I really do intend to read the Easy Rawlins series fairly soon, having re-read Devil in a Blue Dress semi-recently. Maybe when I finish Nate Heller, since they’re a bit similar.

So many books. So little time.

War on the Border: Villa, Pershing, the Texas Rangers, and an American Invasion by Jeff Guinn

"Panco Villa crossed the border in the year of ‘aught sixteen
The people of Columbus still hear him riding through their dreams
He killed seventeen civilians you could hear the women scream
Blackjack Pershing on a dancing horse was waiting in the wings"

- Tom Russell, Tonight We Ride 


On March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and raided the border town of Columbus, New Mexico, looting the business sector and setting a number of buildings on fire.  Ultimately, in response, the United States sent General John J. Pershing across the border with with 4,800 troops in what was then called the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army" to capture Pancho Villa and end the treat of the Villistas.  The expedition lasted just over 10 months and did not succeed in capturing Villa.  I knew that much going in, and not just from Tom Russell's song.  But there was a lot of background, some of which I did not know.  

Journalist and popular history author Jeff Guinn gives us an overview of the Villa Expedition along with the background necessary to understand why it happened and why it turned out the way it did.  That background involves a lot of the history of the diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Mexico, the Mexican Revolution, the history of raids over the border (from both sides) and the build-up to the entry of the U.S. in to World War I.  It's a whole lot of stuff and, honestly, almost every chapter in the book could be its own monograph, along with biographies of Villa, Venustiano Carranza, and most of the major participants in the Mexican Revolution that raged from 1910-1920.  If you're well versed in the Mexican Revolution, the unofficial Border War between the U.S. and Mexico that went on for most of that time (including the involvement of the Texas Rangers and the "Bandit Wars") then this is probably not the book for you.  But if you're looking for a primer that can lead to more in depth looks...this is a pretty decent place to start.  For those of us who were already familiar with the Zimmerman Telegram, there's a lot more context of the fairly long-term German efforts to stoke the border disputes between the U.S. and Mexico in hopes of igniting a war that would keep the U.S. out of the war in Europe.  

Well worth a read and definitely a nice place to start on a part of American history that is seldom looked at in depth.  

Goblin Emperor
Katherine Addison

Its certainly not unique to have an outsider come into a royal court and try to take over, but this version of that story was really well done.

The main character was very unique in that not only was he a reluctant ruler, but not a particularly strong person. He instead managed to find a good guide and managed to muddle through.

Not a whole lot happens in the book (there is only action in the last 3rd of the book, and only then a bit).. but the characters and the very realistic world that is set up definitely keeps you turning the pages.

The Massacre of Mankind, by Stephen Baxter.

This is the official sequel to H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, in which the Martians are ack for Round 2 (a bit as in Marvel's Killraven series).

I enjoyed it quite a bit, although I believe it could easily have been a hundred pages shorter. It is divided in four parts, between which many years can elapse.

In part one, we reacquaint ourselves with characters from the original novel. They are now all named (and we learn that the narrator from WotW is not Wells himself, who is actually a competitor, but one Walter Jenkins). Miss Elphinstone, also from the original book, eventually married Jenkins's brother with whom she had shared a few chapters. She subsequently divorced him and is our main point-of-view character here, a daring war veteran, suffragette and journalist.

Fifteen years have passed, and as one would expect the Martian invasion changed the course of history; World War I did not involve England nor the US, and although France was beaten, the fighting continues in imperial Russia. Some martian technology has been retro-engineered, leading to things like the Titanic surviving its maiden voyage and its unlucky encounter with an iceberg. England has become something of an authoritarian state.

Jenkins himself is also divorced and lives as a quasi recluse with autistic tendencies, and although he has a huge impact on the plot, we don't see much of him this time around.

Once the cast of characters is established in large part, we witness the return of the Martians to England and the discomfiture of the authorities who, as is so often the case, have made preparations to win the previous war but didn't anticipate that the enemy might change its tactics. First, the Martians have apparently found a way (unexplained) to become immune to the bugs that killed them during the first invasion. Second, having anticipated that the British army and its astronomers would predict where they would land and doubtless send a huge welcoming committee, the Martians begin by sending not their manned cylinders but a large number of kinetic impactors that dispose of the enemy and clear the land for a proper arrival.

The rest of Part 1 is devoted to the rout of the British army and the conquest of the country, much as in WotW. (I could have done without all the scenes of people fleeing... been there, read that).

Part 2 begins two years later. The Martians are essentially unbeatable, but their goal is not extermination. They control a large zone in England where they start culling the population selectively; they seem to want to treat us as cattle. A plan is made to try and poison their blood supply (they feed on human blood) with a new pathogen, and it is Miss Elphinstone who is charged with delivering it by carrying it in her own bloodstream. Officially, however, her mission is to try to communicate with the Martians using symbols conceived by Jenkins. Much as in Arrival, symbols play a big role in the plot.

The novel also makes use of the fact that other planets in our solar system are peopled, and the story's premise is that the outermost planets saw intelligence develop first. Jupiter is therefore supposed to be far more advanced than Mars, which is far more advanced that Earth, which itself is more advanced than Venus. Martians, in need of greener pastures (so to speak) have already invaded Venus, but not the mightier Jupiter.

Part 2 is rich in adventure, but once again we could have cut several parts dealing with the culture of potatoes in an occupied territory and the like. Such descriptions may make the book more down-to-earth, but slow the pace down. And anyway, Miss Elphinstone soon realizes that the "new pathogen" plan is flawed, as it would just be one more episode in an ongoing war that we'd surely lose in the end. Besides, she thinks she has a better, cleverer way to end the war for good!

Part 3 describes the arrival of a new wave of Martian invaders, striking all over the world. Here again many pages could have been cut, because we get to see how several places are conquered even if nothing else is learned.

Luckily, Miss Elphinstone's plan works. I won't spoil it, but it is at the same time original, quite unbelievable and an acknowledged Deus ex Machina. I wouldn't say I found it frustrating, though; the seeds had been planted early in the novel. The Martians stop their invasion and seemingly vanish.

Part 4 is the shortest, and that is unfortunate as it is the most original section of the novel. We once again jump many years into the future, and see how Earth changed after the second invasion. We also learn that most Martians are still here, and that although they have renounced the armed struggle, they could still be a big problem for other reasons. Some (like Churchill) want to exterminate them, but others (like Jenkins) want to negotiate a mutually acceptable modus vivendi. The conclusion is pleasantly unconventional.

Many historical characters make appearances, and the mix of nostlagia/alternate history/military thriller makes for a nice read. I liked it.

Latest read: Barbarians edited by Robert Adams, Martin Greenberger & Charles Waugh w/stories by Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Fred Saberhagen, Andre Norton, Lin Carter, Karl Edward Wagner, Poul Anderson, Katherine Kurtz others. Some were a bit uneven, but most were at least enjoyable. All were new to me except REH's Conan tale Beyond the Black River.

-M