<p>At an army base close to Voortrekkerhoogte in Pretoria, at the height of summer and South Africa's Border War, 18-year-old recruits endure an appalling drill sergeant bent on turning them into killing machines for the sadf. They are sleep deprived, and tension mounts in this group of disparate individuals – boys from all walks of life – expected to function as a unit. <br><br>Andrew Howard-Smythe, a surfer from Durban, is the first to notice the giant Afrikaans boy Reghardt Jurgens, whom he describes as a cross between a heavyweight wrestler and an orangutan. After a particularly gruelling training session on a shooting range, it is Reghardt who snaps, severely injuring three officers before he is restrained. <br><br>The investigation that follows is suspicious right from the start. It turns out that, instead of being prosecuted, Reghardt will be recruited for a sinister military outfit when his propensity for violence is recognised. Thus, this short, hard-hitting novel tracks the making of a henchman. Written in staccato, pointillist prose, Sons of Mud is deeply poetic and original, and a powerful anti-war manifesto.</p>