And after my dutiful fandom rec I simply have to recommend an original (free downloadable) story.

Title: Special Forces (1-3)
Fandom: Original Fiction
Pairing: OMC/OMC
Categories: action, war, drama, angst, h/c
Length: super! epic (app. 1,000,000 words, almost 2,800 pages)
Warnings: violence, genocide, rape, torture, suicide, language, war, homophobia, xenophobia, bdsm, breathplay, bloodplay, knife play, fisting, transgender issues, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, infidelity

Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: Alexandr Voinov and Marquesate

Summary: This is the epic story of a Soviet Spetsnaz soldier and a Scottish SAS soldier. Vadim Krasnorada and Dan McFadyen are two enemies who meet in the line of duty during the early days of the Soviet Union's last war in Afghanistan. Behind enemy lines respect and finally love grow...but that's only the official version.

The reality of these two men is dark, brutal, fuelled by aggression and insane lust. Steeped in pain and killing, these Special Forces soldiers meet in 1980. Their intense hatred caused by rape, revenge and torture turns into fucked-up lust and years of secret encounters in the dangerous labyrinth of Kabul and the Afghan mountains. Time, despair and desolation smoothe down the sharpness of hatred, its venom drained with each physical encounter; lust helps to form an understanding that only two men of the same kind can share.

This novel spans across over twenty-five years of their lives. It's harsh and violent, but life is cruel and they just do what they need to survive.

Review:
Let me start with saying that all of the warnings listed above are not just as a precaution. This is a very violent story whose central pairing spends almost the whole start out (Part One: Soldiers) with one or both protagonists being hurt or even hurting each other. From rape to KGB torture, carving writing into someone's back and detailed description of mass graves, the story is a sometimes cruel but always gripping tale about two soldiers who hurt each other long enough to fall in love and become co-dependent on each other.

Alexandr does not shy away from using bad language or deal with political topics. The story starts during the Afghanistan war in the early 80ies and takes us to almost every major hot sport during the 25 years it covers. The battles and the life as a soldier is shown in a way that makes the story very believable and forces the characters to deal with difficult situations and physical as well as emotional traumas.

If you are someone who does not flinch when being confronted with brutal and violent scenes and if you are willing to read 1,000,000 words, I highly recommend reading this incredible world that had me in it's grip the last 6 days.

Special Forces