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 their cannon 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 at right now, go read it right now your leisure: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... 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…andThe 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.
A strangely compelling tale.The authors previous military experience is clearly evident in the rich details and inside knowledge regarding military operating practice. The battle scene are detailed and vivid, the realism almost too extreme. Some one else on goodreads commented that, if you wanted it would be possible to trace the battles step by step on a map. Being totally unfamiliar with the Washington DC area, that's what I had to do in order to make sense of the latter third of the book (You just got to love google maps :) ).The unfortunate downside to this level of detail is that the reader ends up suffering from information overload.A lot of the characters that I felt were interesting, ends feeling a little shallow or "skeletal".I have a hard time deciding if the characters are poorly described, or if any character depth just drowns in the general noise of all the background information.Don't get me wrong I am not saying anything bad about the authors abilities as a writer. In other works ie. the short story "Let's Go to Prague" he portrays much more depth in the characters in a lot fewer pages. Perhaps it's a case of the author trying to be "true" in his depiction of a subject matter he is almost too familiar with.Still as I said it is a compelling tale, a real page turner for all military SF fans. So what if the movement orders are spelled out in such detail as to make them incomprehensible without a map. And does it really matter that the amount of references to military hardware, arcane acronyms, previous battles and obscure traditions of the US army boggles the mind? Nah not really, it just makes it interesting, after all that's why they gave us the internet :)(Still didn't find any reference to any operation "Monsoon Thunder" though??)-- Jon
What do You think about Gust Front (2002)?
From Publishers Weekly Fans of Hollywood-style blood-and-guts sci-fi as exemplified in the film Independence Day will enjoy this sequel to A Hymn Before Battle (2000). Ringo's army background gives his series all the flavor and excitement of the liveliest military SF, illustrating both the tactical and strategic levels of a near-future war that started on distant worlds and has now come to Earth. In A Hymn Before Battle, resourceful Captain Michael O'Neal almost single-handedly defeated the vicious centaurlike Posleen in battle, but with Earth hanging in the balance in this book, it will take more than one man to turn the tide. Ringo begins with long and detailed human preparations for the expected invasion, introducing an immense cast of civilians, veterans, grunts and high-level officers. But when the Posleen forces arrive earlier than expected, improvised plans must be launched without delay. The humans fight for the most part with modern-day weaponry, assisted by advanced artillery from the Galactic Federation allies who got them into the fight in the first place. The resulting carnage will please those who relish high body counts. Ringo's characters often walk a fine line between heroic and stereotypical, while his extended expository passages slow the story. Still, this novel should cement Ringo's reputation as one of the best new practitioners of military SF. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal As part of the Galactic Federation, human armies help battle the aggressive aliens known as the Posleen, meeting them in a catastrophic war on the planet Barwhon V. When the Posleen begin an invasion of Earth, however, the humans ignore the fact that the invaders outnumber them and wage an unorthodox and surprising form of warfare. Ringo's sequel to Hymn Before Battle displays the author's talent for combining fast-moving battle scenes with vignettes of individual courage and sacrifice. A good choice for most sf collections. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
—Jim
The aliens had arrivedWith gifts, warnings, and an offer wecouldn't refuse....Our choice was simple: we could be cannon fodder, or we could be ... fodder. We could send our forces to fight and die (as only humans can) against a ravening horde that was literally feeding on its interstellar conquests—or remain as we were—virtually weaponless and third in line for brunch.We chose to fight.Thanks to alien technology and sheer guts, the Terrans on two worlds fought the Posleen to a standstill. Thank God there was a moment to catch our breath, a moment, however brief, of peace—.Now, for the survivors of the Barwhon and Diess Expeditionary Forces, it was a chance to get some distance from the blood and misery of battle against the Posleen centaurs. A blessed chance to forget the screams of the dying in purple swamps and massacres under searing alien suns.For Earth it was an opportunity to flesh out their force of raw recruits with combat-seasoned veterans. Political, military and scientific blundering had left the Terran forces in shambles-and with the Posleen Invasion only months away, these shell-shocked survivors might be the only people capable of saving the Earth from devastation.If the veterans had time to lick their wounds.Because the Posleen don't read schedules.Published 4/1/2001SKU: 0671319760 Ebook Price: $4.00 Baen Free Library Book
—Jeff
"This book was available free through Baen as an e-book. I read it online, after reading the first in the series. Very violent, graphic, and hard-hitting, most of the book is one giant battle, just like the first one. Ringo knows the military well, and those who have served will recognize the personalities, techniques, and humor...almost to the point where it gets a bit tedious if you've "been there, done that." Ringo doesn't pull his punches on both the military's brilliant courage and ridiculous stupidities. Entertaining, but needlessly confusing at times, this is certainly one of the most realistic imaginary alien war I've ever read. I believe that if today's US Army had to fight an alien invader, this is exactly how it would happen."
—Heidi
