Hell's Faire

You'll notice that most of the negative reviews for this book came from those that spent the extra money for the hardcover edition, and felt ripped off because of the reduced length of this volume compared to the previous three. I can see how they could gripe about that, but don't let it scare you away from reading this fine book. HELL'S FAIRE is a rip-roaring, non-stop thrill ride the entire way through. As the previous novel, When the Devil Dances, comes to a close, you're left with a cliff-hanger in which all out battle is about to be joined. This book picks up right where that one left off and commences the carnage. There is practically no character or plot development in HELL'S FAIRE, just action, action, action. However, that isn't something to complain about when you're talking about a book from one of the best military sci-fi action sequence writers out there. For a series the magnitude and size of the Posleen War, you need a huge and action-packed finale to wrap things up. So what if that finale happens to be huge enough to warrant its own book? Bun-Bun and the ACS troops kick some serious tale in this one and you'll be hard-pressed to put it down the entire way through. No breaks, no bore, just intense and bloody action. Also, I just have to comment on the reviewer that was offended by the scene with Glennis and the radioactive decontamination protocol. That scene was hilarious (one of the best of the whole series) and you shouldn't get your panties in a wad for something so innocent.. Go read Ringo's Ghost series if you really want something to [cry] about. So, to me it doesn't really matter that the conclusion to the series had to be marketed as a separate book, you still get the same story with the same ending either way, you just pay a bit more for it. It was well worth it. A very enjoyable series!

I definitely enjoy sci-fi books, alt-his books, soldiers' war memories books and historical battles books. Well believe it or not John Ringo's "Hell's Faire" is a tasty combination of all these genres and writing styles, as the previous volumes in the series! I've already read some books of what is usually known as "military sci-fi" and with the exception of Joe Haldeman's "Forever Peace" the rest of them range from "very boring" to "just so-so". That is NOT the case with the present volume. Mr. Ringo instills a strange sense of reality in all battle accounts (they really made me remember Lt. Wells "Give me fifty Marines not afraid to die" prose describing his Iwo Jima experience). When he portrays the general picture of a battle or campaign they come so true as if you were reading Toland or Beevor or even Hastings. He even provides maps! In this fourth volume of the series (or as the author explains the second half of the third volume of an intended trilogy), the energetic "Mighty Mite" is still not the dominant character, yet he recovers part of the limelight. In his place several figures that have emerged to the front in the last volume continue having the focus (Cally, Wendy, Elgars, Le Blanc, Major Ryan, Lt. Sunday and Captain Chan amongst other. All of them are fully described and the plot is enriched. The super-gun SheVa is still having the floor (with some major last minute add-ons), followed and supported by a plethora of Abrams. As a special treat, the author delivers some dark jokes and an acid sense of humor romps thru the whole novel. If you haven't read the first three volumes, I'll encourage you to do so in order to fully enjoy this tale. The story is as follows: five years has elapsed since Earth was faced with the first Posleen's disembarkations. Planetary resistance is almost gone. Only the USA still keeps a big part of its territory and is entangled in a deadly stalemate. A new Posleen war leader arrives to Earth and starts using new and more effective tactics endangering human defenses. Humans as always put a rough defense with what they have at hand. The novel focuses on the second part of a mighty confrontation (I dare to call it "The Return of SheVa"). Oh yes! It is the END of this segment. We may see more confrontations in the future, but they will be with new (and more dangerous) foes. "Hell's Faire" is a high quality sci-fi novel deserving to be read by every true buff! Do not let the series pass by! Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Hell's Faire (2003) is the fourth novel in the Legacy of the Aldenata series, following When the Devil Dances. In the previous volume, the Posleen have begun their main assault, overcoming all fixed defenses everywhere in the world except the eastern United States and Canada. Their drive to Asheville through Rabun Gap has been stopped temporarily by a nuclear bombardment. There is a short lull in the fighting as both sides reorganize and refit. In this novel, Mike O'Neal and his 555th Mobile Infantry are inserted into Rabun Gap to prepare for the upcoming Posleen assault. However, Tulo'stenaloor, senior Posleen commander in the forces attacking the Gap, has learned a little about the human method of warfare and sets up an ambush for the 555th. Mike's daughter, Callie O'Neal, is alone in Cache 4 on the O'Neal farm. Mike's father had been caught on the surface during the nuke blasts and, when Callie found him, his body was cold and buried under the debris. Now Callie prepares to leave the farm, but just then the defense forces drop a salvo of strategic nukes on three passes near Mountain City. Since things are a little hectic outside, she decides to wait a while before venturing out. Sergeant Major Mosovich and the refugees are only a few miles from Cache 4, but are cut off from the defending forces. Moreover, his AID advises them that the nukes are incoming. They have been running the ridgelines, but these are too exposed with nuclear blasts on the way. Jake leads his party back to Cache 4. Meanwhile, the maintenance brigade for Sheva Nine -- Bun-Bun -- has finally caught up to the monster weapon. They bring with them Paul Kilzer, one of the designers of the Sheva gun platform. He has a few ideas for enhancing the weapon. Moreover, he looks like Riff in the Sluggy Freelance cartoons. BTW, some reviewers have referred to Bun-Bun as a supertank. On the contrary, the Sheva Nine is a lightly armored self-propelled gun, with very poor mobility. The weather shield is not an armored turret, but rather a relatively thin screen to keep out rain and small-arms fire. Notice that the heavier Posleen weapons have little trouble penetrating the weather shield or even the hull itself. The Shevas were originally designed to kill Posleen landers and C-decs, which they do quite handily. Anti-personnel actions became possible only with the addition of the MetalStorm turrets. Even then, Bun-Bun would not have survived close contact with the Posleen without her escorts (and the oversized Claymores). Back on the campus, Dr. Miguel Castanuelo, a graduate of Georgia Tech who is now a professor at arch-rival UT at Knoxville, is an expert on micro-containment of anti-matter. He has been trying to devise a way to use anti-matter as a fuel for cars, trucks and other small vehicles. After studying the Indowy methods of containment, he concludes that it is a religious thing and returns to his previous notions. He manages to develop a process of encapsulation in bucky ba

The Posleen appear unbeatable as the millions of alien invaders are conquering the Earth. Humanity is rapidly becoming extinct under the endless horde, especially since the adaptable Posleen have stolen advanced technology from some other race and applied mankind's military strategy to insure total victory.The next major confrontation is at the Rabun Pass in North Carolina where millions of Posleen soldiers are pushing to break the last organized human resistance in North America. The 555th Mobile Infantry block the pass, but if the aliens break through, mankinds reign on planet earth will be through too. Supplies, including ammo, is low and the logistics system is broken so here is no hope for humanity from that quarter. Still Major Mike O'Neal and his intrepid forces know what is at stake with their hope resting on the Bun-Bun supertank that can destroy millions in the blink of a Posleen eye.When it comes to action packed military science fiction few if any are better at hooking the audience than John Ringo is. His latest Posleen vs. the earth tale never slows down (except for some amusing observational asides). HELL'S FAIRE is well written and contains significant timely moral dilemmas such as first strike (Iraq) and nuking a portion of one's homeland for the better good (Fail Safe). Mr. Ringo provides a dark story with the glimmer of light being the quips, including the great ventriloquist Sluggy Freelance comic strip, that are trademarks of why the author's works always soar above the competition. Throw in a CD (not sure what it does - I barely read(joke) and the audience receives quite a novel.Harriet Klausner

The five stars are really for the full series rather than for Hell's Faire. This book is a conclusion -- it doesn't make much sense if the reader is not aware of the material already set up in A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, and When the Devil Dances. This is particularly the case in regard to the nature of the various aliens and the role of the various resistance groups.That much having been said, it furnishes a satisfactory stopping point. This is just as well, since the author states in the afterword that this universe will not be be reappearing for some time.A sufficient number of unanswered questions remain to make the reader wish that it would reappear.