[TheKildar]

Just got done with another one of his series, I think that he is an amazing author, yeah he has his flaws but he has an awesome talent, just wanted to know your guys opinion about him and/or his books, wanted to discuss some of his books feel free to post

[Rob B]

Ringo gets some discussion around here. One of our members, Ouroboros, is a big fan of his books, particularly the Legacy of the Aldenata series. I have A Hymn Before Battle on my ever-growing to read pile, but just haven't made my way to reading it yet.

[suciul]

I am a big fan too :) Prince Roger, Kildar, Council Wars and Vorpal Blade are my top series. Aldenata so-so, though I liked some of the books in the series a lot. All in all I've read all his books and collaborations and outside the Bolo book Road to Damascus that I found boring, I've enjoyed them.

The Last Centurion, his blog novel is funny, though a bit too preachy and with less action than normal to be in the top, but I am looking forward to the release any day of the e-arc of Claws that Catch - Vorpal Blade 4.

[shinyaSS]

The only book I've read is "Ghost" and it was beyond my capacity... Is it a fairy tale for rightish people?

[s271]

Yep, Ringo seems extreme right, or at least posing as one, up to the point of denying global worming and hating tofu and other low-fat food. For some obscure reason he think low-fat food is unpatriotic :)

Edit: I mean "global warming" :)

[shinyaSS]

Hating tofu? I'd like to cook a great tofu steak with many fat for him:D
Anyway, which is his best military SF?
As you can imagine, military SFs are not so popular outside the States(at least in Japan), but I personary like realistic space war stories.

[suciul]

Hating tofu? I'd like to cook a great tofu steak with many fat for him:D
Anyway, which is his best military SF?
As you can imagine, military SFs are not so popular outside the States(at least in Japan), but I personary like realistic space war stories.

The Prince Roger series starting with March Upcountry is the best in my opinion. It is co-written with D. Weber and launched Ringo as a big-name author after he had already made a splash with the first Aldenata books which were published form the slush pile.

The Roger books are almost all Ringo though, Weber did the plot, setting, editing, but Ringo did the writing as it is easily seen for the style. Sadly now that John Ringo is almost as a big bestseller as David Weber, Prince Roger moved on the back burner and despite fan prodding we may never see beyond book 4. Still book 4 is an acceptable ending for the series to a large extent.

Mr. Ringo bristles when anyone mentions this subject since I guess he got harassed enough about it and asking "When is next Roger book coming?" is a sure way to get him annoyed

[Ouroboros]

As mentioned, I'm a big John Ringo fan.

Broadly speaking I think the first two books in his 'Legacy of the Aldenata' series are his strongest work. Personally I think the quality drops off a little bit after that, but the series remains a serious contender for "best mechanized combat suit series" of the recent past. There are nods aplenty to Heinlein but the sensibility is very contemporary and redolent of Dravid Drake's gritty appraisal of the best and worst of military life.

The 'Council War' series wasn't as well-received as had been anticipated, which is unfortunate because they have some great SF/Fantasy cross-over elements. The first book is the strongest. After that they begin to exhibit some of the same elements that his 'Paladin of the Shadows' do: That is, quite a bit of erotica involving S&M and some pretty dark stuff by most people's standards. Personally speaking this is not for me and I think the books are the weaker for it although this is a subject of some debate among Ringo fans. Ringo has penned an article defending himself against accusations of getting a bit carried away on his website, worth a read if you're on the fence.

'Through the looking glass' and its sequels really appealed to me, and came at a time when I was a little bit cheesed off at what Ringo was doing with the series mentioned above. I haven't read all of the series, but it's reminiscent of the golden age of SF for me, in terms of some of the themes- first contact, scientist-as-hero and whatnot.

The 'Empire of Man' / 'Prince Roger' series with Weber is solid but I don't think it's his best work. The first and last book in the series worked for me, but the middle books felt really samey and repetitive.

There's no doubt that Ringo (and much of the Baen stable of authors) are well right of the centre in their social and political outlook. Pro-military, all for the freemarket, Mom, Uncle Sam and Apple Pie. Personally I dig all that stuff and I aggree with far more of this outlook than I take issue with. Ultimately your mileage will vary. If someone is uncertain as to whether they will like it I'd suggest 'A hymn before battle' as their starting point. Particularly if they ever read and enjoyed 'Starship Troopers' by Heinlein.

[shinyaSS]

Thanks for very detailed reviews, guys. 'A hymn before battle' has been added to my piles.

[suciul]

What I love about Mr. Ringo's style is its energy, and characters. The opinions do not bother me - I am a bit more on the libertarian side, but I have the same contempt for all the corrupt tranzi institutions like the UN, and the like, and the s&m I mostly ignore.

On the other hand I do not care that much for the hardcore military action of the Aldenata series and I do not like any and all of the O'Neill clan so that may be one reason that series appeals less to me. Similarly I think the main issue of the Council series is not the s&m but it is actually Herzer who is the least interesting of Ringo's characters. And Bast while funny is a joke...Duke Talbot is much better and if he would have structured the book around him like Dance with Dragons, I think it will have been more successful. At least thankfully Mr. Ringo canned the original 2nd book about Herzer in that obscure town since if he would have done that it most likely would have been the last book in the series. This way, who knows the series may revive.

But Sergei Roger Ramius McClintock and the gang around him, human and Mardukan and the Kildar and the gang around him Western and Georgian are absolutely great...