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Tom Kratman

April 12, 2024

Thomas P. Kratman (born September 4, 1956) is an American military science fiction author and retired United States Army officer whose work is published by Baen Books. Kratman's novels include the Desert Called Peace series which has been praised for its action sequences and attention to philosophy of war. He authored three novels with John Ringo in the Legacy of the Aldenata series. Kratman's works often reflect right-wing political perspectives and some have been seen as deliberately crafted to offend left-wing sensibilities. During the Sad Puppies campaign in 2015, Kratman was nominated for a Hugo Award for his novella Big Boys Don't Cry.

Tom Kratman
Born (1956-09-04) September 4, 1956 (age 67)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish
Alma materBoston College
GenreScience fiction
Notable worksA Desert Called Peace series, Big Boys Don't Cry (Hugo nominee), Watch on the Rhine (with John Ringo)
Website
www.tomkratman.com

Biography edit

Kratman enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974,[1][2] attended Boston College on an Army scholarship and was commissioned as an officer in 1980.[1][2] He went on to serve both in the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War.[3] 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 at the United States Army War College as Director, Rule of Law, for the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute.[1][2] Kratman retired in 2006 as a lieutenant colonel and became a full-time author.[4][2] In an autobiography on his website, Kratman gives a personal perspective on his military career, discussing both the Gulf War and many years of deployment to Panama, where he met his wife.[2] Kratman's success as an author has been explained as part of a 21st century turn towards military science fiction writers with first-hand military experience.[3]

Writing career edit

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";[5] Kratman, Michael Z. Williamson, David Drake and John Ringo.[5] Commonalities in the works of these authors include the setting of a civilization in decline with heroes battling against conventional wisdom.[5] Kratman's first novel, A State of Disobedience (2003), deals with a revolution against tyranny in a future United States.[6][7][8][9] The book was described by Lesley Farmer in Kliatt as a "libertarian-inspired combat story" with shallow characterization.[10] Another politically-oriented stand-alone novel, Caliphate (2008), takes place in a future Islamic Europe where a German girl is sold into prostitution to pay her family's yizya.[11] The work has been described as a part of a trend towards more speculative fiction focus on Islam after the September 11 attacks[12] and as driving "some readers to apoplexy".[3] Mark Steyn discussed the novel's political aspects at length and also described it as "a brisk page-turner full of startling twists and bad sex".[13]

In the series begun with A Desert Called Peace[a] (2007), the hero battles a worldwide Caliphate.[7] The second novel in the series, Carnifex (2007), was praised by Publishers Weekly for its action sequences, characterization and attention to philosophy of war.[15] The third novel, The Lotus Eaters (2010), placed #8 in the Wall Street Journal bestsellers list in the hardcover science fiction category.[16] The fourth novel, The Amazon Legion (2011), 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.[17] The fifth novel, Come and Take Them (2013), 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."[18] Library Journal praised the series for its "high standard of graphic and strategically detailed military sf".[19]

Kratman has co-authored three novels with John Ringo in the Legacy of the Aldenata series. The first was Watch on the Rhine (2005) which tells of rejuvenated members of the Waffen-SS fighting alien invaders. German author Dietmar Dath criticized the book's politics and warned of the use of "cool retro-fascism from the future" as a propaganda tool.[b][20] Publishers Weekly called the book "audacious and deliberately shocking" but rewarding for readers who could "overcome their ideological gag reflex".[21] The second novel was Yellow Eyes (2007), where a war against aliens is set in Panama. The book was described by Publishers Weekly as having vivid characters and satisfyingly detailed battle tactics.[22] Roland Green at Booklist praised the book's action scenes and described its military science as intelligent though "sometimes overly political".[23] The third novel, The Tuloriad (2009), draws on Homeric themes and tells of defeated aliens in search of a new home. Roland Green praised the battle descriptions[24] and Publishers Weekly called the book "an intriguing discussion of the power of faith".[25]

Short fiction by Kratman includes a contribution to the Forged in Blood (2017) anthology, which takes place in the Freehold universe created by Michael Z. Williamson and tells the story of a Japanese sword through centuries of history.[26] Kratman's story deals with a character who talks to the sword in a contribution described by Tangent Online as "hilarious" and appealing for readers who are "into gore porn."[27]

Kratman's work often reflects far right-wing perspectives[28][29] and he "delights in offending left-wing sensibilities".[15] During the Sad Puppies campaign in 2015, Kratman was nominated for a Hugo Award for his novella Big Boys Don't Cry (2014).[30][31][32] Kratman's story placed third while "no award" won the most votes.[33]

Published works edit

Essays edit

  • "The Amazon's Right Breast" (2011) As part of Baen's Free Nonfiction 2011.[34]
  • "Indirectly Mistaken Decision Cycles" (2012) As part of Baen's Free Nonfiction 2012.[35]
  • Training for War (April 2014) (ISBN 978-1625793027), Baen Free Nonfiction.

Standalone works edit

Series edit

Legacy of the Aldenata

A Desert Called Peace (Carrera)

Countdown

Award nominations edit

Kratman has received the following award or award nominations.

Year Organization Award title,
Category 		Work Result Refs
2004 Libertarian Futurist Society Prometheus Award,
Best Libertarian SF Novel 		A State of Disobedience Preliminary nominee [37]
2014 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award,
Best Related Work 		Training for War: An Essay Nomination below cutoff [38]
2015 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award,
Best Novella 		"Big Boys Don't Cry" 3 [30][39]

Explanatory notes edit

  1. ^ The first novel, A Desert Called Peace, draws its name from a speech which the Roman historian Tacitus attributes to the Caledonian chieftain Calgacus.[14]
  2. ^ German: "den coolen Retrofaschismus der Zukunft."

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Kumar, Lisa (April 2007). "KRATMAN, Tom". Something about the Author. Vol. 175. Thomson, Gale. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-0787687991.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Author Tom Kratman". Tomkratman.com. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Connors, Scott (April 7, 2008). "The Politics of Military SF". Publishers Weekly.
  4. ^ Robson, Seth (July 1, 2016). "Former troops building second careers in military science fiction". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Buchanan, Craig (April 16, 2015). "Sci-Fi Battlefields". The Big Issue: 30.
  6. ^ Kratman, Tom (2003). A State of Disobedience. Baen Books. ISBN 0-7434-9920-4.
  7. ^ a b Clute, John. "Kratman, Tom". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
  8. ^ Wolff, Michael (April 2004). "A State of Disobedience". Starlog (321): 10.
  9. ^ Hughes, JD (March 2016). "A State of Disobedience". American Survival Guide. 5 (3): 128.
  10. ^ Farmer, Lesley (2006). "KRATMAN, Tom. A State of Disobedience". Kliatt. 40 (1): 20.
  11. ^ Kratman, Tom (2008). Caliphate. Baen Books. ISBN 978-1-41655-545-2.
  12. ^ Durrani, Haris A. (September 2012). "The Failure of Post-9/11 Science Fiction". The New York Review of Science Fiction: 9–10.
  13. ^ Steyn, Mark (June 9, 2008). "Just to be clear, folks, it's a novel". Maclean's.
  14. ^ Bonandini, Alice (2017). "Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant" (PDF). ClassicoContemporaneo (3): 64–65. ISSN 2421-4744.[dead link]
  15. ^ a b "Carnifex". Publishers Weekly. October 8, 2007.
  16. ^ "Best-Selling Books ; Week Ended April 25; With data from Nielsen BookScan". April 30, 2010.
  17. ^ Moyer, Jessica (April 15, 2011). "The Amazon Legion". Booklist Online.
  18. ^ David Lloyd Sutton. "Come and Take Them". San Francisco Book Review.
  19. ^ Cassada, Jackie (Nov 15, 2013). "Come and Take Them". Library Journal.
  20. ^ Dath, Dietmar (September 8, 2005). "Weltretter Himmler". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  21. ^ "Watch on the Rhine (Die Wacht am Rhein)". Publishers Weekly.
  22. ^ "Yellow Eyes". Publishers Weekly.
  23. ^ Green, Roland (April 15, 2007). "Yellow Eyes". Booklist Online.
  24. ^ Green, Roland (September 28, 2009). "The Tuloriad". Booklist Online.
  25. ^ "The Tuloriad". Publishers Weekly.
  26. ^ Williamson, Michael Z., ed. (2017). "Table of Contents". Forged in Blood. Baen Books. ISBN 9781625796073.
  27. ^ Lewis, C. D. (October 6, 2017). "Forged in Blood, ed. by Michael Z. Williamson". Tangent Online. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  28. ^ Nicholson, Blair (2016). A Literary and Cultural History of Military Science Fiction and the United States of America, 1870s-2010s (PDF) (PhD). University of Waikato. pp. 216–221.
  29. ^ Bourke, Liz (January 17, 2012). "Admirals and Amazons: Women in Military Science Fiction". tor.com.
  30. ^ a b "2015 Hugo Awards". Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  31. ^ Walter, Damien (April 6, 2015). "Are the Hugo nominees really the best sci-fi books of the year". The Guardian. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  32. ^ Schneiderman, Miles (August 14, 2015). "Sad Puppies, Rabid Chauvinists: Will Raging White Guys Succeed in Hijacking Sci-Fi's Biggest Awards?". Yes! (U.S. magazine). Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  33. ^ "2015 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. 4 April 2015. from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  34. ^ Free Nonfiction 2011, Baen Ebooks
  35. ^ Free Nonfiction 2012, Baen Ebooks
  36. ^ Castaliahouse.com, Castalia House, February 24, 2014
  37. ^ "2004 Prometheus Award". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  38. ^ "2014 Hugo Award". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  39. ^ "2015 Hugo Award". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2019.

External links edit

April 12, 2024
kratman, thomas, kratman, born, september, 1956, american, military, science, fiction, author, retired, united, states, army, officer, whose, work, published, baen, books, kratman, novels, include, desert, called, peace, series, which, been, praised, action, s. Thomas P Kratman born September 4 1956 is an American military science fiction author and retired United States Army officer whose work is published by Baen Books Kratman s novels include the Desert Called Peace series which has been praised for its action sequences and attention to philosophy of war He authored three novels with John Ringo in the Legacy of the Aldenata series Kratman s works often reflect right wing political perspectives and some have been seen as deliberately crafted to offend left wing sensibilities During the Sad Puppies campaign in 2015 Kratman was nominated for a Hugo Award for his novella Big Boys Don t Cry Tom KratmanBorn 1956 09 04 September 4 1956 age 67 Boston Massachusetts U S OccupationAuthorLanguageEnglishAlma materBoston CollegeGenreScience fictionNotable worksA Desert Called Peace series Big Boys Don t Cry Hugo nominee Watch on the Rhine with John Ringo Websitewww wbr tomkratman wbr com Contents 1 Biography 2 Writing career 3 Published works 3 1 Essays 3 2 Standalone works 3 3 Series 4 Award nominations 5 Explanatory notes 6 References 7 External linksBiography editKratman enlisted in the U S Army in 1974 1 2 attended Boston College on an Army scholarship and was commissioned as an officer in 1980 1 2 He went on to serve both in the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War 3 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 at the United States Army War College as Director Rule of Law for the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute 1 2 Kratman retired in 2006 as a lieutenant colonel and became a full time author 4 2 In an autobiography on his website Kratman gives a personal perspective on his military career discussing both the Gulf War and many years of deployment to Panama where he met his wife 2 Kratman s success as an author has been explained as part of a 21st century turn towards military science fiction writers with first hand military experience 3 Writing career editKratman was recruited as an author by ex soldier and publisher Jim Baen who recruited a batch of younger like minded authors from similar backgrounds 5 Kratman Michael Z Williamson David Drake and John Ringo 5 Commonalities in the works of these authors include the setting of a civilization in decline with heroes battling against conventional wisdom 5 Kratman s first novel A State of Disobedience 2003 deals with a revolution against tyranny in a future United States 6 7 8 9 The book was described by Lesley Farmer in Kliatt as a libertarian inspired combat story with shallow characterization 10 Another politically oriented stand alone novel Caliphate 2008 takes place in a future Islamic Europe where a German girl is sold into prostitution to pay her family s yizya 11 The work has been described as a part of a trend towards more speculative fiction focus on Islam after the September 11 attacks 12 and as driving some readers to apoplexy 3 Mark Steyn discussed the novel s political aspects at length and also described it as a brisk page turner full of startling twists and bad sex 13 In the series begun with A Desert Called Peace a 2007 the hero battles a worldwide Caliphate 7 The second novel in the series Carnifex 2007 was praised by Publishers Weekly for its action sequences characterization and attention to philosophy of war 15 The third novel The Lotus Eaters 2010 placed 8 in the Wall Street Journal bestsellers list in the hardcover science fiction category 16 The fourth novel The Amazon Legion 2011 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 17 The fifth novel Come and Take Them 2013 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 18 Library Journal praised the series for its high standard of graphic and strategically detailed military sf 19 Kratman has co authored three novels with John Ringo in the Legacy of the Aldenata series The first was Watch on the Rhine 2005 which tells of rejuvenated members of the Waffen SS fighting alien invaders German author Dietmar Dath criticized the book s politics and warned of the use of cool retro fascism from the future as a propaganda tool b 20 Publishers Weekly called the book audacious and deliberately shocking but rewarding for readers who could overcome their ideological gag reflex 21 The second novel was Yellow Eyes 2007 where a war against aliens is set in Panama The book was described by Publishers Weekly as having vivid characters and satisfyingly detailed battle tactics 22 Roland Green at Booklist praised the book s action scenes and described its military science as intelligent though sometimes overly political 23 The third novel The Tuloriad 2009 draws on Homeric themes and tells of defeated aliens in search of a new home Roland Green praised the battle descriptions 24 and Publishers Weekly called the book an intriguing discussion of the power of faith 25 Short fiction by Kratman includes a contribution to the Forged in Blood 2017 anthology which takes place in the Freehold universe created by Michael Z Williamson and tells the story of a Japanese sword through centuries of history 26 Kratman s story deals with a character who talks to the sword in a contribution described by Tangent Online as hilarious and appealing for readers who are into gore porn 27 Kratman s work often reflects far right wing perspectives 28 29 and he delights in offending left wing sensibilities 15 During the Sad Puppies campaign in 2015 Kratman was nominated for a Hugo Award for his novella Big Boys Don t Cry 2014 30 31 32 Kratman s story placed third while no award won the most votes 33 Published works editEssays edit The Amazon s Right Breast 2011 As part of Baen s Free Nonfiction 2011 34 Indirectly Mistaken Decision Cycles 2012 As part of Baen s Free Nonfiction 2012 35 Training for War April 2014 ISBN 978 1625793027 Baen Free Nonfiction Standalone works edit Big Boys Don t Cry novella 2000 2014 36 A State of Disobedience December 2003 ISBN 0 7434 9920 4 Caliphate April 2008 ISBN 1 41655 545 5 Series edit Legacy of the AldenataWatch 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 edited short story collection ISBN 978 1481484169 CountdownThe 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 Award nominations editKratman has received the following award or award nominations Year Organization Award title Category Work Result Refs2004 Libertarian Futurist Society Prometheus Award Best Libertarian SF Novel A State of Disobedience Preliminary nominee 37 2014 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award Best Related Work Training for War An Essay Nomination below cutoff 38 2015 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award Best Novella Big Boys Don t Cry 3 30 39 Explanatory notes edit The first novel A Desert Called Peace draws its name from a speech which the Roman historian Tacitus attributes to the Caledonian chieftain Calgacus 14 German den coolen Retrofaschismus der Zukunft References edit a b c Kumar Lisa April 2007 KRATMAN Tom Something about the Author Vol 175 Thomson Gale pp 122 123 ISBN 978 0787687991 a b c d e Author Tom Kratman Tomkratman com Retrieved November 14 2017 a b c Connors Scott April 7 2008 The Politics of Military SF Publishers Weekly Robson Seth July 1 2016 Former troops building second careers in military science fiction Stars and Stripes Retrieved November 14 2017 a b c Buchanan Craig April 16 2015 Sci Fi Battlefields The Big Issue 30 Kratman Tom 2003 A State of Disobedience Baen Books ISBN 0 7434 9920 4 a b Clute John Kratman Tom The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Wolff Michael April 2004 A State of Disobedience Starlog 321 10 Hughes JD March 2016 A State of Disobedience American Survival Guide 5 3 128 Farmer Lesley 2006 KRATMAN Tom A State of Disobedience Kliatt 40 1 20 Kratman Tom 2008 Caliphate Baen Books ISBN 978 1 41655 545 2 Durrani Haris A September 2012 The Failure of Post 9 11 Science Fiction The New York Review of Science Fiction 9 10 Steyn Mark June 9 2008 Just to be clear folks it s a novel Maclean s Bonandini Alice 2017 Ubi solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant PDF ClassicoContemporaneo 3 64 65 ISSN 2421 4744 dead link a b Carnifex Publishers Weekly October 8 2007 Best Selling Books Week Ended April 25 With data from Nielsen BookScan April 30 2010 Moyer Jessica April 15 2011 The Amazon Legion Booklist Online David Lloyd Sutton Come and Take Them San Francisco Book Review Cassada Jackie Nov 15 2013 Come and Take Them Library Journal Dath Dietmar September 8 2005 Weltretter Himmler Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Retrieved July 8 2012 Watch on the Rhine Die Wacht am Rhein Publishers Weekly Yellow Eyes Publishers Weekly Green Roland April 15 2007 Yellow Eyes Booklist Online Green Roland September 28 2009 The Tuloriad Booklist Online The Tuloriad Publishers Weekly Williamson Michael Z ed 2017 Table of Contents Forged in Blood Baen Books ISBN 9781625796073 Lewis C D October 6 2017 Forged in Blood ed by Michael Z Williamson Tangent Online Retrieved July 22 2019 Nicholson Blair 2016 A Literary and Cultural History of Military Science Fiction and the United States of America 1870s 2010s PDF PhD University of Waikato pp 216 221 Bourke Liz January 17 2012 Admirals and Amazons Women in Military Science Fiction tor com a b 2015 Hugo Awards Retrieved January 15 2016 Walter Damien April 6 2015 Are the Hugo nominees really the best sci fi books of the year The Guardian Retrieved July 25 2019 Schneiderman Miles August 14 2015 Sad Puppies Rabid Chauvinists Will Raging White Guys Succeed in Hijacking Sci Fi s Biggest Awards Yes U S magazine Retrieved July 25 2019 2015 Hugo Awards The Hugo Awards 4 April 2015 Archived from the original on 19 June 2021 Retrieved 9 September 2021 Free Nonfiction 2011 Baen Ebooks Free Nonfiction 2012 Baen Ebooks Castaliahouse com Castalia House February 24 2014 2004 Prometheus Award Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on July 29 2019 Retrieved July 29 2019 2014 Hugo Award Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on July 20 2017 Retrieved July 29 2019 2015 Hugo Award Internet Speculative Fiction Database Archived from the original on July 20 2017 Retrieved July 29 2019 External links editTomKratman com Tom Kratman at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tom Kratman amp oldid 1179382491, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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