D.T. Read's Mountains of the Gods and Crucible of the Gods (The Seventh Shaman Books Two and Three)

Listen folks, go read these books!

REVIEW WRITTEN! PUT IT IN THE CAN!

*Takes celebratory gulp of Coca-Cola Classic*

Sorry to those who are disappointed by that statement but I don't really drink and Mountain Dew is the Hard Stuff, so...

Yeah.

Okay, so I'm not that lazy. Usually. That's not the whole review. Probably. 

Being dead serious though, D.T. Read has outdone herself with Mountain of the Gods and Crucible of the Gods. These books kick so much afterburner that I had to congratulate her on her Facebook page before I had finished Crucible.It and Mountains are that good. I thought Running from the Gods,  the first book, was amazeballs (and it is) but these two kick it up a notch. I guess I kind of expected that, but I didn't really expect that.

 I mean, the first book in a series like this is usually world-building and moves a bit slowly. This is especially true when the first book is basic military and Military Occupational Specialty training. Things take a minute to build to where they really take off. Starting with Mountains that's not really the case anymore.

Mountains of the Gods is the story of a young pilot's introduction to real-world combat. He serves in a military that is currently losing a war and needs him out and doing his job. He does his best to do it, too. Don't get me wrong Akuleh Masou (AKA Ku) is a terrific pilot and he's game for the fight, but things seem not to go the way he wants them to at times. The historian in me believes that this just might be because the other side gets a say in what happens, but it hurts Ku just the same.

And that is something that is missing in a lot of military fiction. I just had this conversation with a friend of mine on Sunday night while I was out with some friends from a fan organization that I'm part of. The author of the series is amazing and writes truly awesome books (that's why I joined the organization) but I hadn't really thought about that until recently and I wonder if it's his background as a history student that causes that. Historians, after all focus mostly on the Butcher's Bill and not as much on individual stories, unless they're talking about some general somewhere.

Ku faces war and all of its ugliness head on. I don't want to spoil too much here, but he faces the psychic shock of the experience in a very visceral way. Ku is not the hero of a World War II movie that was made during the 1950s. He goes through a lot and it beats him up sometimes. He has to deal with the flashbacks afterward. More than anything else I've read, with the possible exception of J.A. Sutherland's Alexis Carew series, Ku has to deal with the things they don't show on the recruiting poster. 

It almost feels paradoxical to say this, since military fiction is a lot older than I am and leaving that part out has always been part of a working formula that sells, but it adds a lot to the story. I've read a lot of heroes of a lot of works that don't seem as real as Ku and his friends do and it's because they deal with the parts that people don't want to talk about. Seriously. I'm a huge Mel Gibson fan and Hal Moore didn't feel this real in We Were Soldiers  and Hal Moore was a real guy who really did what they show on the screen. 

I guess that's what really drew me into these books. Ku acts like he would act in real life. He deals with problems as they come up, just like he would in real life. He struggles with a lot. I've been there. I haven't had the same problems, never having been anywhere near a combat environment, but struggling is a feeling that I'm a lot more familiar with than I wish I was.

Let me put this out there, too. It's spoiling but I can't help it. Ku has to seek out help for his mental issues at one point. His PTSD hits him hard and he find someone to lead him through it. Again, mine wasn't combat related but I've had to do the same. It wasn't easy for me. It wasn't easy for Ku. There probably aren't many people on the planet who find it easy to ask for help with mental issues. But he did it. I did it and so have many others. But we've endured and so has Ku. He also has a tendency to bounce back from physical trauma that is truly impressive. I'm wondering if a particular injury he suffers wasn't stolen from something that happened in the real world, because it feels realistic but has just a bit of "I don't think you could make that up" to it. 

Maybe I'm spending too much time on the protagonist and maybe I don't care. Ku is on my Top Ten List of Fictional Characters to Have a Drink With Someday, Except never, because he doesn't really exist, but you get the idea. It's not all just about what he does while in uniform either. I really have to tighten the snerk collar here, but Ku does things in an honorable manner in his personal life when it is very obviously hard for him to do it. He's a solid dude, the guy you want at your back when things go awry.

*SIGH*

Yes I'll have his babies, but only if he asks politely.

Something else I've noticed that I don't always see in Science Fiction: Read treats matters of faith with respect and reverence. It has happened elsewhere. I've reviewed Declan Finn's work here a lot and he's a man whose faith comes out in his work. J. Michael Strac, Straz, Stratz...

The guy who wrote Babylon 5, who I believe is an atheist, was also very respectful of religious beliefs but that's not always the case. Asimov wrote a planned future of the human race with no mention of religion or religious movements. Suzanne Collins never put so much as an "Oh God" in The Hunger Games. The organizers of David Weber's own con wouldn't let him hold a prayer meeting on a Sunday even though he's an actual deacon in his church. Seventh Shaman is so named because it involves a lot of religion which, in its own way, is closer to something you'd see in Dungeons and Dragons than what you'd get in a JMS work but I say that lovingly. I've been a D&D guy since Second Edition. I'm still trying to roll the stats to get a paladin. It's not just the way the religion feels either. It's the effects granted by its chanters which are considerable.

Speaking of religion, there are parts of what Ku deals with that remind me of things I've read in the Old Testament. I won't say what and I won't say how, but I have a feeling that Read may have done a bit of study in her time. I just get that feeling based on things. I don't want to reveal too much here so I'll move on. If you're familiar with the Old Testament though, I dare you to read Crucible and tell me I'm wrong. 

Ku, of course, is not the only character in the book. People like Hanuk, Gram, Derry, Kimmie, etc..

They make sense too. Pretty much anyone Ku comes in contact with has motivations and takes actions that make sense in their own mind. That doesn't mean that everyone is friendly or that it's all hunky-dory, but once you're immersed in Read's work you'll stay that way until your dispatcher calls and sends you on another call...

Oh, sorry. That's more of a 'me' thing I guess.

The action in both books is realistic and engaging. Things go bang and boom when they should and the actions taken by Ku and his fellow pilots are both realistic and believable. At times it almost feels like you're in the cockpit. As mentioned previously, the other side gets a vote in ways that matter and that makes the lives of Ku and his fellow pilots interesting in ways that they probably wished that it wouldn't but that's how it would work in the real world. 

There is a lot of foreshadowing going on here. In some ways it feels like the prophecy in Harry Potter. It's not quite the same though and the outcome doesn't seem quite as obvious. I'm pretty sure I know what's coming but not exactly when or how or what it will mean once it happens and I'm not sure the characters in the books do either. I'm okay with that because it adds a little more intrigue to an already tense series and I can't wait to see it resolved.

I got into this series too early. It's not done yet and I need to know where it's going. I know the fourth book will be out soon. I'm thinking there might be one or two more after that, but I'm not making any promises. I can hope though, right? It's not like I'm losing it or anything.

Probably?

Maybe?

Well, let's just say that shaving my head keeps me from pulling my hair out.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Missiles Fired

Mountains of the Gods

D.T. Read
Theogony Books, 2022

Crucible of the Gods

D.T. Read
Theogony Books, 2022

Mountains of the Gods and Crucible of the Gods are available for purchase at the following links. If you click one of the links and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

P.A. Piatt's Cherry Drop

So I was kind of reluctant to read Cherry Drop. See, I had read and reviewed P.A. Piatt's Redcaps Rising and, while it was a very good book, it was very humorous. I was kind of concerned that Cherry Drop was some kind of weird allusion to a cold medication and that this was going to be some weird, humorous craziness. I mean, I like humor in my Urban Fantasy but well-written Military Science Fiction has this sort of feeling to this that the type of humorous atmosphere in Redcaps Rising is just not conducive to. I wasn't going to read it. It wasn't going to happen. Then one of my friends, who I don't believe has ever read Redcaps Rising, but reads lots of MilSF,  said something nice about it. I trust my buddy's judgment, so I thought I'd try it. 

I'm glad I did. Cherry Drop is every bit as well-written as Redcaps Rising, but it doesn't have that comedic feel. It has the military feel that it needs. I'm extremely happy to report that it works. I felt like I was there with these guys. Now, part of that may very well be that it's been hotter than the inside of Satan's armpit here in Michigan, but whatever works. They were in the jungle. I was baking my behind off in a cab in a hot, humid place. It just felt right. I will grant you that there were no crazed aliens trying to eat me, but I can feel comfortable thanking God for small favors there.

The story begins with our hero, one Second Lieutenant Abner Fortis, about to make his first drop into combat IE his Cherry Drop. He's been sent to lead a short platoon whose last platoon leader is no longer available for duty. His men don't trust him. His platoon sergeant is a corporal. Yes, you read that right. His troops are kind of cranky...

And they send him on a mission to a planet where he has no way to contact higher. So he's on his own, with a little help from a non-promotable subordinate and a mess lands in his lap. Granted, this SHOULD have been a milk run but it turns out that it wasn't. Fortis watches everything drop in the pot when he should have spent his deployment napping and waiting for his ride home to show.

There are a lot of action sequences in Cherry Drop and they are all well done. Piatt has a knack for keeping things moving and unpredictable. Fortis, being a cherry, has a tendency to do the dumb thing every once in awhile but that actually fits. There is a reason so few second lieutenants make it back from their first combat assignment in the real world. The fact remains that Fortis has just enough luck, enough brains and enough support from his NCOs that he makes it through and actually manages to get some stuff right. 

The initial enemy Fortis and his troops face is not all that creative or dangerous. I mean, the bugs can kill you but they rely on numbers and ferocity as opposed to tactics and strategy. The troops are missing a key piece of intel on them and they still manage to win some battles before they figure it out. 

Fortis's Marines face a situation that would not be familiar to many United States Marines in that they get hung out on a branch with no help and a jacked up situation. Fortunately for them they, also like real world Marines, manage to bring themselves through somehow. No matter what the odds, they seem to at least keep their integrity intact. 

Of course, every Corps has its traditions and the ISMC is no exception. Whether it's using slang terms (like DINLI, which stands for Do It, Not Like It and is a term I'd actually like to see pass into general usage because it works so well.) or brewing homemade hooch in violation of regulations (which, oddly enough, is called DINLI) the ISMC has things that need to happen and they do. I love that aspect of the story because it's part of what make the book work. Every military force has its own idiosyncrasies and that is one major part of what makes Cherry Drop work.

The enemy is not who it initially appears to be. This is a good thing, because it makes things more interesting. The reason I never liked Pern (and yes, I know that's heresy) is because thread sucks as an enemy. It is mindless, falls in sheets and has no real ability to fight smart or use tactics. I can't deal with that kind of an enemy. After awhile, we see someone new enter the fight, and they have a lot more intelligence and adaptability. Of course, none of that means that their superiors are going to see eye to eye with their decisions or that they're going to be exceedingly popular with the public afterward, but c'est la vie, right?

I like reading newer MilSF because the tech makes sense. There's so much that the modern military has that a writer forty years ago could never have imagined that it boggles the mind. Still, when I see troops in a far future story they should be using things like unmanned drones with webcams. It makes no sense if they're not. Now, maybe I'm wrong and at some point in the future we'll invent something that's man portable and works better. I'm not counting on it though, and until a better idea crops up, they need to be there. A lot of really well written older science fiction is missing concepts that your average Joe would come up with now simply because no one had thought of it then. I'm not blaming the authors. I get why it's not there. I'm just saying that as a fan reading a story now, some things need to be there and Piatt includes them. 

All in all, this one's a keeper. Also, I'm kind of bitter that I didn't realize that I could nominate it for a Dragon Award until it was too late.

Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Lost Troopers

Cherry Drop: Book One of Abner Fortis, ISMC
P.A. Piatt
Theogony Books, 2021

Cherry Drop: Book One of Abner Fortis, ISMC is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Christopher Nutall's Ark Royal

What happens when humanity becomes confident that they're the only species in space and gets comfortable? What happens when no one plans for conflict with an alien race? How about if humanity is so worried about border skirmishes with other Earth nations that they're not looking outward for trouble? Well, if they're in Christopher Nutall's Ark Royal they start off getting their asses kicked. It makes sense.

Ark Royal features a few classic tropes that just make my day. The first and most obvious is old-ship-comes-out-of-mothballs-to-kick-ass. I like this trope, but Nutall does it better than most, simply by providing a reason that the Ark Royal is able to light it up. Simply put the Ark Royal is armored. The new ships are not. The older ship can take a beating that would leave nothing of the newer ships but a debris pile. I like the trope and it's even better when it makes sense. Nutall got this one straight as well.

Ark Royal is a tale of redemption not just for the ship but for her crew and her captain. The vast majority of the crew was stationed on the ship because they were problems. Commodore Sir Theodore Smith is the captain of the ship... but he should have been cashiered because of his drinking problem. He starts off the book hung over and craving another drink. He manages to bring himself back from the abyss though. The whole crew does.

In a weird sort of way (and I'm not sure if Nutall intended this or not) the redemption of the crew is also the redemption of humanity. The human race has become complacent. It has done nothing to protect itself from outside attack. Humanity has not armored its carriers. It has no workable plans in place to protect itself from attack and no one trained to handle a peaceful first contact. Yet, when the Ark Royal's crew gets itself together, things get better for the Earth. The first victories against the aliens are led by a recovering alcoholic and his misfit crew.

It's odd too that the Ark Royal is a ship of the British Royal Navy but is put together from parts of only God and her captain know how many various nations. Honestly, I'd almost bet that the captain would have to sit down and count. This reflects the fact that all nations of the Earth are going to need to work together to repel the alien threat. Again, I'm not sure if Nutall meant it this way or not but the ship again takes on the mantle of the entire human race. The juxtaposition is a fascinating aspect of the story. I'm just not sure it was intended.

Nutall's alien invaders are mysteries throughout this first book. I like this approach. The humans know nothing about their enemies. They just know that these things showed up and started killing people. They're not even sure why or what the enemy wants. They work out how to fight them based on trial and error. It's all they can do. I am often a fan of the reader knowing things that the protagonist does not but this time I think Nutall has done the right thing.

Now, I will grant that there are eight books that follow this one (Ark Royalis the first in the series) and at some point I hope that Nutall makes more of the alien thought process known to his readers. That only makes sense. In an ongoing series more will most likely be revealed. I just started this series though, so I can't comment on whether or how it happens.

The combat scenes in the book work well. It helps that the aliens aren't stupid. The Ark Royal has a weapon that the ships they've fought previously have already abandoned and it catches them flat-footed.It makes sense in the context of the story. Just as important though, is the fact that the aliens respond and find an intelligent way to fight back. This leads humanity to adjust their tactics... and so on. This is how wars actually work in the real world though, so that makes sense. Both sides use whatever information they can find about the other side against them.

Commodore Smith's superiors don't trust him as much as he would probably like and that makes sense too. He is a known alcoholic. It's interesting though, to see how the loyalty of the people under his command shines through when they're asked to spy on him. It's twice as interesting to watch how the perceptions of one particular character change over the course of the book. Nutall does a good job showing the interlocking and sometimes conflicting duties and loyalties of a member of the military. Loyalty is key but it's not always clear which loyalty is more important. Nutall shows this clearly and his characters agonize. It fits. The battles with family/marital loyalty make sense as well. He even teases a problem with for the next book. I'm betting dollars to doughnuts that I've figured out at least part of it, but I could be wrong. I haven't bought it yet. (Sorry, Mr. Nutall. Rent was due.)

Smith and crew are hardcore and resilient. They think outside of the box. In short, they're precisely what they need to be to defeat a force that superior in both technology and numbers. It's often a close run thing but they fight and/or find a way through. Their missions turn out at least marginally successful because they refuse for them not to. This is a crew you can really admire. I'd go to war with them.

I'm trying to find something to complain about and it's just not working. I'm not going to say that this is a perfect work of Science Fiction but there are no MAJOR flaws that I could detect.I was never thrown from the story. The only characters I found annoying were the ones that were supposed to be annoying. I'm no expert on the tactics of space combat but everything in the book made sense from a fan's point of view.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Mass Drivers

Ark Royal
Christopher Nutall
Self Published, 2014

Ark Royal is available at the link below:

Memorial Day Post: John R. Taylor's Return to Normandy

(Yes, I know that I'm a day late and a dollar short but this is my annual Memorial Day post dedicated to all of those who went off to fight for the United States of America and didn't make it home. "Home of the Free because of the Brave" is a cliche but it's true. This post is also dedicated to anyone who has lost a loved one in the service of the USA. Let's not forget that every service member who passes leaves a family behind.)

There is very little in the world as satisfying as reading a work of military science fiction written by a veteran. They can portray things in a manner that is believable and authentic because they've been there. The relationships between the characters work on a level that can't be faked. The tactics make sense. The characters are neither cowardly nor psycho gung-ho and eager to die. They are, in short, just like members of the real life military. All of this is true of John R Taylor's Return to Normandy. He nailed it. I really enjoyed this book.

The premise of the book is pretty simple: In celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the D-Day invasion, several of the nations that participated in the battles on D-Day, including the Germans, send paratroopers to drop on Normandy. This actually happened in the real world. In Taylor's version the lead plane is filled with American paratroopers who are transported back in time to June 6, 1944 and arrive before the invasion troops. They have period weapons and uniforms as part of the festivities, but no ammunition. Things get interesting quickly.

Our heroes don't know what to do at first but that makes sense. They were planning on landing in a wide open field in front of a huge crowd of spectators and instead they're getting shot at by Germans at night. I can't help but think that confusion is the only possible reaction. It's not like this was some kind of experiment intended to transport them. I mean, when they first hit the ground they don't know when or where they are. Once they figure it out they can't figure out how they got there and a few members of the platoon reject the idea. It's natural and believable.

I don't have the details of Taylor's actual military service (his bio lists him as having served in the 101st Airborne just like his characters) but I'm guessing he never made high officer rank. He seems to have a healthy dislike of those who give orders and get soldiers killed. That makes sense too. According to his Amazon bio, Taylor served in combat in Vietnam and obviously lost some buddies. I can't blame him for being bitter. High command was hated in Vietnam and for good reason: A lot of the men giving the orders behind the lines had no clue what conditions were for the troops they were issuing orders to. They understood the war they were fighting from an academic point of view but not what it was actually like since they hadn't been in those conditions.  I'd hate to be the officer he patterned some of these characters on but that's neither here nor there.  It does bring up a good point though.

I'm as big a fan of stories like the Honor Harrington saga as anyone, but sometimes it can get a bit frustrating when everything is told from the top down. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book is that it's told from the point of view of the common soldier. The main character is the lieutenant but he's still a man in the field facing the same dangers as his men. I love that. He gives the orders but he's no Dwight Eisenhower, leading from hundreds of miles away. That is, in my opinion, the best way to tell a story.

I don't do spoilers, but I'm going to this time. Taylor's men meet up with the men from Easy Company, a la Band of Brothers. Talk about a good time. They actually know who they're meeting up with since they've seen the show. It's a good time for them and for the reader as well. I found myself grinning like an idiot when it happened and it fits so well that it didn't throw me out of the story at all. I got a big kick out of it.

Getting back to the point about officers: At one point, Lieutenant "Spike" Wilson gets an order to take out a mortar emplacement. It should be a good order. Americans are dying because they're taking shells and someone needs to take it out. He's told that there should be a company defending the mortars and that he's supposed to take them out with sixteen men while massively outnumbered. He's a soldier so he follows his orders - right up until he realizes that the enemy is in battalion strength and he has no chance of success. Once again, what we're seeing is the battle between officers in the field and their commanders . One knows what's going on and the other doesn't. As someone who has studied the Vietnam War (but has no actual combat experience) this seems to match up with what I've learned about the way things worked there. The realism here is palpable.

My only complaint about Return to Normandy is a weird one. The first chapter of the book takes place in Afghanistan. I get it on an intellectual level. It focuses on an elite airborne unit in the modern US military that would have deployed into combat zones for obvious reasons. It sets up the relationship between Spike and his platoon. Spike shows how much he cares for his men and that is key to the rest of the story. I should be okay with it, but...

It threw me. I was looking for a story in Normandy and I ended up in the rock pile. I felt lost and disoriented for a bit. It's not that it was poorly written. In actuality it was very well done and entertaining. It just wasn't what I expected. I actually went back and checked to make sure I had ordered the right book. (Yes, most of my reviews come from people who have sent me their books in exchange for a review but I didn't have anything that would have worked for a Memorial Day review so I bought one. I'm glad I did.) All in all though, this story still kicks ass. It just took a few more minutes to get through the first chapter than it would have ordinarily.

(Yes, I know that I'm a day late and a dollar short but this is my annual Memorial Day post dedicated to all of those who went off to fight for the United States of America and didn't make it home. "Home of the Free because of the Brave" is a cliche but it's true. This post is also dedicated to anyone who has lost a loved one in the service of the USA. Let's not forget that every service member who passes leaves a family behind.)

There is very little in the world as satisfying as reading a work of military science fiction written by a veteran. They can portray things in a manner that is believable and authentic because they've been there. The relationships between the characters work on a level that can't be faked. The tactics make sense. The characters are neither cowardly nor psycho gung-ho and eager to die. They are, in short, just like members of the real life military. All of this is true of John R Taylor's Return to Normandy. He nailed it. I really enjoyed this book.

The premise of the book is pretty simple: In celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the D-Day invasion, several of the nations that participated in the battles on D-Day, including the Germans, send paratroopers to drop on Normandy. This actually happened in the real world. In Taylor's version the lead plane is filled with American paratroopers who are transported back in time to June 6, 1944 and arrive before the invasion troops. They have period weapons and uniforms as part of the festivities, but no ammunition. Things get interesting quickly.

Our heroes don't know what to do at first but that makes sense. They were planning on landing in a wide open field in front of a huge crowd of spectators and instead they're getting shot at by Germans at night. I can't help but think that confusion is the only possible reaction. It's not like this was some kind of experiment intended to transport them. I mean, when they first hit the ground they don't know when or where they are. Once they figure it out they can't figure out how they got there and a few members of the platoon reject the idea. It's natural and believable.

I don't have the details of Taylor's actual military service (his bio lists him as having served in the 101st Airborne just like his characters) but I'm guessing he never made high officer rank. He seems to have a healthy dislike of those who give orders and get soldiers killed. That makes sense too. According to his Amazon bio, Taylor served in combat in Vietnam and obviously lost some buddies. I can't blame him for being bitter. High command was hated in Vietnam and for good reason: A lot of the men giving the orders behind the lines had no clue what conditions were for the troops they were issuing orders to. They understood the war they were fighting from an academic point of view but not what it was actually like since they hadn't been in those conditions. I'd hate to be the officer he patterned some of these characters on but that's neither here nor there.  It does bring up a good point though.

I'm as big a fan of stories like the Honor Harrington saga as anyone, but sometimes it can get a bit frustrating when everything is told from the top down. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book is that it's told from the point of view of the common soldier. The main character is the lieutenant but he's still a man in the field facing the same dangers as his men. I love that. He gives the orders but he's no Dwight Eisenhower, leading from hundreds of miles away. That is, in my opinion, the best way to tell a story.

I don't do spoilers, but I'm going to this time. Taylor's men meet up with the men from Easy Company, a la Band of Brothers. Talk about a good time. They actually know who they're meeting up with since they've seen the show. It's a good time for them and for the reader as well. I found myself grinning like an idiot when it happened and it fits so well that it didn't throw me out of the story at all. I got a big kick out of it.

Getting back to the point about officers: At one point, Lieutenant "Spike" Wilson gets an order to take out a mortar emplacement. It should be a good order. Americans are dying because they're taking shells and someone needs to take it out. He's told that there should be a company defending the mortars and that he's supposed to take them out with sixteen men while massively outnumbered. He's a soldier so he follows his orders - right up until he realizes that the enemy is in battalion strength and he has no chance of success. Once again, what we're seeing is the battle between officers in the field and their commanders . One knows what's going on and the other doesn't. As someone who has studied the Vietnam War (but has no actual combat experience) this seems to match up with what I've learned about the way things worked there. The realism here is palpable.

My only complaint about Return to Normandy is a weird one. The first chapter of the book takes place in Afghanistan. I get it on an intellectual level. It focuses on an elite airborne unit in the modern US military that would have deployed into combat zones for obvious reasons. It sets up the relationship between Spike and his platoon. Spike shows how much he cares for his men and that is key to the rest of the story. I should be okay with it, but...

It threw me. I was looking for a story in Normandy and I ended up in the rock pile. I felt lost and disoriented for a bit. It's not that it was poorly written. In actuality it was very well done and entertaining. It just wasn't what I expected. I actually went back and checked to make sure I had ordered the right book. (Yes, most of my reviews come from people who have sent me their books in exchange for a review but I didn't have anything that would have worked for a Memorial Day review so I bought one. I'm glad I did.) All in all though, this story still kicks ass. It just took a few more minutes to get through the first chapter than it would have ordinarily. Heck, I've already picked up

Oh and, for the record, I'm pretty bitter. If I had read this before I did my Dragon nominations I'd have put it up for Best Alternate History. Oops. That's just plain bad timing on my part.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Missed Drops

Return to Normandy
John R Taylor
CreateSpace, 2017

Return to Normandy is available at the following link: