Merdeka

by Lachlan Gunn

'Merdeka' (which means freedom or independence in Malay) is set in Malaya in 1957. The story covers both sides in the conflict and moves from jungle combat to romance on a tropical beach..... it shows the emotional cost of war. Acting on secret intelligence a Gurkha patrol from the British Army is sent deep into the jungle to ambush a group of Chinese Communist Terrorists. It is accompanied by Alick Gordon, a young officer from the Scottish Border Regiment, Arthur Bryant, a seasoned District Superintendent from the Special Branch of the Malayan Police and Jalil, a tracker and guide from the local orang asli people.The Communist Unit is led by Hor Too, a renowned and ruthless jungle fighter and is accompanied by Ah Sim, a female member of the Politburo. The tide has turned for the Communists due to the successful counter-insurgency campaign, where the phrase winning the 'hearts and minds' of a population was first coined.The outcome of the ambush is unexpected and Alick Gordon is deeply affected by some of the deaths. In the days after independence (Merdeka) he takes a short break and makes a journey across Malaya. He finds comfort and solace in the company of those he meets, and one person will change his life forever....................................................................................“Merdeka is an excellent first novel from an exciting new author about the Malayan Emergency - a forgotten war and an emerging theme for contemporary fiction.” The British Army Rumour Service“This is a crisply told tale with a strong narrative line and a cast of well-drawn characters.” Trevor Royle - Broadcaster and Author"Merdeka is a military book that smoothly finds the balance between love, history and warfare."QARANC.co.uk

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2011

Reviews

[Linda Banana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story, exemplifying humanity in inhumane circumstances. It unfolds well and the characters are introduced and made known to the reader manageably, giving the reader the opportunity for empathy with all the characters. From the predictive beginning - that is, it predicts events - to the classic ending - classic, not clichéd - the book is riveting. There is some weak punctuation, e.g., run-on sentences and lack of apostrophes, such as 'ones' and one other - someone's name or rank, I think it is, but, unusual for me, this didn't bother me at all or interfere with the five star rating. I was not surprised to read that this writer is related to Neil Gunn. Good writing is definitely in the genes.

[Lachlan Gunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Merdeka is an excellent first novel from an exciting new author about the Malayan Emergency - a forgotten war and an emerging theme for contemporary fiction.”
The British Army Rumour Service

"This a crisply told tale with a strong narrative line and a cast of well-drawn characters."
Trevor Royle - Author, Broadcaster and Historian

"Merdeka is a military book that smoothly finds the balance between love, history and warfare."
Books About Army - QARANC.co.uk

[Christoph Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Merdeka" by Lachlan Gunn is a well researched and informative novel about Malayan Independence and Communist terrorists in the country, told through the eyes of some of the British soldiers at the time, some of which have befriended the locals. It explains well the background of the military operations and goes into great detail about those operations. A great read.