Expertly evokes an urban atmosphere of paranoia and random destruction * Guardian *
Remarkable...horrifying and genuinely illuminating...essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Iraq, but also an incredibly powerful piece of fiction * The Times *
Intoxicating, utterly thrilling. It is not an apology for terrorism, but a provocative explanation that will bring the Iraqi experience in terrifying detail to western bedside tables * New Statesman *
Khadra draws the moods and motives of his village lad-turned-apprentice jihadi with engrossing power... lets you taste the sand, dust and blood - and most of all, the despair... In his own unsettling way, Yasmina Khadra offers the kind of truth that only well-wrought fiction tells -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *
A sad and important book * Financial Times *
One of the most important books to be published in Europe this year * Independent *

Yasmina Khadra is the nom de plume of the Algerian army officer, Mohammed Moulessehoul, who took a female pseudonym to avoid submitting his manuscripts for approval by the army. He is the author of four other books published in English, including the acclaimed bestseller Swallows of Kabul. He lives in France.