Metal Viper
(2026)(The first book in the Kae Zhang Thriller series)
A novel by Sarah Lovett and Ron Schultz
A 12-year-old writes a gentle poem. His regime sentences him to death.
For fans of Daniel Silva, Brad Thor, and John le Carré — a high-stakes international thriller grounded in one of today's most urgent human rights crises.
In Myanmar, ruled by a military junta that kills without mercy, hope itself is a crime.
When twelve-year-old VIKA's simple poem about hope goes viral, the regime arrests him — and sentences the child to death for treason. The uproar reaches KAE ZHANG, leader of Article 5, an elite international organization that has fought torture and political repression in the world's most dangerous places.
Now Kae and her team must do the impossible: extract one child from the heart of a military-criminal empire — while being hunted through the jungle by the junta's most feared weapon. They call him the METAL VIPER.
"An emotionally powerful journey through one of the most repressive lands on the planet. Lovett and Schultz have crafted a gripping tale and a compelling reminder of the wrenching toll of tyranny."
— Eliot Pattison, Edgar Award-winning author of Skull Mantra
"Metal Viper shines a rare — and much-needed — light on the dark realities of one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world."
— Richard Reoch, former Global Media Chief, Amnesty International
Perfect for readers of international thrillers, human rights fiction, political suspense, Southeast Asia spy novels, female-protagonist action thrillers, and books inspired by real-world authoritarian regimes.
Genre: Mystery
For fans of Daniel Silva, Brad Thor, and John le Carré — a high-stakes international thriller grounded in one of today's most urgent human rights crises.
In Myanmar, ruled by a military junta that kills without mercy, hope itself is a crime.
When twelve-year-old VIKA's simple poem about hope goes viral, the regime arrests him — and sentences the child to death for treason. The uproar reaches KAE ZHANG, leader of Article 5, an elite international organization that has fought torture and political repression in the world's most dangerous places.
Now Kae and her team must do the impossible: extract one child from the heart of a military-criminal empire — while being hunted through the jungle by the junta's most feared weapon. They call him the METAL VIPER.
"An emotionally powerful journey through one of the most repressive lands on the planet. Lovett and Schultz have crafted a gripping tale and a compelling reminder of the wrenching toll of tyranny."
— Eliot Pattison, Edgar Award-winning author of Skull Mantra
"Metal Viper shines a rare — and much-needed — light on the dark realities of one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world."
— Richard Reoch, former Global Media Chief, Amnesty International
Perfect for readers of international thrillers, human rights fiction, political suspense, Southeast Asia spy novels, female-protagonist action thrillers, and books inspired by real-world authoritarian regimes.
Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Sarah Lovett's Metal Viper