The Olive Branch

In 1975, at the height of the Cold War, Brendan Gisby was in his mid-twenties. Spurred on by a press report on "The warming of relations between the Republic of China and the USSR," he put his imagination and his prowess with words to work, together with the courage of his convictions, and the then full-blooded youth - in his own words, "I was further Right than Attila the Hun" - began to write his own version of what might happen should these two Communist giants combine and collude to dominate the world. The result was his first novel, THE OLIVE BRANCH, which he has now republished more than four decades after its completion. Set in Scotland in a futuristic 1980, this is a gripping tale of invasion, survival, betrayal and love. Combining the horrors of war with the scenic beauty of the surrounding Scottish countryside, and the underlying blossoming of first love, the book provokes a host of emotions within the reader - not the least of which is the humbling realisation of how lucky we are to have our freedom. "The Olive Branch is a powerful thriller. It is credible, lively and in places horrifying." "It contains all the explosiveness, viciousness and suspense that one expects of a full-scale war. Some of the scenes are gut-wrenching." "The author has a gift for making you feel you are actually part of the story. The characters become people you want to succeed and pull through their circumstances or enemies you despise and can't wait to see them fail at their efforts." "Timeless are the sometimes all too short descriptions of the landscape dear to Gisby, and in these we see the beginnings of a great writer."