Book Recommendation: A Pillar of Fire by Night (Carerra) by Tom Kratman

https://www.amazon.com/Pillar-Fire-Night-Carerra/dp/1481483560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1545955998&sr=8-1&keywords=a+pillar+of+fire+by+night

Tom Kratman is the leading writer of military science fiction today. I think he has surpassed the late Robert Heinlein, whom I revere and who shaped my thinking from an early age. This is the seventh book in Tom Kratman’s wonderful Carrera series, which started with “A Desert Called Peace.” I’d like to say it’s as good as the others, but it’s not, because Kratman gets better with every book, and this is his best yet. And I thought his first two novels, “Caliphate” and “A State of Disobedience” were terrific. Kratman, a retied Army LtCol, has an incredible grasp of strategy, tactics, logistics (which many fiction writers neglect) and air, land, and sea combat. Better yet, he understands how troops in battle act and talk. His rich characterizations will make you believe these are real people you care about (or loath) by the third chapter. His plotting would make Tolstoy weep with envy. While this novel stands alone, if you haven’t read the others in the series, do yourself a favor and start at the beginning. I received this as a Christmas gift and finished it by the 27th. My major problem with Kratman is that I can read far faster than he can write. Sigh. I understand there is one more coming in the series. At 72 and after a lung transplant, that’s a grand reason to go on living. You won’t go wrong with anything from this master storyteller.