Hostages of the Desert

The writer’s total book circulation exceeds 6 million copies. In the Republic of Mali—former French colony—political crisis reaches its peak. The national gendarmerie wages relentless war against terrorist groups seeping into the country. One of the main targets of the militants is Officer Modibo Tumani: the criminals kidnap his wife and children, hoping to force the gendarme to act on their terms. However, all Tumani’s attempts to bring his family back end in failure. Seeing no other way out, he turns for support to Soviet intelligence. The GRU sends a special forces unit to Mali under the command of Major Denis Kostrov. After locating the terrorists’ base, the fighters begin a complex and dangerous operation against seasoned ruthless killers… True heroes in real circumstances—for those who value truth. Mountain crossings, ambushes, and brutal clashes with bandits create a tense, gunpowder-scented atmosphere in these dynamic action stories. “War has many faces. And the person who writes about it truthfully has the face of Sergey Zverev. He knows everything about combat. It seems he walked these harsh trails only so he could, without embellishment, tell the story of those who keep going down them again and again…” — Valery Sharapov, author of retro detective stories.