Information on my books
As readers of my Old Jarhead Blog know, my personal reading is focused on history, politics and economics, professional reading on management and healthcare. But sometimes I need a break, and nothing is better for that than one of Tom Kratman's military science fiction novels. Of course, Kratman is not entirely a "break" from reading about politics or the military, but he is enthralling. Carnifex is a sequel to A Desert Called Peace" and like all good sequels, it can stand on its own. But if you haven't read Desert, you'll be doing yourself a favor if you read it first. Kratman is a retired Army LtCol, and one would expect his mastery of the feel of close infantry combat to be good. But in this book, he shows equal understanding of war at sea and in the air. His detailed plotting and fully believable characters will hold you through this long novel, full of the twists and turns of a global conflict on several fronts. It is the Earth and all our problems, including the "War on Terror," set on a distant planet, centuries in the future. But the "War on Terror" (or perhaps better the "War against Salafist Jihadism") on Nova Terra is being fought by some men who are as ruthless as hard as the terrorists in defense of family and freedom, despite the hand-wringing of the usual collection of progressives. This is the third Kratman novel I've read. The first was Caliphate, which I also recommend, about the war here after a terror nuke strike on the US. I have others waiting for when the non-fiction pile shows a little light--or the brain needs a change of pace. One is surprised that he can turn out novels so rapidly, at such a high quality of writing. After reading his books, rich with his philosophy of leadership, this old Marine would have been proud to sever under Kratman's command. Whether I would have measured up to his standards is another question, beyond knowing at this stage of my life. Lastly, the Author's Afterword in Carnifex is a bonus, and worth alone what you will pay for the book. Send it to your Congresscritter.
Excerpt: And the ugly fact is that whatever can be said of apartheid, by virtually every measure -- especially rates of crime -- the new South Africa is exponentially worst than the old. Doubtless, stripped of all of the hideous details regarding the quality of life that serve to distinguish post-apartheid South Africa from its counterpart of yesteryear -- astronomical rates of crime, corrupt and incompetent government, etc. -- Cannibal loses its identity as the work that it is.
