Inferno's Shadow

Artillerymen #4

by Taylor Anderson

Lost in a mysterious world, far from all they knew in 1847 America, Colonel Lewis Cayce and his soldiers must face the unimaginable might of the Dominion once and for all in this gripping alternate history from the New York Times bestselling author of the Destroyermen series.

Colonel Lewis Cayce and his forces were a group of American soldiers bound to fight in the Mexican-American War—until they were stranded in a strange new world inhabited by vicious monsters, new friends, and deadly foes. Now Cayce has brought his army of displaced Americans and their indigenous allies into the heart of the loathsome, blood-drenched Dominion’s stronghold. 

If he can take the enemy’s holiest city and support the elevation of a new “Supreme Holiness” who seeks to moderate the Dominion’s thirst for expansion, slavery, and blood sacrifice, Cayce’s own goal for his army and new people to live in security and freedom will be assured.

But no matter how good of a soldier he is, Cayce is ruled by reason, and the madness and seemingly suicidal treachery of his adversaries, not to mention the sheer titanic scope of the force arrayed against him, might finally be more than he can cope with. Which side will ultimately discover that even victory can end in defeat?

Genres: Audiobook, Alternate History, Science Fiction

473 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2025

Reviews

[Wess Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of, "Inferno's Shadow," by Taylor Anderson -

The fourth volume in the epic tale of Lewis Cayce and his army is a real barn burner! I’m not going to go into the plot or the story, except to say that the climactic battles are the most intense and breathtaking that Taylor has put to pen.

There used to be a “Murphy’s Laws of Combat” – probably still is - and one of the laws is that no matter what the plan, the enemy gets a vote too. Oh, there’s another one: No plan survives contact with the enemy. (My 30 years of reenacting the War Between the States as a Confederate infantryman taught me that no plan survives the command “Forward march.”) If you think these battles are going to be predictable, see previous reference to Murphy’s Laws. The sounds, the exhaustion, the fear, the fatalism born of an endless campaign of horror - get ready.

There is one thing that’s a little different in this one. You see, Taylor knows a LOT about the care and feeding of muzzle loading artillery, knowledge gained by breathing a hell of a lot of powder smoke. In his descriptions of Cayce’s artillerists fighting their guns, the reader is treated to a master class in how to do it, and the ghastly effects of doing it right. I found this aspect delightful, and in many instances, I had the impression that Taylor was actually reading the book to me.

An aspect of Taylor’s genius is his character development. These are not cookie-cutter heroes and villains from some 1953 B movie. Every one of them is as real and quickened as the printed word can make them, and they are consistently true to themselves throughout the campaign. Lewis is a stone killer in any kind of fight. Leonor is raven-haired shield maiden worthy of tales of her own – the definitive mistress of the Patterson Colt. Now I won’t give it away, but the two of them, when the sweat, mud, and blood are washed off, and the tent flaps are tied tight… Well, Taylor can write more than battles.
So we have 453 pages of the grandest, most heart-pounding, exhausting, exulting, edifying military fiction you’ll find anywhere. A philosopher once defined “romanticist literature” – not “romance,” or “romantic,” but “romanticist” – as literature that presents the world and people as they could and should be. I’ve no idea what Taylor will think of that, but I honestly believe “The Artillerymen” fits that description – splendid heroes and heroines and utterly despicable villains!

Action Front! Load with cannister and hold.

[Daniel Shellenbarger · Rating 4 out of 5]

To start off, I'm just going to say that Artillerymen never quite rose to the heights of Destroyermen for me. Partly that's just the fact that I find naval warfare stories more interesting than land warfare stories, and this series definitely skewed more towards the latter. Another factor is that because this is a prequel, any reader of the Destroyermen books will know (in broad strokes) how things are going to end, and there's few surprises in terms of big events because anything too big would cause continuity problems. Similarly, there's not as much world-building to be done, so there's just not as much of the excitement of finding new places, new people, and new monsters that was such a fun element of the Destroyermen books. All that said, this is still a very enjoyable series written by an author who knows how to spin a good yarn and has an excellent grasp of military technology and tactics and who always does a great job of filling his books with colorful and likeable period-realistic protagonists and (mostly) believably dastardly villains and while he might not have gotten much opportunity to expand his world in this book, the cross-universe melting pot death-world version of Earth in his books is already a fascinating setting and he always makes great use of it. All in all, even within the strictures of telling a story whose ending the audience already knows, this is an exciting read, mostly for the more personal stakes of wondering who will live and who will die (and as in the last Destroyermen book, the death toll among the cast is quite harrowing), and it makes a satisfying conclusion to the prequel series. Fortunately, looks like Anderson will be moving back to the future in the next book, picking up with some of the Destroyermen crew. I'm split between thinking they're going to be hunting down remnants of the Dominion deep in South America or making contact with the pocket of potentially allied Brits/Turks/Russians in the Bosporus (hopefully accompanied by a Cold War-esque naval confrontation with the League), either sounds like fun to me and I'd be just as excited if it was something else completely different.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of the beginning?

This is the fourth book and possibly the last. The book is action packed. There are plans and plans within the plans. When you get the the epilogue, you get the sense this is the end. Using the fictitious book written by Courtney Bradford, you have a brief but detailed history of the New United States. The family names of Anson and Semmes ought to be very familiar by now; Anson is the name of the NUS spy who rescued Fred and Kari. Semmes commands the task force who Commander Garrett encountered.

Same with the Holy Dominion; the Dominion had also moved from the Valley of Mexico to south of the Pass of Fire and set up a new capital somewhere in northern South America. The cold war between the two nations begins with most of the Central America as a DMZ. That area has been depopulated which sets up the Destroyermen series.

The question is whether the author will expand on that epilogue in a potential future book 5. At the same time, Taylor hinted at a possible book 16 from the Destroyermen. We will see.

[Ray A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful closing to a terrific trilogy

Exceptionally good reading experience. The narrative flows smoothly, and the action dominates.
The characters are all quite believable.

Thank you, Taylor Anderson, for stepping into writing at a time when so many of my favorites with a similar power of narrative have passed.

[Art Morrish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Taylor Anderson is without a doubt one of my favorite authors. He brings a unique blend of historical military accuracy, a clear eyed view of internal and international politics, and edge of your seat story telling that I find truly compelling. I can’t wait for his next adventure.

[shawn murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book in Taylor Anderson’s Alternate Earth world.

Book 4, Inferno’s Shadow of Artillerymen series where a group of folks from 1847 are transported to another Earth. On it they find allies and enemies and must battle The Dominion, fatalist religious group, to keep them from destroying their world.
Lots of action and intrigue. Love the world Anderson has created. Sad to see it end.

[Al Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally don’t like prequels. This book is an exception. The descriptions of of operation of a 6 pounder gun are one example. The characters are enjoyable. But the most memorable thing about it is that it doesn’t leave a whole bunch of questions unanswered.

[Jim Purcell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series, as anticipated, closes well. There is a lot of death and destruction with a horrendous finale. Anderson is an excellent storyteller and creates many interesting characters. His end story is refreshingly predictive.

[Timothy Haggerty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great tale

Really enjoyed this book for it's historical fiction with a science fiction background. Evil empires, evil priests and dinosaurs what can go wrong. Sorry to see this series end and look forward to what comes next.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

I have really enjoyed the action and authentic characters that he bring forth. What is next? You know we are going to ask that question

[Ron Kastner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series that needs to be read in sequence to savor the epic sweep and excitement.

[Karen Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series, incredible battle sequences, great story

[david Mallick · Rating 5 out of 5]

👍🏼

Another hit in a long line of great reads! Hopefully there is going to be more to come. Thank you

[Kevin K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felt a bit rushed, but I enjoyed it as the conclusion to a series that flesh out the world Anderson has created.

I'd eat an anthology of Corps of Discovery stories for breakfast, so I'm hoping he can get cracking on that as soon as possible.