Book Review: Countdown: The Liberators by Tom Kratman

Tom Kratman published his first book, A State of Disobedience, in 2005. This is the first book in a new series by Kratman, I am currently in the middle of reading the second book, which just hit my mailbox last week. The series starts another of Kratman’s “fiction as commentary on the contemporary world” series somewhat similar to his “A Desert Called Peace” series. This does not mean that it is a bad book, it is not. It is somewhat predictable though. I especially like Kratman’s style, he has a gritty down to earth writing style that I love. He does not pull punches.

The book is the story of a bored ex-soldier (Wes Stauer) who gets the chance to essentially build his own army when he is approached by an Arab acquaintance about freeing the son of the Arab’s clan chief who had been kidnapped. There is not as much combat as you would think from looking at the cover but then, anybody who has ever been in the military will tell you that the biggest part of war is the preparation and if you do your job right and have trained properly, the actual shooting is almost anti-climactic. Kratman does an excellent job of describing the way in which a military force could get built and used. His portrayal of world conditions is very good, you could almost say prophetic if the conditions he describes did not already in large part exist in the world today.

It is obvious from the constant undertone in Kratman’s work that he has a deep, visceral loathing for the lefties of the world, what he calls “Tranzis” or Transnational Progressives. This is a feeling which I generally share with him. Kratman’s books are not for people who support the UN, ICC, PETA, Care, or other similar organizations unless they want to do opposition research. If you are someone who can enjoy a book despite its politics or are a political conservative who loves adventure of SF then Kratman’s work is for you.

He writes an outstanding good tale and the good guys always win, at least from my side of the foxhole. I have read all of his books and before buying this one, I would encourage you to buy all of his books and then read them in order, they are sure to keep you entertained, and thinking.