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John Ringo
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A Hymn Before Battle (Posleen War Series #1) Mass Market Paperback – October 1, 2001

by John Ringo (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,446 ratings
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With Earth in the path of the rapacious Posleen, the Galactic Federation offers help to the backward humans -- for a price. You can protect yourself from your enemies, but God save you from your allies!
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  1. Book 1 of 12
    Legacy of the Aldenata
  2. Print length
    480 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Baen
  5. Publication date
    October 1, 2001
  6. Dimensions
    4.19 x 0.93 x 6.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0671318411
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0671318413
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Ringo is the New York Times best-selling author of the Black Tide Rising series, the Posleen War series, the Through the Looking Glass series, and more, including the Troy Rising series, of which Live Free or Die is the first installment. A veteran of the 82nd Airborne, Ringo brings firsthand knowledge of military operations to his fiction.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Baen (October 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671318411
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671318413
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 0.93 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,446 ratings

About the author

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John Ringo

John Ringo

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I'm a professional author of... Well, I used to say "science fiction." Then came There Will Be Dragons, which is sf with a distinct fantasy twist. Then came Ghost which is techno-thriller crossed with porn. Then came Princess of Wands, a Christian soccer mom battling demons through the power of God. Who knows what's next? Children's books? (I've actually got that one mapped out. You see, there's this girl who is raised by dolphins... You think I'm joking, don't you?)

:-)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
3,446 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

LTC Greg Pickell, USA, retired
5.0 out of 5 stars Military Scifi Done Right!
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
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Really impressive read. Ringo is a master at military fiction. His command of the military and its changing culture are spot on.
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walter sanchez
4.0 out of 5 stars An exciting adventure
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2023
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So much fun and exhausting tell of battle, this writer can make you feel as if you are running , jumping, shooting, fighting next to the character you are reading about, I could actually kind of feel the exhaustion the sweat dripping described on the pages.
Bravo good tell
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Got me back into reading. 10/10
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2014
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I have the paper book here somewhere... read the first four and just could not stop. Was kinda bummed the fourth book took a while to come out since it was the culmination of the series, or so I thought.

Turns out the series continues with a different characters but it was not yet available. :(
That was four or five years ago, probably 100 books easy in between but I would think of this series occasionally. Looked it up and am digital now so will definitely be buying the whole series again, including the newest additions.

This was my second space opera series, first one petered out after 3 books and was just boring boring filler with no content. Never even finished it... by this one- from the start, it is obvious of the actual experience perspectives and tone of the story, it isn't just another tale. I tell everyone I talk to of some part of the book or something that had me laughing from the mental imagery just laid out in spectacular fashion (if I can without being boorish).

For fans of true to life military science fiction, having read many others, this has to be my favorite. The believability of the story, the accuracy of the characters to what I remember and expect from persons in these scenarios... No ridiculous excessive drama that doesn't happen, no out of the blue special save the day surprises just to rescue the damsel in distress, just a real story about some real stuff that never happened. Probably.

to:dr great space opera. real to life military action. 10/10 am reading again
5 people found this helpful
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Dension
5.0 out of 5 stars Triple Nickel
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2023
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Bingo does not have fine books, he has great series. He also picked up enough, and did the research to come across to anyone who served over the last four decades. Yes, there are some errors. But excellent job.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good action book
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2022
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There are a lot of characters in this story to keep track of,and later you see them come together for the next book! This starts as we find out space is full of different beings and only a few can be warlike but most are not we ,who are the most war creating people in this part of the galaxy are needed to stop another warlike beings by a group of pacifist beings,and oh yea the meanies will be here in five years to eat us!!!
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Rock-n-Roll is the best battle music
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2023
Verified Purchase
I could not find many grammatical errors. But there were a few irregularities. There is no 200 proof tequila. 200 proof is 100% alcohol. While the author is at liberty to do as they please, they need to get the facts straight. The story was quite interesting. Future? Maybe. We shall see. A little more research done by this author will go a long way.
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Ironheart
5.0 out of 5 stars Why isn't this book a movie?
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2014
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I fell in love with this servies years ago. I would love it to be a movie series....note, series. The three books,taken together smashed into one movie, would dilute what is so good about this series. When I first discovered the books it was my first foray into military styled science fiction and I loved the combination of humor, action, detailed information and characters. Just recently I puchased the revised edition on my Kindle as, sadly, my paperback book literally had fallen apart from too many reads. Some of John Ringo's books read like he knocked them out over a weekend, but this series has so many back stories and plots going on, divided nicely so as not to confuse, it speaks to careful planning and if not that...a lot of thought. In my mind, the trilogy Legacy of the Aldenata, of which this book is the first, is his best. Don't get me wrong, I love everything he writes due to the fast pacing and his basic assumption that his main characters are all smarter than the powers that be, but this is the series I always come back to every year or so. I cannot comment on the accuracy of the military tactics or other military stuff he includes having never been anywhere near the military, but if you want a fast paced, gripping read...this series is for you. Oh, a final word, some of the later add ons to this series which are coauthored are good, some not too good, but the one with the poor, accident prone Posleen is a riot.
3 people found this helpful
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Desert Rat
3.0 out of 5 stars Good potential sci fi weighted down by tedium
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2020
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Comments will apply to the entire series of four books, not just this first one. The three star rating reflects that parts of this story are very good but obscured by too much of the text devoted to other parts.

The good parts include some very creative and fascinating aliens. The part that diminishes the story are the very long and tedious battle sequences. Such sequences in this and some other military science fiction have been characterized (a bit unfairly) as “military porn”. I don’t entirely agree with that but the point is taken as the rhythm of the battle narratives does tend toward thump-thump-tump-thump — OH YEAH! (Repeat ad infinitum).

Just my opinion: if the author were to cut the battle sequences down to summaries 25% of the current page count while adding around 50% to page count devoted to human and alien character development, human and galactic politics/conspiracies, etc the result could be a largish single volume that rates five-plus stars.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Steven L.
5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable but brutal story
Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2022
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If you enjoy a good battle story, this book is for you. It has some interesting tech and a lot of battle strategy and perhaps an over abundance of the gory details that war stories contain. I look forward to reading the next book.
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D. G. Richards
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Military Science Fiction
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2019
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This is a really well written and hard bit of military Science Fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed the build up and world building as the plot worked its way to the big battle. There was a multitude of characters that were all relevant to the story, and although I felt the end was a bit abrupt with a few ends not quite tied off, I was still pleased with the result. I also believe it is the intention that this be the first book in a series, so no doubt any loose ends will be resolved later. I liked the leading characters and I was able to relate to them in the story. All in all this was a very good read and well worth looking at. Recommended.
One person found this helpful
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Kumar Mallampalli
4.0 out of 5 stars good writing. Don't expect any science though
Reviewed in India on October 19, 2017
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Fast paced adventure, good writing. Don't expect any science though.
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Alan Gee
5.0 out of 5 stars Great author, great universe
Reviewed in Australia on September 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
Love the pace of the
Writing and love the way he rounds out the story with insights into what the situation is like for everyone else
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Where everything start! First of the series.
Reviewed in Germany on May 18, 2013
Verified Purchase
Great military SF. An Alien race try to invade the Earth while humanity fights with tooth and nails and the help of another alien species… for a price.
A book that brings guns blazing and humans to be served as dessert. Fully loaded action book ready to be read page of page in quick burst!
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