Rating: 
Summary: Return of the Starship Troopers
Review: If you liked Heinlein's classic, and wondered if the concept of Mobile Infantry could be explored in a timely and exciting way, the answer is yes. I very much enjoyed A Hymn Before Battle, and have also enjoyed the second of the series, Gust Front. Frankly, I am baffled by several of the reviews that criticize the writing. I found it clear and crisp, I felt there were good character depth (developed further in Gust Front in many cases), a fast-moving plot, and strong battle scenes.
The lead character, O'Neal, is so consistently heroic that he could be called unrealistic, but he is not flawless, and his motivation is well developed. Perhaps I read too much into current events, but Afghanistan makes it clear to me that America has, and will have, a brave and intelligent military capable of surprising accomplishments.
This is, of course, military SF. If that's what you want, you can't do better than John Ringo.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Good - With a little polish it'd be even better!
Review: John Ringo obviously has a military background and knows how to present the inside of that world to both those with a military background and people who have never worn a uniform. I'm not certain that he has ever been in battle himself, but he certainly gives that impression through his writing... excellent insight to the feelings, stress, etc. that must be a part of the combat soldier's life.It is clear that John Ringo has learned a great deal from David Weber in their collaborations (he even includes "David" in the story as an intersteller combat consultant). Now if Mr. Ringo could pick up Weber's ability to flesh out the story and politics, build the side stories, development of the lesser characters, etc. John Ringo is clearly going to be a Military SF writer of distinction for as long as he cares to keep writting. A little more polish and he will be on a par with Weber, Drake, and other greats in the art. In short... if you are into Military SF, you GOTTA read this. The battle armor alone is (...) enough to make it a "must read". Excellent work Mr. Ringo... keep pecking away at the keyboard!
Rating: 
Summary: Good story, lots of annoyances
Review: The story has a lot of potential, but fails in the details. The author's first time out? I hope so, because I'd like to see more, especially if it were better polished.
The plot is terrific, has that smack of Realpolitik that is missing from so many military SF novels. The technology is described in detail--obviously a great deal of thought went into it. Ringo updated Heinlein's MI armor very well. The battles were specific and believable, and the pace was taut.
The problems...Characters are pretty much cookie cutter; the good guys are very good and nearly superhuman, and the bad guys are very bad, or just complete idiots. By the way, what motivates the bad guys, human or not? We never find out. I got the sense that the author has some military experience, but overreaches the limits of his knowledge. No Sergeant Major I ever met allowed himself to be called Smaj to his face. Not every clerk, MP, and supply specialist is a self-serving, fawning idiot. It's FORSCOM, not FORCECOM. It's Garry Owen, not Gary Owen. Master Sergeant and SFC (sergeant first class) are not the same rank, but one character seems to be able to hold both ranks at once. A female Marine wearing a uniform with 4-inch heels? Puh-leese! The lingo is laid on too heavy, and some of the before-the-battle-to-the-troops speeches are laughable. The depiction of the lack of discipline in the conscripted forces is overdone. Finally, some of the potentially interesting side stories trail off into nowhere.
All that said, if you read military SF, you'll find plenty to like.
Rating: 
Summary: John Ringo's "A Hymn Before Battle"
Review: John Ringo's "A Hymn Before Battle" is both well written in a classical sense and in the sense that it superbly carries the author's voice, lending his unique and witty sense of humor toward running like a vein of gold under the dialouge and plot. Voice, however, is practicly the only redeeming quality of the novel. This is not to say "A Hymn Before Battle" is a bad book; in fact the only negative comment I have is to point out that it is absolutly average. A military SF book, "A Hymn Before Battle" resurrects a plot that is still old hat. Pasifistic aliens are attacked by a new species, and require the "warrior earthlings" to assist them in winning the war. This has been done before, and although Ringo doesn't do it badly, the spark of originality that would have allowed this book to contribute something to the SF community and to be a more than just a worthwhile read is lacking. All in all a good, if formulaic, first novel from John Ringo.
Rating:
Summary: Readable
Review: Good, basic, readable book. Nothing fancy, but enjoyable. I finished it, and if it gets boring, I don't. I will buy the sequel. Liked March Upcountry better.
Rating: 
Summary: Good combo of Drake, Foster and Heinlein
Review: Ringo's book is a good one and is clearly intended to have sequels. While it clearly takes elements from Alan Dean Foster (many non-combative aliens in an alliance against one superior race), Heinlein (a few jumpsuited humans v. swarms of aliens) and Drake (its modern combat elements) - it is a worthwile synthesis of these elements.
For those looking for something totally new, this may not be for you. But for those looking for another solid, military sci-fi writer, Ringo is definetly worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story, Poor Writing, But Signs of Hope
Review: First time author John Ringo has a great story idea: An unstoppable alien horde has been ravaging the galaxy, and the other local intelligent star faring races don't have the psychological makeup to be warriors. So humanity is recruited to fight the bad guys. The only problem is that the horde will be arriving on Earth before mankind can adequately prepare defenses to protect dear old Earth. So half-trained poorly equipped forces must be sent out to try and delay the aliens, find out more about this devasting menace, and try to develop effective tactics for fighting the alien horde. But the "good" aliens have their own hidden agenda, so matters become even more perilous for humanity. Ringo's main hero is Michael O'Neal, a former Airborne soldier called up to help troubleshoot solutions for combating the horde, and who ends up being part of the design team that comes up with a powerful suit of battle armor as a means of fighting the bad guys. If this sounds like a good story, you're right. The problem is this book is poorly written. Ringo is a rookie author, and it shows from the painful amount of flaws in his book. Shame on Mr. Ringo's editors for not having him kept trying till he got it right! His narrative is a mish-mash, most of his heroes are jingo spouting cliches, every non-combat soldier in the US Military is a moron whose sole goal seems to be to impede the fighting efficiency of America, and vastly important episodes, such as the disciplinary collapse of the American military is dealt with "off-camera", when such vital plot components should have been delved in closely. His heroes are practically supermen, having far too much access to high levels of power, being near perfect physical specimens, and/or having far too many abilities (the street gang which turns out to have hacked into the army database and then seems to be able to do anything, including a circus act springs to mind). This book is both poorly written and too short as too many important plot points are glossed over. Yet the good news is that Ringo's writing style does improve through the course of this book. And there actual moments of decent writng and drama during the climatic battle sequence. 2 stars is probably too high a rating for this book, but the great concept and improved writing ability by the author had made me decide to award this book with that rating prior to reading the sequel. As this is the first book of a series, the reader should know that Mr. Ringo's second book is a much better effort.
Rating:
Summary: Please make it better next time
Review: Is it a book or a computer game? The characters act like the robots they are inside their battle-suits; the alien Posleen get slaughtered en masse, preferably by dropping mega-skycrapers on them ... Oh yes, there are interesting parts as well - the "allies" play a very deep game, but one really has to stretch the imagination to see a plot here. In sum: stupid! For a first novel this may not be so bad, however in that case the blame for its lack of plot and other weaknesses is with the editor. But maybe it was a first for them too ... . Please make it better next time.
Rating:
Summary: John Ringo is now one of my favorite authors.
Review: When you can combine fairly hard science fiction with military style adventure in a convincing way along with believable characters and a good plot, you have written a great story. John Ringo has. I spent several years as a Marine in the mid-eighties and he captures the rugged spirit neccesary to be a warrior, much as W.E.B. Griffin has done with his Corps series. Throw in the grand alternate history of a Harry Turtledove, and I smell best seller in his next book. If I could buy stock in this guy I would.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Military Infantry Science Fiction
Review: I am fairly picky about my military science fiction, but I've noticed in the last decade a lack of good infantry based ones. The greats in the infantry sub-genre are of course the Dorsai books (in particular Soldier Ask Not) and Heinlein's Starship Troopers, but all the good military science fiction books lately have been naval/space combat. I wondered if it was possible that this sub-genre was tapped out? Ringo's "A Hymn Before Battle" restored my faith that a good story could go hand with real infantry battle tactics updated with a reasonable projection of future technology. He also gave hints of larger alien ways of thinking about war that may be further developed in future books. I am also fairly wary of books that are a start of a series -- I can assure others that are wary of series that this book is reasonably stand-alone, and though you'll want more when the book is finished, it will not be because you are not satisfied with the climax of this book.
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