Violent Peace: The War with China—Aftermath of Armageddon

In 2019’s Overthrow, the U.S. won the war against China, but a nuclear strike left more than 10 million Americans “missing and presumed dead.” Now, in Poyer’s outstanding 20th military action thriller featuring U.S. Navy officer Dan Lenson, the fifth focused on a near-future war in the Pacific, Lenson is back in the U.S. trying to find his daughter, Nan, who was working in Seattle on a cure for a virus known as the Chinese flu. The city was mostly obliterated by a megaton-range airburst, but he soon picks up a promising trail. Poyer also follows the fortunes of various supporting characters his fans have come to care about, notably Lenson’s wife, Blair Titus; Cheryl Staurulakis, captain of the USN ship Savo Island; machine gunner Hector Ramos; and Navy Master Chief Theodore Harlett Oberg. Each story is unique, exciting, and often moving. Evocative prose is a plus (“A reluctant pilgrim, he set out to cross a ruined land”), and the ending opens new territory to explore in coming volumes. This is a series like no other in the military thriller genre. (Dec.)