Bad Times: Blood Red Tide by Chuck Dixon is a roisterous continuation of Bad Times: Cannibal Gold, and a more than worthy successor. If you thought CG had action aplenty, continue on my stalwart companions.
Picking up just months after Cannibal Gold, Blood Red Tide sends parts of our crew into the more recent history, if you think history is sailing ships and Romans and Carthinians.
There was less in the present this trip around, but given the ooh so smooth writing of the author, what there is is packed with action, mystery, intrigue, and dastardly doings. Murder, intrigue, burnings at the largest place of worship in the world....it doesn't get any faster, better, more maniacal or frenetic than this.
And we haven't even gotten to the main story yet. Once again our battling behemoth, Dwayne, is in deep and fighting his way out, long ago in Bad Times past with Caroline joining in on the fun.
Combing near future tech and swords, boats and bludgeons, this is a more dense and worthy successor to Cannibal Gold and has me waiting on the next release eagerly.
As someone who's a fan of all kinds of Sci/Fantasy from Terry Pratchett and Spider Robinson to Larry Correia and Simon R. Green, Dixon has managed, in just two books, to earn a coveted place on my library shelf.
Congrats on a fine book, Mr. Dixon.