TEHRAN – A Persian science fiction recounting the story of a U.S. RQ-170 spy drone captured by Iran in 2011 has been published.

“Monster Hunt” written by Mohammad Sarshar for young adults was unveiled during a special meeting on Saturday at Patoqe Ketab, a bookstore in Tehran.

Sarshar and writers Vajiheh Samani, Davud Amirian and Vahid Yaminpur attended the meeting. IRGC General Mehdi Lotfi Niasar’s family, who was martyred during an Israeli attack on the T4 airbase in Homs, Syria in 2018, were in attendance at the meeting. 

The book tells the story of the CIA RQ-170 spy plane, which was designed to be the most advanced drone in the world. Its successful operation in Afghanistan causes General Hercules to choose it for a top-secret reconnaissance flight over the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Plant in Iran. The mission is so complex that it heightens the political tensions between the two countries.

In his speech at the meeting, Sarshar pointed out his allusion to Lotfi Niasar in his preface to the book and said, “I hope Israel will be wiped out soon to pave the way so we can be familiar with the great martyrs.”

Amirian praised the novel for its compelling story and also criticized Sarshar for entering top Iranian personalities to the story.   

Samani, for her part, lamented the lack of “good Persian novels” to replace foreign stories translated into Persian and said, “However, Iranian writers have begun a new movement over the past few years, and I hope we will have an increase in the number of stories by Persian writers for children and young adults to replace the foreign books such as ‘Lord of the Rings’.”

In addition, Yaminpur said that he is happy that writers such as Sarshar are working in the field of Iranian children’s literature.

Sarshar autographed some copies of the book published by the Maaref Publishing Company for the children attending the meeting.

Photo: Writer Mohammad Sarshar autographs a copy of his novel “Monster Hunt” for a reader during the unveiling ceremony of the book at Patoqe Ketab in Tehran on May 30, 2020. (Mehr/Shahab Qayyumi)

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