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calfaile's review
3.0
This book reads like a fourteen year old boy's wet dream. If you're willing to suspend your disbelief and go along with the abundant rape (and really not tasteful), terrible characterization, and geek-turned-hero who can do no wrong, it actually is an interesting ride. His attempts to explain fantasy with technology is technically interesting and the whole "pampered humans forced to survive on their own" premise is a good one. Good for light reading if you can stand the fanfiction tone.
claytell's review
2.0
There is a huge dichotomy in the reviews. I picked this book because the ratings were high(ish). But, sadly my rating will be at the other end. I really did not like this book at all. I will not be reading any more in this series. If this had been the first John Ringo book that I had read, I would never read another one of his books. Luckily, that was not the case, as he has written some really memorable scifi.
tirnel's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed a lot
Good world building. I enjoyed the characters. The pacing was good and I am off to the next book already.
Good world building. I enjoyed the characters. The pacing was good and I am off to the next book already.
wyrmdog's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, but it quickly devolved into a weird soup of survivalist-porn with extremely ham-fisted political overtones and a narrative distaste for women. I don't mind a book with a message, even if it's one I disagree with, but I want it to be an invitation to ponder the subject using the story as case, even in my pulp novels (see Joseph Conrad or Sir ACD).
I'd say that maybe I'm just being overly sensitive, but I got the same vibe from another other book by Ringo that I read, one set in a completely different universe. If the writer goes back to the same ideological well again and again it's not the characters, it's the author. That isn't bad in and of itself (a great many themes are worth digging at over and over), but the terribly blunt presentation of it detracted from the story in both cases. I think that's really my issue: the lack of sophistication with which the underlying ideology of the story is presented.
I did like the origin of the elves, though; and the general premise is great fun. Ringo writes engaging action sequences and enjoys world-building and it shows. It has enough entertaining ideas to make me want to pick up the next one, but then I remember how annoyed I was half the time I read it and I slap myself back to sanity.
I'd say that maybe I'm just being overly sensitive, but I got the same vibe from another other book by Ringo that I read, one set in a completely different universe. If the writer goes back to the same ideological well again and again it's not the characters, it's the author. That isn't bad in and of itself (a great many themes are worth digging at over and over), but the terribly blunt presentation of it detracted from the story in both cases. I think that's really my issue: the lack of sophistication with which the underlying ideology of the story is presented.
I did like the origin of the elves, though; and the general premise is great fun. Ringo writes engaging action sequences and enjoys world-building and it shows. It has enough entertaining ideas to make me want to pick up the next one, but then I remember how annoyed I was half the time I read it and I slap myself back to sanity.
corkspa's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting story line that doesn't slow down. Aurthur can get a little long winded in explaining different tactical situations and other military stuff but it helped (for me) paint the picture of the fallen world. I have read this several times and enjoyed it each time.
dannypent's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kdf_333's review against another edition
3.0
I have read Ringo's stuff in anthologies so i figured it'd be sc-fi dragons. umm there were no dragons well ok, 1. and we didn't even get to talk with her. so the title is a big fat lie and the cover is also a big fat lie this is not a fantasy book.it's a sci-fi book with medieval tendencies.
I read the other reviews of the book and was very surprised by the claims of this book being hateful towards women.
There are a ton of books where women are not the main characters and are just stereotypes, the same can be said of men in chick-lit, children in adult books, adults in YA books, etc. This doesn't make the book hateful towards that group.
One person mentioned rape fantasies as being a reason..um have you read a romance novel...ever? i have read more than one historical and contemporary romance and erotica novels that had rape in it and the women still fell for the men. i actually stopped reading a very famous romance author (coulter) because of this. i thought the fact these women in Ringo's novel bounced back from the rapes so fast a bit unrealistic since they came from a society that had never heard of such things.
I think someone also disliked the little girl fantasies and the bondage fantasy which was such a small part of the book that i wonder at these folks for focusing so much on it. anyway, again they must be very sheltered if they have not heard of these fetishes /fantasies before reading this book.
a couple other people complained about the women and their periods. i thought it was a bit unrealistic that the women were not freaking out more. i hate, HATE, hate getting my period. i think it's disgusting and oh so uncomfortable and inconvenient. i don't see the misogyny there.
somebody else said it was misogynistic because the women were complaining about giving natural births instead of using uterine replicators. really? REALLY? all the women in my family have had difficult pregnancies and labors. the women on my mom's side have a hard time even getting pregnant. a uterine replicator would solve both problems. i am not saying it would be better but it's certainly not being hateful.
The book was ok.it was great but i will not be reading the sequels because it sounds like a long war and the main characters are cool but i prefer my military sci-fi to have women protagonists (Like Tanya Huff's Valor series and Weber's Harrington series).
i gotta say i don't get the negative reviews were misogyny was the main reason. the other negative reviews were users' personal taste and that's understandable.
I read the other reviews of the book and was very surprised by the claims of this book being hateful towards women.
There are a ton of books where women are not the main characters and are just stereotypes, the same can be said of men in chick-lit, children in adult books, adults in YA books, etc. This doesn't make the book hateful towards that group.
One person mentioned rape fantasies as being a reason..um have you read a romance novel...ever? i have read more than one historical and contemporary romance and erotica novels that had rape in it and the women still fell for the men. i actually stopped reading a very famous romance author (coulter) because of this. i thought the fact these women in Ringo's novel bounced back from the rapes so fast a bit unrealistic since they came from a society that had never heard of such things.
I think someone also disliked the little girl fantasies and the bondage fantasy which was such a small part of the book that i wonder at these folks for focusing so much on it. anyway, again they must be very sheltered if they have not heard of these fetishes /fantasies before reading this book.
a couple other people complained about the women and their periods. i thought it was a bit unrealistic that the women were not freaking out more. i hate, HATE, hate getting my period. i think it's disgusting and oh so uncomfortable and inconvenient. i don't see the misogyny there.
somebody else said it was misogynistic because the women were complaining about giving natural births instead of using uterine replicators. really? REALLY? all the women in my family have had difficult pregnancies and labors. the women on my mom's side have a hard time even getting pregnant. a uterine replicator would solve both problems. i am not saying it would be better but it's certainly not being hateful.
The book was ok.it was great but i will not be reading the sequels because it sounds like a long war and the main characters are cool but i prefer my military sci-fi to have women protagonists (Like Tanya Huff's Valor series and Weber's Harrington series).
i gotta say i don't get the negative reviews were misogyny was the main reason. the other negative reviews were users' personal taste and that's understandable.
andrewspink's review against another edition
1.0
With a big struggle I managed 30% and then gave up. Dreadful.
so64's review against another edition
3.0
Part Science-Fiction, Part Fantasy. All Fun!
This was a decent, yet fun read. The story takes place in a techno-utopia that has stagnated and experience population decline. Due to this stagnation, one of the members of the council, Paul Bowman decides to try to bring back the concept of work. And while it may sound as if Paul may be on to something, let's be clear: Paul is way out of his depth. He hates that some humans have Changed themselves, incorporating animal characteristics or change their body shapes. It is also clear that he is clueless about history, childrearing, and leadership. Sherida, one of the other members of the council, ultimately opposes him. While she agrees that the issues he brings up do exist, she disagrees with his solutions and his interpretation. Sides form, and while Sherida and her faction blocks Paul at first, Paul plans. The next meeting, Paul plans a coup and attacks Sherida and her faction. This leads to fallout. The net falls, power becomes limited. And society reverts to a preindustrial, medieval age.
The story deals with society trying to rebuild and reestablish itself mainly through the lens of several characters: Edmund Talbot, a reenactor and blacksmith; his ex-wife Daneh, a doctor, sister to Sherida; their daughter, Rachel; and Hezer Herrick, a teen who was under the charge of Daneh and cured of his ailment just before the fall. The development of these characters is pretty good, albeit predictable if you are familiar with fantasy conventions. All of the characters are likeable and one does find them sympathetic as to what they are going through.
I did have some issues with the formatting and pace at times. Sometimes, the chapter would focus on Edmund doing something, say talking to Sherida and advising her, and it would jump to Daneh and Rachel. And while normally there are symbols signaling a cut from one perspective to another, these parts did not have cuts and thus came off as being somewhat unnecessary and hastily edited in. I also felt that it did seem to drag at parts. Some of the diction could also use a bit of work.
I did like the themes within the story. I also like that, in spite of Paul having a fair point, how comically evil his faction is. I do not think Paul realize exactly what he has done until the end by allying himself with people like Celine and the daemon. And is somewhat oblivious to his own faults, making the times that we do see his faction somewhat hillarious. Although you do feel...a smidge of sympathy for him.
This was a decent, yet fun read. The story takes place in a techno-utopia that has stagnated and experience population decline. Due to this stagnation, one of the members of the council, Paul Bowman decides to try to bring back the concept of work. And while it may sound as if Paul may be on to something, let's be clear: Paul is way out of his depth. He hates that some humans have Changed themselves, incorporating animal characteristics or change their body shapes. It is also clear that he is clueless about history, childrearing, and leadership. Sherida, one of the other members of the council, ultimately opposes him. While she agrees that the issues he brings up do exist, she disagrees with his solutions and his interpretation. Sides form, and while Sherida and her faction blocks Paul at first, Paul plans. The next meeting, Paul plans a coup and attacks Sherida and her faction. This leads to fallout. The net falls, power becomes limited. And society reverts to a preindustrial, medieval age.
The story deals with society trying to rebuild and reestablish itself mainly through the lens of several characters: Edmund Talbot, a reenactor and blacksmith; his ex-wife Daneh, a doctor, sister to Sherida; their daughter, Rachel; and Hezer Herrick, a teen who was under the charge of Daneh and cured of his ailment just before the fall. The development of these characters is pretty good, albeit predictable if you are familiar with fantasy conventions. All of the characters are likeable and one does find them sympathetic as to what they are going through.
I did have some issues with the formatting and pace at times. Sometimes, the chapter would focus on Edmund doing something, say talking to Sherida and advising her, and it would jump to Daneh and Rachel. And while normally there are symbols signaling a cut from one perspective to another, these parts did not have cuts and thus came off as being somewhat unnecessary and hastily edited in. I also felt that it did seem to drag at parts. Some of the diction could also use a bit of work.
I did like the themes within the story. I also like that, in spite of Paul having a fair point, how comically evil his faction is. I do not think Paul realize exactly what he has done until the end by allying himself with people like Celine and the daemon. And is somewhat oblivious to his own faults, making the times that we do see his faction somewhat hillarious. Although you do feel...a smidge of sympathy for him.