101 of 111 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hmmm..., October 23, 2003
This review is from: Hell's Faire (Posleen War Series #3) (Hardcover)
Hi, it's John.
I understand some of the reviews (I'm ignoring the ones that boil down to "I don't like John Ringo Books") and some of the reasons that reviewers were dissatified. But others I'm not quite grokking, especially comments about the "rushed ending." For general information, the book ended almost exactly as I had intended when I wrote Hymn Before Battle. (I always think of series as "meta-stories" and have the ending for the last book generally worked out in advance.) I, personally, loved the ending, as a writer and a reader. So I feel a necessity to understand your concerns.
I'll mea culpa on the fact that I had to split the books. I explain why in Hell's Faire. If you don't like the explanation, sorry. It's the honest truth.
Oh, one comment on one of the most atrocious reviews. Glennis LeBlanc, as described, physically and personality, is a friend of mine, a book-seller based in the South East. The scene that is so "controversial" was based upon three or four real life incidents and the honest progress of the story. I, myself, made the same (mental) mistake that Kilzer did (physically) and had to go back and rework my calculations, only realizing afterwards that... well I made the same mistake. From there the scene proceeded naturally. It was not "set-up", it was truly classic writing.
And Glennis thought it was hilarious.
If anyone wants to personally comment, discuss or debate, my e-mail is available at Baen's Bar (www.baen.com) or on my website. (Amazon tends to strip them.) Feel free to contact me and ask any questions you would like including about the future of the series.
Thanks,
John Ringo
PS: Amazon requires a rating. I gave it four stars because I probably would as a reader. Go figure.
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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Rest of the Story, August 2, 2003
This review is from: Hell's Faire (Posleen War Series #3) (Hardcover)
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 balls, but the results are rather radioactive for several days afterwards. Of course, this isn't a problem with an area denial weapon, so he produces a big orange surprise for the Posleen.
This novel is a continuation of the previous volume. In fact, it would have been incorporated into When the Devil Dances except for the events surrounding 9/11. Although the author is apologetic about the lapse in his writing that caused this portion to be delayed, the final results may have been even better than the originally planned trilogy. This volume contains 330 pages (including the Sluggy Freelance cartoons) and the previous volume contains 494 pages. Even eliminating the backstory verbiage, the combined volume would be larger than some of the Wheel of Time books. My guess is that the paperback would have been split into two volumes anyway.
This volume ends the Legacy of the Aldenata series for now. The author mentions further tales about the backstory and other aspects of the events and characters in this series, but the Posleen invasion is terminated.
Highly recommended for Ringo fans and anyone else who enjoys military science fiction with the ring of authenticity. New readers, however, are strongly encouraged to start with A Hymn Before Battle to get the full effect.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
315 pages of action, May 12, 2003
This review is from: Hell's Faire (Posleen War Series #3) (Hardcover)
It is very difficult for some of the people here to excuse John Ringo for not including Hell's Faire as part of the earlier book. It's not a stand-alone - instead out of 325 pages of text, it's 315 pages of action, and about 10 pages of explanation.
Apparently these people have never suffered from writer's block themselves. Given the background of John Ringo - it would be very difficult for him to try to write a fictional story of the world falling apart when the real world was falling apart on our TV screens.
The Amazon price is fair for this - I wouldn't pay full price for it, since it's only 325 pages, and it only took me two and a half hours to read. The CD included, though, has another $100 worth of books on it, which is great for Baen to do this.
There will be other books in this series - there are a lot of things to resolve, such as Mike's other daughter, plus what his father and Callie do for the Bane Sidhe. That the Darhel are attempting to bargain again with the Posleen only screams additional series.
If you're a Sluggy fan and found Ringo due the references, hang in there. Read the books from the beginning - and remember, don't let rednecks play with anti-matter!
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