A Ben Rhydding man will be signing copies of his new book at Ilkley’s Tesco supermarket on Saturday.

The Sixth Pillar is the fourth novel by Alan Reynolds (pictured) to be published by local publishers Fisher King Publishing.

The start of the book follows an SAS patrol on a seek and destroy mission just before the start of the first Gulf War.

They are sent into southern Iraq looking for Scud missile launchers which at the time were causing havoc in the Middle East. They stumble across a village which seems deserted but of course all is not what it seems and sure enough they find two hidden missile launchers.

In the inevitable fire fight, buildings are destroyed and as the dust settles a lonely figure of a five-year-old boy appears covered in dust. The book is his story as he pursues his destiny to become a martyr.

It also follows the leader of the SAS raid and what happens to him when he leaves the army. He struggles to come to terms with civilian life and finds respite in the solitude of an oil and gas rig in the North Sea.

There is an explosive ending as the security services try to prevent a catastrophe.

Following a free download promotion, the book hit number 1 in the military category of Amazon’s free download chart, and was 196th of all free downloads.

Mr Reynolds says there has been interest in the book all over the world and a radio presenter is reading extracts from the book in his weekly radio show in Idaho in the USA this week. He will be signing copies of his book at the store, on Springs Lane, from 11am to 2pm.