Hell’s March

Anderson’s steady second volume (after Purgatory’s Shore) in the unfolding saga of 19th century U.S. and Mexican troops trapped on an alternate Earth populated by dinosaurs and a bloodthirsty cult takes the focus off prehistoric beasts and onto supply chains. Col. Lewis Cayce, a former artillery captain heading off to fight in the Mexican-American War, now commands a polyglot force of U.S., Mexican, and Indigenous soldiers allied against the vicious Holy Dominion, which is falling further under the sway of its own fanatic Blood Priests. Deciding the best defense is to take the war to the Dominion, Cayce sets in motion a variety of military missions to retrieve a captured U.S. warship, disrupt the Dominion’s warriors, and outflank their best general and the only significant army still in the field against Cayce’s troops. Anderson loads the narrative with intricate wartime logistics and the minute technical details of Civil War era weaponry. He presents a clear moral choice and allows those characters who are able to find common ground to reap the rewards of their tolerance and acceptance of difference (though not of cannibalism), if not easily, then without undue struggle. Series fans will be pleased with this gripping yarn. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Sept.)