[Guardian] The life story of Simon Mann reads like pages torn from a thriller. Now the former mercenary and SAS officer is to publish a thriller of his own: an international action adventure written to stay sane in prison in Africa.
"I wanted to write something for my son Freddie, who was 13 at the time, and I realised he would want to read something grown-up."
The manuscript of Kass, hidden by him in prison, was also written partly in honour of Mann’s favourite book, The Thirty-Nine Steps. In a surprising twist, Mann’s novel, full of crime, violence and treachery, is written from the point of view of a woman.
Skipping down a bit to 'who is Mann:'
In 2004, in an affair known as the Wonga coup, Mann and 69 mercenaries attempted to replace Equatorial Guinea’s dictator, Teodoro Obiang, with an exiled opposition politician, Severo Moto. A series of stories in the Observer told how details of the plot had been revealed to the British government, and that "Scratcher" was a nickname given to Mann’s associate, Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark.
Mann’s memoir, Cry Havoc, came out in 2011, but was heavily censored by government lawyers. "It is extremely painful to have a truthful story messed up when it is your one chance to tell it," said Mann, who claims 20% of his story was lost.
Neither time nor ink will permit a fair examination of Mann's 2004 failed efforts in Equatorial Guinea. A fascinating study in non-gov't sanctioned regime change however. I've always believed Thatcher's involvement was an attempt to right his mum's Afrikan wrongs. Others thought he was simply a wanna-be.
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