Rating: 
Summary: Okay, so I'm biased
Review: Aliens have invaded the Earth before...but dammit! John took it to new levels.First, as an military engineer veteran, it was gratifying to see the Engineers given prominence. Prominence? Hell! They taught the Posleen PAIN! There's very few alien invasions that can't be resolved by the suitable application of a few million tons of claymores and C4. But there's more than that. He managed, technically, to portray combined arms interestingly and accurately, explain the frustration of dealing with political sandbagging, while letting us see why the politicians feel equally hamstrung. He let us feel the gut-wrenching fear of troops who know they're going to die, but get the job done anyway because sometimes there's no point in giving up. The Posleen are an alien it's hard to feel empathy for. Reptilian centauroids that are immune to most toxins, are hatched knowing how to shoot, and slice anything animal including slow-moving children into sushi as they run, they just beg to be killed. And yet, they do have a culture and are grasping at an understanding of their first real enemy, the human race. By their own standards they are moral, and they have individuality and quirks. Add in some hysterically entertaining NSTIW stories that are axioms among vets ("This is the USS Missouri, twenty miles offshore. Glad to help, Army!") that fit into the story without being cliche while still causing one to want to pop a beer, and you have riotous entertainment, gripping action and an ancient plot that holds up amazingly well through his telling. And the engineers get to blow up whole DIVISIONS of Posleen. You might want to read A Hymn Before Battle first, because it's also good. But this one ROCKS.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, so I'm biased
Review: Aliens have invaded the Earth before...but dammit! John took it to new levels. First, as an military engineer veteran, it was gratifying to see the Engineers given prominence. Prominence? Hell! They taught the Posleen PAIN! There's very few alien invasions that can't be resolved by the suitable application of a few million tons of claymores and C4. But there's more than that. He managed, technically, to portray combined arms interestingly and accurately, explain the frustration of dealing with political sandbagging, while letting us see why the politicians feel equally hamstrung. He let us feel the gut-wrenching fear of troops who know they're going to die, but get the job done anyway because sometimes there's no point in giving up. The Posleen are an alien it's hard to feel empathy for. Reptilian centauroids that are immune to most toxins, are hatched knowing how to shoot, and slice anything animal including slow-moving children into sushi as they run, they just beg to be killed. And yet, they do have a culture and are grasping at an understanding of their first real enemy, the human race. By their own standards they are moral, and they have individuality and quirks. Add in some hysterically entertaining NSTIW stories that are axioms among vets ("This is the USS Missouri, twenty miles offshore. Glad to help, Army!") that fit into the story without being cliche while still causing one to want to pop a beer, and you have riotous entertainment, gripping action and an ancient plot that holds up amazingly well through his telling. And the engineers get to blow up whole DIVISIONS of Posleen. You might want to read A Hymn Before Battle first, because it's also good. But this one ROCKS.
Rating:
Summary: Second verse, better than the first...
Review: Aliens that act (mostly) alien, intrigue, conspiracy, dastardly back-stabbing, bureaucratic SNAFUs, good soldiers and armies hung out to dry by (and for) politics, overwhelming odds, and humanity's back now squarely up against the wall... Yup! Ringo still has all the right stuff. Ringo makes the most of his material, and while he still makes a few jarring mistakes along the way, and his characterizations are still fairly weak, this is a much-improved story over the previous book, A Hymn Before Battle. First, the flaws, to get them out of the way:
Ringo's characters are still mostly caricatures, though he has improved in this area to a degree. Mixed motivations, angst, realistic reactions to heartbreak and loss, and so on, are still weak. His soldiers, from the enterprising street kid-found-a-home to the old-timer Gunny sergeant, to the overwhelmed generals in charge, to 'Mighty Mite' O'Neal himself, are all better developed but still are fairly shallow. There are fewer physics goofs in this one, accepting and carrying forward the goofs made in the first book as a given. "GalTech," or Galactic Technology, is still treated like a magic wand for making anything happen in any way that seems to fit the story, but it receives much less attention in this story save for some of the results of scarcity: Misappropriation of 'GalTech' into a largely unexplored black market. The addition of a 'suggested soundtrack' is something entirely new in my experience, and marks Ringo's inventiveness and desire to create an immersive experience. I'm not sure, entirely, how I feel about that level of manipulation, however mild it might be. I'm much more used to allowing my own mind to create the mood when I read, and I find myself rather ambivalent towards this unique innovation. To the good, one of my pet peeves from the first book has been avoided: The deux ex machina rescues are gone from this book, and good troops are allowed to die when overwhelmed. Sympathetic characters die in heroic stands, and in less heroic ways too. One character in particular, a resourceful young mortar platoon leader I'd hoped would survive, just vanishes into the battle, presumed dead, completely out-of-scene. I find that rather effective and refreshing close to what happens in the real world. Human resourcefulness in the face of overwhelming odds shows up all over the place. This is a more fully realized story than A Hymn Before Battle. Black markets in 'GalTech,' bureaucratic screw-ups, personal agendas, cowardice, incompetence, malice, and simple happenstance are mixed liberally into the story, and it *works*. The suggestions of conspiracy and hidden alien AND human agendas are now emerging in the open, and it's clear that Earth's allies are playing their own very nasty game, in which humanity is a pawn. The problem for the Darhel is that this particular collection of pawns are plotting their own moves within the larger scheme of things, and that tends to de-rail millennia-old schemes. Something will HAVE to give... The Posleen are even more frightening than before, but humans are endlessly inventive in finding new ways of dishing out a heaping plate of hot, steaming death. The resulting brawl is very ugly, and makes some of the most compelling reading I've found. More desperate combat, more nasty surprises all around, and more innocents are caught in the gears make this book, especially that second half of it, a real page-turner. Despite some lingering roughness with his prose, and repetitive elements that still intrude, Ringo brings this story home with immediacy and flair. You can almost smell the smoke and hear the screams. Gust Front's flaws are more than covered by its strengths. If you like stories about good heroes, really 'bad' bad guys, and realistically rendered blood-n-thunder, pick this up and give it a read!
Rating: 
Summary: John Ringo is a hack!
Review: Aligator headed centars indeed, this book is one of the worst of this years crop of military sf. Do not buy this book and encourage this author to produce more of this drivel.
Rating: 
Summary: Action packed military SF
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: John Ringo delivers again
Review: Being an avid ebook fan has its advantages. I have read the 1st 3/4ths of this book and let me tell you, John Ringo has a fan for life if he keeps this up. The thing I liked most was that he did not focus on the hero of the 1st book. Most authors would have, but Ringo decided to expand his story and introduces us to new characters along with some survivors from "A Hymn Before Battle." Ringo kicks up the pace from the 1st book and maintains its amazing realism. Earth has been invaded. Even though its a tired one, the cliche "You can't stop someone who knows their right and keeps on coming" is very apt for this book. Earth's defenders come together to fight the invading Polsleen in a story rich with courage, sacrifice, honor and a little intrigue. Very well written and difficult to put down. There are times when I feel these books should be categorized as Alternate History instead of straight sci-fi. Once this book is released by Baen in its entirety you can bet that I will re-read the entire thing. Rarely have I had such anticipation for a book to be released. Keep up the good work Mr. Ringo, I'm hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Hometown Hero
Review: Considering Mr. Ringo is from my neck of the woods, this might seem a bit biased. However, "Gust Front" (like the "A Hymn Before Battle" before it) is a great read. It is a well crafted book that brings the reader into almost instant empathy with the characters. Combine that with a fairly realistic grasp of tactics and a knack for describing them, and you get one marvelous read. If you like Military Science Fiction, I heartily suggest reading this series.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Read!!
Review: Do not listen to those who say this is a dumb book they just have no consideration for a true masterpiece i loved this book. It keeps you involved with in depth characters and brilliance in it's combat and peaceful elements. Even the political elements are just brilliant they emphazize a critical weakness in our political system but they also emphazize it's strength of purpose and character it provides and individuality don't listen at all to the poor people who say this is a stupid book they have no idea how beautifully complex this book and it's friends in the series are please give this a chance and try it please!!
Rating:
Summary: Barbarians at the Gate
Review: Don't pick up this book until you have a good block of time, because you WON'T want to stop. The alien Posleen are genetically engineered to be the perfect soldiers. Designed to be physically strong, resistant to all known forms of poison gas, resistant even to the effects of hard radiation, they sweep eveything in their path.Somewhat like Vikings, they attack and overwhelm their targets, cutting through the peaceful Federation like a knife through butter. But now the Federation has some help -hired mercenaries from a primitive world called "Earth" So the Earth gains Galactic Credits by sending her soldiers out to defend the Federation worlds - and she needs it, for the Posleen swarm is headed toward Sol. The first book dealt with the first battles of the Earth mercenaries - this book deals with the invasion of Earth, primarily with the Battles of Richmond and Washington DC. This is a wide ranging story - it makes you wonder if we aren't seeing the birth of a new sub-genre. Much as Tom Clancy brought us the Technothriller with the adventures of Jack Ryan & Co, we might be seeing the birth of the SF-technothriller. But this is a realistic, gritty, believeable story of alien invasion and the human response. This is a savage war of no-quarter, no mercy, no prisoners. By the way, the Posleen word for human is "Threshkeen" - literally, "food with a stinger". Posleen are genetically engineered not to surrender - and captured humans are merely considered live rations. The image of the American President standing in a refugee camp and stepping up to the firing line for a last-ditch stand is almost worth the price of the book alone. The only series I can compare this to is Alan Dean Foster's "Call ro Arms" series - which was good, don't misunderstand me, but this is a MUCH better, more believable series, in my opinion. So when is the next installment due out? John Ringo is now on my VERY short list of "Gotta-buy-it-in-hardcover, can't-delay-until-it-comes-out-in-paperback" authors...
Rating:
Summary: Ringo fans won't be disappointed
Review: Fans of military science fiction have a new friend in John Ringo. His first novel A Hymn before Battle was a respectable freshman effort which sold well and generated a good deal of excitement. The sequel Gust Front is longer, better and more action-packed. In the not-too-distant future, humanity discovers that "we are not alone." The Galactic Federation, a complex and technologically advanced society, are on the losing end of a vast war with the Posleen, a vicious race of reptilian centaurs who overrun one planet after another like army ants, intent on making food-stock out of captured sentients. Unfortunately the Galactics have two fatal flaws. They handcraft their amazing technology and have never developed the mass production techniques needed to support a protracted war. Even worse, they lack the will to battle - both genetically and as a society. The Galactics decide it is wise to bring the humans into the fold. With Galactic technology in the hands of the aggressive humans, there is a slim hope that the Posleen can be turned back. In Gust Front, humanity, having encountered the terrifying Posleen on distant worlds, must now prepare for an all-out invasion of Earth itself. The military is quickly absorbing Galactic technology, but it's still not commonplace. When the Posleen land en masse near Fredericksburg, Virginia, it's up to traditional troops to stem the tide until the Armored Combat Suit (ACS) units can come into play. Leading the ACS charge is Mike O'Neal. Now a Captain in Fleet Strike (a new UN-style military branch devoted to alien combat), O'Neal is known world-wide as the Hero of Diess (the far-off planet where the climactic battle in Hymn occurred). Can human ingenuity and will-power defeat the dreaded Posleen - and more immediately, can they prevent the fall of Washington, DC? Ringo combines Tom Clancy with Starship Troopers to bring us a pulse-pounding combat adventure filled with patriotic, can-do warriors. Gust Front is heavy on "military-speak" and descriptions of battle tactics, but there's a fair dose of gritty humor as well. John Ringo is quickly rising to the top of the military SF sub-genre. The third installment in the Hymn trilogy (tentatively titled When the Devil Dances) won't be out for some time.
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