KCR: Watch on the Rhine (war, scifi)

Watch of the Rhine is a novel of the "Posleenverse" (or Legacy of the Aldenata) series where the Posleen Horde invades Earth and wrecks it completely. This novel is about the European threater, where the Germans are forced to reactivate every last soldier and officer it has... including the few surviving members of the SS. The book is about their struggle to contain the Posleen, and failing that, to delay the Posleen so the civilians have a chance to escape. They have to do this while dealing with interior decent and as predicted a traitor in their midst. Also in their midst, a giant SHIVA tank built to kill Posleen "landers" with a motley crew trying to survive against tremendous odds.

As you can imagine, this is a controversial topic... SS is verboten in Germany... until the Posleen war left the Chancellor no choice at all. Most SS soldiers are honest Germans, but there were some truly evil people... but you need evil people to fight wars too... but can you fight a war of annihilation, and keep your humanity?

The book does make you think, about how much evil is there in war, and can you fight evil with more evil?

Rating: worth a read

KCR: Countdown, the Liberators (modern, war, novel)

Countdown is a new series from Tom Kratman, and Liberators is the first volume (next is "M day"). It is a completely self-contained novel so don't fret about not getting the picture. My main problem with it is there is a LOT of setup for a few bits of action.

Basically, Wes Stauer was a retired soldier, with a girl who likes him, but is bored out of his skull. When the young son of an African tribal chief (a rich one) was kidnapped by a rival tribe, Stauer was recruited to head a rescue. What instead happened is the creation of a new mercenary force, complete with armor, infantry, and close air support. Light armor from South Africa, infantry from all over (mostly ex-Western powers), and quite a few Soviet-bloc helicopters. The novel deals mainly with the formation and training of the force, the few actions the force was sent on (defeating some pirates in the area for recon) and how the "prince" learned the reality of life in Africa (he grew up in the US).

The book is slow, because the cast was a huge ensemble, with crew from all over doing various different things. Even Stauer's girlfriend (ER nurse) had to get survival and weapons training, and you can imagine a pampered city girl may not do too well in such a situation.

If you like the sort of "build-up" Countdown may be for you. If you prefer right into the action, something by Dale Brown may be more up your alley.

Rating: Try it

Countdown: The Liberators (on Amazon)

KCR: The Tuloriad (scifi, adventure, space)

Image via WikipediaThe Tuloriad by John Ringo and Tom Kratman is perhaps one of the weakest books in the "Posleen series", IMHO. In fact, I wonder why the book's written at all, as it doesn't really fit in any where except to provide filler material for the other books later as teasers of this plotline.

The premise was that Earth was 95% destroyed by the invading Posleen horde. However, the horde was finally destroyed (at the conclusion of "Hell's Faire"). Only a few remnants of Posleen remained on Earth. One band was "rescued" by a slightly insane Indowy, supposed allies of Earthlings, and sent on a journey to rediscover the roots of the Posleen, and a human cruiser was sent to chase after them. The humans and Posleen end up fighting a war over... religion... on the ground, in hand-to-hand combat, with the Posleen (who look like Reptilian centaurs) with swords fighting the Swiss Guard wielding pikes. (yes, that's on the cover).

The setup was really really contrived, and madness doesn't offer a convincing explanation of why the Indowy would do such a thing, or even why the humans would sent a ship after this rogue Posleen ship any way. The setup to the battle is fine, but what lead up to it is not.

If you can get past the absurdness of the premise, then the book is enjoyable as sort of adventure, albeit a very... contrived one.

I mainly got this book to complete the series. I would have skipped it if it wasn't just for the collection.

Rating: Skip it (unless you need to complete the collection)

The Tuloriad (The Legacy of the Aldenata)  (on Amazon)

and just to mention the series...

Hell's Faire (Posleen War Series #4)  (on Amazon)

KCR: A Desert Called Peace (novel, scifi)

A Desert Called Peace by Tom Kratman is a book that is meant to cast a parallel Earth... a planet called siply Terra Nova. All the major nations here have an exact parallel on Earth, and one of the nations, Federated States of Columbia, was hit by a Salafist suicide strike involving three airships crashed into major buildings. So the head honcho, Hennesey, whose wife and children died in the attack, started a mercenary unit and vowed to rid the planet of Salafism, by fighting wars that others have problem with.

The problem with this book is it is incredibly brutal. Torture was mentioned several times in the book. The character of Hennessey was so dark, so miserable, he's drunk when he's not on duty. One woman that loved him was practically raped... while he's mostly drunk... AND he called her by the wrong name. (I said he was drunk).

On the other hand, Hennesey's brutal but honest tactics was portrayed as the solution to terrorism. Enemy fired from the mosque? Was it documented? Good, give them warning, then level the mosque. Enemy fired from the hospital? Blow up that floor of the hospital. If enemy pretend to be wounded to kill the medics, no quarter will be given. If enemy don't follow the rules of war, then we won't either.

It was like revenge porn (like those old Charles Bronson "Death Wish" movie series).

The technology was completely earth like, no major changes. All countries / nations have their Earth exact equivalents. This novel is part of multi-novel arc, so reading stuff in order may help you enjoy it more.

Rating: Try it (not for the politically squeamish)

A Desert Called Peace (on Amazon)

You may also want to check out Carnifex, the next book in the series

Carnifex (sequel to A Desert Called Peace) (on Amazon)