AUTHORS > FERGUS SMITHFergus Smith
Books
“I think my writing reflects my passions: the role of the soldier in society, the relationship between the state and the individual, identity, and the process of personal change. I would also like to pursue George Orwell’s vision of scoping political writing as an art form.”
The sequel to In the Shadow of the Mountain and Sunrise in the Valley, and the third book in the “Colours Quartet”, this novel brilliantly captures how the British soldier fights on despite the lack of political guidance, the impossibility of the war, and the absurdity of a ‘war on terror.’
Available to order now.
The sequel to In the Shadow of the Mountain. This novel is the second in the “Colours Quartet” following two characters through the wars of the Blair/Brown period of government. It is 2001, and Major Paul Illingworth is sent to the troubled Balkan region of Kosovo as a media spokesman. Once there he must win the hearts and minds of the local population, but all factions are volatile, and veteran war reporters are deeply cynical of anything he says. Can he trust Roza, his young Albanian interpreter? And which version of the truth does he believe?Available to order now.
This novel is the first in the “Colours Quartet” following two characters through the wars of the Blair/Brown period of government. Paul Illingworth, an ambitious young army officer at the threshold of life’s great adventure, is confronted by the realities of military command. In order to win the trust of an experienced and uncompromising platoon he must choose between his childhood love and a path that lures him onwards.
Set against the collapse of the IRA ceasefire in the mid 1990s, this is a compelling story of leadership written with precision and authenticity. As Paul grows in confidence, mirroring the rise of New Labour, the novel creates a beautiful allusion of Tony Blair coming to power.
The final instalment in Fergus Smith's celebrated Colours Quartet, this powerful novel follows five soldiers as they leave the army and face the daunting challenge of civilian life in 2016 Britain. With unflinching honesty and profound insight, Smith explores what shapes our identity in a nation undergoing its own transformation on the world stage.
Available to order now.
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Discover the political war thriller trilogy by Fergus Smith, in the introductory YouTube videos.
Fergus was born in 1969 into a colonial family. He was sent to boarding school in Edinburgh and joined the army as a soldier at the age of eighteen after working in Switzerland, India, Spain, and Israel. Wiser heads advised him to go to University, where he studied philosophy and psychology. He was then commissioned in 1991 and served for a further twelve years.
He is married and lives in Yorkshire with his wife, Joanne, and a patterdale / collie cross called Lucy.