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[bryant]

I dropped by Tom Kratman’s web board the other day to find out what my favorite Baen author had been up to lately, and found this excerpt from an upcoming novel:

Thomas felt unwelcome tears. He forced them back only with difficulty. So gallant, so brave they were, those boys over there fighting and dying against such odds, and with so little hope.

Gribeauvil, seeing the boy’s emotions written upon his twisted face, said, “Yes, son; give them their due. They are a great people, a magnificent people. And we are damned lucky to have them, now.”

Thomas agreed. And more; he thought of himself, alone, trying to save his mother and little brother from the alien menace. He wished to be a man, was becoming one, he knew. But alone he could never have made the slightest difference for his family’s survival. That took an army, an army of brave men and boys, willing to give their all for the cause of their people.

Perhaps for the first time, Thomas began to feel a deep pride, not so much in himself, but in the men he served with, in the army they served, and even in the black-clad, lightning bolt-signified, corps that was a part of that army.

Thomas was learning.

“Those boys” would be SS soldiers. The black-clad lightning bolt-signified corps is the SS. And don’t forget the depersonalization — Thomas is nothing by himself. He can only matter as part of an army. In this case, he only matters because he’s part of the SS.

Someone asked Kratman why he chose the SS. He gave three reasons:

a) Good troops taking, in many cases, a bum rap. b) a way to further annoy the left, literarily. c) Moreover, though you doubtless have not been following the snippets, in the context of John Ringo’s Posverse ALL mankind are going to become something very like them…the few who survive anyway.

Yeah. The SS weren’t so bad, it’s fun using shock tactics to piss people off, and everyone’s going to wind up like the SS in that universe anyhow.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, I see. You write books on a (fantasy?) gaming system, said books standing at about 370k in rank on Amazon. I am not sure that really counts, but take what pride you may in them.

As for my writing, Baen likes it quite a bit. Ringo finds it quite good too. People who have read complete works of mine find them enjoyable, well written and emotionally moving, albeit bloody and grim. I will just have to live with your criticism, consoling my deeply wounded ego with the knowledge that you can't please everyone.

Please feel free not to read anymore.

Oh, and I just signed on with baen for another 3 book series, plus the 5 book series I am co-writing with Ringo. And he has already bought off on the final version of "watch on the rhine," which, you might be interested to note, is and _anti_ nazi book.