The truth is complicated.On September 11th, 2001, Kris Caldera was a junior member of the CIA’s Alec Station, the unit dedicated to finding and stopping Osama Bin Laden.They failed.Ten days later, he was on the ground in Afghanistan with a Special Forces team, driven to avenge the ghosts that haunted him and the nation he’d let down. On the battlefield, he meets Special Forces Sergeant David … Forces Sergeant David Haddad. David – Arab American, Muslim, and gay – becomes the man Kris loves, the man he lives for, and the man he kills for, through the long years of the raging wars.
David Haddad thought he’d be an outsider his whole life. Too American for the Middle East, too Arab for America, and too gay to be Muslim. It took Kris to bring the parts of himself together, to make him the man he’d always wanted to be. But the War on Terror wreaks havoc on David’s soul, threatening to shatter the fragile peace he’s finally found with Kris.
When a botched mission rips David from Kris’s life, Kris’s world falls into ruin and ash. A shell of the man who once loved with the strength to shake both the CIA and the world, he marks time on the edges of his life. The days bleed together, meaningless after losing the love of his life.
After being captured, tortured to the edge of his life, and left for dead by his comrades, David doesn’t know how much of himself is left. He vanished one day in the tribal belt of Pakistan, and the man who walks out almost a decade later is someone new: Al Dakhil Al-Khorasani.
But strange rumblings are whispering through the CIA. Intelligence from multiple sources overseas points to something new. Something deadly, and moving to strike the United States. Intercepts say an army from Khorasan, the land of the dead where the Apocalypse of Islam will rise, is coming.
And, at the head of this army, a shadowy figure the US hasn’t seen before: Al Dakhil Al-Khorasani.
David is coming home.
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So current! Exactly what is going on in the middle east and it’s not good, but the book is. Tal Bauer is an exceptional writer.
Tal Bauer’s WHISPER is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It is an action-packed, emotional story that will take you from the dark days of 9/11 to ab edge-of-your seat denouement in the present. Check it out. You won’t be sorry!
This book was phenomenal, all-encompassing, very long yet not long enough and one of the best I have ever read. Before starting it I wondered about its longevity. Not only is this a story about two men falling in love, it’s also a story about personal growth, self acceptance, the darkest secrets and the harshest nightmares and most of all belief – belief in something greater than oneself, belief in what’s right and belief in people.
The journey of Kris Caldera and Dawood Hadaad lasts for decades, has many ups and downs, is full of love and sacrifice and has the hardest road to happiness. Both men change through the course of the years and many trials, and come out the best versions of themselves. I admired Kris for his tenacity, his unconditional love for Dawood and his ability to see the world for what it was and was not. Dawood’s path was even thornier than Kris’s, but he walked it with grace, wisdom and kindness. His protectiveness and love for Kris has carried him through his darkest days.
I must admit there was a moment I was not sure Dawood was the man I thought he was but he proved to be as honorable as I imagined. The last part of the book kept me on my toes. The adrenaline, the danger and the possible outcome were hard to even imagine, but again Kris’s belief in Dawood’s good nature and his never ending love as well as Dawood’s strength and skills made it possible for them to not only survive but live and thrive together. The tremendous amount of research and details made this absolutely awesome read. Not even a moment was I bored, I wanted the book to never end. I loved this story! Diverse fleshed out characters, plot twists and realistic vivid descriptions and love that lived through war, death and grief made this an outstanding book! I highly recommend it! I read it so fast that I didn’t even notice how long it was!
I had forgotten to post a review when I had read this marvelous book so here it is and this is still one of the best books that has also moved me completely.
These last few days I have been living in between the pages of this perfectly written book..
Was consumed utterly even when not reading all I could think of was This Book!
Completely overwhelmed and that’s an understatement!
The amount of information given is outstanding the knowledge that Tal has shown in this book is more than amazing …… The truth is real….
The truth about the Muslin faith was wonderful to read as it was David / Dawood…
Now I have finished I feel lost as the words carried me towards the next day to read more to know these men- Kris and David….to have more information on their lives and all the characters it was like living another life .
To know what happens in organisations like those is amazing it opened my eyes….
Beautiful quotes…
“The Quran says all souls were created in pairs. One soul, one life, that was meant for two people. In this world, we’re supposed to find the other half of our souls and join together with them. Rejoin, and find the house of peace that we once knew before time.” David moved closer. “I feel that with you. I always have. From the moment we met, it’s been like I’ve known you for forever. Like everything in me is supposed to belong to everything in you.”
At the end of the road, waiting outside of their shattered base camp, was Kris. For David, the world finally began to spin again.
AMAZING book set in the backdrop of 9-11…seriously powerful as this CIA analyst and spec ops soldier find their way through the chaotic aftermath…for years. I thought at times that the author might just break me on this one, but it was so worth reading. Haunting… (yes, I definitely have a book hangover).
I loved The Executive Office series by this author and reading Whisper was a sure thing. Then I started hearing chatter about how ‘long’ it was and how ‘intense’ and although it was available on KU and I borrowed the book, it took me a while to begin. That was a good decision on my part because this is a story to read where you have no distractions.
When I finished reading this I was in shock, stunned. The difference between this and most stories available today is like the difference between a stubbed toe and neurosurgery. Seriously, this story is frightening, more than that, terrifying. This is as true to life as any story could be and still be fiction. This author always does his research and this has more truth than nearly any nonfiction story of the time.
An epic saga interweaved with a tragic yet breathtaking love story. There are people and events in the story that were too horrifying to be real yet they are/were or at least entirely true-to-life meaning that events similar to these have really happened.
“A thousand million stars in the sky would not be enough to count the ways I love you. Or grains of sand on the beach, even if you split every grain in half.
Whisper is absolutely, without a doubt, my #1 story for 2018! I shiver even thinking about it.
I can’t possibly do justice in a review so I postponed and procrastinated. I was left with a potpourri of emotions, strong emotions, with no place to put them.
The story is incredible, matched only by the lyrical, beautiful writing. I could see, smell, hear and feel the emotions and action, sorrow and pain.
Readers may remember Kris from Hush and your heart cracked for him. Hearing his story with this level of explicit detail is something that you can’t prepare yourself for. There is no preworkout.
The most incredible book of 2018!
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Oh, this story! It is so much more than a romance; it is about a love that was formed for eternity. Set against the events of 9/11 and the subsequent actions taken by the governments involved and their officials from that date to the present, it is a well-researched story, excellently written and worth the time invested into reading it. If you enjoy M/M stories with grit and heart, then Tal Bauer is the author to read!
Unlike most M/M romance, this book, as all of Tal Bauer’s work, is incredibly well researched, reality-based, and filled with edge of your seat action. Based on events surrounding 9/11, and the years of conflict and terrorism that came after, “Whisper” is a phenomenal political thriller, competes quite well with the best of modern mainstream thrillers. There is no distracting graphic sex in this book, and while some readers might find that disappointing, I found it quite refreshing that the author chose to respect the privacy and dignity of his characters. I would recommend this book to any fan of political and/or military.thrillers.
I read a lot. And this is, without question, in my top 3 books of all time. It is EPIC. It is overwhelming. And gut-wrenching. It is philosophical. About religion, and culture, and war, and betrayal, and hate. And about love, a love story that transcends all of those things and is just EVERYTHING. I have read it before, but this time I listened to the audiobook that the brilliant John Solo narrated. So I knew what to expect. Yet I sobbed. And I raged. And I melted at the incredible love between Kris and David/Dawood. And I have a massive book hangover, again. Everyone needs to read this. It’s a travesty that LGBTQ books aren’t as mainstream as other books because everyone should know about this. Tal Bauer’s research and historical accuracy into 9/11, terrorism, and the ensuing wars is impeccable. Everything he writes is incredible but this… this is EPIC.
If you want to understand the US presence in Afghanistan – past and present from the perspective of everyone from ordinary Afghan and American citizens affected by 9/11, US and Taliban fighters, US intelligence and politicians, Christians and followers of Islam this is the book to start with. Read the afterword and the references first and you’ll find that Tal Bauer has done his homework. This is an unforgettable book. One of the top two I’ve read in my 58+ years of reading. I am a voracious reader of newspapers and news magazines, but this has a depth and a context you won’t find anywhere else. In addition, the love story of Kris and Dawood is both heartbreaking and one of the most life affirming you’ll ever read. After today’s events in Afghanistan (8/16/21), if you’ve read this book you’ll weep. After you read it, listen to John Solo’s stunning performance of the audiobook and be broken again.
Tal Bauer does it again…he got me to stay up all night reading another one of his truly fantastic books! Kris and Dawood (David) are some of the most complex characters Tal Bauer has written. Sharing their 20+ year journey through war zones, discrimination, hate, laughter, tears, love, and separation, you become deeply invested their lives. In true Bauer style, the story is insanely researched, providing details about world events that are still being understood today. I loved that once again, Islam and Muslim people are shown for the resilient and complex identities that they are. I cannot praise this author enough; pick any of Tal Bauer’s books and start reading. You will fall in love with the characters and stories immediately.
5 stars easy. So good. This is one of Tal Bauer’s longest books, but if you ask me it wasn’t long enough. But, that’s just me being greedy, because this book was PERFECTION.
True love is unconditional…
Wow! What a story. This book was a recommendation, and I absolutely loved it. The way Tal goes into details about everything is great. He really did the research and what was fiction was a great add to the story. To read a book about the history of 911, and what happened after is heartbreaking. But to read the love between David (Dawood) and Kris is awesome. Their love is timeless and beautiful, they are two souls that was made for each other.
Whisper is about the aftermath of 911 and the love story of the two main characters. They fight for what they want but when the government gets involved and when the hatred of others are in play David and Kris go through the worst thing they could have ever imagined. They go through life and death, love and hate, they go through the impossible to have a relationship, to have peace of mind, and to be accepted for who and what they are. No one should have to be put through any situation because they are not the same as everyone else. Love is unconditional, love is special with the right person, and love is love. I’m really glad I was recommended this book and I got a new author to read.