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A Personal Journey
In the Face of the Foe is a collection of three tales following British prisoners of war struggling with choices that could either end their lives or set them free. What was the idea, or spark, that first set off the need to write this book?
My grandfather endured the majority of the Second World War as a prisoner of war. As a child, my limited memories of him are of a quiet, withdrawn man, who spent a large part of the day either in bed smoking his hand-rolled cigarettes or absent down the local pub. Now an adult and novelist, with a better understanding of the past and the suffering that forged the man I knew, I wanted to ‘talk’ about the world he was unable to: celebrate his and all his fellow POWs’ bravery and endurance. Through no fault of their own, they found themselves confined and forgotten as the world focused on the combatants and battles, while those lucky enough to return home after the war received no hero’s welcome, carrying guilt and their trauma for the remainder of their lives. So, I wanted to write a series of character-driven adventures, which never shun the darker side of prisoner of war life, but afford the protagonists their moment in the sun, replacing the unrelenting boredom of confinement with a heroic burst: a fact-based framework, supporting some fantastical adventures. This was not about claiming some unwritten truth but manoeuvring through the bustling crowd of heroic men and women from this golden generation and ensuring the POWs are noticed amongst them too.
How much research did you undertake for this book, and how much time did it take to put it all together?
Like all my novels, there is a long gestation period as ideas form, and I develop my knowledge, laying the foundation upon which I build my characters and narrative. Understanding my grandfather’s military service was a personal journey, not driven by a desire to borrow for my writing, but it certainly inspired me. Within the UK, family members can request the service records of those in the military in WW2. The documents are all penned in a matter-of-fact manner, with entries like ‘missing in action 25 May 1940’ or ‘war crime witness’. It stirs more questions than answers and encourages the author to populate the holes. Fortunately, we also have excellent regimental museums, holding the official records of the actions of their battalions. I was most grateful to receive from one of the select paragraphs which told the sorry tale of my grandfather’s battalion and its short-lived role in the first year of the war. Combining this personal research with the benefit of wonderfully researched non-fiction books and memoirs of survivors gave me a hint at the world to implant my hero within. As an author of adventure tales, I occasionally utilized my artistic license to bend the historic facts, adjusting the scenery for the action, but keeping it within an accurate historic stage remained important, and this would have been impossible without the contribution of other sources.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
War is abhorrent and not worthy of celebration. However, the individuals dragged into war always have a worthwhile story to tell. The human spirit is tested to the extreme: there is the worst of humanity and the best, and it’s often the case that one side or one individual carries elements of both. In these tales, choice has a small role; it is necessity with survival at stake that shapes the lives of the prisoners. How they react, pull together, break down, recover, ride their luck, or make it through tells us about their core character, the weaknesses, and strengths. The final story in the collection is very important because, although told after the war, it explores how the experience of war and imprisonment has shaped and scarred Jock. His fight to survive the war did not end in 1945, and on release from the stalags, it followed him and directed him until his death in 1984. I question the legitimacy of the old adage, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but there is something admirable about finding the strength to survive what killed so many others.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
From the past, I will return to the future and work to finish the third and final book in my Liberty series, a dystopian adventure that explores the meaning of freedom in a broken world. Previously, the novels looked at how fear and ignorance impinge on our liberty (Liberty Bound) and how lies and illusions can be confused for freedom (Where Liberty Lies). In this final work, I want to explore the fragility and endurance of liberty, delivering my protagonists into another maelstrom of danger and suspense. It could take a while to finish it, so I may also take a small diversion to write a children’s novel. Too many children’s books unsubtly preach today, and I have in mind an old-fashioned treasure hunt adventure, where the children succeed because they do what children do: make mistakes, cause mischief, but grow through friendship, role models, and experience.
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After surrendering to the all-conquering Wehrmacht in France in May 1940, Jock faces five years of captivity in distant Poland under the brutal Nazis, and a lifetime of trauma and torment from his memories. Disarmed and forgotten, starved and mistreated, Jock and his friends have their own battles to fight; none greater than surviving the war and then rebuilding their lives.
Triumphant Where It Dares Defy (1941) – For those in the British army captured holding back the advancing Germans, allowing their comrades at Dunkirk to evacuate, things look grim. The Nazis have stolen their freedom and dignity, but after a year in captivity, it’s time to steal something back. Against his better judgement, Jock Mitchell finds himself at the centre of a brazen plan to give Hitler a bloody nose. To succeed, he needs to break out of the prison camp… and back in.
A Place More Dark (1945) – After five years of hell, it’s about to get worse for the prisoners of Stalag XXA. Pawns in a deadly World War endgame, victory for the starved inmates is surviving their brutal Nazi overseers and an unforgiving winter’s march across Europe. Weak and a shadow of the man he once was, Jock still finds the strength to rescue the most unexpected of companions from the dangers of war-torn Europe. (Literary Titan Gold Book Award winner, Finalist in the Independent Authors Network Book of the Year Award 2025)
For All the Treasures Buried Far (1948) – (exclusive to this edition) – Germany has surrendered, but for the survivors from Stalag XXA, their war never ends. Still a prisoner of the ghosts and demons from his time as a captive under the Nazis, Jock returns to Poland, where death offers a drastic means of escape from his internal torment. But a greater, more appealing prize awaits if he can survive one last adventure in a new type of war against an old ally turned enemy, the Soviet Union.
In the Face of the Foe
In the Face of the Foe brings together three wartime tales that follow British prisoners of war and the strange mix of fear, grit, and shaky hope that shapes their survival. The story opens inside Stalag XXA, where boredom and danger sit side by side. Men spar, argue, dream, and stumble into choices that could kill them or free them, sometimes on the same night. The early chapters move from camp politics to tense missions beyond the wire, and the book keeps piling on moral knots that force each character to decide what they are willing to risk and who they want to be.
As I moved through the book, I felt myself leaning in, drawn by the rough humor and the raw strain between the men. The writing feels direct and sharp. It never hides the ugliness of fear. It also never forgets that soldiers can be petty and foolish and brave all at once. I liked how the author gives room for small moments that say more than the big ones. A quiet exchange over stolen cherries, the sting of a bad joke, the uneasy pause when a guard appears in the dark. These details felt honest, and they gave me a sense of standing right there in the mud with them. The dialogue sometimes slips into playful banter, and I found that mix of light and dark strangely comforting. It felt real in a way that polished war stories often miss.
The book kept raising questions without preaching. What does loyalty look like when every man is starving? What does courage mean when the cost falls on someone else? Some choices hit hard. One scene with a child had me holding my breath because the moment felt too close to the edge. The tension built slowly, then snapped tight. The writing does not tidy up the mess afterward, and I appreciated that honesty.
It is a story for readers who enjoy wartime fiction that focuses more on people than battlefields. Anyone who likes character-driven plots, moral puzzles, and a close look at the fragile ties that hold people together will find a lot here. I would recommend it to readers who want grit without glamor and heart without sentiment.
Pages: 508 | ASIN : B0G1K6GG7F
Selfless Sacrifice
A Place More Dark follows a Lance Corporal in WWII who is forced to join the march across Central Europe, where he risks his life to save someone from the SS. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
With a grandfather who was a POW in World War Two, I have a natural interest in the subject. When researching the topic, two things struck me: firstly, how ill-prepared the British army was at the start of the war and how, in the debacle leading to the famous evacuation at Dunkirk, many of the less well-trained troops were sacrificed to allow others to escape; and secondly, those same men, held in captivity for the war’s duration, were often considered to have ‘sat out’ the conflict, avoiding the dirty but heroic business of fighting and earning victory. This double body-blow to their reputation is inherently unfair and so I was inspired to present them in a more heroic light and do justice to their memory. Beyond the escape story, POWs have had limit representation in fiction. With my Jock Mitchell series, I want to show other aspects but also demonstrate they were still in the war, fighting battles of a different kind and winning by surviving.
I enjoyed the depth of the main character, Jock Mitchell. What was your process to bring that character to life?
Jock is an everyman, leading an unassuming life before the war, but he now finds himself in a dramatic, complex world of conflict where simple survival shapes his every action. He clings to the nostalgic, balanced world he recalls in better times with his family, drawing strength from those memories to do the right and heroic thing when chaos and cruelty threatens. But equally, he finds anger, pain, or self-preservation driving him in other situations. He has little control, dragged and thrown by the currents and crashing waves in this tempest. Emotions, risks, and friendships are intensified by the war: stoic determination mixing with fragility and despair, laughter blending with tears. It is trauma played out in a world with no time or opportunity to succumb to it.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
A Place More Dark is literally about a journey across Europe from one hell into another, but at its heart is the journey into the human spirit. From cruelty to selfless sacrifice, the spectrum of basic human behaviours is explored using the stage of a war. I was keen not to present conflict one-dimensionally: of just good against bad. Each character is stripped raw and shown to be flawed, being extraordinary as monsters or saints, sometimes both, because order has collapsed, and survival is the name of the game. In this primitive landscape, it is light that leads them out of the darkness: the camaraderie, acts of kindness, sacrifice, and humanity.
Where does the story go in the next book and where do you see it going in the future?
Book one in the series, Triumphant Where it Dares Defy, left a few threads dangling that need tying up and so I intend to bring Jock back in a post-war world, exploring the impact of five years of captivity on a man in peace-time. Did the war ever truly end for them? There was also a new world order taking shape and so that will provide a perfect stage for a new adventure. At some point I will return to the start of the war, a prelude to Jock’s captivity, and find out his story in those confused and terrifying weeks as the British and French armies collapsed, and the free world hung in the balance.
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Already half-starved, disease-stricken and brutalised, the last thing the prisoners of Stalag XXa need is an order to pack their meagre belongings and begin marching through the harsh winter of early 1945. Under the watchful eye of their guards and the SS, they walk into the unknown, facing the bitter cold across hundreds of miles of Central Europe, while the dangerous frontline between the Wehrmacht and Red Army followings close on their heels.
Lance Corporal Jock Mitchell, a POW of five long years, leaves Stalag XXa with a hole in his boot and a sledge converted from his old bunk. It doesn’t take long for Jock to realise fighting nature, as well as the Nazis, will be his greatest challenge ever. With blizzards and an empty stomach, just placing one foot in front of the other is hard enough, but when Jock steps in to save someone from the barbarity of the SS, his march westward takes on a greater importance and far more danger. From the hell of the prison camp, Jock finds himself in a place more dark.
Book Two in the Jock Mitchell Adventures continues the thrilling story of survival and danger for those whose war continued in captivity but who never stopped fighting.
Where Liberty Lies
Where Liberty Lies by Nathaniel M. Wrey is a captivating continuation of the journey of Aminatra, Finbarl, Karlmon, and their companion Bokanda. Departing from the mountains, the group discovers a lush environment, replete with new life forms but also fraught with dangerous encounters with wild animals and ferrals. Nonetheless, this environment brings hope to their quest to find Madelaton. However, as their journey progresses, the group expands with new and unexpected members before they are abruptly torn apart, leaving them to confront the trials of survival alone. Will they reunite or succumb to the challenges in their path?
Wrey’s masterful storytelling in Where Liberty Lies delivers a gripping narrative filled with a thrilling blend of action and adventure. The plot brims with an abundance of unexpected twists and turns, provoking a sense of anxiety and excitement that sustains throughout the book. The novel’s midpoint marks a significant shift in the plot, adding to the intrigue and keeping readers engaged until the end. The characters in Where Liberty Lies are equally compelling. Aminatra, the strong and caring mother of Karlmon, is a standout character whose resilience and fortitude are thoroughly explored in the story. Finbarl, Aminatra’s husband, exemplifies loyalty and protection, treating Karlmon as his own child and consistently placing the family’s welfare first. The supporting characters are equally noteworthy, and although Bokanda’s role was limited, it was essential, and he served his purpose well. Maddy, another character in the novel, is unforgettable, and readers will appreciate her unique qualities.
Overall, Where Liberty Lies delivers a seamless plot that expertly progresses. The story’s twists and turns are perfectly executed, and the characters are well-rounded and memorable. Nathaniel M. Wrey’s writing style engages the reader and keeps them invested in the story, leaving a lasting impression long after turning the last page. Fans of adventure, fantasy, and action will undoubtedly appreciate this second installment in the trilogy and anticipate the third book’s release.
Pages: 472 | ASIN : B0BYT73W8N
Liberty Bound
![Liberty Bound by [Nathaniel M Wrey]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JackW4aeL.jpg)
Liberty Bound by Nathaniel M. Wrey is a novel set thousands of years in the future from our present day, where a small city, Athenia, remains as the last known beacon of civilization. Finbarl is the main character, and he works to protect the city from the threat of Ferrals, a supposed sub-human race of creatures that seek to destroy the city, if they could ever breach the walls. Inside the city, Finbarl and the other soldiers addictively rely on the Jumblar plant to keep them sharp and ready for the threat.
The novel certainly brims with creativity, which stands in contrast with the rigid system that the characters live with in their lonesome city. There are many varied issues with class and social standing, and Liberty Bound seeks to create meaningful commentary regarding them. The author has developed a fascinating arrangement of a post apocalyptic civilization and tries to use these societal systems to bring about a provocative purpose for their existence in terms of the story told.
However, the story excels within Finbarl’s decisions and the consequences of those choices. He eventually finds himself at odds with the society he has worked so hard to become a part of, and he must decide what he is going to do once he is no longer able to remain within the social structure provided by the city. Will Finbarl find a way to re-enter the good standing in his society, or will he strive to make bigger changes to the city and the people within it? The question was clear throughout the story and I enjoyed watching Finbarl’s evolution as the novel progressed. I could empathize with his character and that connection made the novel thrilling.
All the while, the threat of the Ferral remains, putting pressure on every character, making every decision carry much more weight. The story thrives on this tension, and it makes the pages very easy to turn.
Pages: 227 | ASIN: B087YXKKT3
LITERARY TITAN 