Riveting Third Title

In a Fascinating Action Series

Review by Jeff Salter

Of William Alan Webb’s

Standing at the Edge

Vol. 3 of the Last Brigade Series

Intro

I first encountered Bill Webb on the pages of a WW2 magazine where he’d published a detailed analysis of a particular battle on the Eastern Front (I’ve since forgotten which battle) — though I didn’t actually know him back then. We finally got acquainted through Dingbat Publishing, which had some of my titles and his new (at that time) novel which has since launched a wildly successful series, some spin-offs by Bill, and some adjunct series written jointly with other authors. In other words, Bill has become a veritable wellspring of creative output and writing partnerships.

Having read the first two titles in this series – The Last Brigade – I naturally wanted to see what happens in book # 3, for which I’m providing this brief review today. I say “brief” because I only finished reading it late Tuesday night, and that gave me just a small piece of one busy day to mull over what I wanted to say about it.

But first, the cover and blurb.

Blurb

Nick Angriff’s ultimate enemy finally takes the stage and the 7th Cavalry will never be the same.

Operation Overtime has come through its first winter in post-Collapse America in better shape than expected. Food is plentiful, the city of Prescott is healing, and there’s even a battalion of new recruits for the Marines. Everything seems to be going Angriff’s way, until people start trying to kill him again.

When the aggressive Chinese send an armored force to capture old America’s largest tank farm, Angriff can rally only desperate measures to stop them. But first he must crush the traitors both inside and outside of Operation Overtime.

Angriff must rely on others to do what he has always done for himself. As the body count mounts, he has to determine who he can trust and who wants him dead.

In the tradition of Standing The Final Watch and Standing In The Storm, traitors, assassins, and secrets explode in a rocket-powered roller coaster called Standing At The Edge.

You’ve been warned.

My Brief Review

Though there is a considerable amount of intrigue – including reunions and betrayals, friendships and traitors – and plot twists galore, what sets this series apart for me are the battle scenes. These are not the type of battles I’ve seen in most of Hollywood’s war movies from the 1940s through the 1970s. There’s no glamor here… just fear, sweat, blood, and casualties. Facing seemingly insurmountable odds, little bands of the good guys make their stand against hoards of bad guys – and, believe me, you’ll know which is which. And unlike those Hollywood flicks, you’ll have no idea who’s going to survive and who won’t. There is tension and suspense as the reader can smell the cordite, hear the whine of bullets and whack of shrapnel, and feel the concussion from nearly explosions.

There’s also a lot of strategy… as the good guys not only have to figure out who the enemy is, where the enemy is, and what the enemy is doing — but then stretch their limited resources to respond to those threats. Furthermore, there are softer elements involving family members and romantic partners.

You could comfortably read this book as a stand-alone, but it definitely helps to have read the first two titles. I say it helps, because there is a sizeable cast of characters, most of whom have complex (and changing) relationships with other characters. To that end, the author has provided a helpful list of characters in the front of this volume.

My single observation that’s less than positive: there’s a lot of cussing. Yes, I know people in the military cuss. I served some 9 years of active duty, reserve, and national guard. Yeah, those guys cuss a lot… those words are often part of everyday conversation. But it’s still a bit jarring to me, decades later, to read those words.

Summary:

If you enjoy (as I do) a rousing, pulse-pounding read – with plenty of battle action – this book (and the whole series) is definitely for you. Just ignore the earthy language and enjoy the compelling story!

For a look at Bill’s first book in this same series – as well as his interesting answers to my interview questions, check out my blog from six years ago (2016):

Guest Hound, William Alan Webb

Question:

Do YOU enjoy reading fast-paced action novels?

[JLS # 576]