Customer Reviews

Gust Front (Posleen War Series #2)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

John Ringo's second book in his saga of an Earth threatened by alien invasion is a distinct improvement over his first effort "A Hymn Before Battle". He still needs some more seasoning as an author, but most of the major flaws of his first book have been eliminated and/or reduced to the point that they don't interefere with the enjoyment of a rock-em-sock-em adventure.

Our story: In the near future, mankind is approached by the Galactic Federation, which is composed of a number of alien races, none with the psychological makeup to be warriors. Soldiers are needed because an alien horde has been ravening, unchecked through the galaxy. It won't be long before they arrive at Earth.

To save dear ole Earth, half-trained expeditionary forces were sent out to learn more of the alien menance, try to delay the horde, and find ways to fight the bad guys. "A Hymn Before Battle" featured recalled former Airborne enlisted man Michael O'Neal, who ended that book as a true hero, who helped gain humanity's first victory over the bad guys.

Now a captain, commanding a company outfitted with the new battle armor which he helped design, O'Neal faces bureacratic fights, but the big show is coming. For the aliens are due to arrive by the millions on Earth. And mankind is not yet prepared, with too few modern weapons, officers and generals who are still fighting the last war, and the secret dealings of some of the "good" aliens.

The bulk of this novel deals with the alien invasion itself, and Ringo indeed has a talent for writing action scenes. This book benefits by the additional length to expand the back story, characters are much more realistic and human, and although we don't see much more of the "good" alien plotting, a new, yet (presumably) related level of intrigue is introduced.

Still, there are flaws, as certain changes in American society have not been fully explored. Some of the problems to this book are merely the result of the poor foundation laid in the first book of this series, "A Hymn Before Battle." Mr. Ringo still needs to work on his characters, (the 8 year old Rambo was just a tad much) although he has made vast strides.

This book packs an undeniable emotional punch, and I had a difficult time deciding whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars. (If there was a half star rating, it would have received 3 1/2.) I gave it 3 stars, partly because 2 stars was an overgenerous rating for the first book, but mainly because there are still just a few too many rough edges to merit 4 stars.

However, sci-fi action fans will not be disappointed. I look forward to the next volume of this saga, and compliment Mr. Ringo for his improved writing skills.

This is a good continuation of the saga started in A HYMN BEFORE DYING, and I do urge you to read that book before this one. The first book deals with preliminary battles aimed at slowing down the dreaded Posleen before they land on Earth. In this book, they indeed land on Earth and the armed forces battle them and also rather muddled military bureaucracy.

The main characters are of course largely carry-overs from the first book: Michael O'Neal, Duncan, Pappas, and others. Some new characters are introduced including two or three that are only very briefly introduced but who will undoubtedly play much larger roles in the third book.

Music is introduced in this book and specific music is recommended for both the fictional characters and for the reader to listen to while reading.

Also noticeable in this installment is the author's use of dialogue. Several times, a scene ends with a piece of dialog from one character and is followed by the same piece of dialog from another character's mouth in a very different scene. Interesting technique.

The reader is credited with intelligence. In at least one instance, a couple of characters are mentioned, but not by name. Yet, you do know of course who they are, and do realize that they undoubtedly will be more important characters in the next installment.

One more thing to notice here is that we get a better look at the enemy which was largely faceless in the first book and will probably become even more of the next book.

I'm inclined toward being a dove and not into military fiction, but this book is well written and kept me interested all the way through. Those who really are into the military frame of mind should really love it.

Fans of military science fiction have a new friend in John Ringo. His first novel A Hymn before Battle was a respectable freshman effort which sold well and generated a good deal of excitement. The sequel Gust Front is longer, better and more action-packed.

In the not-too-distant future, humanity discovers that "we are not alone." The Galactic Federation, a complex and technologically advanced society, are on the losing end of a vast war with the Posleen, a vicious race of reptilian centaurs who overrun one planet after another like army ants, intent on making food-stock out of captured sentients. Unfortunately the Galactics have two fatal flaws. They handcraft their amazing technology and have never developed the mass production techniques needed to support a protracted war. Even worse, they lack the will to battle - both genetically and as a society. The Galactics decide it is wise to bring the humans into the fold. With Galactic technology in the hands of the aggressive humans, there is a slim hope that the Posleen can be turned back.

In Gust Front, humanity, having encountered the terrifying Posleen on distant worlds, must now prepare for an all-out invasion of Earth itself. The military is quickly absorbing Galactic technology, but it's still not commonplace. When the Posleen land en masse near Fredericksburg, Virginia, it's up to traditional troops to stem the tide until the Armored Combat Suit (ACS) units can come into play. Leading the ACS charge is Mike O'Neal. Now a Captain in Fleet Strike (a new UN-style military branch devoted to alien combat), O'Neal is known world-wide as the Hero of Diess (the far-off planet where the climactic battle in Hymn occurred). Can human ingenuity and will-power defeat the dreaded Posleen - and more immediately, can they prevent the fall of Washington, DC?

Ringo combines Tom Clancy with Starship Troopers to bring us a pulse-pounding combat adventure filled with patriotic, can-do warriors. Gust Front is heavy on "military-speak" and descriptions of battle tactics, but there's a fair dose of gritty humor as well.

John Ringo is quickly rising to the top of the military SF sub-genre. The third installment in the Hymn trilogy (tentatively titled When the Devil Dances) won't be out for some time.

Considering Mr. Ringo is from my neck of the woods, this might seem a bit biased. However, "Gust Front" (like the "A Hymn Before Battle" before it) is a great read. It is a well crafted book that brings the reader into almost instant empathy with the characters. Combine that with a fairly realistic grasp of tactics and a knack for describing them, and you get one marvelous read. If you like Military Science Fiction, I heartily suggest reading this series.

This was author John Ringo's second book, and in the dozen or more he's done since, he's yet to come close to surpassing it. The premise isn't new - alien invasion - and neither are any of the concepts, but Ringo's handling of them is well-informed and contemporary.

Essentially, the US military is set against carnivorous aliens. Ringo did some time in the Army and knows it well; it's a great look at how the Army really works, the types of people you find there. He knows the real-world tech as well as Tom Clancy but doesn't overburden us with detail; nevertheless, the science of the alien technology is well thought-through and consistent.

The characters are mostly three-dimensional and realistic, and - as important - *interesting*. With the exception of one gung-ho hero who seems that way, nobody's perfect. Plot moves fast and intelligently towards a great climax.

This is what good SF should be; it's intelligent, fast-moving, contemporary and gripping. What good SF should be.

John Ringo's "Hymn Before Battle" was a none-stop introduction to the War Against the Posleen Universe that glued your fingers to the cover; and, "Gust Front" picks up where the first book left off - preparing to defend Earth from a certain Posleen invasion. "Gust Front" follows O'Neal as he returns to Earth and his youngest daughter Cally, who he left with his father when he went off world to fight the Posleen.

This book is as good as the first - possibly even a little bit better! The preparation for a Posleen invasion lead up to a worldwide battle to hold Earth for humans. The book spends most of its time in the eastern United States as O'Neal and the US Army struggle to hold the Atlantic seaboard. Ringo's description of the battle is intense and well detailed. There are number of new characters that stand out; from an artillery unit to the Army Corp of Engineers, the human face of battle is well represented.

While the book focuses on O'Neal and the American front, it spends some time documenting the battle against the Posleen in other areas of the planet such as Russia and the Khyber Pass. These vignettes are a nice interlude that fleshes out the human struggle against the Posleen.

Beyond the battles, we get to know Cally and O'Neal's father a bit better as he teaches Cally to take care of herself. We also learn more of the intrigue that is going on in the background on Earth as well as with the human "allies": the Indowy, the Tchpth, and the Darhel. We don't know where this is going yet, but Ringo is doing a good job of setting up how this will play out in the future.

Like "Hymn Before Battle", Gust Front contains a single story arc within the larger multi-book story arc of the series.

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A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

The invasion of Earth is on, and the human race gets its ass handed to them by a recon patrol. The battle sequences are vivid and the reaction to the invasion is realistic (some people do absolutely nothing, not accepting the reality of the war). As with the last one, if you enjoy alien invasion books this is for you.

Why only four stars? Ringo does military personas well, but he's weak on other kinds of characterization. One character suffers a terrible loss at the end of the book, and his reaction is less than convincing. Still, it is passable and easily overlooked given the rest of the book. Gust Front is very worthwhile.

For all of those who quibbled about things like smoking , you obviously have no idea what the life of a soldier is like. As a former 82nd airborne trooper, a lot of what he writes stikes a cord in me. This is a very well paced series with well developed characters, and the posleen basic ineptitude is more than made up for in sheer overwhelming numbers. I am eagerly awaiting Hell's Fair and any follow on books. Weber and Drake are both good, but Ringo has a very unique aura of authenticity to anyone who has been there.

Aliens have invaded the Earth before...but dammit! John took it to new levels.

First, as an military engineer veteran, it was gratifying to see the Engineers given prominence. Prominence? Hell! They taught the Posleen PAIN! There's very few alien invasions that can't be resolved by the suitable application of a few million tons of claymores and C4.

But there's more than that. He managed, technically, to portray combined arms interestingly and accurately, explain the frustration of dealing with political sandbagging, while letting us see why the politicians feel equally hamstrung. He let us feel the gut-wrenching fear of troops who know they're going to die, but get the job done anyway because sometimes there's no point in giving up.

The Posleen are an alien it's hard to feel empathy for. Reptilian centauroids that are immune to most toxins, are hatched knowing how to shoot, and slice anything animal including slow-moving children into sushi as they run, they just beg to be killed. And yet, they do have a culture and are grasping at an understanding of their first real enemy, the human race. By their own standards they are moral, and they have individuality and quirks.

Add in some hysterically entertaining NSTIW stories that are axioms among vets ("This is the USS Missouri, twenty miles offshore. Glad to help, Army!") that fit into the story without being cliche while still causing one to want to pop a beer, and you have riotous entertainment, gripping action and an ancient plot that holds up amazingly well through his telling.

And the engineers get to blow up whole DIVISIONS of Posleen.

You might want to read A Hymn Before Battle first, because it's also good. But this one ROCKS.

Sometimes after you've seen a particularly bad movie, you find yourself asking the question "How did this movie get made?" After I finished reading Gust Front, a particularly bad book, I found myself asking the question "Why did I actually like this book more than it deserved?" I really don't have an answer for it. Maybe, like an Ed Wood movie, this novel is so bad that it eventually meets up with genius in a sublime cacophony of lameness.

As set up in the first book of the series, Earth is soon to be invaded by a race of aliens who look like a cross between an alligator and a centaur called the Posleen. The Posleen do not really conquer planets. They rape worlds and eat the inhabitants! And supposedly, they've had a pretty easy time of it so far because most of the sentient life they encounter are coencidentally pacifist and therefore easy pickings. That is, until they arrive at Earth. The terran forces are preparing for the invasion and are being supplied with advanced weaponry from other alien organizations who are trying to stem the tide of the Posleen. The Posleen are due to arrive within the next couple of months and the Earth forces are still dreadfully prepared.

I have many complaints about this book. First of all, the Posleen have to be the stupidest space-faring race I have ever seen. They walk into ambushes by following pieces of metal ore, its leaders plan on destroying all living beings on Earth in order to retire to the equivalent of Posleen Florida and live out their golden years producing genetically superior offspring. Oh, the good life! They have no idea of strategy, just mass attacks that lead to slaughters. I mean, even ants have a higher learning curve than these guys. So, after a while, it sorta takes away from the suspense of the battles. Terran forces set up ambush, Posleen walk right in.

The characterization is awful. In the first third or so of the book some relationships are set up, but by the end of it, there's so many different people involved, that the rest of the book is just a jumble of names that you cannot connect to faces. The real main character of the whole thing, Michael O'Neal, is drawn pretty well, but the rest of the cast just seems like so much cannon fodder. But even his character is ravaged by the lame fact that he likes to play loud 60's and 70's hard rock during his battles. I mean come on, that is so old school. The only time the writer succeeds in this novel is when he concentrates on his battle scenes, when characters don't matter and he can just describe troop movements.

In an afterword to Gust Front the author implies that his interest in military fiction stems from his father's service in World War II. He also implies that any generation that came after this so-called "Greatest Generation" would have lost the war against the Nazis. I could not help but feel insulted that he believes that. Somehow, through his novel, Ringo is trying to show how wrongheaded and idiotic our contemporary culture would react to a fight for its survival. I, for one, believe that any generation of Americans would stand up for its country if truly threatened. So is Gust Front just a seedy metaphor that Ringo uses to show his disgust with modern day Americans? Perhaps. But since this is the last book of his that I will read, I'll probably always wonder how shooting some mindless aliens shows the true mettle of the American people.