From the Front Lines to the Page: A Novel Captures the Human Cost of War in Ukraine

Three years into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a new wave of literature is emerging to make sense of the conflict. One of the first is Eastern Light: Volume III of the Across Latitudes series, by Brett Andrew Strange. Unlike typical spy thrillers, Strange's novel delves into the emotional toll of espionage and combat, offering a gritty, realistic look at the war's impact on individuals. Publisher's Weekly has already called the novel a "Powerful depiction of war's human costs amid Ukraine's fight for freedom," a testament to Strange's ability to translate his unique experiences into a compelling and emotionally resonant story for an English-speaking audience.

As a former U.S. intelligence officer, Strange brings an authentic voice to his work, drawing on his direct knowledge of Ukraine. This firsthand knowledge allows him to create vivid scenes and compelling characters, immersing readers in the life-and-death stakes of the war. "I wanted to put the reader in the perspective of multiple characters, including the story's critical villains as well as their victims," Strange explains. This use of close third-person points of view allows the novel to illuminate the shadowy nature of Russia's crimes while humanizing the struggle for freedom as it is experienced by many types of people, including foreign soldiers who joined the newly-formed Ukraine's International Military Legion, the parents of local soldiers killed in action, and even young children displaced by war.

Eastern Light primarily follows American protagonists Paul Drake and his brother, Max, an Iraqi veteran, as they grapple with the emotional fallout of conflict and challenges related to new tactics such as the extensive battlefield use of killer drones. Instead of glorifying spycraft, the book portrays the sacrifices demanded of those involved in operations and on the war's front lines. Unlike the highly-trained and often glamorous James Bond or the cerebral analyst Jack Ryan, Strange's Paul Drake is depicted as a man grappling with the moral and emotional fallout of a conflict from the perspective of someone skeptical and frustrated by the West's reluctance to lend more effective, direct support following Russia's February 2022 invasion. Paul's perspective also serves as the reader's primary entry point into a vastly different set of cultural and political realities experienced by millions of people living through the conflict.

The novel's main female protagonist is a Russian-born dissident whose journey for meaning and purpose begins in the series' prior two books and defies typical genre stereotypes. "I've been impressed by how many readers have picked up the broader themes that Katya Volkova separately wrestles with beyond the purely plot-driven espionage story," Strange notes. "The last part of Eastern Light deals with young children who have been impacted by the war and are suffering post-traumatic issues. A certain scene at a Paris playground really seems to have struck a chord with many female readers; this chapter serves a core part of the novel's story arc, and it closely mirrors some actual incidents, even though it doesn't normally conform to a typical spy thriller."

Strange notes that wartime struggles have long been a fertile ground for authors to explore critical themes of freedom, sacrifice, and redemption. "War is a perennial literary theme. Hemingway began his seminal writing career from his experiences as an ambulance driver in World War I and was also very active as a journalist in Spain during the 1930s." Strange how the Spanish Civil War has some ominous parallels to today's Ukrainian conflict in terms of how many different nationalities became involved. The prolific espionage author John Le Carré used the Cold War as a background for his memorable characters and their intense personal struggles.

"I wrote Eastern Light in the spirit of this same tradition based on what is tragically happening now at this watershed moment in world history," Strange says. "Sadly, my prior two novels that follow the same characters anticipated the stresses that led to today's conflict, and it is tragic that this has actually unfolded at this scale of bloodshed."