Terra Nova: The Wars of Liberation - Tom Kratman and Company

 A charming good AFTERNOON, to all my internet friends and neighbors! Usually, I start writing fresh in the morning, but I’m putting myself on an accelerated pace. And, to my family members that have clicked on this link, as soon as you can make it up here, my schedule is clear, and it will be RANGE TIME!

Once upon a time, and multiple times since, I pointed out that my FAVORITE reading material is military science fiction. By and large, that is still the case. Yes, it’s true that for the 2019 Dragon Awards I had to review something that claimed to be in that category, and found it to be small-minded, depraved, poorly written, and nasty. Didn’t have any impact on my opinion of the genre, however; it just provided me with a good reason to suspect Simon and Schuster of attempting to curry favor with haters, and to be very careful of any endeavor featuring an author with a name rhyming with Hameron Kurley.

At any rate, I find that when I hit a period of stress, my comfort-food-for-the-brain is almost always military science fiction. And that’s why I picked up a copy of “Terra Nova: The Wars of Liberation” as soon as it became available. I was not able to review at the time; I was really even having problems reading. 

An Amazon Associating With A Gun

That's a joke, of sorts. 

It's an Amazon Associates link;

(I get paid if you click it and then buy something)

I was sure this volume was going to be balm to my disturbed self, and I was right.  I have enjoyed the previous installments in this series by Tom Kratman, going back to 2007. Unlike the other eight books (if I have counted correctly), this volume is a shared universe, with 11 authors, in addition to Kratman himself, providing material.

Beginning with the second in the series, all of the books have an introductory section called “What Has Gone Before,” which does an EXCELLENT job of briefing the reader on the high points of prior story development. That has become rather lengthy with new material being added, but I am going to condense it, ENORMOUSLY:

In the not-too-distant future, a gateway to another universe is discovered by accident; an Earth-like world is included. Named Terra Nova, it is initially seen as a spot for exploration and colonization. Before too much time has passed,  a degrading political climate on the home world causes the powers-that-will-be to decide to dump all the malcontents from Earth there, where they can be abandoned, exploited, or worked to death at the whim of the planetary administrators. Eventually, those on Terra Nova rebel.

There: EIGHT books, summarized in 82 words. Awesome, if I do say so myself!

The 12 stories in this volume are each given a bit of prefatory material, which ties them together and makes the context clear. I’ll not review them, except to say that you don’t want to skip them; they are interesting, and they do include background.

The stories:

1. The Long, Dark Goodnight by Vivienne Raper. This tells the story of the failed first attempt to colonize Terra Nova. Earlier volumes give the bones of a story of cultural conflict exploding into violence. This story breathes life into those bones. The price paid by those who tried to keep the peace comes across almost as clearly as if it were happening in real-time.  

2. The Raiders by Mike Massa. The UN holds dominion over the planet. It’s not a monolith, though; there are facets! And those facets look out for their own interest, and really don’t mind making others pay the price. Massa once again shows the perspective of troops who know that the price they may have to pay is ultimate; they will do their job, as long as it’s worth it. 

3. Sacrifice by Peter Grant. The hatred between competing factions that existed on Earth turned out to be the most easily exported commodity. True, the planet is designed to kill intelligent life. Unfortunately, people seem to have that same design. In opposition to that is a man of war, turned to peace, who must again take up the tools of war.

 4. Doing Well by Doing Good by Chris Nuttall. Not every UN official was intent on literal and/or figurative rape. Those who attempted to perform ethically found themselves at odds with The System.

 5. No Hypocritical Oath by Robert E. Hampson. This story combines techno-thriller, with a bit of romance, and the nastiest examples of personal bullying and vindictiveness. And then more, in the form of institutional bullying and vindictiveness.

6. Bellona’s GIFT by Monalisa Foster. It’s not easy to be the child of the leader; no one REALLY feels safe around you. So, how can you feel safe around them? But, outsiders really don’t know the rules.

7. The Panther Men by Justin Watson. A Colonel of the warriors, and a Prince of his people, Alexander has conflicting loyalties even before he sets his feet on the ground. Once there, though, his conflict grows more intense. On the one hand, he finds purity in the cleanness of straight-forward combat. On the other hand, the things he finds he much do seem to be killing his soul.

8. Desertion by Kacey Ezell. Captain Lele Campbell can fly like an angel, but her world is nothing like Heaven. She must always be on her guard; her commanding officer makes no secret of his lascivious intentions toward her, and the system provides no escape. Everywhere she turns, she finds more betrayal. Everywhere. 

9. Blood, Sweat, and Tears by Christopher L. Smith. Whether a fish is caught or not, the bait is certain to be mangled. All Marko wants is to be able to do his job. However, his reputation prevents him from fading into safe obscurity.

10. Wellington by Alexander Macris. There are a very few locations on the planet where the UN isn’t  an ever-present force. Wellington is one of those. For an organizational bully, that would be enough reason to intervene. The presence of a thought criminal, and the temerity of locals who try to provide sanctuary, are just the icing on the cake.

11. HUÁNUCO by Lawrence Railey. Two American ex-pats, with significant skills as independent software contractors, run afoul of the authorities in Mexico, and find themselves deported to a somewhat similar country in Terra Nova. From scant existence as agricultural workers, they are given an opportunity to help their drug-producing boss strike back at the oppressors from Earth.

 12. The Redeemer by Tom Kratman. General Titus Ford is given the job of straightening up all of the messes that exist on Terra Nova, and the title of Inspector General. His actual power isn’t limited at all by the scope of his job, or his titles. The peoples of Terra Nova received some benefit due to the incompetence of their masters. No longer; Ford has a better idea.

In his Afterword, Kratman suggests that he might have two more conventional works in the series, and two more of these shared-universe collections. I suppose we can get by with that; as long as he continues in other areas, that is.

We all need comfort food for the brain, after all.

Peace be on your household.