HE RAISED AN ARMY
AGAINST THOSE WHO
TOOK EVERYTHING FROM HIM
They should have picked their enemies more carefully.
Five centuries from now, on a remarkably Earthlike planet that is mankind's sole colony in space, religious fanatics called the "Salafi Ikhwan" have murdered the uncle of former colonel Patrick Hennessey. That was their first mistake, because uncle was rich and Hennessey was rather a good colonel. But they also murdered Hennessey's wife, Linda, and their three small children, and that was their worst mistake for she was the only restraint Hennessey had ever accepted.
From the pile of rubble and the pillar of fire that mark the last resting place of Linda Hennessey and her children arises a new warrior—Carrera, scourge of the Salafis. He will forge an army of ruthless fanatics from the decrepit remains of failed state's military. He will wage war across half a world. He will find those who killed his family. He will destroy them, and those who support them, utterly, completely, without restraint or remorse.
Only when he is finished will there be peace: the peace of an empty wind as it blows across a desert strewn with the bones of Carrera's enemies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In 1974, at age seventeen, Tom Kratman became a political refugee and defector from the PRM (People's Republic of Massachusetts) by virtue of joining the Regular Army. He stayed a Regular Army infantryman most of his adult life, returning to Massachusetts as an unofficial dissident while attending Boston College after his first hitch. Back in the Army, he managed to do just about everything there was to do, at one time or another. After the Gulf War, and with the bottom dropping completely out of the anti-communism market, Tom decided to become a lawyer. (Big mistake, way big. Chilluns, don't do it.) Every now and again, when the frustrations of legal life and having to deal with other lawyers got to be too much, Tom would rejoin the Army (or a somewhat similar group, say) for fun and frolic in other climes. His family, muttering darkly, still puts up with this. His novels for Baen include A State of Disobedience and two collaborations with John Ringo, Watch on the Rhine and Yellow Eyes.
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Product ReviewA disturbing tale chronicles the descent of an ordinary man into a monster in a quest to avenge his family. The writer is competent in the extreme at holding your attention in a vise-like grip. He's far right wing in his views as his afterword seems to indicate but, whoever said you had to agree with a man to know he's good at what he does?
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Product ReviewTom Kratman is on my A-list now, along with Weber and Ringo. This is a heck of an 'alternate history' novel. What if someone had the fortitude and smarts to fight the War on Terror the way it should have been fought? What if someone realized that the 'progressives' were going to be as much or more of an enemy than the Islamic terrorists? Throw in the decendants of Old Earth progressives meddling with New Earth politics, and it becomes a series fans of Ringo or Weber need to check out.
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Product ReviewAn excellent read, moreover I really think this book is thought-provoking. The utter ruthlessness of the protagonists and the methods they are willing to employ to fight the terrorists (they are every bit as ruthless and willing to fight dirty as the terrorists) made me think quite a bit about what we are willing to do in our own war against terrorism, and the immorality of NOT being as utterly ruthless or fighting a 'politically palatable' conflict. I tend to agree strongly with the author that we have a responsibility to our own people and especially our own soldiers to fight the most effective way possible - yes, including torture.
Anyway this was an entertaining read but it also made me think. I've never read any of Tom Kratman's work before, but I'm now a big fan. I'd have no hesitation recommending this book but some of the scenes are not for the faint of heart.Posted on
