A review by sgtbigg
A Desert Called Peace by Tom Kratman

2.0

During the mid 21st Century, a rift is discovered in the outer solar system. The rift leads to another solar system with an earth-like planet populated by animals from the end of earth's Ice Age. There are other plants and animals that appear to be from elsewhere and some that appear to have been artificially constructed. The governments of earth begin sending their malcontents and other unwanted population to the new world, imaginatively named Terra Nova. 400 years later Terra Nova is divided into nation states copied from earth - the United States/Federated States, Russia/Volga, Iraq/Sumer, and so on. So far so good. Then Muslim extremists crash three blimps into skyscrapers in the Federated States capital on 7/11 causing the destruction of the buildings and thousands of deaths, sound at all familiar? Just wait it gets better, the Federated States then invades Pashtia to drive out the terrorists and later invades Sumer over reports of WMDs. Kratman’s characters then proceed to fight the war the “right” way and by the right way I mean the way the most dedicated bomb them back to the Stone Age, water boarding hawk would want the war to be fought. I’m of two minds about this book, I liked the set-up but the repeat of the last 10 years doesn’t really do justice to it. This is the first of a projected eight book series, I might read the next one just to see where he goes with it and after that we’ll have to see.