Manxome Foe (Looking Glass, Book 3) [Hardcover]

John Ringo (Author), Travis Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2008

In the midst of recovering from their successful if casualty prone first mission, the crew of the Alliance Space Ship Vorpal Blade are suddenly scrambled back into action. All other priorities take second place as word arrives on earth of a gate colony which has fallen to an unidentified alien assault. As the only space ship currently available to the Human-Adar Alliance, the Vorpal Blade is dispatched to find out what happened to the colony, rescue any survivors and learn the identity of the attackers.

 

With new complexities added to the universe started in the novel Into the Looking Glass and continued in Vorpal Blade, Manxome Foe continues the tradition of non-stop action, valorous if quirky characters and rigorous science drawn from the frontiers of current theory. The odd-ball crew of the Vorpal Blade is an unlikely savior of earth, but none dare say they quail at engaging the Manxome Foe.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Ringo is author of the New York Times best-selling Posleen War series which so far includes A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, When the Devil Dances, and Hell’s Faire, as well as the connected novels Cally’s War (with Julie Cochrane), The Hero (with Michael Z. Williamson), and Watch on the Rhine (with Tom Kratman), and is the hottest new science fiction writer since David Weber. A veteran of the 82nd Airborne, Ringo brings first-hand knowledge of military operations to his novels of high-tech future war.

Travis S. Taylor—“Doc” Taylor to his friends—has earned his soubriquet the hard way:  He has a Doctorate in Optical Science and Engineering, a Master's degree in Physics, a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, a Master's degree in Astronomy, and a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. Dr. Taylor has worked on various programs for the Department of Defense and NASA for the past sixteen years.  He's currently working on several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space-based beamed energy systems, and next generation space launch concepts. He lives in Auburn, AL with his wife Karen and their daughter.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Baen; 1ST edition (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416555218
• ISBN-13: 978-1416555216
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #875,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Modern Space Opera Done Right, January 25, 2008

By 

Geoffrey Kidd (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Manxome Foe (Looking Glass, Book 3) (Hardcover)

I found this to be a VERY fast-paced book that never let up from beginning to end. The story of the second voyage of the Alliance Star Ship "Vorpal Blade" was, if anything, even more exciting and danger-filled than the first one, and that was superb.

If you've read the earlier books, you'll already know the characters and basic background, but if not, there's enough in this to catch up in a hurry. I call it "space opera", which Wikipedia defines as "a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing powerful (and sometimes quite fanciful) technologies and abilities. Perhaps the most significant trait of space opera is that settings, characters, battles, powers, and themes tend to be very large-scale."

I couldn't describe this book better if I tried. I liked the action, I liked the people, I liked the science, and I found the last third of the book utterly impossible to put down. I can't wait for the sequel, "Claws That Catch", which is due out in November 2008.

Given all that, though, this one gets only four stars for two reasons:

1. Two major characters from Vorpal Blade (Looking Glass) who are so important that the survival of the UNIVERSE depends on them are completely missing in action.

and

2. There's a new character you get to meet, know, and like a heckuva lot in the first half of the book who completely disappears from the story for about the last hundred pages. Where'd he go?

I still recommend this book highly, even with the above. It was fun.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now THAT'S Science Fiction, February 5, 2008

By 

R. Foster - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Manxome Foe (Looking Glass, Book 3) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent addition to a really great series of books. (See also "Into the Looking Glass," by John Ringo and "Vorpal Blade," by John Ringo and Travis Taylor.) Once I started reading, I literally stayed up all night to finish. (After watching the SuperBowl. Monday really sucked.) The story takes an old SF workhorse, mankind facing imminent doom from alien invaders, and has it running like Secretariat. The characters are engaging, the writing is smooth, and the science didn't have my physicist wife rolling her eyes every chapter. I highly recommend the entire series. This is as good as space opera gets.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old School is still good school, January 24, 2008

By 

W. COLEY "WC" (Nebraska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Manxome Foe (Looking Glass, Book 3) (Hardcover)

The "Looking Glass" series is well served here with this continuation. John Ringo again does a great job with combat and Travis Taylor handles the science with well done "possibilities". Good SF should assist your imagination with Science on the edge of the possible, good friendly interpersonal relationships, battles, and a respectable pace. This book and series meets all those requirements--in spades.