A main course in the desert

With more action than a Bond film, Empire of Sand will probably be turned into a film at the drop of a dime. Mr Ryan's choice of character must have created him quite a number of conundrums, especially with Lawrence of Arabia living in that grey limbo between myth and reality. Yet since Mr Ryan is a self-confessed history buff, the conundrums must have been intriguing ones nonetheless, with the author deciding on focusing on Lawrence's endeavours in 1915, a year which, despite tomes being written on Lawrence, remains a murky one.

Clever and witty, as Quinn, another British officer, tells him repeatedly, Lawrence is wasted behind a desk. His quick and efficient strategies combined with unassailable deftness make him an excellent soldier in command. His physical looks proved to be Mr Ryan's bone of contention. Looking nothing like the angelic Peter O'Toole, the real Lawrence of Arabia was only five foot five (others claim that he was no taller than five foot one) with a long nose - Mr Ryan struggles for a compromise between the two versions. Empire of Sand is set in Cairo, Palestine and Persia, where Lawrence, the third of five illegitimate sons and ashamed of his parentage, is determined to make his country proud and help the Arabs rule their land and overthrow the German-supported Ottomans.

Unhappy to waste his days working in the GHQ as a cartographer, Lawrence jumps at the opportunity to go to Persia to help liberate three British hostages held by the German Wilhelm Wassmuss, known as Woss Moss. The latter is Lawrence's doppelganger - an equally astute tactician, he proves a worthy opponent for the British officer. The British happen to be in possession of a luggage and a cipher belonging to the Germans, which we later find were key in determining the state of international affairs leading to the build-up to World War II. It therefore comes as no surprise that towards the end of his account, Mr Ryan brings these two masterminds together despite what the reader immediately senses to be a simulated union.

Mr Ryan also manages to quiet down the feminists in the novel by inserting the characters of Gertrude Bell and Mrs Wake, who have mastered the art of cross-dressing to obtain information. Bell and Mrs Wake are portrayed as clever characters full of tricks up their sleeves ready to be pulled out when the moment is ripe. They are both linked to two male characters - Gerty Bell is full of praise for Lawrence, yet she harbours bitter feelings towards him after receiving information that he had found her plain-looking. Mrs Wake, who Mr Ryan strongly hints has deeply fallen for Quinn, proves to be as incisive as any of the male characters in the novel.

Epilogue and prologue are set in 1917 while the rest of the story happens in 1915. This gap leaves the reader baffled and the storyline a bit disjointed.

While the first part of the story is a good lead-in to illustrate Lawrence's involvement in the Arab revolt, it is filled with too much detail and it takes Lawrence forever to reach the desert where his mission is, losing the reader in the process.

The second part is more action-filled and enthusing to read. The 1915 story is told in flashback and this is Mr Ryan's ploy to show that what happened two years later was of more significance in Lawrence's life. The fact that history is not my forte might have led me to ignore certain crucial details, and at times left me wondering whether some episodes really occurred or whether they were Ryan's fictive inventions. A more informed reader will draw more pleasure.

Even though this is no history book, Mr Ryan did his research well. His choice of inserting only a few fictive events does not quite concord with Linda Hutcheon's concept of historiographic metafiction, and Mr Ryan seems to have tiptoed around quite a bit to ensure he incenses no expert on the topic.

Still, he manages to make it interesting. His choice of diction and carefully-laced syntax are intricate, coming together beautifully to make Empire of Sand a must-read for those who are interested in espionage and in the origins of Middle East affairs.

• Ms Gatt teaches English and has an MA in English in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Literary Theory.

• A review copy of this title was supplied by Allied Retail & Commercial Co. Ltd.