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Days of Burning, Days of Wrath by Tom Kratman
I suspect we'll see more from the Colonel in this series but this is a stopping point. Carrera's war of vengeance has come to a successful end. If you liked the other books in t his series you will like this one. I did and do. I do think this volume felt like it should have been just a bit longer. I wanted to see how things turned out for some of the side characters. Also, call me slow but this volume solidified a thought I'd had about the series. This is a prequel to Heinlein's Starship Troopers. This is the origin how that world where only those who have proved they will sacrifice for their fellows are allowed a say in the government cam to be. Just a thought. I'm sure the SJW's can come up wih all sorts of accusatory -isms to call the Colonel just as they have Heinlein. In any event, this is highly recommended and I look forward to more.

Back to War by C. G. Cooper
The basic story is a veteran's fiancee is murdered and he seeks revenge. Same basic plot of dozens of novels out there. It is okay. I read it because it was free on Prime and was pleasantly surprised, but not enough to spend my book dollars on the fifteen sequels. At least, not now.

1636: The Atlantic Encounter by Eric Flint and Walter H. Hunt
Another in Flint's Ring of Fire Series. I'll given flint this. He makes sure all of the novels meet a minimum standard. I find myself getting tires of an endless series of novels set in the same universe and a few of the Ring of Fire books are tired. This one I liked. A team of up-times and down-timers go to the New World to gather intelligence on French activity and measure the colonists willingness to fight the French. Adventures ensue. If you like the Ring of Fire Books this is a bit more mainstream than some of the side novels. You'll like it. It also feels like a series within the series and I'm looking forward to more. Recommended.


Ms. Tree: One Mean Mother by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty
Ms. Tree debuted in 1981 in Eclipse Comics. She is a detective of the hard boiled variety. She jumped publishers a bit but finally ended her run with DC Comics. I bought them all. I was a big fan. I liked the writer enough to follow him into his mystery and private eye novels [not the movie tie-ends] and the artist where ever I could find his solo work. I even bought the novel that retold the initial story line. Now Hardcase Crime/Titan is reprinting the series in graphic novel format. Initially, when I saw they weren't doing them in chronological order I was put off. Ideally, I wanted them collected in hard cover. These were paperback. So, I thought, this wasn't for me. I broke down and purchased the first volume the other day. I needed to but a book to get the price up for free shipping. I'm damn happy I did. It's nice to have the comic in a collection. I don't have to drag the individual issues out of their bags to enjoy the series. The choice of issues doesn't really matter. This arc covered the story of how Ms. Tree came to be a mother. Other volumes will follow until, I assume, until they are all collected and if by chance they issue hardcovers, I'll buy those too.

Now for those of you who haven't discovered Ms. Tree and like hard boiled detective/crime novels, this is a good place to start. Ms. Tree is the real deal: violent, sexy, violent. If you can't wait for the next collection, the comics aren't hard to find on eBay and aren't expensive. My recommendation is buy the collections. They are nicely packaged and you get your money's worth. AND if you like Ms. Tree, you might look up Collins' Nathan Heller novels. You won't regret it.