Customer Reviews

The Lotus Eaters

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Lotus Eaters (2010) is the third SF novel in the Carrera series, following Carnifex. In the previous volume, Carrera captured the High Admiral and the Marchioness of Amnesty during a raid on the Salafi Ikhwan. Then he lured the Ikhwan into a trap and killed all the terrorists. He acquired nineteen nuclear weapons and used one on Hajar, the capital of Yithrab, but diverted the blame to the Ikhwan.

In this novel, Carrera was born on Terra Nova as Patrick Hennessey. After his wife and their children were killed in the attack on First Landing in Columbia, he took the name of her family . He is now Duque of the Legio el Cid, a mercenary force based in Balboa, his former wife's country.

Lourdes Carrera is Patrick's second wife. She had been his administrative assistant, but gradually became his lover and then married him.

Hamilcar Carrera is the oldest child of Patrick and Lourdes. Ham has been declared by the Pashtun to be the return of Iskander -- Alexander the Great -- and an Avatar of God. He is ten years old.

Raul Parilla is a former general officer in the Balboan army and is now the democratically elected President of Balboa. He is a friend of Carrera and a cofounder of the Legio el Cid.

Xavier Jimenez is a former major in the Balboan army and is now the Legate commanding the 4th Legion. Jimenez has long been a friend of Carrera and helped establish the Legio el Cid.

Omar Fernandez is the Intelligence Chief for the Legions. He lost his wife and daughter to the terrorists and has little mercy for them. He has been in the Legio since its conception.

John McNamara is the Sergeant Major General of the Legio el Cid. Mac is married to Artemesia, Jimenez's niece.

Marguerite Wallenstein is a Class Two citizen of Terra and Captain of the UNPF flagship. After the capture of the High Admiral, she gained temporary command of the Fleet.

Janier is a Gallic general officer, commanding the Tauran Union Security Force in Balboa. His troops control the Balboa Transitway.

In this story, Carrera is very withdrawn from his family and friends. He is much better than a year ago after the end of the war against the Salafi Ikhwan, but he still feels guilty about the actions he took to defeat the terrorists. He can't bear to touch Lourdes with his bloody hands.

Lourdes wonders what she can do to help her husband with his sense of guilt. She knows from his nightmare that he ordered the nuke to be set off in Hajar. She has done what she can to keep his subordinates from bothering him in his recovery, even to the point of threatening them with a submachine gun.

Hamilcar wakes in the night and goes to visit his father. Patrick is sitting on a balcony watching a storm at sea. Both like storms and Ham just keeps him company. They discuss the storm and a yacht in the ocean waves.

Jimenez is desperate to bring Carrera back into command of the Legio. Affairs have not gone well with him gone. He decides to make another visit to Casa Linda.

Jimenez brings McNamara into the conspiracy to talk to Carrera. Mac asks his wife to visit Lourdes. Then they hide the submachine gun. Mac grabs a bottle and two glasses and they visit the balcony.

Carrera knows why they have come. He has been feeling guilty about abandoning the Legio for so long. So he has been thinking about what he should do.

They call a meeting of every available trooper, from officers down to junior noncoms. The crowd overfills the Furiocentro Convention Center. First the troops flock to Carrera to welcome him back. Then Carrera provides them an overview of his plans.

General Janier learns of the meeting after it starts. He chews out his intelligence officer for not informing him sooner. But the staff officer had only found out that morning and the general has been busy since then. They do have informants within the meeting.

Carrera also establishes a Senate to overseer his plans. He is tired of carrying the sole responsibility for his actions. Now the Senate can provide the policies and he will only be responsible for carrying out operations.

Fernandez has a discussion with his UN captives. The ship where they are imprisoned is a loose end and Fernandez plans to sink it at sea. He is wondering whether to take off his prisoners. Naturally, they don't want to stay onboard in chains.

Hamilcar is sent to Pashtia to protect him from the enemies of the Legio and to learn more about command. He demonstrates his leadership abilities in the mountains before reaching Pashtia. He appears to have learned a lot from his father, but now he learns more about commanding on his own.

Meanwhile, Captain Wallenstein receives orders to return to Earth. She appoints a temporary commander and then takes the Spirit of Peace back to Earth. She wonders if she will be returning to Terra Nova.

Her visit to Earth is not very encouraging. Rome is a playground of the First Class and a scene of human sacrifice and slavery. She has a frank discussion with the Secretary General and finds that he feels much the same way. She even gets his nephew to be her flagship captain (and spy).

This tale changes the objectives of the Legio el Cid to breaking the hold of the Tauran Union and the old government of Balboa. Carrera starts by fortifying Isla Real, the training base and current home of the Legio. Then he puts his staff to work expanding the Legio and developing new weapons.

This novel has numerous quotations from the factious publication Historia y Filosofia Moral. One is reminded of the classes in History and Moral Philosophy within Starship Troopers. One gets the sense that the author-- a combat veteran -- is not impressed by our current level of civil morality.

This volume prepares for the war. The next installment in this series -- The Amazon Legion -- will cover the war itself. Read and enjoy.

Highly recommended for Kratman fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of armed combat, strategic planning, and personal courage. If anyone has not previously read this series, the initial volume is A Desert Called Peace.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Tom Kratman is one of my favorite authors and this story comes from one of my favorite series. I've happily noticed that the Baen cover art has been progressively getting better and this is no exception. I don't want to say too much, I'd rather not ruin the plot. This entry features all the intensity of its predecessors. This time around the Legion is waging a drug war (the way it should be done) and preparing for war with the Tauron Union. Kratman does a superb job of giving readers multiple perspectives, good and evil.

Patricio Carrerra is possibly the ultimate anti-hero. Anyone who enjoys the vigilante justice of the Punisher or the Boondock Saints will be right at home reading this. Carrerra's hands are stained with the blood of a million people yet he retains his conscience. The level of revenge that Carrerra has achieved against his enemies is greater than any other story I can think of.

As far as politics go, if you have conservative beliefs like me you will have no trouble with the government that Carrerra sets up in Balboa and Kratman's views toward progressives. If you tend to lean more to the left this novel may be offensive to you (my advice is to either not read the book or suck it up).

My only complaint is the ending, if you've read Ringo's Eye of the Storm you understand how frustrating it can be to have such a set up for a major battle only to have to wait till the next book comes out.

When your biggest problem with a book is that you can't wait for the next one to be released you know the author is doing something right.

Others have recapped this story and the previous two in some detail, so there's no need for me to do that here.

Rather, I'd like to review the implications of History and Moral Philosophy. This is the course that young Juan Rico and everyone else is required to take in high school. One of its central theses is that political power may only may legitmately be entrusted to those who have demonstrated their willingness to support and defend the body politic - with their lives, if necessary. Only in such a way can individuals have shown true committment to the shared values and culture that make up a nation, and thus moral virtue. The history part comes in via the fact that such societies survive . . . and ones where the citizens don't care enough to defend them . . . don't.

Classically, there's Greece and Rome. Today, there's the European Union and the USA. Kratman fictionally interposes a third, Balboa. Through the three books (so far) he's evolved Balboan society from a corrupt third-world oligarchic dictatorship, to become much closer to the H&MP ideal. There's a huge range of 'shared universe' possibilities right there.

The really interesting question, to me, is this: given that this series is actually socio-political commentary on the the current state of the world, is it possible to see a real-life Balboa?

That question is quite important. Kratman's Caliphate and Mark Steyn's book America Alone, have both 'predicted' a Eurabia based on a combination of demographics and moral collapse in Europe. I don't like either future history, but I wouldn't put money on any other outcome. The only bulwark against a new Dark Ages then, is the moral philosophy of America (and possibly England, although again, I wouldn't put money on it).

As far as the story arc is concerned, I think this opens up many possibilities. Will the Anglians rebel against the Tauran Union? There were hints of that already. What of the internal divisions in the Federated States of Columbia? Can we see Santander joining Balboa? It seems to me that there's a host of stories here, possibly along 'shared universe' lines.

Finally, I'd like to see a non-fiction book: Kratman's History and Moral Philosophy. Jeepers, that would sure put the trixie amongst the moonbats!

Donna Kelly
(for the record, Canadian-English with a healthy sprinkling of American)

Received the book a bit late (stupid stupid Icelandic volcano.....)

I fail to see the need to include any commentary on the plot as it's been done to death already. Except to say Col. Kratman appears to have an admiral predilection for crucifixions - this I will have to blame on the "benefits of a classical education".

The volume this time, I found, lacks the shear emotional power within Carnifex, I didn't feel the need to re-read the volume immediately after finishing as I had with Carnifex. But it leave a wide open door for the future volumes following. However it does remain beautifully crafted and workmanlike prose, it feels like Chandler in its delivery.

I found the style of writing is reminiscent to that of David Drake's, which might be ascribed to a similarity in their respective educations (legal training) and an obvious interest in classical period history and literature.

Having mentioned similarities to existent author it now strikes me that the design of his electoral college for the fictional upper house of Balboa resembles that of the Spartan Fratries from Pournelle's Falkenburg's Legion series, right down to the deliberate mixing of higher social-economical individuals with lower, however the reasons given are entirely different. Kratman appears to have a much lower opinion of humanities ability to ignore self-interest then Pournelle - I however would consider Kratman's opinion a better reaction to reality :^).

On a note of the absurd, having visited the author's website his picture appears to also bear a passing physical resemblance to Drake as well....

Finally it appears the good Colonel will be moving into the genre of Action adventure in late 2010/early 2011.

When terrorists murdered his family, New Earth native Patrick Hennessey set out to destroy them (A Desert Called Peace (Baen Science Fiction) ). Adopting his dead wife's family name, and changing his first name to its Spanish form, he became Patricio Carrera, mercenary. He destroyed the enemies (Carnifex), but in the process he took over most of the nation of Balboa, saw the Tauran Union take over Balboa's most valuable real estate, and made an enemy of the govt. of Earth, and of its Peace Fleet. Now, he has to deal with the consequences of his success. His adopted country needs him to reunite the nation, deal with the drug smugglers using his country as a pipeline to the Federated States of Columbia, prepare for the coming showdown with the Taurans, and see to the education of his son Hamilcar (believed to be the reincarnation of Alexander the Great by a Pathan tribe on New Earth), who will take up the struggle when Patricio dies.

Will Carrerra succeed? Will incredible amounts of blood be spilled? Will leftists be outraged? Will Hamilcar be embarrassed at being worshiped as a god? Is a bear Catholic? Is this a good read? Yes, and a very good read it is. Buy this book, buy the preceding books in the series, buy the next book in the series (THE AMAZON LEGION, forthcoming, excerpts on my website [...]) and prepare to have your mind expanded -- aspirin not included.

THE LOTUS EATERS provides an excellent blend of military science fiction and action as it tells of Carrera, who has won a war that proves to be only the first in a series. With his only son under fire and an enemy fleet hunting his submarines, he faces many dangers and challenges. A riveting story of military encounters and romance emerges in this fine action-paced read.

Tom Kratman has yet again produced a superb military scifi thriller. Patricio Carrera, Balboa, and the Legion del Cid know that war with the Taurun Union is coming. For this Carrera needs to restructure the Legion into a force capable of withstanding the eventual onslaught, and then moving to the offense and defeating the TU. But Carrera has issues of his own to work out, namely the guilt he feels for nuking and entire city. Forces are at work against Carrera though, and there are battles brewing that Carrera isn't aware of. As a bonus, The Lotus Eaters contains the best submarine combat I've read in a long, long time.

I found the book excellent. It is the latest in a series and I have read them all. It ended in a cliff hanger which means I will have to wait on seats edge for the next book. If you want to read the series in order start with A Desert Called Peace, Carnifix and then The Lotus Eaters. All are excellent. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in military science fiction and politics.

This S-F novel is the 3rd in a series that includes "A Desert Called peace" and "Carnifex" by retired Colonel Tom Kratman. All of the action is a logical continuation from "Carnifex" and includes all of the major characters previously introduced as both protagonists and "bad guys."

"Duque" Patricio Carrerra begins the tale in a despondant and guilt-ridden state from his use of a nuclear weapon on the Salafi Ikhwan in "Carinifex." The Legion del Cid is struggling in his absence, and his enemies are preparing a counterstrike against Carrerra, the Legion, and Carrerra's family.

Captain Wallenstein of the UEPF is recalled to Earth for consultations with the Consensus and the Secretery General, and is rewarded by her desired 1st Class status. She returns to the Fleet and rebuilds several derilect freighters for use in the Nova Terra system.

The Tauran Union occupiers of the rump of Balboa are scheming, and try to provoke a war.

Many extremely well skirmishes take place on the way to the war that will be FORTHCOMING in the next installment!

I'm keeping the details pretty skimpy on purpose--it's a well-told tale and exciting. Kratman has created a real winner with this series, and his writing skills continue to improve as the series unfolds. Five stars, two thumbs up, etc. for this one.

This is a series book. In the series, the UN has turned into a noblity ruling lesser classes on Old Earth.

The new earth is through a rift, and is the only intersteller place humans can go.

The UN rules space around the Terra Nova, and still has ultra high tech, but has lost most of their ability to build new devices. Due to a prior UN deportation/colony effort the new earth (hereinafter "TN") is full of nations that for tech and society are just like our current nations.

The hero is a former TN American officer who in prior books built up a massive merc force in TN Panama and used the force to defeat the TN Muslim nationalist and terror threats.

The merc unit is now expanded and preparing to take control of TN Panama. The TN Euros don't like that.

The author throws in lots of action and detail. His training and battle scenes remind me of the best of Drake and Weber. There is a coup attempt against the hero, and some fun small battles.

I marked the book down one star because nothing much happens. There is the coup, which could have been big, but it was sprung and resolved in a very small portion of the book. Otherwise, the parties just inched closer to war. There were battles, and well written, but most were small and didn't do much to advance the plot.

There is a lot of detail as to how the author intends to have the hero win the war in the next book, and it is interesting, but it also means that the new reader is likely going to have to read this book first.

The author also throws in selections from a faux history book commenting on the nature of socities and civic duty. These are interesting but the author did try to get too cute by having the faux history speak very detailed facts about old earth, but then pretend that people like Sherlock Holmes were maybe real.