The Rods and the Axe

Carrera, Book 6

By: Tom Kratman

Narrated by: James Fouhey

Tarawa. Iwo. Normandy. Names that shine in the military history of two worlds, places where brave men stormed ashore and fought their way to victory no matter the odds. But then there are other names: Marathon. Malta. Gallipoli.

Balboa’s Patricio Carrera has driven the Tauran Union from his adopted country, driven them out with appalling loss and worse humiliation.That’s not enough though. To finally finish his enemies, Carrera needs to draw them back for a more telling defeat.

He cannot take the battle to them because, beyond some long-range bombardment capability, he cannot reach them.

But when they return, they don’t plan to come alone; they insist on having someone else do most of the bleeding for them.

Carrera understands this. And that’s why he’s provoked the Zhong Guo mercilessly, infuriating their ruling Empress. He needs the Zhong in the war, to buck up the Taurans to continue the war to its bitterest end.

But to get to Carrera, the Zhong must take the Isla Real, the strongest island fortress on two worlds. In the process, they’ll learn why Marines never forget those other names....Gallipoli…Malta…Marathon.

Carrera’s enemies are about to learn why the expression "blood-stained water" is not just a literary allusion.

©2014 Tom Kratman (P)2014 Audible Inc.

waiting for book 7

enjoyed the story. would like the ending to it. strong characters and plot. more please.

The story continues

I'd taken a break from the series because it seemed to be stuck a bit, shifting perspective but advancing the plot. I'm glad I returned!

My favorite part of this series has been the change in the antagonist characters. Many of them are changing due to their own involvement with the war against Balboa, and as often as not, the stripping away of some of their cherished illusions is leaving better people behind. Not really good people, but...better. I'm interested to see if this continues, or they choose to put their heads back in the proverbial sand.

A Killer Series Installment Number 6

Number six in a series that just keeps getting better and better. These kinds of book series always leave me wishing I had waited to start until the whole series is out and available so that I can get the whole story at once, As has been said before, don't start at number 6. Go start with the first in the series and let Kratman's story just roll over you. Its the best kind of military science fiction written by a warrior with experience in the real world of battle, Its a slap in the face with an ice cold dash of Heinlein, just when you need it most. The narration is superb, the characters are three dimensional and the tactics sound. What more can I xay, Buy the first book in the series and give it a listen, d! Oh, and give his other books, "State of Disobedience" and "Caliphate" a listen too. Well worth a credit!

Great storytelling

And looks quite a abit like our future. After all the same groups are at work here and now.

Great book!

Highly recommend the book for anyone interested in military sf or that doesnt like shitlibs and their leftist globalist bs

More the same, next phase of the war

This was decent continuation of the series that pushed forward the story. It did seem to lack the amount of action or analysis of battle from various view points. In addition it copied whole chapters from the Amazon legion book so I felt like it was a cheep way to pad the book. We got a new character in the form of the "Chinese" Empress, who was pretty interesting. However, it seems like the author has abandoned side characters from previous books. Such as the rookie captain of the UN Flagship, members of the Federated States (the USA) or the president of the rival neighboring country aiding the UN. Something I hated about this book was the continuation of the Carrera's son being a god with his harem of wives. Everyone just shrugs and accepts that it's okay for his 12 wives to all be "deflowered" by him (the books words) and get pregnant. Additionally that its fine for them to worship him and induce his sisters into their cultist behavior. Thankfully this is a small portion of the book this time around and we don't really need to focus on it.

For all the bad that I just mentioned above it's still a good book with some definite parts that are good enjoyment. We saw a few characters only mentioned in the past return briefly such as the Chinese former prostitute, the wheelchair bond legionary with the downs kids troop, and the one warrant pilot character that has been around since book one. Their was some more of the cat and mouse submarines warfare in this book which was very enjoyable. Overall the good portions were very good but had some definite puff in between which slowed down the story. If you've read this far into the series you'll more than likely enjoy this book.

series just ends here

story was pretty good but it seems the story just ends. May be the author got sick of it?