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| Review Summary |
In this sequel to "A Hymn Before Battle", the main protagonist, Mike O'Neal, faces off again with the deadly alien Posleen. Using his experience as an Armoured Combat trooper, O'Neal must help organize the defense of planet Earth from the rampaging alien hordes. Human ingenuity and advanced Galactic technology combine to give the human race its most effective tool in the struggle: the Armored Combat Suit. A heavily armed and armoured one-man tank, the Armoured Combat Suit battalions are the forces on Earth capable of meeting the gigantic swarms of the enemy on their own terms.
As O'Neal and his superior officers plan for the impending invasion, the worst happens--an early landing by literally MILLIONS of Posleen! American armed forces are in a sad state of disrepair, as poor morale and worse command and control lead to the destruction of over 100,000 soldiers. In the cities of Richmond and Fredricksburg, vastly outnumbered troops build an amazing array of fortifications and defenses, including a spectacular escape for the civilians of Fredricksburg. In Northern Virginia, beaten and demoralized, the remnants of the American Ninth and Tenth Corps dig in around Washington, D.C., and prepare for the worst. In and around historic monuments and government builings, the battle for America's capital rages. O'Neal and his ACS troops join the titanic melee as the story comes to a climactic ending.
Joshua Reynolds, Resident Scholar
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This is a second book of Posleen series, also known as Legacy of Aldenata. Roughly half of it is concerned with preparation for all-out Earth defence and the rest is the beginning of Earth's invasion by Posleen. There are some other subplots relating to internal politics of US government, overall stupidity of governmental bureaucracy, personal bravery and cowardice on the battlefield and outside of it, relations between Earth and Federation...
This is hard military SF, full of military and tech jargon. It conatins also rather precise terain descriptions. If you do not like military - do not read it.
Maxim Poddoubnyi, Resident Scholar
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Baen, Apr 2001, 24.00, 597 pp.
ISBN: 0671319760
As the earthlings try to recover from the victorious but difficult war with the Posleen (see A HYMN BEFORE BATTLE), the enemy refuses to rest. Instead, the centaurs turn their attention to invading Earth as a means to defeat the humans. Earth, with aid from the Galactic Federation, prepares for the Posleen invasion of the planet.
However, the Posleen do not sit around licking wounds from their previous defeat. They attack planet-side much earlier than anyone expected them to, hoping to catch the earthlings not quite ready for them. The former human victory led by hero Captain Michael O'Neal seems hollow as invasion earth turns the planet into a bloodbath like none that ever happened here before. However, a defeat would turn into a massacre of cleansing worse than anything imaginable.
Readers who enjoy science fiction galaxy wars filled with a sea of blood will fully relish the non-stop action GUST FRONT. Though the characters often seem two dimensional (on both sides of the front), the story line never slows down as the feral Posleen arrive to devastate any resistance. With this explosive novel, John Ringo shows why he is one of the Generals when it comes to military science fiction.
Harriet Klausner
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 50%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
Tone of book
- depressing/sad
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
If an invasion, from Earth/human POV:
- fighting overt invasion (attacking aliens)
War or Invasion
Yes
Major kinds of combat:
- guns
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an entire race
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Setting
Earth setting:
- near future (later in 21st century)
- current (early 21st century)
Spaceship setting:
- primative (present, near future) human spaceship
- alien spaceship
- one or two man fighter/scoutship
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Takes place in spaceship?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
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