Winter Duty
E.E. Knight
Roc, Jul 2009, $24.95
ISBN: 9780451462749

In 2076 AD or the ffty-sith year of the Kurian Order, the Kur reside inside heavily fortified fortresses while their Reapers harvest human by drinking blood and transmitting the core essences of the people they kill back to their masters. A rebellion is slowly taking back the land from their reaper occupiers, but in Kentucky, Operation Javelin failed and now only a small regiment led by Major David Valentine control Fort Seng and little else.

They prove enough to enable the people of Kentucky to vote whether the state should be a free zone or part of the Kurian Order as some of Valentine's former allies prefer. A modern day Bleeding Kansas explodes the state into civil war as the voters choose the free zone option. A preacher and a Kurian realize the Order will not tolerate a free sate inside their realm nor invade a second time; instead the Overlords have chosen Kentucky as an example for rebels with plans to exterminate the state. David and his men leave their refuge try to save the people who were wounded in the failed operation as the Reapers supported by the Moondagger try and destroy the rebels. A blizzard makes things worse for the rebels.

The latest Vampire Earth novel is an entertaining entry in a terrific saga. The action is not-stop filled with setbacks for the heroes as former friends choose to end their revolt with what they believe are a peace in our times solution while the Order selects mass termination. Valentine and his unit prove they are heroes as they risk their lives to overthrow the occupation force even as they are being called by their former partners, obstinate insurgents. The plot contains shockers and twists as E.E. Knight provides a powerful thought provoking suspense thriller that will keep fans up late into the night.

Harriet Klausner