Tom Kratman's new book Carnifex is a sequel to A Desert Called Peace which was published only a few months ago. It continues the story of Patricio Carrera on the war-torn planet of Terra Novo where history and the political forces of the world bear a not entirely coincidental resemblance to our contemporary world. Kratman continues his theme of using the science fiction setting to explore issues and events from the real world, and ends up producing insights and making strong political statements which are sometimes jarring but often right on the mark. Along the way he also manages to tell a pretty good story.

Carnifex picks up where A Desert Called Peace winds down, with Carrera and his Balboan mercenaries having swung the tide in the war in Sumeria and opened the door for a stable government under the sympathetic government of his local ally General Adnan Sada. The action now moves to two main fronts, the internal struggle for control of Balboa and the protection of the Legion's homebase from Tauran Union 'peacekeepers' bent on maintaining the corrupt Balboanregime in the face of an electoral challenge from Carrera's ally retired General Raul Parilla, and the mountainous nation of Pashtia where the last leaders of the Salafi Ikhwan terrorists are hiding out and regrouping their forces.

There's a lot of very satisfying story in these two plot lines, between the political machinations in Balboa and the concerted effort to neutralized and subdue the terrorists in their home ground in Pashtia. But what I actually found most interesting was a third plot line involving Carrera's development of a small naval force to deal with terrorist-allied pirates. The tactics and technology involved were intriguing in an aspect of terrorism and law enforcement which has a rich history but is little considered today, even though it certainly still exists.

Inevitably the book culminates with Mustafa ibn Mohamed ibn Salah (Terra Nova's answer to Osama bin Laden) cornered after a pitched battle in the caves between Pashtia and Kashmir, and ultimately captured by Carrera's Legion. It's a nice bit of wishful thinking to see the chief architect of terror brought down in fiction in a way which has not happened here in our world. The final campaign also leaves Carrera a virtual husk of a man, almost destroyed by the megalomania which drove him to go to any lengths to avenge himself on the terrorists. In addition to all of its other themes, the book contains a strong message on the price one must pay for vengeance.

Throughout the book other plot-lines continue to be developed, including some exploration of the process by which Terra Nova was settled and the historical degeneration of society back on Earth. One rather satisfying element is getting to see the reprehensible Terran High Admiral Martin Robinson brought low along with a new despicable terrestrial oligarch, Marchioness of Amnesty Lucretia Arbeit. Seeing these symbols of corruption hoist by their own petard is rather satisfying. Kratman continues to explore the theme of the inevitable corruption and decadence which socialist rule decays into, and the abuses inherent to entrenched bureaucratic institutions. He also lays some groundwork for subsequent books in the series which might take the fight for freedom from Terra Nova back to Earth.