Ryan Williamson Doomsday Recon

Guest Review: Death or Glory

Goodreads reviewer Joanne Budzien calls Death or Glory one of her top 10 books of 2025—so compelling she reread it within a month, finishing both times in under 24 hours. This middle book in my Doomsday Recon trilogy masterfully blends military action, fantasy, and literary fiction without typical sequel slump. Real stakes, visceral character development, and genre-defying storytelling create something rare: a philosophical war story that never lectures. Budzien’s spoiler-filled review wrestles with an unexpected problem—too much excellent character development—while praising my handling of everything from realistic dialogue to traumatic events. Her verdict? Read it, then immediately continue to Born in Battle for the full emotional impact.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Ryan Williamson Doomsday Recon

Guest Review: Born in Battle

“This is one of the top 5 books I’ve read this year. For perspective, this was book 113.” A week after finishing Born in Battle, reader Joanne Budzien still wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about it—and she’s read War and Peace, Blood Meridian, and Crime and Punishment this year. This isn’t safe military fiction with guardrails. It’s suicidally dark, literary in scope, and refuses to follow genre tropes. People die—not as plot points, but as losses that matter. The women are Vasquez and Ripley, not token diversity. The responsibility isn’t superhero idealism but middle-aged up-to-your-ass-in-alligators reality. “I cannot state strongly enough how great this book is if you’re truly willing to go all the way.“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Ryan Williamson Doomsday Recon

Doomsday Recon: Guest Review

Goodreads review by Joanne Budzien. Doomsday Recon arrived on Friday and I was finished by Saturday evening. I changed some of my Saturday plans so I could spend the afternoon reading this book. However, the first time I read Shōgun, I missed sleep and had to set timers to remember to eat and take bathroom breaks. Doomsday Recon is a page turner, but not a put-your-life-on-hold, total immersion experience. Of the 108 books I’ve finished this year, Doomsday Recon is the only one that made me create a GoodReads account to tell folks to read this book. I didn’t do that for There is No Antimemetics Division or Theft of Fire. However, Doomsday Recon is not War and Peace, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Gone with the Wind, or any of the other classics I’ve read this year. Doomsday Recon is a good summer read if you want action that includes soldiers doing their best in weird circumstances that include god-like interdimensional beings, sassy suicidal cat-gremlins (who are sure they are not kitties), and Sugar Skull Gals.