Tarawa. Iwo. Normandy. Names that shine in the military history of two worlds, places where brave men stormed ashore and fought their way to victory no matter the odds. But then there are other names: Marathon. Malta. Gallipoli.
Balboa’s Patricio Carrera has driven the Tauran Union from his adopted country, driven them out with appalling loss and worse humiliation. That’s not enough though. To finally finish his enemies, Carrera needs to draw them back for a more telling defeat. He cannot take the battle to them because, beyond some long range bombardment capability, he cannot reach them. But when they return, they don’t plan to come alone; they insist on having someone else do most of the bleeding for them.
Carrera understands this. And that’s why he’s provoked the Zhong Guo mercilessly, infuriating their ruling Empress. He needs the Zhong in the war, to buck up the Taurans to continue the war to its bitterest end.
But to get to Carrera, the Zhong must take the Isla Real, the strongest island fortress on two worlds. In the process, they’ll learn why Marines never forget those other names. . . .
Gallipoli... Malta... Marathon.
Carrera’s enemies are about to learn why the expression "blood‑stained water" is not just a literary allusion.
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Product ReviewLet me first point out that Tom Kratman is a brilliant author and thinker, and you will find yourself loving his works not just for the story but for the philosophy. I read this book in a 6 hour continuous period because I love his novels. However, I found myself disappointed with this specific novel. While it was decent, it honestly progressed the story very little, much of it was like reading the 2nd half of the third book of LOTR, filler after the main events have taken place. While I understand this is an eARC, I suspect not much more will be changed when full release takes place. I loved every book in this series, but I feel like this book was meant to be half the length it actually was. Usually when I read a Kratman book I get a book worth two books, but this one was worth half of one.
I would add that it feels like 3 chapters at the end of the novel are missing, midway through the novel I expected it to cover at least half the Tauran invasion but it feels like it only managed a third or less. Before release if possible I would strongly suggest you add a few chapters to the end which would make it a much better novel. Perhaps some chapters regarding activities in the Tauran Union similar to the coverage in Micheal Williamson's "The Weapon," or the initial deployments for the Tauran Union. As the other comment implied, this book seems like a prequel to a great novel, but in itself is not a great novel.
I'm not sure how much an eARC and the production novel change but I hope there's alot, this is honestly the first ARC I've read that felt incomplete.
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Product ReviewThe Rods and the Axe is the second book in a sub-trilogy of Legion Del Cid that began with Come and Take Them and will conclude(I assume) with A Pillar of Fire By Night.
The whole point of this sub-trilogy is that Carrera needs to break the machinations of the Peace Fleet, both as vengeance for his first family _and_ in order for his adopted country to survive as a sovereign nation for the next couple of generations.
To do that, he needs to break their Tauran and Zhong allies. To do _that_, he needs to get said allies to attack Balboa. Come and Take Them concerned itself with preparing for this campaign. A Pillar of Fire By Night will be the bulk of the actual _fighting_ of this campaign. But the Rods and the Axe is about _starting_ the campaign, about getting the Taurans and the Zhongs so committed to the fight that they won't leave until Patricio annihilates them. And Tom accomplishes this with his usual mix of lawyerly directness and soldierly subtlety.
As the middle third of what is effectively a single multi-megaword novel, The Rods and the Axe has the inevitable weakness that it will not be complete until A Pillar of Fire By Night is published. But what a tale the completed trilogy will be! And in the meantime, Tom has not skimped on the essence of Kratmanliness that infuses the Legion Del Cid.
By the way, we've all caught that once the Taurans and the Zhongs are crippled, the only Terra Nova group able to keep Carrera from going after the Peace Fleet will be the FSC, right? Think about it, and grin toothily in anticipation.Posted on
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Product ReviewLike the other reviewers mentioned this is not a stand alone book. You have to have read the previous book to understand where you are now and there is a lack of conclusion. Also timeline wise this doesn't get you past the Amazon book. Reading different viewpoints of the same war is interesting, but confusing to try to keep the timelines straight. Jumping around to different locations didn't help my confusion. I still enjoyed the book, but can't wait until he releases the final book so I can read all 3 books of the invasion back to back and hopefully make more sense of it.
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Product Reviewgood writing some interesting stuff but mostly just tying up lose end and fleshing out the story, it ends at a point slightly before the ending of amazon, if your looking for much progression of the story you wont get much but you will get a clearer picture of how all the various pieces have been put into place and why best thing i can say about this book is its a stepping stone book that should deliver a great next novel
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