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I’m not even sure how to begin describing this book, except to say that it is brutal. You pick it up, you’re entering a warzone – both literally and figuratively.

It’s the 80s and the Cold War is still in full swing. The Russians are in Afghanistan. The Brits are there, too. Unofficially. An August night in Kabul and an SAS solider is raped by a member of the Red Army. This single violent and awful act sets in motion a story of revenge, friendship and love between two men that spans, in this particular instalment of Voinov’s Special Forces saga, nearly a decade.

Special Forces: Soldiers came to my attention through the BDSM Buddy Read feature on Goodreads. From the comments of those who had already started it, I knew it was going to be full-on but I have to admit I was totally unprepared for the level of intensity I encountered. Just a few pages in and I was at once shocked, appalled, and totally hooked, as evidenced by my Soldiers Buddy Read ‘in progress’ status update:

‘Holy sh*t! On page 28 and jaw is already on the ground. Totally shocking (easily the most intense thing I’ve read this year) but very, very well written. *Takes deep breath and dives back in*’

There is so much going on in this book that it’s virtually impossible to sort through all my thoughts and assemble them in a way that makes any sort of sense – not least because Special Forces: Soldiers clocks in at a whopping 650 pages and spans such a lengthy period of time. When you boil it right down, however, this is a book about anger, denial, lust, respect, understanding and, eventually, love between two men who have everything against them.

I wanted to hate Vadim for what he did to Dan – and I managed to at first. But then a whole lot of stuff happened that completely screwed with my head and dislodged me from a position I thought I would hold resolutely. Basically, I was outflanked by Aleksandr Voinov’s clever writing and characterisation. From the minute you start reading Soldiers you’re under siege and the outcomes of your various turbulent engagements with both Vadim and Dan aren’t always easy to call.

Interestingly, even though this book was part of the BDSM Buddy Read feature, I’m not sure that I would classify it as a BDSM tale in the traditional sense. While there is undoubtedly a power exchange dynamic going on between Dan and Vadim – and certainly elements of edge play (knives in particular) – the context is never formal. To me, Soldiers is more an exploration of how these two tough, independent men relate to one another – and it just so happens that the way they do includes elements of D/s and S/M.

Remarkably, this mammoth story is free to download from Aleksandr Voinov’s website. Yes, you heard me correctly. Six-hundred-plus pages of military man-on-man love for nary a bean. But I really need to say this loudly and clearly: Special Forces: Soldiers is absolutely not for those of a squeamish disposition. It features an explicit rape, torture scenes and graphic, graphic instances of violence (some sexual) and warfare that some readers may find disturbing. The counterbalance is that the writing is outstanding (although keep in mind this is a self-published work and there are some punctuation issues, typos, etc.).

I dare you not to be crossing everything for Dan and Vadim by the end of this book – and rushing off to read the next instalment in the Special Forces series. This is an m/m love story that will knock your socks off.

Tickle your fancy? Click here to obtain a copy of Special Forces: Soldiers from Aleksandr Voinov’s website.

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