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  Keith McArdle - Action & Adventure Author

Pacifists will get you killed

31/5/2022

4 Comments

 
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When I wrote the Ironstone Saga, I wanted to strike one main theme at the heart of the series. Alongside other themes like mateship, honour, resiliency, and the will not only to survive but persist forward when all seems lost, I wanted to highlight the importance of a peace-loving nation.

At first glance, this might not seem obvious because there is so much violence throughout the books. But rest assured that the nation of Wendurlund is one of peace. They wanted to exist peacefully, but unfortunately, war found them, through no fault of their own.
 
I’d argue there is violence throughout the books because the people of Wendurlund were peace lovers. Had they been pacifists, the story would have ended a quarter way through the first novel (Fallen Empire) with the nation of Wendurlund subjugated.
 
Pacifists are a dangerous breed of people in any nation. In fact, it's a theme that blurs across the boundaries of books or movies and into real life. Pacifists are the weak, bland and cowardly people who will throw their hands in the air or bury their heads in the sand at the first sign of a threat in the hope that the threat will leave. Peace lovers want to remain in a state of harmony, but the difference is that when a threat is at their front gate, they are willing to fight and, yes, even kill to ensure they can not only remain in peace but that their people are safe.
 
If you want to remain within the realms that peace provides, make damn sure you have warriors on the wall. Just because you want to remain at peace does not mean others do. You better be ready to fight to protect yourself, those whom you love and that which you hold dear. Peace can only remain so by the will of a sharp sword safely sheathed. But there should always be a hand resting on the pommel.
4 Comments

Heroes & Cowards: They walk among us

24/1/2015

2 Comments

 
I’m fascinated by the human condition, which is why there are quite a few different characters in The Reckoning. Almost every character in The Reckoning and Aftermath (the sequel (coming along nicely by the way)) is based slightly (or, in some cases largely) on people I know, or have known.

Many of them are large people. When I write that, I don’t mean physical size, but their mental strength, humility and tenacity in the face of abject danger (be that physical, emotional, mental, or even financial I suppose) is enormous. These are people who will sacrifice something of their life or themselves so that their friends, family and sometimes total strangers, will benefit. And when it’s all over (whatever the hardship may have been) they’ll have returned to their humble, unassuming selves. I am sure you will all have the privilege of having many of these types in your life.

I often watch people and how they act or react. No, that doesn’t mean I’m some pervert staring out my window with a pair of binoculars at night. I’m talking about sitting in an airport waiting for a flight, or sitting in the car, waiting for my wife to come out of a shop. If I find myself in those kinds of situations, I watch passers-by, see how they interact with one another or the world around them. It really is intriguing (well to me anyway). It’s probably the reason the style of my writing is more character driven, than event driven.

But, it’s not all roses and smiles. There are also the cowards amongst us (and when I describe the character of a coward, you will know at least one). Contrary to popular belief, the coward is not a meek individual slinking in the shadows. They are usually outspoken, boastful and never afraid to tell those foolish enough to listen, how amazing they are. It’s a defence mechanism, because they are compensating (or over compensating) for a weakness in their character. When it all turns to custard these loud, boastful individuals will usually be out of sight somewhere, leaving others to do the ‘heavy lifting’, so to speak.

So in both The Reckoning and Aftermath, I have attempted to give tribute to the truly stoic, unflappable people in our lives, and tried to expose the reality of the cowards amongst us.

In my honest opinion, I believe the heroic individuals far outweigh the cowards.
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The Reckoning

30/7/2013

3 Comments

 
Australia, an amazing country, she enjoys a laid back atmosphere, as well as freedom (of choice and speech). It is something of which we are proud.But, what if Australia were successfully invaded? What then?

Rest assured, our Defence Force would fight long and hard against the threat. However, although both the ADF and NZDF are ranked amongst the top 10 in the world, at some point, numbers will win the fight.

In 'The Reckoning', (now almost 90% complete) the ADF is smashed as an organised fighting force. We will follow the remnants of an infantry platoon as they take the fight to Indonesian supply lines, Special Air Service operators deployed into regional Australia who link up with a cattle farmer and turn his family and he into geurilla fighters, and a RAAF fighter pilot, whom is eventually shot down (and finds himself struggling to survive in the Aussie bush).

'The Reckoning' is dedicated to members of the Australian & New Zealand Defence Force, both past and present, who have or are protecting our way of life. 
3 Comments

Why I Wrote 'the forgotten land'

16/7/2013

2 Comments

 
I have always had two great passions, the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), and the Vikings.

First, let's look at the Vikings:

The Vikings are a severely misunderstood race of people. Yes, some were violent, yes, some of them did undertake lightning raids on all and sundry. But that time of history was a violent time, a time where tribes, clans and countries were often at war with one another. The Vikings' mark on our history is tainted mainly by the biased, literate Christian scholars that remember them in their writings. Today, modern historians and archaeologists are working very hard to shed light upon who the Vikings actually were. We know, for instance, that a Viking woman had the right to divorce her husband if she had grounds. We also know that the advice of a warrior's wife was usually heeded and often sought. Women in some areas of the world in 2012 do not enjoy that level of respect! The Vikings were also very cunning and intelligent traders, so much so, that present day York, which in Viking times was called Jorvik (pronounced Yorvik (from which the present day name is derived)) was, during the Viking reign, the trade centre of the world. The Vikings were a very colourful, sophisticated and rich culture. Oh, and they did not wear horned helmets!

Now, second, let's look at the Aussie SAS:

The Australian SASR (Special Air Service Regiment) are an elite group of Australian soldiers. When the war in Afghanistan started, people might remember an offensive called Operation Anaconda. When that operation commenced, the Aussie SAS moved well forward of the advancing allied troops and set up hides or observation posts (OPs) underneath the noses of the Taliban. They fed back all sorts of information to the American head sheds, including enemy number, weapons, level of morale, locations and so on. When the fighting began, the Australian SASR were in a position to guide in airstrikes and give grid references for artillery and mortar fire missions. In another instance in Afghanistan an Australian SAS soldier was shot by Taliban fire. Rather then bother his mates who were still engaged in heavy fighting with the enemy, he managed to make his way to the closest vehicle. Knowing that he was losing enough blood that he may lose consciousness, treated the wound as best he could and then wedged himself between the bulbar and the vehicle's radiator. He tied himself to the bulbar and then continued to fire at the enemy. He did this so that if the Australians were to make a rapid fighting withdrawal, then the Aussie's withdrawal would not have been slowed by carrying him and then securing him in the vehicle.

There is something about these incredible soldiers that has always intrigued me. Every country in the world has a small elite group like the Australian SAS. They are for the most part, quiet, easy going, never consider themselves any better than the next bloke, but have the courage of a rabid lion. To date two Australian SAS soldiers have been awarded the Victoria Cross (the VC, which is the Commonwealth's highest military award) for actions in combat. Both lived to tell the tale.

So in The Forgotten Land, I bring together the Australian SASR and the Vikings, my two greatest interests.
2 Comments

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    Keith is an action/adventure author who loves to write fast paced style books.

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