Julie Cochrane

With most of the DAG mutineers, Cally and Papa O'Neal are facing serious problems - what to do with all the surplus manpower for one thing. And they might just have nailed that. But unfortunately the Darhel are up to their old tricks, and when the DAG dependents start dying, it's time to take action. Of course, that means counteraction. And who better to call in than Mike O'Neal.

Hauled back from squashing Posleen in the blight to deal with a homegrown terrorist threat - the Bane Sidhe, Iron show more Mike has a plan. What do you get when an immovable O'Neal meets and unstoppable one? A very large body count. But the carnage isn't up to Ringo's usual par. Over numerous volumes I've come to expect a lot of recurring characters, a lot of technical detail, and a lot of bouncing around. But this installment felt particularly muddy, and I don't think it was entirely due to the fact that I haven't read the series in a while. A bit choppy and disjointed for at least the first third, but as always there are some new characters that I can't wait to read more about - Pinky, for instance. show less

I delayed checking this book out from my local library because of the lurid cover. (You say "lurid" like that's a bad thing.) I read a lot while I ride public transportation to and from work, and soon found out that I could start some of the coolest conversations when I found people staring at the cover.

This novel, however, and like the Cally character, sucks. Literally and figuratively, if you know what I mean.

A reviewer who described the sex scenes as "monochromatic" is being WAY too show more generous. Some guys can write believable women. Ringo can't. I recommend more decapitations, cannibalistic aliens, and over the top violent battle scenes (which Ringo does supply in the books that follow this one).

But I do love the cover! show less

Fans of John Ringo's "Legacy of the Aldenata" series will doubtless welcome this latest addition. True to form, it carries out Ringo's trademark combination of "military procedural" with humor, some quite grim. However, I found it unsatisfying, and it's likely that readers who are looking for a satisfying closure to the story of the O'Neal's will feel the same way.

There is considerable action in the book, and in some senses it advances the long term plot line. Nor does it lack for major show more individual events -- the death of a major character during the climatic battle is certainly noteworthy, as are major changes in the relationship between the principle groups we've been following.

I hope this is a bridge book, to be followed soon by one or more additional books. As part of a series, it will probably be a good read; as a stand-alone or capstone novel, less so -- not that I'd call any of Ringo's novels weak. show less

Female assassin with giant boobs soft core porns her way through several assignments, is admonished by friends and team members to get 'married, with kids' as a cure for mental instability and depression, and is rewarded with a second novel wherein she is the main character.

This novel is a serious disappointment about one of the more promising minor characters in the first three novels of the Posleen series.

Ringo does a great job with world building and military SF, but his male-female show more sexual dynamics are monochromatic and off-putting. How much of this particular novel can be laid at the door of Cochrane is unknown.

I wish he would just leave the male-female sex thing out and stick to world building, aliens, and military adventure. show less