Eye of the Storm

I just finished reading an advance copy of this new Ringo novel, and I'm itching for more. It's great to have a new Aldenata book, and this one didn't disappoint. Eye of the Storm follows the same model as Hymn Before Battle, with a really strong start and a really strong finish, and a hundred or so pages of housekeeping in the middle. This one features a fair amount of Cally, a lot of Snake, and more Michelle than any of the previous books. Plus, we get a big, long Iron Mike battle sequence, so it's all good. Overall, I highly recommend this book to everybody who has enjoyed a John Ringo book. If you haven't read this author before, don't start with this book you'll be hopelessly lost and might not be ready for the level of violence (very high) and profanity (medium high).

Eye of the Storm (2009) is the fifth SF novel in the Legacy of the Aldenata series, following Honor of the Clan. In the previous volume, the ACS under Mike raided a Bane Sidhe facility and found themselves in a firestorm. Mike kills a sniper who had him under the gun and didn't fire. Most of the rebels got away and fled the site. In this novel, Michael O'Neal is a Major General within Fleet Strike. His 11th ACS Corps is on R-1436 Delta -- AKA Akoria/Ackia -- reclaiming the planet from the Posleen. The fighting is brisk and Mike is very busy. Calliope O'Neal is Mike's daughter, although he doesn't know that she is alive. Cally is also a member of the Bane Sidhe, the underground resistence to the Darhel. Michelle O'Neal is Mike's youngest daughter. Chelle was raised by the Indowy to be a Sohon Mentat, a person with wizardly powers. James Stewart -- AKA Joshua Price, Julio Ingatio Garcia and Yan Kato -- is a former Fleet Strike Lieutenant General. Now he is Cally's husband and the father of her children. He is also a mamber of the chinese Tong. William Young Boyd is a rejuvenated former soldier and a Panamanian entrepeneur. He was Dictator of Panama during the Posleen invasion (see Yellow Eyes). Now he is merely a very rich man, despite Darhel efforts to assassinate him and to ruin him financially. Daisie Mae is the spirit of the Des Moines, a sea-going heavy cruiser. Now she owns a body grown from the DNA of the actress who played Daisie Mae in the movie. She has to remain near the AI device that controls the cruiser. Daisie Mae is also a prime contributor to Boyd's financial success. Guano was a Posleen God-King and the only survivor of the aliens who invaded throgh the Darien. His experiences have caused him to have some fearful phobias. Now he belongs to Boyd, providing access to Posleen devices via his passwords and physiology. In this story, Mike finds human beings on Ackia, descendants of people who had been sent to this planet of exile thirty thousand years ago by the Darhel. Since the Darhel have kept such information away from the humans on Earth, this news will badly hurt their public image. Then he discovers that the Darhel owe him a great deal of money. The Darhel have corrupted most Fleet officers. The Admiral commanding the ships that had brought the 11th Corps to R-1436 Delta is a Darhel lackey. When he is ordered to prevent the spread of this disturbing truth, the Fifth Fleet ships destroy the troops of 11th Corps and capture Mike. Back on Luna, Mike is tried by a kangaroo court headed by his friend Lieutenant General Tam Wesley. He is allowed into the courtroom only to hear the foregone decision and punitive sentence. But Mike -- and General Wesley -- are not the only persons upset by the courtmartial. The Bane Sidhe -- together with Michelle -- rescue Mike from his Fleet guards. Moreover, the news of this fiasco is spread widely. A mutiny starts on Luna and spreads to other Fleet Strike facilitie

I was lucky enough to get my preordered copy of this book a couple of weeks early, meaning I could read it right after finishing the previous book, "Honor of the Clan." For context, the prior books have fallen into three major groups: "Iron Mike" O'Neal's story as the leader of the war against the Posleen (written by Ringo alone), country-centered books set during that war that examine parts of it in depth (written with Tom Kratman), and books centered around his father and daughter about fifty years later (written with Julie Cochrane). Yes, there's one more book - "The Hero," written with Mike Williamson - but it doesn't really fit into continuity any longer. It's a good read, but think of it as taking place in a very alternate future. If you haven't read the Kratman and Cochrane books, you can probably follow along passably when events and characters from them are referenced...but you should really read them first and get the full picture. "Eye of the Storm" is a major turning point in this series. It picks up very soon after "Honor of the Clan" and proceeds to tie everything together. Just when everybody thought the Posleen threat had been decisively conquered, there's a new enemy to deal with...one that changes all the rules. The Children of the Aldenata will all have to learn to work together under *human* leadership - for if they don't, they will surely be conquered. These power realignments are particularly satisfying to watch. The Darhel may have to knuckle under, but they don't like it one little bit. The Indowy will have to completely reconsider their methods and their ethics. The Himmit will have to start divulging some of their secrets. And somehow, the decimated humans are going to have to field another army. Just when you thought it was safe to retire.... Yes, there's a lot of coarse language and other mature situations in this book. That's the nature of this being the latest entry in an authentic military SF series. Soldiers act like soldiers, killing their enemies, making rude comments, and swearing when things go badly. If that's not for you, save yourself some time and just don't bother with the series. On the other hand, if you think that sounds neat and entertaining, I heartily recommend it. One warning to the reader, though: Chapter 6 is The Chapter That Never Ends. It's about 150 pages that could have easily been split up into smaller bites. I'll forgive that, though, as (a) the book is good enough that you'll want to read it in one sitting anyway, and (b) the Stripes reference later on makes up for it. Now to find out when the sequel is due....

If you liked John Ringo when he first started writing, this is a book that will take you back. Repurposing equipment for combat in ways not intended by the maker; redesigning tactics and strategy to face a whole new threat. Vintage Ringo at his best. He goads your imagination into catching up. Now for the bad news: the list of characters is immense. I hope he has a large redshirt pool!!! Reading the previous books in the series - while not a requirement - definitely make it easier to understand who/what/where. Also, be advised: John has very definite political views and makes them known on several occasions. If you disagree, don't read his books. All that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed returning to the Aldenata universe and look forward to the next step in Galactic "Peace through superior firepower".

Recieved "Eye of The Storm" yesterday via mail -- and, started reading within an hour to just get started early -- not sure what to expect. Mil-Sci-Fi is not my usual thing nowadays. But, I recalled enjoying one or two such novels by John Ringo a while ago. Not to worry, the fast flow of the twisting-and-turning plot -- felt like shooting-down a rushing mountain river switchback whitewater rapids -- in a bouncing canoe, barely avoiding some boulders. But, with plenty of dramatic wild scenery -- and many folks seen along the way were with detail okay to just understand them -- some better than others. Also, there was a spot-on amount of well-done graphic combat scenes, quantum hyperspace physics and military strategy and tactics. For me, this is not true for some Mil-Sci-Fi -- with its bare-bones unfleshed-out characters -- too fleshed-out bloody action -- and dense over-grown brambles of hi-tech mil-tech jargon. And, for me, the best good surprises were well-described aliens AND usage of "The Force". Will also have to re-read at least the first two novels in this series -- to even better understand this fun novel. [I did re-read the first few novels in this series -- and liked them as before] +++