Rating: 
Summary: Weber continues to improve
Review: This book is an improvement over books one (A Hymn Before Battle) and two (Gust Front) in this series. The number of characters seems to be down somewhat, and the characters that are the focus of this story are better developed than in previous novels. Mike O'Neal, the main character of the first book, occupies much less of this installment, which is to the good, as he is probably the most one-dimensional character in the series. As usual, the fight scenes are terrific, and Ringo's pacing will keep you up nights to finish. More details are revealed about the alien Posleen invading the Earth, and they are shown as more complex than mere ravenous yellow people-eaters (though there's certainly plenty of that too). And if the women all seem outrageously well-proportioned, they all are quite capable as well, which is about as much as you can hope for in a testosterone-laden tome like this one.
A couple of (mostly minor) quibbles keep me from giving this book five stars. First, Ringo's penchant for jumping backwards and forwards chronologically (albeit sometimes by only a few hours) without a reference other than the chapter titles is very disorienting. Second, the geography may throw some people. Franklin, NC is only a few minutes drive from Rabun Gap, GA, but it would be nice if Ringo could have used a short description like "just across the state line." Even more confusing was the incorrect reference in one chapter "header" to Franklin GEORGIA, which is in the Appalachians but some distance southwest of Atlanta and not at all close to Rabun Gap. Once again, it would be nice to see better editing to pick up these nits, which really take away from the otherwise great pacing of Ringo's stories.
All in all, a good yarn and a worthwhile effort.
Rating:
Summary: So far, so good!
Review: This is an engrossing series, and admittedly, I'm new to military science fiction and do occasionally get a bit lost, especially with the number of minor characters.In spite of that, I find it reasonably fast paced. I have become increasingly involved through the series with the various characters, and I do emphasize that you should have read the first two volumes in the series before tackling this one. The story here takes up five years after the ending of GUST FRONT, and there is some emphasis on characters introduced in that second installment while we see less of some of the characters introduced in the first book, A HYMN BEFORE BATTLE. For a military series, this seems quite logical to me, and definitely more realistic than it would've been if the first book's characters had been manipulated by the writer so that they are right in the most crucial areas. This book is indeed darker than the predecessers. The better part of the world population has been wiped out, and humans are hanging on in several isolated areas. It does appear that those in the Northern regions are likely to survive due to the Posleen aversion to cold. We do get a better look at the Posleen than we have in the previous books, and begin to realize that they are apparantly being manipulated as quite likely the humans also are. The book does end on an obviously inconclusive note. There is obviously more to come and I for one will be there to find out what's next.
Rating:
Summary: I Want More!!
Review: When I first started this series(with "Gust Front") I thought it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
I was wrong. If you just allow John Ringo's style to grow on you I think you will find that the characters do develop and you can get quite attached to them. In this book especially you can actually feel the hopelessness of the characters as the last pockets of humanity are overcome one by one. I found this a nice contrast to the first two books where the characters bounced along with showing any emotion regardless of what was happening I did feel a bit cheated that we the reader in effect missed the war. I mean here we are chugging along in Hymn Before Battle getting ready for a knockdown dragout fight and when we open "Dance With the Devil" the war against the insane have to kill all the human super-horses has already been going on for some time. I loved the book but this is what costs it the 5th star. I would have liked to have seen humanity getting the stuffing knocked out of it. The series looks like it is going to continue and if that is the case I will continue reading it
Rating:
Summary: I Want More!!
Review: When I first started this series(with "Gust Front") I thought it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
I was wrong. If you just allow John Ringo's style to grow on you I think you will find that the characters do develop and you can get quite attached to them. In this book especially you can actually feel the hopelessness of the characters as the last pockets of humanity are overcome one by one. I found this a nice contrast to the first two books where the characters bounced along with showing any emotion regardless of what was happening I did feel a bit cheated that we the reader in effect missed the war. I mean here we are chugging along in Hymn Before Battle getting ready for a knockdown dragout fight and when we open "Dance With the Devil" the war against the insane have to kill all the human super-horses has already been going on for some time. I loved the book but this is what costs it the 5th star. I would have liked to have seen humanity getting the stuffing knocked out of it. The series looks like it is going to continue and if that is the case I will continue reading it
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