The Sandpit

An action-packed Spider Shepherd SAS novella

by Stephen Leather

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.

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Pub Date 19 Apr 2016 | Archive Date 31 Jul 2016

Description

Who was Dan 'Spider' Shepherd before he signed up as an undercover cop and began working for MI5? The Sandpit rewinds with an action-packed rollercoaster to his days in the SAS...

Dan Shepherd and his SAS team are sent into the badlands of Afghanistan to train the rebels who are battling Taliban fanatics.

But what starts as a training mission in The Sandpit turns into a life or death struggle with Shepherd and his team very much in the firing line.

Soon they are caught up in an international intrigue that threatens the stability of the whole Middle East.

Advance Praise

'This book is full of action and tension which makes it a great page turner. Stephen Leather's writing style makes you feel as though you are there. I think this is the best Spider SAS book so far and I thoroughly recommend getting it and having a great read' Robert Waterman
'All the usual excitement and heart-stopping moments alongside the back-stories and all the background information that makes all the scenes real.
Loved it.' Joseph Lumley
'Wow...Action packed all the way.One of spiders early days in the SAS.I feel exhausted.Page turning at its best and some perky banter too.Excellent as usual.' Karen - and Amazon reader

'This book is full of action and tension which makes it a great page turner. Stephen Leather's writing style makes you feel as though you are there. I think this is the best Spider SAS book so far...

Available Editions

EDITION	Ebook
ISBN	9781532959394
PRICE	£2.99 (GBP)

Additional Information

Average rating from 9 members

Featured Reviews

Judith L, Reviewer

I received an e-ARC of this novella through NetGalley and Lawsome Books

When I found this novella offered on NetGalley I thought it would be a great way for me to sample a military adventure thriller from Stephen Leather. I've been promising myself to try one for a long time so this suited me just fine.

This story takes place when Shepherd was still serving in the SAS. Spider, Jock, Geordie and Jimbo are assigned to an embedded operation in Afghanistan helping a faction of mujahideen fighters who were loyal to Ahmad Shah Massoud before he was assassinated. They are to go in unarmed (at least without British weaponry) to the Panjshir Valley to teach some SAS methods of fighting to junior officers who fought for the late Massoud. This was supposed to be for one summer only, but then they happened upon a secret that simply could not be ignored.

I liked this novel and the way the author set up the mission and then when the mission changed, the way Leather had the fighting group carry out a seemingly impossible task. I read a lot of military thrillers and this one is very different in that there isn't nearly as much blood, brains, and gore described. Almost as if the reader can already imagine those things so the author describes more important things to his story such as tactics. I appreciated that difference very much. The result was the same, just without me getting all squeamish.

The final 10% of this digital download is a sneak-peek at the next Dan "Spider" Shepherd adventure called DARK FORCES which will be available in July 2016. DARK FORCES will take the reader back to the more modern stories where Spider has moved away from the combat battlefield and into the modern world of espionage.

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Reviewer 252384

Thanks to netgalley and Lawsome Books for the opportunity to have read this book.
I have loved Stephen's Spider series from the start so this was a thrilling treat to see where it all started and meeting Spider at the beginning.
This was a very entertaining read and really worth the effort.