Manxome Foe

In the list of reasons to read a new author and a new series, add this: I was upset that a sequel to the excellent [b:Armor|102327|Armor|John Steakley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309201144s/102327.jpg|604650] was never published, so in frustration I tried this book out. If ever there was a setup for disappointment, here was a perfect example. But ... I was pleasantly surprised. [b:Manxome Foe|1624960|Manxome Foe (Looking Glass, #3)|John Ringo|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186032977s/1624960.jpg|1618980] is opposite Armor in tone, the former being light, as the butter on Panera's toast, and the latter, serious, as a bout of asthma. However, in both cases, the approach is fitting. Manxome is candy to Armor's sour core. Oddly appropriate that I would go from one to the other. The two novels' most striking similarity is the alien enemy --- unyielding, overwhelming and ultimately dumb. (Somehow, these aliens remind me of the Pak of the [b:Ringworld|61179|Ringworld|Larry Niven|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170563307s/61179.jpg|924711] books, purportedly smarter than man and yet bound by the programming of their genetics.)
Ringo and Taylor make it feel like nothing's happening, as the story flows thus: "they flew here" then "they flew there" and, then "the marines made fun of each other". Along the way, the characters meet astonishingly trusting aliens as the tale builds up to the inevitably final battle with the bad guys. There's also a lot of plausible physics to feed us SF geese, not distracting and not absolutely essential to the story, but adding to the fun. The light tone remains even through the most bloody and high-casualty scenes, as if to say, this is not what this story is about. So what is it about? To me, the book spoke of the continuity of life, human or alien, despite the inevitability of death. Quite profound, eh? In overall sum total (does that mean 3 times the whole?), I enjoyed the book. This would be a worthwhile read for anyone who: (a) has just finished Armor, and been depressed by its utter melancholy, (b) is not annoyed by military humor and gory violence, and (c) likes [a:John Scalzi|4763|John Scalzi|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1236228326p2/4763.jpg]. ( )

Not quite as good as the first two, though loaded with action. The Vorpal Blade is sent back out to find out what happened to a missing research group. Along the way they run into another alien race and the Dreen, and a big time fight. Basically similar to the previous book, with most of the same characters, but the action got a little more implausible this time. ( )

From the Back:
In the midst of recovering from their successful if casualty-prone first mission, the crew of the Alliance Space Ship Vorpal Blade are suddenly scrambled back into action. All other priorities take second place as word arrives on Earth of a gate colony which has fallen to an unidentified alien assault. As the only space ship available to the Human--Adar Alliance, the Vorpal Blade's new mission is to find out what happened to the colony, rescue any survivors and learn the identity of the attackers - without breaking the ship.
the odd-ball crew of the Vorpal Blade is an unlikely savior, but none dare say they quail at engaging the Manxome Foe. ( )

The second voyage of the Vorpal Blade. Not a good place to start the series, it's definitely action-packed. A couple of main characters (I'll let you discover which ones) are noticeably absent, but despite that the series continues to pull its weight. New aliens, continued menaces from the old ones, and plenty of over-my-head science to contend with. All and all a very enjoyable read. ( )

Second voyage of the Vorpal Blade. The excuse seems a bit thin - given the time differential and the potential exposure to the foe, I'd have thought going through the gate would have been a much simpler way to find out what was on the other side. On the other hand, I suppose the Blade could look at the planet and see if the Dreen had taken it over, and fade away without ever being noticed (maybe). Still, seems like a lot of effort and time without much lowering the risk or increasing the benefits. Though again, a real mission for the Blade may have been worth the whole thing. I dunno. An interesting new race, and traces of a second. Hmm, I wonder if the Hexes are blind in space? Since sound doesn't propagate in vacuum, it's essentially an opaque medium to them...have to use tech to see at all. Not mentioned, but I suppose they've solved most such problems long since. Miriam gets to show her stuff (multiple flashes of genius); Mimi has apparently not come along on this one. Chief Miller did. So the entire point of this one, as far as I can see, was finding the Hexen (and _nobody_ does a Battlestar Galactica reference! Sheesh!) and learning what they know about the Dreen. Some interesting events and personalities - oh yeah, Portana/Poertana shows up. Why put the same character into two totally different series? I guess Ringo wanted to go further into him and there wasn't room in the Prince Roger series. But it was rather annoying.
Not bad, but not all that interesting. Oh yeah, and Two-Gun gets to show off some more. ( )