Without Reserve, Second Edition: A Novel of the War on Terror

Buffeted by conflicting interests and hampered by narrow rules of engagement, fighting the war on terrorism is like balancing barefoot on the edge of a straight it's bound to be a mess. Without a Novel of the War on Terror is largely about the circumstances of war. While many fiction novels inspired by the war on terrorism are pure fantasy, author Steve Howery strips away the glamor to demonstrate that in war, there are no allies; only interests. Watching the war on the evening news, many imagine great conspiracies countered by elite forces armed with technological wonders. But the truth is the war is being fought by people cast by circumstances into critical roles, armed simply with a borrowed weapon, questionable allies, undependable communications, and an instinct for survival. Success is often accidental and no one will ever admit what he did when it's all over. From the pristine streets of Singapore to the fetid jungles of Indonesia, Without Reserve transports the reader through bizarre realities of the war on terrorism quietly raging in Southeast Asia - the world's most populous Muslim region. Assigned as liaison to Singapore's intelligence services, reserve army intelligence officer Chris Gates is drawn into a web of intrigue spun by streetwise Singaporean intelligence officer Jessica Ling. A twist of fate thrusts the couple and their special operations team into the dense rain forests and shabby villages of Indonesia in search of a Jemmah Islamiya terrorist known only as Khalid. But the mission implodes when the team discovers a traitor in its midst. Uncertain whom to trust and on the run from corrupt Indonesian paramilitary forces and their terrorist masters, Gates and his team turn the tables on their pursuers, attempting to kidnap Khalid and fight their way off the island without dragging Singapore and Indonesia into war. Based on the author's experience as an army intelligence officer serving in Southeast Asia after 9/11, the 81,200-word Without Reserve is a fictionalized story drawn from the realities of the war. It is raw, honest, and unforgiving. This Second Edition has been converted from past tense to present tense and is re-chaptered to better present the action in real time.