Red Runs the Helmand

Set in the 1870s, this is a gripping adventure in which Mercer brilliantly reenacts the lives of soldiers in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

Anthony Morgan, now just appointed as general, has two of his sons, one his legitimate heir, one his bastard, both fighting in the ranks.

Morgan has arrived just as one of the rival princelings has begun to control Herat, and is determined to carve out some power for himself, and so embarks upon marching to Kandahar, determined to remove the British governor and take the city and province as his own kingdom.

Morgan's life is not made easier by problems with the other generals and in particular his own difficulties in dealing with the growing rivalry between his two sons.

Reviews

Praise for To Do and Die:

'A finely-drawn depiction of battle and the camaraderie of war' Daily Mail

‘Mercer's prose is muscular yet silky smooth. His depiction of the experience of battle is unsurpassed’
Saul David, author of Zulu Dawn

‘An excellent fiction debut. Any more please?’
Military Illustrated

‘Mercer creates colourful, believable characters that stay true to the dialect of the time, but remain recognisable to any modern soldier. Fans of Sharpe, Flashman or Matthew Hervey should enjoy this novel’
Soldier Magazine

About the author

Born in 1956, Patrick Mercer read History at Oxford University before joining the Army. He commanded his battalion in Bosnia and Canada. Previously receiving a gallantry commendation, he was awarded the OBE in 1997. In 1999, Patrick Mercer accepted a post as the Defence Reporter for the Today Programme. In the 2001 election, he won the Tory seat in Newark. A respected historian, he has already published a non-fiction account of the Inkerman battle during the Crimean War.