It would translate well into a movie, but in the meantime, many will enjoy this well-crafted page-turner. Edna Boardman