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Low, fast and invisible to the Soviet war machine, NATO’s new weapon will change the course of the Cold War.

There’s just one problem. And veteran engineer Chris Milford has found it.

Shocked by how many friendly lives the system will cost, he finds himself up against a commander who uses secrecy and blind loyalty as weapons.

Milford’s last hope is the youngest test pilot on the project, Rob May. A skilled aviator and a good friend, but May’s need for acceptance by those senior to him, suddenly makes their friendship dangerous.

Until the crash that changes everything.

James Blatch’s page-turning thriller is set in the 1960s world of secret military projects and a clash of generations that could prove fatal.
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Public eyes are on the Apollo Moon mission, but it’s the secret space race that will decide who wins the Cold War.

In the dark recesses of a hangar, hidden deep in the Mojave desert, an experimental hypersonic aircraft lurks in the shadows.
A secret to all but a handful of men, the XS-81 has a very specific task, ready to protect the United State’s military secrets from a new wave of Soviet satellites.

To crew a highly sensitive first mission, a young test pilot will sit alongside an Edwards AFB veteran. For Captain Red Brunson, this is a chance to make amends after a difficult start in his test flying career.

But at the heart of this top-secret project, is a traitor.

With the United States on the brink of a humiliating disaster, exposed by a deep cover spy, Red finds himself at the centre of an incident that could make the Bay of Pigs look like a picnic.

His own life is on the line, but if he fails, it won’t be worth living anyway.
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1957 should have been the year the British treaty was renewed, instead the Royal Air Force have been asked to leave.

With an urgent need for him to qualify on the De Haviland Venom and help with the sudden evacuation, May is thrown together with an irascible and unpredictable flight commander, Squadron Leader Nathaniel ‘Bunny’ Pater-Smith.

The Venom is a fast jet which needs careful handling or it will kill you quickly.

But that’s nothing compared to Bunny.

In a mix of biting desert sandstorms, a broken flight commander and a corrupt member of the Iraqi royal family, Rob May, must choose his next step carefully.

His life depends on it.

A Cold War novella from James Blatch, Desert Venom evokes the golden age of military jets among the dying embers of the British empire.
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