My Brother' s a Spy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Roysh, a descendant of a famous Cossack (cavalry) military family, was born in 1966 in the country that was, and still is, a headache for the CIA, British MI5, Israel's Mossad and German BND: Russia. In those totalitarian, slowly changing times, the air was still filled with fear and suspicion. Neighbours and work colleagues informed on each other, and the heavy hand of the State was on everything and everyone.
As a power-hungry, secretive, non-drinking (a big rarity in Russia) and smart young man, Alex eyed the intelligence carriere. He wanted to be in the thick of an unseen battle, tried himself to become a secret agent, not just watch movies about the Soviet spies – best in the world.
The opportunity came two years later. During compulsory Army service, he filed an application for the Special Service Academy. It remained unanswered, but not unnoticed. Soon after his discharge, he was summoned, for no apparent reason, to a Militia (Soviet police) station. A middle-aged gent with a characteristic deadpan face sat by the table. A KGB man!
Then, in the late-Gorbachov era, times became tough for the Soviets in general, and the KGB in particular. An internal counter-intelligence school in Kiev was about to close in the wake of expected Ukrainian independence. At the same time, demand for exacting counter-intelligence staff surged. They had to be recruited in some way from zealous volunteers.
The brief affair with secret service was soon over. With a passport in hand and twenty dollars in the pocket, Alex crossed Soviet border. His pilgrimage began in Poland, went on in Ireland and Holland.
His outstanding feeling of humour helped him to survive cold, loneliness, accidental absence of food (save a mushroom picked in a forest) and several assaults by the crooks. This invincible optimism oozes from the book you keep before your eyes. Despite padlocks, Murphy ‘s laws and all odds, there ‘s still a song to sing, a rock to climb – and a life to live.

About the Book
The novel 'My Brother's a Spy' is based on an insiders' knowledge and, in part, on the author’s own experience. It's not one more 'suspense pulp' novel. It's not a typical former spy memoir, either. It's something else, more unique than the former. More colorful than the latter. And more amusing than both taken together!
Alex Roysh is currently living in Europe, with his wife and two children.