WYNNE'S WAR

A taut page-turner that brilliantly fuses the war novel and the Western into a compellingly original tale.

When Corporal Elijah Russell's superb horsemanship is revealed during a firefight in northern Iraq, the young Army Ranger is assigned to an elite Special Forces unit preparing to stage a secret mission in eastern Afghanistan. Elijah's task is to train the Green Berets — fiercely loyal to their enigmatic commander, Captain Wynne — to ride the horses they will use to execute this mission through treacherous mountain terrain. But as the team presses farther into enemy territory, the nature of their operation only becomes more mysterious and Wynne's charismatic power takes on a darker cast. Ultimately, Elijah finds himself forced to make a choice: on one side, his best friend and his most deeply held beliefs; on the other, a commanding officer driven by a messianic zeal for his mission.

Based on the author's extensive interviews with Green Berets, Army Rangers, and other veterans, this taut page-turner brilliantly fuses the war novel and the Western into a compellingly original tale.

Aaron Gwyn's story collection, DOG ON THE CROSS was a finalist for the 2005 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. His short stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in Esquire, McSweeney's, Glimmer Train, The Missouri Review, Gettysburg Review, and other magazines, and have been anthologized in NEW STORIES FROM THE SOUTH and BEST OF THE WEST. He is also the author of the novel THE WORLD BENEATH.