Dublin, 1914. As Ireland stands on the brink of political crisis, Europe plunges headlong into war. Among the thousands of Irishmen who volunteer to fight for the British Army is Stephen Ryan, a gifted young maths scholar whose working class background has marked him out as a misfit among his wealthy fellow students.

Sent to fight in Turkey, he looks forward to the great adventure, unaware of the growing unrest back home in Ireland.

But his romantic notions of war are soon shattered on the rocky shores of Gallipoli and

he is forced to wonder where his loyalty lies when he returns home in 1916 to find Dublin in the grip of rebellion and his own brother fighting against the Government. Everything has changed utterly, and in a world gone mad his only hope is his growing friendship with the brilliant and enigmatic Lillian Bryce.

But even this is sorely tested as he is thrust into the deadly grind of the Ypres salient where, despite his outstanding abilities, the unending horrors of the war take their inevitable toll.

Reeling from the harsh reality of everyday death in the frozen trenches to the savagery of the war underground, the nervous strain threatens to blot out everything, even love, and as he struggles to come to terms with his own identity and allegiances, he finds himself pushed to the breaking point.

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'A beautifully written, objective tale of one man's war...Devoid of rants against the High Command and armchair generals, and with the interwoven love story remaining understated, The Soldier's Song is a view of a changing world gone mad, and will stay with me for a long time.' --Daily Mail

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'Unfussy but strong storytelling… Even if Alan Monaghan's debut novel takes in serious subjects - the First World War, the 1913 Lockout, political maneuvering by the Irish Citizen Army, the 1916 Rising - it remains accessible and compelling, with a strong emotional thrust... Based on this engaging, unsentimental debut, he'll deservingly find a wide readership.' --Sunday Business Post