#NetGalley Book Review: Battle Hymn (America Rising) by William C. Dietz

I enjoyed this alternate history, military series.
Battle Hymn (America Rising)
by William C. Dietz

File Size: 1861 KB
Print Length: 346 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0425278743
Publisher: Ace (February 20, 2018)
ASIN: B072LT18QW
Genre: Alternate History, Military Sci Fi, Post-Apocalyptic
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Legion of the Damned® novels comes the final volume in the postapocalyptic military science fiction trilogy about America warring with itself and the people trying to keep it together...
The Second Civil War continues to rage as Union president Samuel T. Sloan battles to keep America whole and, more than that, to restore the country to its former greatness.
"Wanted Dead or Alive." Following a fateful battle between Union Army major Robin "Mac" Macintyre and her sister, the New Confederacy places a price on Mac's head, and bounty hunters are on her trail.
But there's work to be done, and Mac is determined to help Sloan reunify the country by freeing hundreds of Union POWs from appalling conditions in Mexico and capturing a strategic oil reserve that lies deep inside Confederate territory.
However, to truly have peace it will be necessary to capture or kill the New Confederacy's leadership, and that includes Mac's father, General Bo Macintyre.

Review:
At the end of book two Mac and her sister had a fateful confrontation. The New Confederacy, by the command of her own father, has placed a price on Mac’s head making her the target of bounty hunters. Many of Mac’s original platoon have been lost so there is a steady stream of new troops coming in. Some of those under her command have Confederate sympathies, or are just greedy, making it hard to know whom she can trust.

Mac’s new commander views Mac as lucky and getting favoritism as the suspected ‘lover’ of Union President, Sam Sloan. Mac gets a new team together and has to prove her worth through a treacherous rescue of abused POWs held in a Mexican prison. More losses occur but the battles don’t stop.
Mac and her Marauders are assigned to capture a strategic oil reserve within Confederacy territory. The odds aren’t good and get worse when unexpected Mexican troops begin to swarm from the south. The Confederacy leadership has made a devil’s bargain with Mexican leaders in an effort to turn the tide of their losses.

President Sloan struggles to prevail as the engagements heat up and the Union faces fresh masses of troops arriving from Mexico. A ravaging hurricane hitting New Orleans adds to the confusion and the tense situation. A daring plan is implemented to take down the leaders of the New Confederacy hoping to stop the confrontation once and for all.

Between battles, corruption and betrayal are revealed. There are a few moments for Sloan and Mac to come together but they can’t let their guard down as enemies continue to stalk them.

This final book in the America Rising series packs a lot of action and some inconsistencies. There are some early bounty attacks on Mac, but those threats pretty much stop in spite of her notoriety and visibility. Some chilling attack plans are discussed and then never mentioned again. This was a good thing, but it seemed strange that it was introduced as a possibility only to never be revisited.

As in the prior books some of the scenes are implausible and have to be accepted as just entertainment. In spite of these inconsistencies, I enjoyed the steady action and suspense that continues to the end. I liked the teasing relationship between Sloan and Mac even in their brief encounters. This series was entertaining and the ending was a satisfactory conclusion.

Source: Publisher through NetGalley. This qualifies for my 2018TBR, NetGalley and Alphabet Challenges.

My Review of Book One: Into the Guns (America Rising) by William C. Diet, rated 4.0

My Review of Book Two: Seek and Destroy (America Rising) by William C. Diet, rated 4.5

Note: I think this series is overpriced in the Kindle format and, IMHO, that may limit readership.
The Audible prices might be acceptable but with so many choices of books available it seems strange to overprice a series that may be entertaining but isn’t really stellar.

Book Review: Seek and Destroy (America Rising) by William C. Dietz

The second half of this alternate history thriller is non stop action.

Seek and Destroy (America Rising)
by William C. Dietz

Series: America Rising (Book 2)
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ace (June 20, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425278727
Genre: Alternate History, Military Sci Fi, Post-Apocalyptic
My Rating: 4.5 0f 5.0

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Legion of the Damned® novels and the Mutant Files series comes the second novel in a postapocalyptic military science fiction series about America struggling to overcome a natural disaster but starting a second civil war…
As people fight to survive the aftereffects of more than a dozen meteor strikes, a group of wealthy individuals conspires to rebuild the United States as a corporate entity called the New Confederacy, where the bottom line is law. As a second civil war rages, with families fighting against families on opposite sides, Union president Samuel T. Sloan battles to keep the country whole.
To help in the fight for unity, Union Army captain Robin “Mac” Macintyre and her crew of Stryker vehicles are sent after the ruthless “warlord of warlords,” an ex–Green Beret who rules a large swath of the West. But defeating him will be even more difficult than she thought. The warlord is receiving military assistance from Mac’s sister—and rival—Confederate major Victoria Macintyre. And when the siblings come together in the war-torn streets of New Orleans, only one of them will walk away.

Review:
This second book continues to follow the three primary characters, Mac with her Marauder Stryker crew, Union president Sloan, and Mac’s Confederate enemy, her sister Victoria. Mac and her crew are sent on one special assignment after another. First they have to take out a ruthless warlord an ex-military man holding sway in Wyoming. Next they rescue a downed pilot behind enemy lines. A twist occurs but it isn’t long before Mac is back in action helping to snatch a Confederate official out of Texas. And finally the team must lead a flotilla, fighting off Confederate forces, to clear obstructions and open a supply way down the Mississippi.

Meanwhile Sloan is busy trying to rebuild the country, making steps to gain support for reelection and managing the overall war picture. He participates in a few military manuevers himself maintaining his tag as "the fighting President). He’d like to see a little of Robin (Mac) in between stops but rumors could be harmful.

Victoria is busy giving aid to the warlord that Mac faces, planning ways to assassinate Mac, and finally sneaking in to sabotage New Orleans after the Union has captured it. Mac and Victoria have several nearby passes until they finally meet face to face.

I was already engaged by the characters and setting from book one. Mr. Dietz continues to show great skill in building a plausible post catastrophic America that is the turmoil of civil war. There is no way to go through battle after battle without experiencing losses but these characters must push through to pursue their respective agendas, or in Mac’s case, to fulfill her duty as a leader protecting her team as they follow orders of their superiors. This story gave me an appreciation for battle tactics and how a skilled leader can win against forces that are sometimes better equipped. The story, especially the second half, is full of trouble, threats, treachery, twists, terror and trauma. I also recognize how each battle or encounter can turn on any momentary event – stroke of luck some might say.

I really enjoyed this second book, even more than book one. I was very glad to have book three to jump into. I highly recommend this series to readers who like military action with a touch of political intrigue and a dash of romance.

Source: Publisher in preparation of reading Book 3 through NetGalley. This qualifies for 2018 TBR and Alphabet Challenges.

My Review of Book One: Into the Guns (America Rising) by William C. Dietz

Audible Review: Silence Fallen: A Mercy Thompson Novel, Book 10 by Patricia Briggs

This is wonderful entertainment and my only disappointment was that it ended.

Silence Fallen: A Mercy Thompson Novel, Book 10
Written by: Patricia Briggs
Narrated by: Lorelei King, George Newbern

Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
Series: Mercy Thompson, Book 10
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:03-07-17
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
In the New York Times best-selling Mercy Thompson novels, the coyote shapeshifter has found her voice in the werewolf pack. But when Mercy's bond with the pack - and her mate - is broken, she'll learn what it truly means to be alone....
Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form Mercy escapes - only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe.
Unable to contact Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir, and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a war between vampires and werewolves, and between werewolves and werewolves. And in the heart of the ancient city of Prague, old ghosts rise....
©2017 Patricia Briggs (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Review:
Mercy has died at the hands of her step-daughter… as a merciless pirate in a computer game. She heads off to the local corner market to pick up supplies for cookies. Before she can return home she is brutally attacked and kidnapped. One of the most powerful vampires in the world, from Italy, was told that Mercy was the power behind the Tri-Cities coalition of werewolves, fae, gnomes and other supernatural creatures. He doesn’t exactly believe this when the attack to capture her nearly kills her.

Mercy awakes in a foreign place. Although it appears that her ‘host’, Iacopo aka Joseph, has set her up for a failed escape, she manages to surprise the master vampire and his unusual, enslaved drone. Mercy escapes in coyote form, finally arriving in Prague with no clothes, no money and unsure of any safe allies. The pack and mating bond aren’t strong enough to reach half-way across the world. As she walks in the shadows of the streets, Mercy comes upon the Golem of Prague who gets to serve an important role further into to story.

When Adam feels the loss of his mating bond with Mercy, he races to find her and discovers the scene of her attack. He knows she has been kidnapped but has no idea what condition she is in. Mercy’s vampire friend, Stephan, also feels the bond loss and meets Adam at the crime scene. They contact Marsilia, the mistress of the local vampires and are soon ‘invited’ to travel to Italy to be reunited with Mercy. Marsilia and Adam each get to bring two companions plus the pilot and copilot. Marsilia brings Stephan and the head of the goblins, Larry. Adam brings Honey, a strong female from his pack, and his employed, powerful witch, Elizaveta. Adam calls Charles, from Mercy’s childhood pack, to be their pilot, but due to political reasons, her adoptive father, Bran, has separated his ties and is not willing to allow Charles to go. They send a different pilot, another goblin, and a co-pilot who appears to be a submissive wolf.

The story alternates between the POVs of Mercy and Adam as they are separated. I enjoyed the interesting character dynamics particularly from Adam and his team as Adam attempts to remain calm in the negotiations with Joseph. Mercy has to deal with some ghostly elements and unfamiliar packs. She needs all of her usual resourcefulness to wade through her dark misadventures. The chapters are not chronologically sequenced and are introduced by Mercy giving the reader audience a summary of the event setting. Rather than interrupting the flow of the story, this actually adds some priceless Mercy satirical humor.

There are interesting political, philosophical and social musings, including bits of coyote lore, and Golem folklore, woven into this story. Briggs does a masterful job of creating a plot that shares pack and ally dynamics and emotions amid the tense, dangerous situations.

The mixture of suspense, action, humor, romance and emotional dynamics makes this a great series. I stayed up a few hours I should have been sleeping so I could keep listening. Then I was sorry when it ended. I highly recommend this series, starting from the beginning!

Audio Notes: Lorelei King always does a suburb job with the narration of this series. I love her character voices and how she matches the personalities as I believe the author intends. George Newbern was a surprising addition. Unlike many other reviewers, I found George’s performance an okay touch even if I did miss Lorelei’s male voices that we have become accustomed. I love this series in audio.

This is a must listen series for me so I had to get it when it became available. :-) This qualifies for my 2017 Audio Challenge.