What do you think?
Rate this book
Task Force Epsilon #1
Sandblast
“Al Pessin brings a lifetime of frontline experience to a novel that could have been taken from today's headlines. Utterly compelling and a cautionary tale for our times.”
--Retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, former dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, former commander of NATO forces (including those in Afghanistan) and frequent media commentator.
SANDBLAST is the story of a U.S. Army soldier who goes undercover inside the Taliban, and the woman who runs his mission from the Pentagon, a West Point grad who fights the military brass and the White House to keep him safe. It’s a tale of bravery and the ambiguity of outcomes in war and politics, and has an ending that is simultaneously surprising and inevitable, and begs for more from these characters. it’s a thinking-person’s thriller that grew out of my own experiences, a cliché-free zone with high tension, dramatic action and deep characters sharing the pages. The book explores the futility of war, the ambiguity of right and wrong, the role of women in national security, the interplay of politics, policy, and personal relationships, and the sometimes-conflicting pulls of religion and patriotism in American identity, among other themes.
--Retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, former dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, former commander of NATO forces (including those in Afghanistan) and frequent media commentator.
SANDBLAST is the story of a U.S. Army soldier who goes undercover inside the Taliban, and the woman who runs his mission from the Pentagon, a West Point grad who fights the military brass and the White House to keep him safe. It’s a tale of bravery and the ambiguity of outcomes in war and politics, and has an ending that is simultaneously surprising and inevitable, and begs for more from these characters. it’s a thinking-person’s thriller that grew out of my own experiences, a cliché-free zone with high tension, dramatic action and deep characters sharing the pages. The book explores the futility of war, the ambiguity of right and wrong, the role of women in national security, the interplay of politics, policy, and personal relationships, and the sometimes-conflicting pulls of religion and patriotism in American identity, among other themes.
432 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
38 people are currently reading
806 people want to read
About the author
Al Pessin
10 books26 followersAl Pessin is a former member of the White House and Pentagon press corps, a 15-year foreign correspondent, and author of the forthcoming political thriller Body Man from Amphorae Publishing.
Subscribe to Al's mailing list at www.alpessin.com.
Set in a divided America, Body Man takes a cold look at the hot mess of America today and shows how much worse things could get if we let them. It takes you inside the Alt-Right movement, the White House, and a Marine Corps unit in combat. You’ll experience riots in the streets, insurrection in the military, and desperate last stands mirrored in the president’s private study and a remote cabin in the northern woods.
Subscribe to Al’s newsletter and social media feeds to be among the first to see the cover, learn more about the story, hear about giveaways and receive pre-order and discount info.
Al’s previous books, all award winners, are international military spy thrillers Sandblast, Blowback, and Shock Wave from Kensington Publishing.
All his books build on Al’s decades of experience covering the highest echelons of Washington as well as some of the world’s most desperate conflicts and most hopeful and inspiring moments. As a correspondent for Voice of America, Al was on the scene in Afghanistan and Iraq, at Southeast Asian refugee camps, the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, the rally where Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, and along streets devastated by terrorist bombs. He also reported to the world about uprisings in Beijing, Kyiv, Cairo, and Manila, as well as hope-filled elections in Egypt, Gaza, and Libya, among other places, indeed including the United States.
Al was expelled from China in 1989 for his coverage of the Tiananmen Massacre, accused of “illegal news gathering” and “fomenting counterrevolutionary rebellion.” Among other honors, he was named Communicator of the Year for that coverage.
Al also wrote the two-act farce Murder at the Butcher’s, which won Play of the Year at the Royal Palm Literary Awards and had four sold-out performances in its premiere run in November, 2019.
His novels have won a Florida Book Award and six Royal Palm Literary Awards, as well as other recognition.
Al has led writing seminars for Writers Digest, BookFest, Broward County Libraries, Florida WritersCon, Delray Beach Writers Colony, and at many other online and in-person events. He also taught graduate-level journalism as an adjunct at Northwestern University, his alma mater. Al has published commentaries in several outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Politico, and DefenseOne. He blogged on writing for the Florida Writers Association, and his work has appeared in Writers Digest, Mystery Scene and other publications.
Subscribe to Al's mailing list at www.alpessin.com.
Set in a divided America, Body Man takes a cold look at the hot mess of America today and shows how much worse things could get if we let them. It takes you inside the Alt-Right movement, the White House, and a Marine Corps unit in combat. You’ll experience riots in the streets, insurrection in the military, and desperate last stands mirrored in the president’s private study and a remote cabin in the northern woods.
Subscribe to Al’s newsletter and social media feeds to be among the first to see the cover, learn more about the story, hear about giveaways and receive pre-order and discount info.
Al’s previous books, all award winners, are international military spy thrillers Sandblast, Blowback, and Shock Wave from Kensington Publishing.
All his books build on Al’s decades of experience covering the highest echelons of Washington as well as some of the world’s most desperate conflicts and most hopeful and inspiring moments. As a correspondent for Voice of America, Al was on the scene in Afghanistan and Iraq, at Southeast Asian refugee camps, the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, the rally where Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, and along streets devastated by terrorist bombs. He also reported to the world about uprisings in Beijing, Kyiv, Cairo, and Manila, as well as hope-filled elections in Egypt, Gaza, and Libya, among other places, indeed including the United States.
Al was expelled from China in 1989 for his coverage of the Tiananmen Massacre, accused of “illegal news gathering” and “fomenting counterrevolutionary rebellion.” Among other honors, he was named Communicator of the Year for that coverage.
Al also wrote the two-act farce Murder at the Butcher’s, which won Play of the Year at the Royal Palm Literary Awards and had four sold-out performances in its premiere run in November, 2019.
His novels have won a Florida Book Award and six Royal Palm Literary Awards, as well as other recognition.
Al has led writing seminars for Writers Digest, BookFest, Broward County Libraries, Florida WritersCon, Delray Beach Writers Colony, and at many other online and in-person events. He also taught graduate-level journalism as an adjunct at Northwestern University, his alma mater. Al has published commentaries in several outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Politico, and DefenseOne. He blogged on writing for the Florida Writers Association, and his work has appeared in Writers Digest, Mystery Scene and other publications.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 29, 2021
Another story about a young military member undercover within a terrorist organization and the handler who believes in him. And then there's the politicians who don't really care about his fate, just results, now.
August 11, 2020
An exciting read by an author who obviously knows his subject. Al Pessin establishes a tight balance between action and introspection, with a fascinating study of the psychology of covert operations and going undercover, from the perspective of both the operative and his handlers. With danger and catastrophe looming on practically every page, the pacing and in-depth characterizations make this story fast paced and riveting!
January 13, 2021
Captivating
A starkly captivating, behind-the-scenes account of a high-risk mission to infiltrate the Taliban. If you love spine-tingling covert ops, this one's for you.
A starkly captivating, behind-the-scenes account of a high-risk mission to infiltrate the Taliban. If you love spine-tingling covert ops, this one's for you.
March 20, 2021
Book One in the Task Force Epsilon series starts with a bang and continues at break-neck speed until the end, when you’ll be reaching for the sequel. Pentagon Covert Ops runner Bridget Davenport vows to gain more intelligence on the Taliban after a bomb destroys an airplane carrying the Secretary of Defense. Her best bet is a young lieutenant, Faraz Abdallah. Faraz accepts the assignment and goes deep undercover into his ancestor’s homeland to infiltrate the terrorist organization and target its leader. Meanwhile, hints about another big operation initiated by the Taliban reach Bridget’s ears. Can Faraz get close enough to the leadership to find out when and where this attack will take place? Can he terminate the terrorist leader and make it to the extraction point? Is he even still alive? While you are immersed in the story, you’ll admire the author’s in-depth knowledge of Afghanistan terrain and customs. You’ll feel you are there along with Faraz in this feverish thriller and will be eager for the next installment.
February 4, 2021
I freakin' loved this book! With its concise prose, its precise, authoritative detail, its well-drawn characters, and a plot that hummed, SANDBLAST had everything it needed to keep me on the edge of my seat. Given our current "truce" with the Taliban, a tenuous arrangement now once more under scrutiny by a new U.S. administration, the content remains topical. And I really appreciated how Al Pessin drew careful lines between the beliefs of devout Muslims and those of the jihadist - things we Westerners all too often confound. I see that the next in the series, BLOWBACK, is coming out on February 23. CAN'T WAIT - MORE, PLEASE!!!
October 18, 2021
Al Pessin weaves a story fraught with intrigue, danger, politics, and sacrifice as we follow Operation Sandblast from the Pentagon and the White House to American military operations and Taliban terrorist operations in Afghanistan. The plot drives the story, the characters are compelling, and just when you think you know what will happen next, something much better surprises you. I tore through the book, slowing only when I realized finishing it meant saying goodbye. Cannot wait for the next Taskforce Épsilon Thriller!
June 12, 2020
Delray Beach Resident and Veteran Broadcast journalist Al Pessin has crafted a military action-adventure thriller for the thinking folks. Al's four decades of journalism took him from conflict zone in Afganistan and Iraq to the pentagon and the white house. Pessin is at his finest when he describes the complex relationship between the American Secret operative and his Taliban comrades, Its a page-turner https://www.amazon.com/Sandblast-Al-P...
October 22, 2021
Perfect except for the serial "ending"
Inventive plot.. Well written. Well told. Realistic with just a few challenges to my suspended disbelief. Great to have a woman in a/the lead role. But can't give five stars when the narrative comes only to a pause, not a true rest. Publishers and their demands for serials . . . sigh.
Inventive plot.. Well written. Well told. Realistic with just a few challenges to my suspended disbelief. Great to have a woman in a/the lead role. But can't give five stars when the narrative comes only to a pause, not a true rest. Publishers and their demands for serials . . . sigh.
November 1, 2021
Truth be told
An extremely well crafted eye opening interpretation of the atrocities carried out in the name of a barbaric religion. Spoilt for me by an irrelevant juvenile romantic interlude that just reinforces how careful our leaders must be when appointing certain people to sensitive and authorities roles.
An extremely well crafted eye opening interpretation of the atrocities carried out in the name of a barbaric religion. Spoilt for me by an irrelevant juvenile romantic interlude that just reinforces how careful our leaders must be when appointing certain people to sensitive and authorities roles.
September 28, 2022
Wow!
Sandblast kept me on the edge of seat, anxiously looking forward to find out what would happen next. The author's personal experience helps the story ring true and helps the reader better understand the US 'war on terror' and all its complexities. I look forward to having Mr. Pessin as our keynote speaker at the Writers League of The Villages BookExpo 2023.
Sandblast kept me on the edge of seat, anxiously looking forward to find out what would happen next. The author's personal experience helps the story ring true and helps the reader better understand the US 'war on terror' and all its complexities. I look forward to having Mr. Pessin as our keynote speaker at the Writers League of The Villages BookExpo 2023.
June 28, 2020
Interesting read look forward to reading the next book
June 2, 2021
Terrific. Pessin has exceptional knowledge of the Taliban as well as the inner workings of the US military and the intelligence organizations. Well defined characters. Great plot
February 10, 2024
Very good
May 31, 2024
Too much politics.
April 25, 2025
Great story, well-written military thriller.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews