The unknown soldier by Gerald Seymour

"The unknown soldier" by Gerald Seymour. This book is published by Penguin group USA in 2006 and has 400 pages.

This is a very complex story. Caleb, who servives shootout by American soldiers, is arrested in Afghanistan and sent to Guantanamo bay. He assumes the identity of  the Taxi driver, in whose cab he was riding at the time of shootout. He convinces that he was arrested by mistake and is released. But he is not a taxi driver. He is a soldier of 55th brigade of Taliban.

He is transported to Rub-al-khali (The empty quarter), where the terrorists are regrouping, by a small camel caravan. After he is released, Americans realize their mistake and the hunt begins. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), electronic and human intelligence and investigations begin.

Who is Caleb? Why is he so dangerous that Americans don't leave any stone unturned? Why is he so important that Taliban spares no effort for his safety and is ready to sacrifice men to save him?

The story has numerous characters. Dr. Bartholomew (Bart), who is a coward,   Edward Wroughton (Eddie) who is a bully intelligence operative, Lizzy and Marty who operate the UAV, Jed who has interrogated Caleb, Beth who is a professor in Saudi Arabia and has fallen in love with unknown stranger, Rashid the guide in Rub-al-khali etc..

The depiction of arid dessert of Rub-al-khali gives you goose bumps. The dessert can kill anyone and can be ruthless and brutal. Lack of water is accompanied by quick sands. The effort America takes to track the terrorists is amazing.

The story is slow. Although the description of dessert is good, the rest is mediocre. It's a big book and long story. Author just about manages to keep the reader interested. This was my first book of Gerald Seymour and I have not become his fan.

Beating of Eddy is surprising and unexplained. Why Caleb goes towards part of terrorism is also not entirely clear. Character of Bart is very complex and appears to be wasted unnecessarily.

Give it a miss.