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Posleen War #2
Gust Front
Thanks to human valor and alien technology, the Posleen were fought to a standstill. But the invasion of Earth is just months away Only these shell-shocked survivors can save the Earth from utter devastation.
721 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
329 people are currently reading
1,144 people want to read
About the author
John Ringo
100books1,805followersJohn Ringo is a prolific author who has written in a wide variety of genres. His early life included a great deal of travel. He visited 23 foreign countries, and attended fourteen different schools. After graduation Ringo enlisted in the US military for four years, after which he studied marine biology.
In 1999 he wrote and published his first novel "A Hymn Before Battle", which proved successful. Since 2000 Ringo has been a full time author.
He has written science fiction, military fiction, and fantasy.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
In 1999 he wrote and published his first novel "A Hymn Before Battle", which proved successful. Since 2000 Ringo has been a full time author.
He has written science fiction, military fiction, and fantasy.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
November 1, 2011
Crikey...talk about overcoming steep odds with gusto, verve and quality execution, Mr. Ringo somehow succeeded in making me “really like this� book despite its having some serious obstacles holding back its rating potential:
First: Bean books, without doubt, have the dumbest, most "short bus" looking covers of any publishing company I have ever read. Just picking one up makes you feel very duuuuuuh. They are so bad you have to treat them like porn and wrap them in brown shelf-paper to read them in public (thank you e-books and my iPad for the nice camouflage).
Second: Military SF is not generally my bag...baby... and so it has to be really interesting to keep my attention. I hate stories that are nothing more than an endless serious of battle sequences fought by idiotic meatheads against evil idiotic meatheads.
Third: A 750 page Military SF story…are you kidding me? This could have been more painful than a sandpaper loofer on a third degree burn.
However, despite the above, Gust Front succeeds very well and turns out to be among the best examples of military SF I have yet come across. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
BACKSTORY:
This is second installment of [???] in the Posleen War series (aka The Legend of the Aldenata). In short, a Galactic Federation of pleasant seeming, but ulterior motive-hiding, pacifist aliens recruit the human race to be theircannon fodder soldiers in a war against an aggressive race known as the Posleen.
In exchange for humanity’s help, the aliens provide us with advanced technology (rejuvenation serums, battle armor, artificial intelligence devices, etc.). Since the Posleen are on their way to Earth anyway, we have little choice but to accept the aliens help and agree to fight for them.
Rather than do a full repeat on both the Galactic Federation and the Posleen, I will now pimp out my previous review for book one which you can check out atright now, go read it right now your leisure: .
PLOT SUMMARY:
Book 2 begins with the Posleen advancing towards Earth with an ETA of about 2 years. The nations of Earth have, for the most part, put away their nationalistic pissing contests and childish flag waving in favor of staying alive and are cooperating in a global mobilization and military preparedness campaign. Meanwhile, select divisions of battle-armored soldiers have begun engaging the Posleen in hopes of giving Earth more time to prepare for the inevitable invasion.
It is all very 300-like and quite well done.
SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS BOOK:
In deciding whether this book is right for you (assuming you have gotten by the cover, the military SF sub-genre and the 750 pages), here are a few elements to consider:
1. This book is laid out with a very “epic� feel to it and the scope of the story is vast. This is one of the elements that sold me on the book as I would much rather read about the planning and the background than the actual battles which I generally find chaotic and hard to follow. Thus, a big bonus for me was that almost two-thirds of the 750 pages are taken up preparing for the Posleen’s arrival on Earth. With the panic and breakdown of society that occurs as a result, and the hoarding of food and equipment, there is a certain post-apocalyptic/survivalist vibe to story which adds a nice element to the plot.
2. This book is gung ho. Really gung ho. As GUNG HO as gung ho gets. The military, especially the sergeants and grunts, are definitely the heroes, and there is a very eye for an eye tone to the story. Killing the bad guys is the mission and there shall be no further discussion about that. Peace will be achieved when the last Posleen is a smoking corpse over which we roast marshmallows and drink whiskey.
This is Patton meets Rambo meets Inglourious Basterds meets Independence Day meets Aliens meets some other movies that I can’t think of right now. For example, when asked how best to attack the Posleen, one character responds, “nuke em till they glow and then shoot 'em in the dark.�
You get the idea.
3. While not burdened (or enhanced depending on your viewpoint) with the heavy techno-detail of your typical Tom Clancy novel, there is a significant amount of time devoted to strategy and tactics to be employed against the invading aliens. As I mentioned in 1 above, this was some of the most interesting parts of the story. However, if you could care less about hearing the various responsibilities of the global fighting force and how they undertake to prepare for the Posleen, you may find this a bit of a plod.
4. There is significant time spent getting to know a fairly large group of characters (mostly soldiers) as they carry out their little piece of the puzzle. While I would not say deep, emotional character development is one of this story’s strong suits, we do get to enough to at least be able to cheer for them.
THOUGHTS:
This is the second volume is a large, epic story-line and I thought Ringo does a great job of keeping his story interesting while really doing little more than “stage setting� for future novels. The last 150-200 pages move extremely quickly as the opening salvos of the invasion begin and the battle scenes are very well done without becoming overly bogged down in minutia. I also thought the writing was effective and struck the right balance of macho and rah rah without falling into groan-inducing:
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised.
The writing was engaging�
The enemies are ruthless but interesting�
The good guys are tough and intelligent�
The federation races are well-drawn and compelling in their hidden nefariousness�
The technology is fascinating and complements to plot…and
The scope of the overall storyline is epic and a lot of fun.
For someone who needs something extra to become engaged in military SF, I thought Ringo did exactly what he needed to do. He also won me over as a fan of this series and I look forward to continuing it the next time I am up for some well done, gung ho action.
4.0 stars. Highly Recommended.
First: Bean books, without doubt, have the dumbest, most "short bus" looking covers of any publishing company I have ever read. Just picking one up makes you feel very duuuuuuh. They are so bad you have to treat them like porn and wrap them in brown shelf-paper to read them in public (thank you e-books and my iPad for the nice camouflage).
Second: Military SF is not generally my bag...baby... and so it has to be really interesting to keep my attention. I hate stories that are nothing more than an endless serious of battle sequences fought by idiotic meatheads against evil idiotic meatheads.
Third: A 750 page Military SF story…are you kidding me? This could have been more painful than a sandpaper loofer on a third degree burn.
However, despite the above, Gust Front succeeds very well and turns out to be among the best examples of military SF I have yet come across. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
BACKSTORY:
This is second installment of [???] in the Posleen War series (aka The Legend of the Aldenata). In short, a Galactic Federation of pleasant seeming, but ulterior motive-hiding, pacifist aliens recruit the human race to be their
In exchange for humanity’s help, the aliens provide us with advanced technology (rejuvenation serums, battle armor, artificial intelligence devices, etc.). Since the Posleen are on their way to Earth anyway, we have little choice but to accept the aliens help and agree to fight for them.
Rather than do a full repeat on both the Galactic Federation and the Posleen, I will now pimp out my previous review for book one which you can check out at
PLOT SUMMARY:
Book 2 begins with the Posleen advancing towards Earth with an ETA of about 2 years. The nations of Earth have, for the most part, put away their nationalistic pissing contests and childish flag waving in favor of staying alive and are cooperating in a global mobilization and military preparedness campaign. Meanwhile, select divisions of battle-armored soldiers have begun engaging the Posleen in hopes of giving Earth more time to prepare for the inevitable invasion.
It is all very 300-like and quite well done.
SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS BOOK:
In deciding whether this book is right for you (assuming you have gotten by the cover, the military SF sub-genre and the 750 pages), here are a few elements to consider:
1. This book is laid out with a very “epic� feel to it and the scope of the story is vast. This is one of the elements that sold me on the book as I would much rather read about the planning and the background than the actual battles which I generally find chaotic and hard to follow. Thus, a big bonus for me was that almost two-thirds of the 750 pages are taken up preparing for the Posleen’s arrival on Earth. With the panic and breakdown of society that occurs as a result, and the hoarding of food and equipment, there is a certain post-apocalyptic/survivalist vibe to story which adds a nice element to the plot.
2. This book is gung ho. Really gung ho. As GUNG HO as gung ho gets. The military, especially the sergeants and grunts, are definitely the heroes, and there is a very eye for an eye tone to the story. Killing the bad guys is the mission and there shall be no further discussion about that. Peace will be achieved when the last Posleen is a smoking corpse over which we roast marshmallows and drink whiskey.
This is Patton meets Rambo meets Inglourious Basterds meets Independence Day meets Aliens meets some other movies that I can’t think of right now. For example, when asked how best to attack the Posleen, one character responds, “nuke em till they glow and then shoot 'em in the dark.�
You get the idea.
3. While not burdened (or enhanced depending on your viewpoint) with the heavy techno-detail of your typical Tom Clancy novel, there is a significant amount of time devoted to strategy and tactics to be employed against the invading aliens. As I mentioned in 1 above, this was some of the most interesting parts of the story. However, if you could care less about hearing the various responsibilities of the global fighting force and how they undertake to prepare for the Posleen, you may find this a bit of a plod.
4. There is significant time spent getting to know a fairly large group of characters (mostly soldiers) as they carry out their little piece of the puzzle. While I would not say deep, emotional character development is one of this story’s strong suits, we do get to enough to at least be able to cheer for them.
THOUGHTS:
This is the second volume is a large, epic story-line and I thought Ringo does a great job of keeping his story interesting while really doing little more than “stage setting� for future novels. The last 150-200 pages move extremely quickly as the opening salvos of the invasion begin and the battle scenes are very well done without becoming overly bogged down in minutia. I also thought the writing was effective and struck the right balance of macho and rah rah without falling into groan-inducing:
Mueller paused, his face hard as he remembered the results of following incompetent orders. The general whose bright idea it had been had never even commented, not even obliquely apologized. Just handed out the medals, tapped them on the shoulders and went on to his next star.…Ringo peppered the narrative with a lot of slick phrases like “went on to his next star� and that was something that added to my enjoyment of the tale.
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised.
The writing was engaging�
The enemies are ruthless but interesting�
The good guys are tough and intelligent�
The federation races are well-drawn and compelling in their hidden nefariousness�
The technology is fascinating and complements to plot…and
The scope of the overall storyline is epic and a lot of fun.
For someone who needs something extra to become engaged in military SF, I thought Ringo did exactly what he needed to do. He also won me over as a fan of this series and I look forward to continuing it the next time I am up for some well done, gung ho action.
4.0 stars. Highly Recommended.
September 24, 2015
After an interlude of several years, the crisis is finally here, on Earth. The Polseen are invading Earth. Millions of carnivoristic, voracious aliens land on Earth to capture human cities and towns, use our resources and, oh yeah, eat all the people. Fortunately, the combined armies of the world given access to futuristic technologies and weapons are here to stop them! And foremost among those armies is none other than the US Army.
Gust Front focuses on the invasion of North America by the Polseen - specifically the Richmond to DC area. The first half is the build up to the invasion and the second half is the invasion itself. Throughout the whole thing, I felt like someone was slapping me on the back saying "'Merica! Fuck yeah!" I have nothing but respect for the US military, but this whole book felt as if it was written by John Jingo - not John Ringo. At every turn, the Americans were better fighters, thinkers and etc. It was just a bit much.
The book itself was just too much - too long, too much gun love, too many cardboard characters, and so on. The whole point of a book like this, I think, is to revel in the actual business of fighting aliens - not dwelling on Mike's last tropical vacation to the Florida Keys with his wife and daughter. Too much time was burned, I think, on this nonsense rather than just opening a can of whoop-ass on the Polseen.
Two stars out of five. The combat is fun, but not fun enough to really overcome the other problems with the book.
Gust Front focuses on the invasion of North America by the Polseen - specifically the Richmond to DC area. The first half is the build up to the invasion and the second half is the invasion itself. Throughout the whole thing, I felt like someone was slapping me on the back saying "'Merica! Fuck yeah!" I have nothing but respect for the US military, but this whole book felt as if it was written by John Jingo - not John Ringo. At every turn, the Americans were better fighters, thinkers and etc. It was just a bit much.
The book itself was just too much - too long, too much gun love, too many cardboard characters, and so on. The whole point of a book like this, I think, is to revel in the actual business of fighting aliens - not dwelling on Mike's last tropical vacation to the Florida Keys with his wife and daughter. Too much time was burned, I think, on this nonsense rather than just opening a can of whoop-ass on the Polseen.
Two stars out of five. The combat is fun, but not fun enough to really overcome the other problems with the book.
January 28, 2021
apparently the US has awesome weapons from the aliens that they don't bother giving to anyone because every body else is not an American citizens ,and no body have their shit together .
what else
and don't get me started about the hyper intelligent 8 your old who can read body language from behind walls and execute people in cold blood and curse like a redneck sailor
what else ,what else
and the Chinese are bad at war
and the Iranian are idiotic people who had no idea that there is an invasion for the last 5 fucking years and they believe it's all American devilish plot WTF ,and they only move there ass when
wait foooooooooooor it
the soldier who is warning them that the aliens are coming
invoke (and yes he did use that word) a mongol king from like 700 years ago name
do you see my beloved fellow Americans how dumb all of our enemies are
what else ,what else ,what else
i can understand why Led Zeppelin \Immigrant Song can motivate soldiers in fights with the vikings and stuff
but what i don't get is why Rolling Stones\Paint It Black ,a song about a depressed person who wants to paint things black would also be used for that
any who ,the book isn't worth the effort
what else
and don't get me started about the hyper intelligent 8 your old who can read body language from behind walls and execute people in cold blood and curse like a redneck sailor
what else ,what else
and the Chinese are bad at war
and the Iranian are idiotic people who had no idea that there is an invasion for the last 5 fucking years and they believe it's all American devilish plot WTF ,and they only move there ass when
wait foooooooooooor it
the soldier who is warning them that the aliens are coming
invoke (and yes he did use that word) a mongol king from like 700 years ago name
do you see my beloved fellow Americans how dumb all of our enemies are
what else ,what else ,what else
i can understand why Led Zeppelin \Immigrant Song can motivate soldiers in fights with the vikings and stuff
but what i don't get is why Rolling Stones\Paint It Black ,a song about a depressed person who wants to paint things black would also be used for that
any who ,the book isn't worth the effort
March 31, 2010
New weapons...the war goes on...will we triumph? Will we even survive...will the quieter interludes hold my attention????
September 12, 2021
Notes:
- Ringo has a good idea of where places are and how to use that in the story.
- I like the way snippets of family life and the way kids act.
- Still, even if women are shown as strong, the overall attitude is male dominated blah blah. There's the one rape incident that seemed to have zero after affects on the woman. That's rather ridiculous as a portrayal, but it also had to do with that being a minor character that isn't as well developed within the large scope of things.
- Ringo has a good idea of where places are and how to use that in the story.
- I like the way snippets of family life and the way kids act.
- Still, even if women are shown as strong, the overall attitude is male dominated blah blah. There's the one rape incident that seemed to have zero after affects on the woman. That's rather ridiculous as a portrayal, but it also had to do with that being a minor character that isn't as well developed within the large scope of things.
November 14, 2012
This book is a mess. Everything that made the first book a good read is pushed to the side in this one. In an apparent attempt to show us a global impact of the events unfolding we jump to seemingly random characters. In one section we jumped to two different countries in less than two pages and the characters mentioned were never heard from again.
The preparation for the defense of Richmond is written in excruciating detail. I've never been there, and may never go there. So I really don't care to know which side streets are the ones that were blocked off. I certainly don't need entire chapters devoted to telling me this stuff.
This book reads like an outline that was then filled in randomly as the author had time (and he ran out of time).
The preparation for the defense of Richmond is written in excruciating detail. I've never been there, and may never go there. So I really don't care to know which side streets are the ones that were blocked off. I certainly don't need entire chapters devoted to telling me this stuff.
This book reads like an outline that was then filled in randomly as the author had time (and he ran out of time).
June 20, 2014
-De nuevo, más militar que de género.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. No queda mucho para que los Posleen lleguen a la Tierra, y las fuerzas de defensa tratan de organizarse de la mejor manera posible contando con su voluntad de lucha, con lo aprendido en combates previos en otros planetas y con tecnología armamentística alienígena de culturas unidas en una federación que también está amenazada por los Posleen, pero cuando finalmente lleguen a la superficie terrestre los guerreros centauro reptilianos tal vez eso no sea suficiente. Segunda parte de la saga Legacy of the Aldenata.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. No queda mucho para que los Posleen lleguen a la Tierra, y las fuerzas de defensa tratan de organizarse de la mejor manera posible contando con su voluntad de lucha, con lo aprendido en combates previos en otros planetas y con tecnología armamentística alienígena de culturas unidas en una federación que también está amenazada por los Posleen, pero cuando finalmente lleguen a la superficie terrestre los guerreros centauro reptilianos tal vez eso no sea suficiente. Segunda parte de la saga Legacy of the Aldenata.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
June 18, 2016
Read this book on one night in 2014. It is one of those macho science fiction books that can make you cry. Each character, however short their screen time is, has a lesson about courage and sacrifice to teach. I know I nearly cried. At the end of the book I knew the layout of Washington inside out and almost felt 'Merican.
Bonus for one short passage about a (believable) Vietnamese character.
Bonus for one short passage about a (believable) Vietnamese character.
May 22, 2017
5/21/17 re-read. 3rd read. What an enjoyable series. I am so glad I decided to revisit it.
March 16, 2016
If you're thinking about reading this book, go and do it. You will not be disappointed! One of my favorite series of all time. true military science fiction at it's finest!
August 19, 2017
Thoughts while reading:
---------------------------------------------
I still enjoyed reading this book (I say that because I read the first four books in this series numerous times before the series expanded into the twelve books it is today). It has been some time since I read any of the books in this series, so I thought I would read it "straight through" (as it were) in the order the books take place. It jumps around a bit over the course of the novel until all of the "main characters" come together at the end of the novel [as it were]. There is some good character development, some interesting developments, some humor, and some frustration as well. It has a decent flow to it, overall, but there is also a lot of exposition and a lot of info-dumps [which are probably necessary, but I never realized how big they were before]. There are numerous editing errors throughout the book (mostly missing pronouns, it seemed, but the errors still jarred the flow of the narrative].
[I am not sure if this would count as a "spoiler" or not, but . . .]
There is quite a lot of build-up until the Posleen actually invade. Myself, I did not mind it so much as it helps to broaden the characters and give them more depth than they might already have had. While it is a series about an invasion involving five sequential waves of alien invaders, it is about how a specific family handles the invasion in the midst of a national tragedy [technically, global, but it does focus almost exclusively on the state of Virginia and some surrounding areas]. Not only is it focused specifically on the O’Neal clan; it also tries to focus on various individuals who are trying to survive the invasion. It is hit-and-miss, but such things can be difficult to describe. This is the author’s second book, and he was definitely ambitious in writing a book as large as this. That being the case, I thought he did a good [decent] job with the characters he described. Some are more card-board cutouts whereas others he definitely is striving to give them more depth to make them more real. The first few times I read the ending was emotionally powerful; this time around, not so much [although it is still a powerful ending].
The reader probably learns more about “the devil in the details� than he or she might like, and it was disappointing that the maps in the back were difficult to read and understand. Perhaps if I had pulled up a map on the Internet of the region and then tried to track what was being described, I would have had a better “overall� picture of what was going on. As it was, I still enjoyed reading the battle sequences once they started up in the book.
I thought it was interesting, some of the “revelations� that occur in the novel. I thought they were “pretty potent� revelations that might or might not have had a powerful impact on the overall direction of the story. It would have been interesting to see how some things would have turned out, on the one hand [but it would have “destroyed� the overall narrative that the author was going for].
The book does have a humorous underlying sense of humor. I think much of it works, but not all of it. The “funniest� moment for me still brings a smile to my face whenever I read it.
The author had an interesting “writing technique� that I am not sure I have ever seen anyone else use in their writings.
The book does have its weaknesses [the editing errors, the jumping around makes it difficult to keep a "solid train of thought" in one's mind to keep track of what is happening where, the language does get a little more coarse in parts than some might be comfortable with, suspension of belief involving Cally's being able to use weapons like she does at age 9 (but perhaps she is a prodigy?)], but it was still enjoyable to read. While I would have liked to have read more about what was happening in other parts of the world, I do "get" why the author focused it like he did [at least, it is my "interpretation" of why he went about it the way he did that I understand]. It starts off bouncing between Barwhon V and Earth before settling on Earth, where it then bounces between the defense forces orbiting the planet and the surface, and then it bounces around the Virginian countryside before ending up in Washington, D.C. It was hard to follow what was happening and where units were as I was unaware of the lay of the land. Perhaps if I had tried to map it out while reading, it might have helped. It might also have been more work than I really wanted to put into it.
It was a good book; it was a fun book. I enjoyed reading it. I have lost track of the number of times I have read it, but I could see myself reading it again in the future.
---------------------------------------------
I still enjoyed reading this book (I say that because I read the first four books in this series numerous times before the series expanded into the twelve books it is today). It has been some time since I read any of the books in this series, so I thought I would read it "straight through" (as it were) in the order the books take place. It jumps around a bit over the course of the novel until all of the "main characters" come together at the end of the novel [as it were]. There is some good character development, some interesting developments, some humor, and some frustration as well. It has a decent flow to it, overall, but there is also a lot of exposition and a lot of info-dumps [which are probably necessary, but I never realized how big they were before]. There are numerous editing errors throughout the book (mostly missing pronouns, it seemed, but the errors still jarred the flow of the narrative].
[I am not sure if this would count as a "spoiler" or not, but . . .]
There is quite a lot of build-up until the Posleen actually invade. Myself, I did not mind it so much as it helps to broaden the characters and give them more depth than they might already have had. While it is a series about an invasion involving five sequential waves of alien invaders, it is about how a specific family handles the invasion in the midst of a national tragedy [technically, global, but it does focus almost exclusively on the state of Virginia and some surrounding areas]. Not only is it focused specifically on the O’Neal clan; it also tries to focus on various individuals who are trying to survive the invasion. It is hit-and-miss, but such things can be difficult to describe. This is the author’s second book, and he was definitely ambitious in writing a book as large as this. That being the case, I thought he did a good [decent] job with the characters he described. Some are more card-board cutouts whereas others he definitely is striving to give them more depth to make them more real. The first few times I read the ending was emotionally powerful; this time around, not so much [although it is still a powerful ending].
The reader probably learns more about “the devil in the details� than he or she might like, and it was disappointing that the maps in the back were difficult to read and understand. Perhaps if I had pulled up a map on the Internet of the region and then tried to track what was being described, I would have had a better “overall� picture of what was going on. As it was, I still enjoyed reading the battle sequences once they started up in the book.
I thought it was interesting, some of the “revelations� that occur in the novel. I thought they were “pretty potent� revelations that might or might not have had a powerful impact on the overall direction of the story. It would have been interesting to see how some things would have turned out, on the one hand [but it would have “destroyed� the overall narrative that the author was going for].
The book does have a humorous underlying sense of humor. I think much of it works, but not all of it. The “funniest� moment for me still brings a smile to my face whenever I read it.
The author had an interesting “writing technique� that I am not sure I have ever seen anyone else use in their writings.
The book does have its weaknesses [the editing errors, the jumping around makes it difficult to keep a "solid train of thought" in one's mind to keep track of what is happening where, the language does get a little more coarse in parts than some might be comfortable with, suspension of belief involving Cally's being able to use weapons like she does at age 9 (but perhaps she is a prodigy?)], but it was still enjoyable to read. While I would have liked to have read more about what was happening in other parts of the world, I do "get" why the author focused it like he did [at least, it is my "interpretation" of why he went about it the way he did that I understand]. It starts off bouncing between Barwhon V and Earth before settling on Earth, where it then bounces between the defense forces orbiting the planet and the surface, and then it bounces around the Virginian countryside before ending up in Washington, D.C. It was hard to follow what was happening and where units were as I was unaware of the lay of the land. Perhaps if I had tried to map it out while reading, it might have helped. It might also have been more work than I really wanted to put into it.
It was a good book; it was a fun book. I enjoyed reading it. I have lost track of the number of times I have read it, but I could see myself reading it again in the future.
February 7, 2022
Military sci-fi (military anything really) is just so very much not my thing that I went into this read expecting the worst. It wasn't the worst, but it wasn't exactly a delight. Jumping into book 2 in a series is not a great plan to begin with but it was a relatively smooth transition aside from the never ending rotation of character introductions in the first half dozen chapters (I started taking notes and the cast starts with 7 distinct character groups, totaling 45 recurring characters. I regret not starting a spreadsheet, & am totally planning on leaving my cheat sheets in the book when I return it). The most nessicary bits of info from book one are exposition dumped early on so we're a-ok story wise & I'm not sure there's any keeping up with all these characters anyway so I wasn't sweating the recurring people either.
One of my biggest issues with this book is that Ringo is Very found of the military jargon and I am just not. He feels determined to murder me with word salad in the opening chapters, but it subsided (for a time) before returning with a vengeance in the back half of the novel. That aside, I did really enjoy the less militaristic/more generally human sections of the story, the fishing town in Florida, the citizen rallying in Virginia, the snapshots of regular people reacting to an unthinkable alien invasion. It's intense and emotional stuff that, in Ringo's world at least, brings out the best in the standard (American) citizen. Buuuuuuut, he front loaded those bits and then went hard in the military strategy/war games paint for the last half of the book and I just could not deal. A fellow book-club hooligan gleefully labeled it 'battle porn' and can I just say
In the end, I really can't recommend this book to anyone but the most seasoned of Military sci-fi fans (whom I assume are already familiar).
One of my biggest issues with this book is that Ringo is Very found of the military jargon and I am just not. He feels determined to murder me with word salad in the opening chapters, but it subsided (for a time) before returning with a vengeance in the back half of the novel. That aside, I did really enjoy the less militaristic/more generally human sections of the story, the fishing town in Florida, the citizen rallying in Virginia, the snapshots of regular people reacting to an unthinkable alien invasion. It's intense and emotional stuff that, in Ringo's world at least, brings out the best in the standard (American) citizen. Buuuuuuut, he front loaded those bits and then went hard in the military strategy/war games paint for the last half of the book and I just could not deal. A fellow book-club hooligan gleefully labeled it 'battle porn' and can I just say
In the end, I really can't recommend this book to anyone but the most seasoned of Military sci-fi fans (whom I assume are already familiar).
September 6, 2022
This book was almost painful to read. The POV switches so often and to so many different characters that I found myself skimming quite a lot of the book. I mostly wanted to read about the O'Neal family and what they were doing during the invasion but they were hardly in the book. There were several characters that had a single scene and then were never talked about again. I also ended up skipping a lot of the long winded explanations for military movements or technology. Sounds like the next book is just as bad. 2 out of 5 stars.
March 31, 2013
I'm not even ten percent into the book, but I'm already at the eye roll stage. Seriously, this book is quite disgusting with saccharine american supremacy bull. Don't know if I'll finish it at this moment.
edit 1: oh my god, this was first published in 2001. I pegged it for 70s or 80s with all racist and misogynistic slurs and comments filled with casual cruelty.
edit 2: I just can't.
edit 1: oh my god, this was first published in 2001. I pegged it for 70s or 80s with all racist and misogynistic slurs and comments filled with casual cruelty.
edit 2: I just can't.
December 17, 2014
This a well-written combat book. The problem is that you could easily take out the alien enemy and substitute Germans or Japanese or Russians. The action scenes are good, but there's not enough science in the science fiction. A few mobile armor suits, some energy weapons. Good combat novel, not so much good science fiction.
December 5, 2020
Maybe I am reading a complete different book than the majorities here, but this is bad. Very bad.
February 23, 2024
The first novel was okay. The second, 400 pages in and everything could have been condensed into 30 pages.
August 13, 2024
A pretty good Humans against aliens series. This particular one had a lot of pages. Sill, the story wa exciting and fun to read.
August 14, 2024
Love the premise of the book series and the thought experiment that flows from it, that is, how humans would adapt and apply advanced technologies to existing military strategies to fight an invading alien species. That is the strongest part of the book, not so much the individual characters. Keen to see where the series goes and if there is any interesting character development.
May 4, 2019
This is another great book. The first 30% is the set up and at about the 30% mark the action starts.
This is especially funny because the main character is Mike O'Neal, and he decides to send his daughter Callie to live with Mike's Father, a former black ops vet who we really don't know much about. At about 8 years old, Callie soon learns to shoot, do demolitions, and swear just like her grandpa.
There are some epic battles with close calls and even whole batallions being wiped out by the enemy. Again this book is also full of military SNAFUs and incompetence which present more challenges, including a hacked comms network, provided by the allied aliens. Desperate measures are forced at the final battle in Washington DC when an on-the-spot execution happens to a US officer.
You'll have to read it to find out more! :)
Like the Ian Douglas series, I think this will be my go-to series for war stories.
This is especially funny because the main character is Mike O'Neal, and he decides to send his daughter Callie to live with Mike's Father, a former black ops vet who we really don't know much about. At about 8 years old, Callie soon learns to shoot, do demolitions, and swear just like her grandpa.
There are some epic battles with close calls and even whole batallions being wiped out by the enemy. Again this book is also full of military SNAFUs and incompetence which present more challenges, including a hacked comms network, provided by the allied aliens. Desperate measures are forced at the final battle in Washington DC when an on-the-spot execution happens to a US officer.
You'll have to read it to find out more! :)
Like the Ian Douglas series, I think this will be my go-to series for war stories.
February 10, 2018
This is the second book in the Posleen War. I do not like to write spoiler reviews, so I will say nothing more than the cover blurb says. This is a war facing an intergalactic bully. Earth finds out that for centuries, many intergalactic societies have existed in the neighborhood. They have been at peace for so long that war is anathema to them.
Earth is on the path of the Posleen destruction armies of evil. So some of the other galactics enlisted military forces to fight off planet (book 1). The Posleen come to Earth in book 2.
There are 12 books in the series. If book 2 is any indication, it will be like telling the story of World War II is some detail - thus needing several volumes.
What I truly like about this series so far is that the tech is not vastly beyond the tech available today. The galactics have had no use for war, so they have not produced magical war machines. The Posleen have, but they are considered "evil" and even call themselves "devils."
I have read only the first two books of the series. But so far it has been great military Sci-Fi. One review I read said there was too much foul language. Indeed, there is a lot of foul language, but I doubt it is more than a military would use during a furious battle. I am an ordained pastor and I take such things as part of reality.
Earth is on the path of the Posleen destruction armies of evil. So some of the other galactics enlisted military forces to fight off planet (book 1). The Posleen come to Earth in book 2.
There are 12 books in the series. If book 2 is any indication, it will be like telling the story of World War II is some detail - thus needing several volumes.
What I truly like about this series so far is that the tech is not vastly beyond the tech available today. The galactics have had no use for war, so they have not produced magical war machines. The Posleen have, but they are considered "evil" and even call themselves "devils."
I have read only the first two books of the series. But so far it has been great military Sci-Fi. One review I read said there was too much foul language. Indeed, there is a lot of foul language, but I doubt it is more than a military would use during a furious battle. I am an ordained pastor and I take such things as part of reality.
April 11, 2018
This series (this is book 2) always leaves me confused. While I'm reading I have, both volumes, decided that I will not read the next one in the series. But by the end, I kind of want to know how those scrappy Earthlings are going to pull it off.
Waaayyyy too much military detail for me, but I realize that's what the book is largely about. He gives just enough characterization that I actually want to know more of some of the characters' backgrounds, etc. But we don't get it here.
I still need to decide whether I'm continuing. But I do know that some military fiction fans would enjoy all the jargon and detail (I prefer mine with more characterization like Honor Harrington, etc.) I'm sure glad I have been to Washington, DC, and nearby Virginia because it really helped when visualizing the action.
Oh, and I found the author's afterword interesting. I especially found his comments about the WWII generation v. today's generation(s) and their readiness for pulling together. And his tribute to Kipling's poems was fitting; I enjoyed the bits he added throughout the novel.
I downloaded the novel from the Baen Free Library.
Waaayyyy too much military detail for me, but I realize that's what the book is largely about. He gives just enough characterization that I actually want to know more of some of the characters' backgrounds, etc. But we don't get it here.
I still need to decide whether I'm continuing. But I do know that some military fiction fans would enjoy all the jargon and detail (I prefer mine with more characterization like Honor Harrington, etc.) I'm sure glad I have been to Washington, DC, and nearby Virginia because it really helped when visualizing the action.
Oh, and I found the author's afterword interesting. I especially found his comments about the WWII generation v. today's generation(s) and their readiness for pulling together. And his tribute to Kipling's poems was fitting; I enjoyed the bits he added throughout the novel.
I downloaded the novel from the Baen Free Library.
August 29, 2017
Overall, I enjoyed this "Earth prepares for and then is invaded by aliens" book, the second in the 'Posleen' series. It is another war story, basically, though has more that is Earth-based this time round than the first book. It's a bit of harmless escapism for me, so I don't expect too much from it. I'm already reading the third book, so I enjoyed this one enough to move on.
September 24, 2018
These books grow on you. this second book is delicious. You know, from reading the first, how he is building up the tension to a long climactic battle, this time set on earth. Im not a super knowledgeable military person but Ringo portrays the military life fairly well, at least to my uneducated eye. Certainly readable and Im on to the third.
March 16, 2020
And.. that's enough of John Ringo's "writing" for me.
May 17, 2020
Review in book one of series, “A Hymn to Battle�
September 4, 2021
Gus Front, Deuxième tome de la série "The Posleen war saga" de John Ringo
Lu en anglais
La terre se prépare au pire. Des vagues de Posleen, une race très agressive de centaures à tête de crocodile, se dirigent vers la terre. Ils ne cherchent qu'à prendre possession de planètes et ils mangent de tout, même des humains ou leurs morts au combat. Le plus gros problème pour les terriens, c'est que la fédération extraterrestre alliée tarde à livrer l'équipement nécessaire comme les armures de combat, les armes, et, encore plus les vaisseaux de combat; en effet, la fédération ne connait pas la fabrication en série et tout objet est considéré comme une oeuvre d'art ce qui entraine une production extrêmement faible. Pour faciliter la défense de la terre, on consolide les obstacles naturels comme les chaines de montagnes tout en établissant des villes fortifiées en sous-sol. Mais, mais, les Posleen arrivent en avance. C'est l'enfer, les défenses terrestres sont incomplètes, les troupes peu entrainées, la population dispersée. Mais il y a Michael O'Neal et son bataillon d'armures de combat, l'artillerie et les cuirassés ainsi que trouvailles des ingénieurs. Mais les forces en présence sont tellement disproportionnées.
Un début (200 pages) un peu lent, concentré sur les préparations et l'entrainement. Après. ça déboule pour de vrai. L'auteur a une expérience militaire et ça parait. Il s'amuse aussi à confronter les militaires de bureau et les militaires avec une réelle expérience de combat.
J'ai beaucoup aimé. À part le long début de préparation qui est un peu lent, le reste est passionnant avec des personnages tous plus intéressants les uns que les autres. Mon regret principal, c'est le manque de batailles spatiales, mais peut-être dans le prochain tome.
De la science-fiction militaire à son meilleur. Vivement le prochain.
Lu en anglais
La terre se prépare au pire. Des vagues de Posleen, une race très agressive de centaures à tête de crocodile, se dirigent vers la terre. Ils ne cherchent qu'à prendre possession de planètes et ils mangent de tout, même des humains ou leurs morts au combat. Le plus gros problème pour les terriens, c'est que la fédération extraterrestre alliée tarde à livrer l'équipement nécessaire comme les armures de combat, les armes, et, encore plus les vaisseaux de combat; en effet, la fédération ne connait pas la fabrication en série et tout objet est considéré comme une oeuvre d'art ce qui entraine une production extrêmement faible. Pour faciliter la défense de la terre, on consolide les obstacles naturels comme les chaines de montagnes tout en établissant des villes fortifiées en sous-sol. Mais, mais, les Posleen arrivent en avance. C'est l'enfer, les défenses terrestres sont incomplètes, les troupes peu entrainées, la population dispersée. Mais il y a Michael O'Neal et son bataillon d'armures de combat, l'artillerie et les cuirassés ainsi que trouvailles des ingénieurs. Mais les forces en présence sont tellement disproportionnées.
Un début (200 pages) un peu lent, concentré sur les préparations et l'entrainement. Après. ça déboule pour de vrai. L'auteur a une expérience militaire et ça parait. Il s'amuse aussi à confronter les militaires de bureau et les militaires avec une réelle expérience de combat.
J'ai beaucoup aimé. À part le long début de préparation qui est un peu lent, le reste est passionnant avec des personnages tous plus intéressants les uns que les autres. Mon regret principal, c'est le manque de batailles spatiales, mais peut-être dans le prochain tome.
De la science-fiction militaire à son meilleur. Vivement le prochain.
July 15, 2023
Pretty good for what it is: 90s hyper masculine military sci-fi. Ringo does what he set out to do, in creating an alien invasion story that makes sense but doesn’t just have the FTL capable aliens crush human resistance immediately. The Posleen are a dangerous threat, but they’re realistically limited despite their technological capabilities. It’s cool.
And there are some really stylish action sequences in Gustfront. The standard human forces fighting against the Posleen is very well done, quite believable, and Ringo does a great job managing a running battle across multiple perspectives that could easily have gotten very confusing. Centering the story on real geography probably helps. And the ACS combat at the end of the book is beautiful, the last chapters include a fantastic set piece showdown battle that really just puts the clincher on the whole book.
Overall, if you like this kind of storytelling, you’ll probably like Gustfront. If hypermasculine military fiction isn’t your cup of tea, it’ll bore you to death, and quite possibly offend your sensibilities.
And there are some really stylish action sequences in Gustfront. The standard human forces fighting against the Posleen is very well done, quite believable, and Ringo does a great job managing a running battle across multiple perspectives that could easily have gotten very confusing. Centering the story on real geography probably helps. And the ACS combat at the end of the book is beautiful, the last chapters include a fantastic set piece showdown battle that really just puts the clincher on the whole book.
Overall, if you like this kind of storytelling, you’ll probably like Gustfront. If hypermasculine military fiction isn’t your cup of tea, it’ll bore you to death, and quite possibly offend your sensibilities.
June 23, 2020
I found this in 2012 and cliche as it sounds, the characters feel very much like like old friends. There is a tremendous amount of detail and 20 years since publication it idn't feel dated..- still a great read..
The Narration deserves something special. Saying it was FANTASTIC isn’t doing it justice. There are so, so many ways he could have ruined audio book and doesn’t. It really has to be experienced to understand the quality product it is..I sense that either Mr Ringo or someone that truly loved the book was very involved in editing.
This is a Classic up there with favorites -R Heinlein, I. Asimov, PK Dick, ...on and on.
The Narration deserves something special. Saying it was FANTASTIC isn’t doing it justice. There are so, so many ways he could have ruined audio book and doesn’t. It really has to be experienced to understand the quality product it is..I sense that either Mr Ringo or someone that truly loved the book was very involved in editing.
This is a Classic up there with favorites -R Heinlein, I. Asimov, PK Dick, ...on and on.
June 4, 2021
Like the first book, I don’t know when I first read this, but unlike the first book here I didn’t get much out of a re-read and it was a long book.
What an awesome job the author did of setting up and executing a land war in America. I suspect I would have enjoyed it more the first time, though the few parts on space combat held my attention better. I did keep thinking how enjoyable this must be to people that enjoy military fiction and world war history.
Large scale battle is pretty boring and necessarily devastating. I’m hoping that I’m rewarded for powering through this book by an excellent 3rd book.
What an awesome job the author did of setting up and executing a land war in America. I suspect I would have enjoyed it more the first time, though the few parts on space combat held my attention better. I did keep thinking how enjoyable this must be to people that enjoy military fiction and world war history.
Large scale battle is pretty boring and necessarily devastating. I’m hoping that I’m rewarded for powering through this book by an excellent 3rd book.
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