Tom Kratman
| Tom Kratman | |
|---|---|
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| Born | September 4, 1956 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | Boston College |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Website | |
| www |
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Tom Kratman is a U.S. science fiction author and retired United States Army officer.[1]
Contents
Biography
Kratman enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974 and his early service included a deployment to Panama with the 193rd Infantry Brigade.[2] He attended Boston College on an Army scholarship and was commissioned as an officer in 1980. His further service included three more years in Panama and two years at the United States Army Recruiting Command. He was then attached to the 5th Special Forces Group during the Persian Gulf War.[2] Kratman left active service for law school in 1992, graduating in 1995 after which he practiced law for some years. He was called back for service in 2003 and ended his Army career as Director, Rule of Law, for the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute.[2] Kratman retired in 2006 as a lieutenant colonel and became a full-time author.[1][2]
Kratman met his wife in Panama, and has four children and three grandchildren.[2]
Writing career
Kratman was recruited as an author by ex-soldier and publisher Jim Baen who "recruited a batch of younger, like-minded authors from similar backgrounds";[3] Kratman, Michael Z. Williamson, David Drake and John Ringo.[3] Commonalities in the works of these authors include the setting of a civilization in decline with heroes battling against conventional wisdom.[3] Kratman's first novel, A State of Disobedience, deals with a revolution against tyranny in a future United States.[4]
In the Desert Called Peace sequence, the hero battles a worldwide Caliphate.[4] The second novel in the series, Carnifex, was praised by Publishers Weekly for its action sequences, characterization and attention to philosophy of war.[5] The third novel, The Lotus Eaters, placed #8 in the Wall Street Journal bestsellers list in the hardcover science fiction category.[6] The fourth novel, The Amazon Legion, was praised for its realistic descriptions by Booklist reviewer Jessica Moyer, who also cautioned that "repeated discourses on the physical limitations of women" might annoy female readers.[7] The fifth novel, Come and Take Them, was reviewed positively by San Francisco Book Review which described it as engaging and well crafted with Kratman excelling in "graphic descriptions of outrages and suffering."[8]
Kratman's novels reflect many right-wing themes[9] and he "delights in offending left-wing sensibilities".[5] Reviewer Liz Bourke describes the roles played by women in Kratman's work as reminiscent of 1970s military science fiction by authors such as Jerry Pournelle.[10]
Kratman was nominated for a Hugo award for his novella Big Boys Don't Cry in 2015, as a result of the Sad Puppies campaign.[11][12][13] Kratman's story placed third while "no award" won the most votes.[14]
Published works
Essays
- "The Amazon's Right Breast" (2011) As part of Baen's Free Nonfiction 2011.[15]
- "Indirectly Mistaken Decision Cycles" (2012) As part of Baen's Free Nonfiction 2012.[16]
- Training for War (April 2014) (ISBN 978-1625793027), Baen Free Nonfiction.
Standalone works
- Big Boys Don't Cry (novella; 2000, 2014)[17]
- A State of Disobedience (December 2003) (ISBN 0-7434-9920-4)
- Caliphate (April 2008) (ISBN 1-41655-545-5)
Series
- Watch on the Rhine (August 2005, with John Ringo) (ISBN 0-7434-9918-2)
- Yellow Eyes (April 2007, with John Ringo) (ISBN 1-41652-103-8)
- The Tuloriad (October 2009, with John Ringo) (ISBN 1-4391-3409-X)
- A Desert Called Peace (Carrera)
- A Desert Called Peace (September 2007) (ISBN 1-4165-2145-3)
- Carnifex (November 2007) (ISBN 1-4165-7383-6)
- The Lotus Eaters (April 2010) (ISBN 1-4391-3346-8)
- The Amazon Legion (April 2011) (ISBN 1-4391-3426-X)
- Come and Take Them (November 2013) (ISBN 1-4516-3936-8)
- The Rods and the Axe (July 2014) (ISBN 978-1476736563)
- A Pillar of Fire by Night (November 2018) (ISBN 978-1625796714)
- Terra Nova: The Wars of Liberation (August 2019; anthology) (ISBN 978-1481484169)
- Countdown
- The Liberators (February 2011) (ISBN 1-4391-3402-2)
- M Day (September 2011) (ISBN 1-4391-3464-2)
- H Hour (July 2012) (ISBN 1-4516-3793-4)
References
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- ↑ http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2015-hugo-awards/
- ↑ Free Nonfiction 2011, Baen Ebooks
- ↑ Free Nonfiction 2012, Baen Ebooks
- ↑ Castaliahouse.com, Castalia House, February 24, 2014
External links
- TomKratman.com
- Tom Kratman at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Lines of Departure, Tom Kratman's column on EveryJoe.com
- 21st-century American novelists
- American male novelists
- American science fiction writers
- Boston College alumni
- Living people
- Military science fiction writers
- Writers from Boston
- 1956 births
- American male short story writers
- 21st-century American short story writers
- 21st-century American male writers
- Novelists from Massachusetts
