Battle Hymn

January 1, 2018

After meteors devastated the United States, corporate forces took hold in the South, formed the New Confederacy, and the second Civil War began. Union President Samuel T. Sloan is determined to reunite the country and put America back on the map as a solid world leader. After Union Army Maj. Robin "Mac" Macintyre defeated her sister Victoria in a significant battle that left Victoria dead, the New Confederacy leadership, which includes Mac's father, has placed a price on Mac's head. Every bounty hunter in the South is looking for her, but Mac knows she must help President Sloan by heading deep into the New Confederate territory to capture a strategic petroleum reserve. But to end the war, the New Confederacy's leaders must be captured or killed, including her father. What price will be paid for peace? VERDICT Dietz concludes his trilogy (Into the Guns; Seek and Destroy) with an impressive work of military sf. Compellingly drawn characters, lots of high-action battles, and a fresh perspective on a familiar American landscape will entertain readers.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., South Deerfield

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2018
The final volume (following Seek and Destroy) in prolific military SF author Dietz’s America Rising trilogy is saturated with swift thunderclap battles. Dietz finely concludes his second American civil war, which resulted from reactions to a series of devastating meteor strikes. Maj. Robin “Mac” Macintyre of the Union, commander of the “Mac’s Marauders” group of ex-convict soldiers, is labeled a war criminal by the New Confederacy—specifically her father, Gen. Bo Macintyre, who thinks Mac killed her sister. Now, along with fighting in increasingly brutal battles, she has to keep an eye out for treachery. Dietz has a steady hand with pacing (particularly in combat scenes) and a good ear for realistic battle chatter. He keeps the book consistently intense while displaying a knack for fleshing out flawed characters, both military and civilian. He likewise excels at individualizing characters, relationships (such as Mac’s awkward budding romance with U.S. president Samuel Sloan), and large groups, including the New Confederacy’s upper echelon as they make a surprising and inventive gamble for victory. For fans of Dietz and military fiction, this book is strongly recommended.