The Constant Soldier

The pain woke him up. He was grateful for it. The train had stopped and somewhere, up above them, the drone of aircraft engines filled the night sky. He could almost remember her smile . . . It must be the morphine . . . He had managed not to think about her for months now.

1. Paul Brandt, a soldier in the German army, returns ed and ashamed from the bloody chaos of the Eastern front to find his village home much changed and existing in the dark shadow of an SS rest hut – a luxurious retreat for those who manage the concentration camps, run with the help of a small group of female prisoners who – against all odds – have so far survived the war.

When, by chance, Brandt glimpses one of these prisoners, he realizes that he must find a way to access the hut. For inside is the woman to whom his fate has been tied since their arrest five years before, and now he must do all he can to protect her.

But as the Russian offensive moves ever closer, the days of this rest hut and its SS inhabitants are numbered. And while hope – for Brandt and the female prisoners – grows tantalizingly close, the danger too is now greater than ever.

And, in a forest to the east, a young female Soviet tank driver awaits her orders to advance . . .

Shortlisted for the HWA’s Endeavour Gold Crown, the CWA’s Steel Dagger and the Irish Crime Novel of the Year.

The Constant Soldier is a nuanced, complex and gripping tale of guilt and love that captures the chaos at the end of WWII.
A.L. Kennedy

Elegaic, haunting, passionate William Ryan’s CONSTANT SOLDIER is a subtle WW2 thriller of horror and love with an utterly gripping countdown to Gotterdamerung. One of my favourites of the year.

Simon Sebag Montefiore

The Constant Soldier is an extraordinary novel, with the intensity and pace of a thriller, and a wisdom and subtlety all of its own. I was gripped to the very last page.
Antonia Hodgson

Gripping . . . Ryan’s elegant, powerful prose does justice to his difficult subject matter. The Constant Soldier has the pace of a thriller with characters and themes that are nuanced and subtle.
The Times (Book of the Month)

This is a terrific novel: a tough-minded, morally probing thriller that only gains in pace, depth and authority as it goes along.
The Daily Telegraph

Subtle, suspenseful and superb.
The Daily Mail

A modern classic from a master storyteller.
Lancashire Evening Post

A gripping but nuanced narrative set against the horrors of the absolute abuse of absolute power. The Irish Times

William Ryan writes with a simple, elegant and utterly poetic style that just immerses you totally into the reading experience of it … The story itself is emotive, thought provoking and completely engaging first page to last. Liz Loves Books

Ryan has again provided readers with a complex, intense and gripping thriller; fast-paced and yet at the same time subtle and nuanced, the journey of the principal characters sweeps the reader along within a moral narrative that also calls for thought and analysis. The Lady

In this tense and subtle thriller, the central character returns from the eastern front to find himself living in the shadow of a luxurious SS retreat. It’s a masterpiece of empathetic imagination and storytelling flair. BBC History Magazine (Historical Novel of the Year)

Ryan has produced a literary work, which, through complex yet realistic characters makes sense of the unthinkable. camp officers realise they will be judged by their enemies, is skilfully evoked. And the ending — showing a glimpse of hope, is beautifully judged.
The Irish Examiner

The Constant Soldier … may be [Ryan’s] most accomplished book yet.
The Financial Times

I can’t praise this book highly enough. Everyone should read it, including those, like me, who are wary of reading anything involving the SS. Because it isn’t really about them. It’s about love and humanity that survive even in the direst circumstances.
The Historical Novel Society Review (editor’s choice)