Rating: 
Summary: Well written military sci-fi
Review: I am a huge fan of Weber's 'Honor Harrington' series, read them all and eagerly await the next. It looks like this volume is the start of a new series (there is already a second volume) and I wholeheartedly approve.This book is well written, with an interesting world and well developed characters. It is a mix of a military tale with a travel tale, a group of human soldiers travelling across a foreign and barely known world with the odd battle along the way. I was also pleasantly suprised at the way some of the sub-plots either petered out or wandered off in unexpected directions rather than followed familiar old ways. A well written military science fiction novel that grabbed me quickly and kept me reading.
Rating:
Summary: Well written military sci-fi
Review: I am a huge fan of Weber's `Honor Harrington' series, read them all and eagerly await the next. It looks like this volume is the start of a new series (there is already a second volume) and I wholeheartedly approve. This book is well written, with an interesting world and well developed characters. It is a mix of a military tale with a travel tale, a group of human soldiers travelling across a foreign and barely known world with the odd battle along the way. I was also pleasantly suprised at the way some of the sub-plots either petered out or wandered off in unexpected directions rather than followed familiar old ways. A well written military science fiction novel that grabbed me quickly and kept me reading.
Rating: 
Summary: More than the sum of its authors.
Review: I checked out this book solely based upon name recognition, Weber's name specifically. In retrospect, I would consider my choice a good one. The basic concepts that I looked forward from Weber, e.g. character development, integrity, honor, courage, ethics, determination, and emotion, were present in the protagonists. The military maxims used in this book are the same as the ones used in Weber and Ringo's books. This book, and consequently the future series, combines the strengths of both authors to create a work that none alone could have achieved. This book can be categorized as an "adventure with sci-fi themes". Which means that the heroes will be enmeshed in local politics with no way to get home and have to use the "Peace through superior firepower maxim" through powered armor and energy weapons vs black powder firearms. The main character, Prince Roger, is a rather complex singularity in himself. This dude, is Heir Tertiary to the Empire of Man, which I can only guess at is one of a few galactic empires. The politics resemble The People's Republic of Haven, e.g. backstabbing, power plays, uprisings, chaotic controls, etc. Roger however is not cut out of the same cloth as the Empress. He is more accurately compared to those liberal aristocrats that get in the way of the military, the same military that is protecting everyone in the Empire. He acts like a spoiled child who wants attention. Out of this rough diamond stone, is a potential for greatness. Whether he survives the process remains to be seen. The first part of the story highlights Weber's distinct touch. It classifies the rules of space combat in that particular universe. Something happens on Roger's assault transport and they have to fight off some enemies. The engagement is very reminiscent of skirmishes in Honor Harrington. This is opposite that of John Ringo's works. He only obliquely describes military naval engagements in his "6 billion Humans vs 6 trillion X 10 to the power 5 aliens" universe. Ringo's strength is that he has lived the life of an infrantry grunt. Therefore his writing reflects his ground pounder history. He has a flare for writing about power armor and plasma weapons. His theme is high quality, low quantity, superior mind vs low quality, high quantity, inferior mind. Which is similar to Weber's numerically superior Peeps vs the technologically superior Manticorans. The ideologies of the two writers fit together to create a series which features the Marine side and the Navy side. Once they get off the planet in Book 3, the politics of Weber starts.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad beginning.
Review: I could have done without the fleet battle, or the descriptions of the wonderfulness of prince Roger. Otherwise, nice combat, decent characterization and a promise of more.
Rating:
Summary: A solid, unobjectionable story.
Review: I don't know what it is about military SF that appeals to me so, but just give me a squad of marines, an alien jungle, and a plasma cannon, and I am a happy girl. This version of that basic recipe has all the common elements: the soldiers are shipwrecked on an inhospitable planet with unfriendly natives whom they must kill in job lots to win their way back home. This time around the green, untested lieutenant who gradually learns about life and war is actually a prince of the blood. Granted, the character development does leave something to be desired, especially regarding the "alien" Cord. This sort of story, however, does not really require a lot of personal insight to be successful. Stock characters are sufficient to give an idea of motivation, and the battle scenes are excellent. In all, this looks like a promising beginning to a series (a trilogy, or so I've heard). Possibly future installments will focus more on the characters and their personalities, but even if they don't this series should be good for a light, fast read. I recommend this book particularly for fans of Tanya Huff's VALOR'S CHOICE as they seem to have a lot in commmon.
Rating:
Summary: a good read
Review: I enjoyed March Upcountry. I initially did not want to read this book because I really like David Weber's books. Most of the time it seems as that when an established writer is paired with a new writer the work isn't as good. This book is different. I enjoyed it a lot and it kept my interest. As a conservative it was nice to see the environmental extremists put into the role of the bad guys. Books that make humans out to be evil despoilers of the world, or worlds, get a little old. This book was a nice change.
Rating:
Summary: A good start to a new series
Review: I have enjoyed Weber's and Ringo's previous work and found this to be a nice jaunt in familiar territory. We follow Prince Roger as he is shipped off on a social function for his mother but ends up crashlanding on a planet where not all the natives are friendly. We follow the trials and tribulations of the troops as the try to protect the fop, Roger, from himself and the natives as they travel to the spaceport around the world. It is just the first in what is purported to be a very long series, at least from what Ringo has said on some of the newsgroups. All in all, a well paced scifi military story. The writing is definitely a blend of Ringo and Weber with well drawn out battle scenes and interesting characters though they haven't been fleshed out as well as they could have been. I guess that is why there are several more books on the way.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner from Ringo
Review: I love John Ringo. It's as plain as that. Having read and re-read "A Hymn Before Battle" and "Gust Front" I eagerly purchased this collaboration between Ringo and another wondeful author, David Weber. I was not disappointed. The story of Prince Roger and his Marine guards is well-written and keeps up a good pace. This new universe is full of imainative characters and creatures and is sure to please many sci-fi fans. Ringo is clearly one of the best new authors to come along in a number of years. I can't wait to read the next one.
Rating:
Summary: On the right track
Review: I needed a break from David Weber after reading the Honor Harrington books in succession. I got tired of the digressions from the main story line (war with the Peeps) to scientific and anthropological subjects (development of FTL speed, how treecats communicate, etc.). I refused to buy this in hardback, preferring to wait and see if I really wanted to spend the money and shelf space on it.
I was pleasantly surprised. Although the timeline moves rather slowly there's plenty of action along the way and he does a much better job at fleshing out his story with background information without running it into the ground (the one exception being a treatise on the metallurgical properties of steel). Character development is fairly good, although it gets to a point where you can tell when someone is going to be bumped off. This is my first exposure to John Ringo and I believe I'll pick up a couple of his books in the future.
All in all a good read. If the trend continues it should be an excellent series.
Rating:
Summary: want an enjoyable read?
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. Well written and interesting. This reads as a military novel with the struggle of the The Empress's Own trying to save their prince. A worthy read. I recommend it highly.
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