James Rouch

Career

Rouch is best known for authoring fictional war novels, notably those featuring 'The Zone', a hypothetical battleground in central Europe during World War III. The first of these was entitled Hard Target and was published in 1980, with ten novels so far published in the series. Rouch is a founding member of the literary adviser service, Author Management. Originally created as a literary agent service for new writers, Author Management has since become a literary and manuscript advisory company, providing authors with advice and assistance in polishing their writing and help in navigating the publishing industry. This change was predicated by the fact that Rouch had a leg amputation after contracting diabetes and could no longer travel as he once did as a literary agent. Rouch's literary leanings have seen him spend much time converting responses from his many rejected clients into references for his website. As yet, he has not converted responses from any who have gone to be published. He still resides in UK, living on a housing estate.

Non-fiction

Chemical Warfare (1992)

Fiction

Three novels of the Second World War:

Tiger (1979)

Gateway to Hell (1979)

The War Machines (1980)

The Zone (series)

"The Zone" is a series of speculative fiction. Comprising ten novels, the series describes a conflict as it would have or might have been between Warsaw Pact forces and NATO of the 1980s and early 1990s in Europe. A plausible future history when originally launched, the series was overtaken by the dissolution of the Soviet Union and of the Warsaw Pact and the Unification of Germany; Rouch nevertheless continued it as effectively an alternate history. Part of the apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction World War III genre, the series takes it name from a large strip of no-mans land in West and East Germany where nuclear, biological and chemical weapons have been used by both sides indiscriminately, creating a contaminated wasteland. However, unlike in many other writers' concept of the Third World War, in Rouch's depiction the Americans and Soviets mutually avoid launching nuclear strikes at the other's homeland, keeping the war limited and allowing it to drag on for years. The novels follow the actions of a multi-national combat unit and its series of special missions during the course of the conflict throughout this strip of ruined Europe. The Zone 1- Hard Target (1980) The Zone 2- Blind Fire (1980) The Zone 3- Hunter-Killer (1981) The Zone 4- Sky Strike (1981) The Zone 5- Overkill (1982) The Zone 6- Plague Bomb (1986) The Zone 7- Killing Ground (1988) The Zone 8- Civilian Slaughter (1989) The Zone 9- Body Count (1990) The Zone 10- Death March ( 2007: PDF version only)

The series was originally published by Kensington Books under the Zebra Books imprint. The tenth novel was published on-line in 2007 by the Australian online-publisher, Imprint, available only in PDF format. Imprint also has the current publishing rights to all ten of The Zone novels, reprinting them only online in PDF format.

Reviews, criticism and impact

The Zone 10- Death March does not follow on from the previous novel, The Zone 9- Body Count (1990). Several characters featured in this novel have either deserted (Libby) or have died (Boris, Clarence, Thorne)in previous novels.