Reading List Update: # 14 - 17
Jan. 28th, 2008 10:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupFour more books this week: all military sci-fi of the same series, the first three of which were rereads to refresh for the fourth. I think I'm definitely over Ringo now.
14. There Will Be Dragons by John Ringo. Paperback, 719pp. 1st of Council Wars. Reread. In an era when technology is so advanced it functions like magic, want has been eliminated, and the world is a paradise, half the Council who control the world's power/information net decide (a) that something has to be done to jolt humanity out of its lotus-eating downward spiral and (b) they should be the ones controlling the process. Cue war; failure of virtually all advanced tech to anybody but Council members as they tie up power trying to attack each others' reactors; and humanity on the ground either picking itself up around the few reenactors still supporting themselves naturally (*cough* SCA) or being converted by the bad side into brainwashed mutated orcs and things. Fun blend of tech and fantasy, but very far into the military/conservative dreamscape, if you know what I mean.
15. Emerald Sea by John Ringo. Paperback, 600pp. 2nd of Council Wars. Reread. Book 1 primarily concerned a small group of "reenactors" and their families in future-North America picking up the pieces, relearning how to support people in a world withour replicators and instant transport, training a small group of uber-infantry, and kicking evil butt on a small scale. In book 2, both sides have rediscovered naval possibilities and are gearing up for war at sea. But first, they have to make contact with the people who Changed themselves into mer-folk and dolphin-shapes and such before the Fall. Much underwater battling (and dragon riding) ensues. Fun, provided you can tune out the occasional right-wing preaching put in the characters' mouths-- and skim most of the epilogue, which gets kind of bizarrely NC-17. Srsly, were the harem girls necessary?
16. Against the Tide by John Ringo. Paperback, 550pp. 3rd of Council Wars. Reread. Oh noes, the war at sea has begun, and the admiralty is composed of idiots who raced yachts before the fall and know nothing of battle; so the infantry-based heroes of books 1 & 2 are sent in to take over and save the day. The harem subplot from the previous book also figures in, as one of the girls-- who happens to be the daughter of another significant character, of course-- manages to kill her captor and escape with his Key (and his power) over to the Good Guys' side. Naturally, said traumatized heroine also falls for the geek-turned-manliest-man-ever main hero of the series, Blood Lord Herzir Herrick. Lots of background infighting going on all over the place, same as previous books, and a huge climactic final battle which the good guys win as usual despite fewer resources than the enemy.
17. East of the Sun, West of the Moon by John Ringo. Paperback, 410pp. 4th of Council Wars. In this one the spaceship that cruises the system collecting helium-3 to power the world's reactors-- which support the global power/information net in turn-- returns on schedule, and both sides try to get control of it to fuel only their reactors. If either could succeed, it would mean winning the war and reshaping the world to their faction's view of Paradise when the other guys run out of juice. Of course, our heroes get involved with the space-ship mission; the final third of the book is taken up by the prolonged battle in the Black. End result: the bad guys lose a Key, and the ship; but the good guys get neither. Stalemate continues-- until Ringo gets off his ass and writes some more.
That last is actually the reason for my acerbic tone in reviewing these books, despite the fact that they're actually fun to read on an uncritical level. For some reason, when I picked it up and skimmed the epilogue in which the hero and heroine are relaxing on a beach, I thought, ah! He's finished a series! Huzzah! Time to reread! And-- no, not so much. And no sign of the next one's release, either, grr. And I'm really getting sick of Ringo's continual fascination with gratuitous titties and sexually dominant males wangsting about their own dominant tendencies. The T&A elements clutter up what is otherwise a fun and kind of fascinating mixture of science and fantasy and societal reconstruction under interesting limitations.
Next up: whatever strikes my fancy next from the unread pile!
~
14. There Will Be Dragons by John Ringo. Paperback, 719pp. 1st of Council Wars. Reread. In an era when technology is so advanced it functions like magic, want has been eliminated, and the world is a paradise, half the Council who control the world's power/information net decide (a) that something has to be done to jolt humanity out of its lotus-eating downward spiral and (b) they should be the ones controlling the process. Cue war; failure of virtually all advanced tech to anybody but Council members as they tie up power trying to attack each others' reactors; and humanity on the ground either picking itself up around the few reenactors still supporting themselves naturally (*cough* SCA) or being converted by the bad side into brainwashed mutated orcs and things. Fun blend of tech and fantasy, but very far into the military/conservative dreamscape, if you know what I mean.
15. Emerald Sea by John Ringo. Paperback, 600pp. 2nd of Council Wars. Reread. Book 1 primarily concerned a small group of "reenactors" and their families in future-North America picking up the pieces, relearning how to support people in a world withour replicators and instant transport, training a small group of uber-infantry, and kicking evil butt on a small scale. In book 2, both sides have rediscovered naval possibilities and are gearing up for war at sea. But first, they have to make contact with the people who Changed themselves into mer-folk and dolphin-shapes and such before the Fall. Much underwater battling (and dragon riding) ensues. Fun, provided you can tune out the occasional right-wing preaching put in the characters' mouths-- and skim most of the epilogue, which gets kind of bizarrely NC-17. Srsly, were the harem girls necessary?
16. Against the Tide by John Ringo. Paperback, 550pp. 3rd of Council Wars. Reread. Oh noes, the war at sea has begun, and the admiralty is composed of idiots who raced yachts before the fall and know nothing of battle; so the infantry-based heroes of books 1 & 2 are sent in to take over and save the day. The harem subplot from the previous book also figures in, as one of the girls-- who happens to be the daughter of another significant character, of course-- manages to kill her captor and escape with his Key (and his power) over to the Good Guys' side. Naturally, said traumatized heroine also falls for the geek-turned-manliest-man-ever main hero of the series, Blood Lord Herzir Herrick. Lots of background infighting going on all over the place, same as previous books, and a huge climactic final battle which the good guys win as usual despite fewer resources than the enemy.
17. East of the Sun, West of the Moon by John Ringo. Paperback, 410pp. 4th of Council Wars. In this one the spaceship that cruises the system collecting helium-3 to power the world's reactors-- which support the global power/information net in turn-- returns on schedule, and both sides try to get control of it to fuel only their reactors. If either could succeed, it would mean winning the war and reshaping the world to their faction's view of Paradise when the other guys run out of juice. Of course, our heroes get involved with the space-ship mission; the final third of the book is taken up by the prolonged battle in the Black. End result: the bad guys lose a Key, and the ship; but the good guys get neither. Stalemate continues-- until Ringo gets off his ass and writes some more.
That last is actually the reason for my acerbic tone in reviewing these books, despite the fact that they're actually fun to read on an uncritical level. For some reason, when I picked it up and skimmed the epilogue in which the hero and heroine are relaxing on a beach, I thought, ah! He's finished a series! Huzzah! Time to reread! And-- no, not so much. And no sign of the next one's release, either, grr. And I'm really getting sick of Ringo's continual fascination with gratuitous titties and sexually dominant males wangsting about their own dominant tendencies. The T&A elements clutter up what is otherwise a fun and kind of fascinating mixture of science and fantasy and societal reconstruction under interesting limitations.
Next up: whatever strikes my fancy next from the unread pile!
~
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-01-30 02:52 am (UTC)I personally think Ringo could use a more forceful editor at times, but he does write interesting stuff for the most part.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-31 05:32 pm (UTC)That said-- I think I'm simply the wrong gender to fully appreciate Ringo. Most of the stuff that trips me up is so masculine-oriented, the testosterone fairly boils off the page. =)
no subject
Date: 2008-02-02 03:08 pm (UTC)A couple of days ago I finished Ringo's "Manxome Foe" (the third in his "Into the Looking Glass" series) and I enjoyed it. I think his series co-writer Travis S. Taylor is a good influence on him :)