The Last Battle by Tamar Anolic is a Backlist Bonanza pick #militaryfiction #fiction #ku #giveaway
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    • Aug 24, 2023
    • 5 min read

The Last Battle by Tamar Anolic is a Backlist Bonanza pick #militaryfiction #fiction #ku #giveaway



Title: The Last Battle


Author: Tamar Anolic


Genre: Military Fiction


Book Blurb:


After ten years of war, a second changes a life.


Colonel Zahara “Zac” Madison is one of the Army’s top-ranking female officers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. After three deployments and ten years of fighting, her luck runs out- her convoy is attacked, and she is injured by grenades and machine guns.

After being forced into a disability retirement at 34 years old, Zac has no choice but to return to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where her grandfather left her property. Zac is now at a dead end in life: permanently injured, separated from the military, and too close to her small Arkansas hometown and her abusive, dysfunctional family. Zac’s battle scars have also produced post-traumatic stress disorder and uncontrollable anxiety. Soon, Zac finds that her mental stress is as bad as her physical wounds, and she is faced with the VA’s impenetrable bureaucracy at every turn.

To make matters worse, Zac also learns of charges of treason against General Victor Rice. General Rice is a vocal critic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he is also a strong leader and was one of Zac’s first mentors. The knowledge that she will have to testify at General Rice’s trial only complicates Zac’s recovery. As her woes mount, Zac struggles to decide whether to plan her future- or whether to end her suffering once and for all.


Excerpt:

When she awoke, Zac saw nothing but a sea of white. Panicking, she thrashed against whatever was holding her down.


“Relax, relax, you’re safe now,” said a quiet voice next to her.


Zac’s heart continued to race. She swallowed and looked around. She was in a hospital, and a medic in a U.S. Army uniform was standing next to her. Her name band said Rodriguez. “Where am I?” Zac croaked.


“At the American Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany,” Sergeant Rodriguez replied. “We had to airlift you away from the fighting.”


“Ah, Colonel, you’re awake,” said another voice from the doorway. Zac looked over and saw Brigadier General Jim Conrad, her direct superior officer. “I was beginning to wonder whether you would make it,” Conrad continued when he realized he had her attention.


Sergeant Rodriguez snapped into a salute.


“At ease, Sergeant. Would you give us a minute?”


“Yes, sir!” Sergeant Rodriguez briskly exited the room.


Conrad came over to Zac’s bedside and sat down.


“What happened to me?” Zac asked.


“Well, what do you remember?” Conrad said.


Zac took a deep breath and described as much as she could.


“You kept firing after you got thrown by the explosion?” Conrad asked, incredulous.


Zac nodded.


Conrad shook his head in disbelief. He was silent for a moment. “Well, your men pushed back the enemy. Killed most of them, but took a few prisoners as well and have been questioning them ever since. Last I heard, the hostages broke down and told where their base of operations was. You did well, Zac. I think the end of the war is in sight, and I didn’t think that last week.”


“But what about me?” Zac asked.


“You’re pretty badly burned on your left side and back as a result of the grenade.”


Zac turned, trying to get a look at the burns, but most of her body was wrapped in white bandages. “I don’t feel anything,” she said.


“The doctors have been pumping you full of painkillers. You wouldn’t be alive without them. They also had to change your dressings several times while you were out.”


Zac’s face crinkled in disgust.


“Truly,” Conrad said. “But frankly, I’m surprised you survived as intact as you are. All the other men near that grenade were either killed or are missing limbs. Sorry,” he said as Zac winced. “I guess you were far enough away to avoid that.”


“What-” Zac’s voice faltered. She swallowed, and found that her throat was very dry. “What about the soldiers in the Humvee in front of me?”


“Why don’t you get some rest?” Conrad replied.


“Dammit, Jim, I need to know!”


Conrad heaved a breath. “The driver was killed immediately,” he said. “The rest didn’t last much longer.”


“Matt was one of my best officers,” Zac said.


“I’m sorry,” Conrad said.


Zac reached for the glass of water on the table next to her bed, hoping Conrad didn’t see the tears coming down her face. I should have been the one driving that first Humvee, she thought. I was the superior officer and in charge of the mission. After she had drunk half the glass of water, she looked back at Conrad and asked, “What about my leg?”


“The bullets shattered your femur. You’ve been through two surgeries already, and you’ll probably need another. You’ll be in that cast for several weeks, but after that, you’ll walk. With a limp, in all probability, but you’ll walk.”


“What about active service?”


Conrad looked away for a moment before shaking his head. “Your wounds are pretty bad, Zac. You’re not going to fight again.”


“What do you mean, I can’t fight again?” Zac yelled. “Where’s my gun?”


Sergeant Rodriguez reappeared in a hurry. “Sir, perhaps this isn’t the best time to have this conversation,” she said to Conrad.


“I’m sorry,” Conrad said to Zac. He stood. “I’ll come by later.”


Zac glared at him as he disappeared. Don’t leave me here! she wanted to yell, but she felt herself start to drift off. As her eyes closed, she noticed that Sergeant Rodriguez had hooked up her IV again.


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What makes your featured book a must-read?


This highly reviewed book approaches a topic not seen enough in novels: a female veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, and her transition to civilian life after being injured on the battlefield.


Giveaway –


Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:



Open Internationally.


Runs August 23 – August 31, 2023.


Winner will be drawn on September 1, 2023.



Author Biography:


The Last Battle is Tamar’s first novel. Her other military works include The Fledgling’s Inferno, which is the first book in the Vanguard Warrior Trilogy and has been long listed the Cygnus Book Awards. The second book in the trilogy is A Silent Evil, which is Tamar’s most recent novel. Many of her other novels have also won awards, including her novels about the Romanovs, which include Tales of the Romanov Empire, Triumph of a Tsar, Through the Fire and The Imperial Spy. Her short story collection set in the Old West, The Lonely Spirit, is an Indie Brag Medallion winner and a first place winner in the Chanticleer International Book Awards for Short Story Collections and Novellas. Her recent YA novel, Two Sisters of Fayetteville, is an Indie Brag Medallion winner that also won an Honorable Mention for Young Adult Fiction in the Firebird Book Awards.


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