Rating: 
Summary: Didn't learn from the first
Review: I had read the first book, "A Hymn Before Battle", and worked my way through the plodding first 200 pages before the first battle occured. The battle was superb. I read military SF for the action, and quick pace of the battles and campaigns, not for a story of how [messed up] the home front was. This one was a larger version of the first book. In the first 400 pages there is about 15 pages of action. The rest is boring sub-plots, and characters that appear and don't seem to have any role in the story but to serve as "filler" to make the book larger. Does the author get paid by the page? The battles are again superb if you can ignore the many inconsistances. The Posleen can shoot down the fastest and most sophisticated missle or aircraft, but they can't hit an artillery round coming down on a big lazy arc. The God-King weapons have continent spaning range and can somehow compensate for the Earth's curvature, but they can't hit a helicoptor behind a tree. You get a million Posleen crowded on a freeway, but the artillery can't kill enough to keep them from over running our troups. Stick to Weber, Craig, and Drake!
Rating: 
Summary: Better than Part I
Review: I have to admit it, I enjoyed Gust Front immensely. It was very entertaining, I really liked some of the characters, and it moved quickly. Unfortunately, upon my second reading, I found that there was a lot less than I'd thought the first time. The characters aren't great (the Posleen commander, Kenellai, is probably the most developed), and a lot of the important stuff about the transition for Earth from hating each other one moment to uniting against the Posty threat is left out. The combat scenes are great, though I don't really care for the powered armor that must (Heinlein's suits in Starship Troopers remain the pillar to which any new suits shall be compared). Gust Front brings back some of your favorite characters from the first book, including Mighty Michael O'Neal, his wife Sharon, SpecOps sergeant Jake Mosovich, Gunny Papas, and the nefarious Sergeant James Stewart. It gives a more in-depth look at the Posleen system through Kenellai and his cronies. I was disappointed by the absence of the Posleen God King that escapes Diess in the end of A Hymn Before Battle, but I'm hoping that Kenellai will return in the sequel to Gust Front. All in all, a good buy if you're a fan of the series, but Ringo's got a lot of room for improvement. Hopefully, writing with Honor Harrington guru David Weber will improve his skills in that field.
Rating: 
Summary: A review from a nonmilSF type
Review: I like books with characters. Story. Heart. I don't read much milSF, with the exception of David Weber's Honor Harrington series. I'm a non-military, non-gun person. I read John Ringo's work because I became acquainted with him on the Baen bar site (baen.com and go to the bar). I read A Hymn Before Battle for the above reasons and because it had a neat cover (the milbimbo?). I just got Gust Front and dove right into it - having read the sample chapters and webscription available at baen.com. Gust Front is an intense book, the pace is *driven*; of the 596 pages or so of the book, approximately 400 are the defense of the cities of Fredericksburg, Richmond and Washington, D.C. The remainder of the pages are leading up to the defense. People involved with the defense (civilians and military) are described and their fates rendered in heartrending explicitness. Anyone with any imagination at all will have nightmares. The image of millions of yellow horses coming down the interstates with hostile intent is not easily shaken. As an example of professional writing, it is superb. Check your heartstrings at the door.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Fast Paced Book
Review: I noticed there are quite a few alien hordes go against mankind books out right now. What set this one apart for me is the writing. The author has done an excellent job of making the book realistic, addictive, and very detailed. I am rereading parts of Gust Front for fun, which is VERY rare for me. I liked the book so much my major complaint is the length of the glossary. 8 pages just is not enough!
Rating:
Summary: Not Just Another Earth as Cannon Fodder for the Peaceful Gal
Review: I originally passed on John Ringo's first book in this series, A Hymn Before Battle, but in reading the first 6 pages of chapter 1 of this book, I realized I had found a new "must have author". The last stand battle scenes are fantastic. I can "see" the panic of the civilians trying to get across the bridges to safety in Washington D>C. and the troops trying to plow their way in the other direction. Gust Front can stand alone but there are several references which reading AHBB (book 1) first makes more sense. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to wait for the October paper back of that one if you prefer to read in order. I guess the book one print was too limited.
Rating:
Summary: Hard hitting SF "Bloody Good"
Review: I read AHBB quite by chance so was looking forward to this sequel harder to read then the first only due to the fact that the writting and plot are so much better.I would suggest that Mr Ringos publishers get this authors work on open sale in England it will go down a storm does any one know when the next installments due?
Rating:
Summary: The Very Figure of a modern master author
Review: I think the simplist way to describe John Ringo is that he does for the infantry..what Dave Weber (who makes a Cameo in the first book of this series) has done for the navy with his Honor Harrington books. The millitary lore presented in the books is no doubt a result of the author's service time and that of his fathers.. and his rendition of the feelings of the 'special' units of the US millitary (those who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a excellent example do a bit of research and you'll see what I mean) is grimly accurate. One of the things I found espically fufulling about these books is his use of actual historical figures (US Medal of Honor winners for example) in his books sometimes without even naming them specificly [looking them up was both intersting and sobering to go through the citations]. The 'non battle' parts of the book are interesting as well. showing (somewhat cynically) that beneath it all.. all politicans are the same species :) ....
Rating:
Summary: Only, they Do!
Review: I was going to say that they don't make SF like this any more -- only, obviously, they do. Ringo writes a slapping good yarn; his characterizations are solid; and he has an unsual, and very realistic, grasp of how military organizations actually work. Buy the book -- you won't feel you've wasted any of your beer money. And he likes Kipling, which is a recommendation in itself.
Rating:
Summary: John Ringo has arrived...
Review: I will start this review by saying this, if you want brand new, cutting edge, never been seen science fiction, look elsewhere. However, if you want sit down and read good book, this is for you. Mr. Ringo brings forward the characters from "A Hymn Before Battle" quite nicely, and fleshes out most of them. Some new characters are introduced, and a welcome addition they are to the series. My only quibble would be the lack of terror that should be felt by the refugees from the fighting. It is touched on in a tangental manner, but we really don't feel it. But that is minor, and possibly these days best left to the reader's imagination anyway. There was some quibbling about this being some kind of Clancy rip-off. I disagree. The book is long, 700+ pages. But well worth the space. The descriptions of the weapons are needed to show why the soldiers stand and fight the way they do. (Murphy's Law #7 of Combat: If the enemy is in range of you, you are in range of him.) This is important to why the story is done the way it is. As far as a complaint about why the American soldiers don't pick up the weapons of the Posleen and use them, how would they? Remember, the Armored suit troopers (not giving anything away here) are already better armed. The Posleen are ten times as strong as a human. How would a human pick up and use a weapon that is too heavy to field? First maxim of combat: It doesn't matter how good your weapon is if you can't bring it to bear on the enemy. (probably not #1, but it should be) My final thought on this book is...Go and buy it. You will NOT be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: A Sure Fire Hit
Review: If you have ever served in the armed services you will find a person in this book or in A Hymm before Battle that you know or think you know. This guy can write! GET IT YOU WON'T BE SORRY!
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