The Forgotten Land by Author Keith McArdle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) November 12, 2011 -- The Forgotten Land is an action/adventure fiction novel that casts a patrol of Australian SAS soldiers into the desert of Iraq. During their mission they stumble upon a time portal and unwittingly activate it. They find themselves in cold, wet, windswept 10th century Viking Denmark. The story throws the reader in amongst the Australians as they struggle not only for survival but to find their way home.

When asked what inspired him to write The Forgeotten Land Keith mcArdle had this to say.

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The Forgotten Land by Author Keith McArdle

Welcome visit Our WebSite:

http://www.forgottenland.com.au/

I have always had two great passions, the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), and the Vikings.

The Vikings are a severely misunderstood race of people. Yes, some were violent, yes, some of them did undertake lightning raids on all and sundry. But that time of history was a violent time, a time where tribes, clans and countries were often at war with one another. The Vikings’ mark on our history is tainted mainly by the biased, literate Christian scholars that remember them in their writings. Today, modern historians and archaeologists are working very hard to shed light upon who the Vikings actually were. We know, for instance, that a Viking woman had the right to divorce her husband if she had grounds. We also know that the advice of a warrior’s wife was usually heeded and often sought. Women in some areas of the world in 2011 do not enjoy that level of respect! The Vikings were also very cunning and intelligent traders, so much so, that present day York, which in Viking times was called Jorvik (pronounced Yorvik (from which the present day name is derived)) was, during the Viking reign, the trade centre of the world. The Vikings were a very colourful, sophisticated and rich culture.

The Australian SASR (Special Air Service Regiment) are an elite group of Australian soldiers. When the war in Afghanistan started, people might remember an offensive called Operation Anaconda. When that operation commenced, the American hierarchy had specifically requested the assistance of the Australian SASR. The Aussie SAS moved well forward of the advancing allied troops and set up hides or observation posts (OPs) underneath the noses of the Taliban. They fed back all sorts of information to the American head sheds, including enemy number, weapons, level of morale, locations and so on. When the fighting began, the Australian SASR were in a position to guide in airstrikes and give grid references for artillery and mortar fire missions. In another instance in Afghanistan an Australian SAS soldier was shot by Taliban fire. Rather then bother his mates who were still in heavy contact with the enemy, he managed to make his way to the closest vehicle and knowing that he was losing enough blood that he may lose consciousness, wedged himself between the bulbar and the vehicle’s radiator. He tied himself to the bulbar and then continued to fire at the enemy.

There is something about these incredible soldiers that has always intrigued me. Every country in the world has a small elite group like the Australian SAS. They are for the most part, quiet, easy going, never consider themselves any better than the next bloke, but have the courage of a rabid lion. To date two Australian SAS soldiers have been awarded the Victoria Cross (the VC, which is the Commonwealth’s highest military award) for actions in combat. Both lived to tell the tale.

So in The Forgotten Land, I bring together the Australian SASR and the Vikings, my two greatest interests.

The book is available in eBook at Amazon and Barnes&Noble.com. Coming soon in print.

http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/keith-mcardle.html

More information can be found online at http://www.forgottenland.com.au/

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