The Laughing Wolf

Book Reviews

For those of you who like, or love, to read here are a couple of books to consider. One is new, the other is older but still worth a good read.

The new book is by John Ringo through Baen Books. John Ringo is an evil man *G* who writes very well and does a good Billy Idol impersonation I am told. He is evil in that he writes well and realistically in the field of combat fiction. The latter is not surprising given that he was a paratrooper and keeps current enough to be an occasional commentator for a major New York paper and a major broadcast news operation. The former is a delight, and I have enjoyed his work even when he has done nasty things to his characters, and through them to his readers. I may even forgive him one day for nuking one of my favorite areas in the U.S. in his books…

Hell’s Faire is the latest in his “Legacy of the Aldenata” series. In reality, it is the last part of his previous book “When the Devil Dances” but did not make it in on time courtesy of 9-11. Given the length of the previous book, this was not a true hardship and Hell’s Faire stands well on its own. It wraps up some of the threads and loose ends, creates many more, and is well worth the read. If you have not read “When the Devil Dances” then you are much better off starting with it. If you have never read anything of John’s before, then start with “Hymn Before Battle” and enjoy.

The other book I have read lately is “The Apocalypse Troll” by David Weber. David writes some of the best military fiction out there, along with John Ringo and David Drake, if not some of the best fiction period. He is best known for his Honor Harrington series, which can be described as taking Horatio Hornblower, setting it forward a few hundred years, making him a her, and taking the rest of us along on quite a wonderful ride in the process. The series is not merely a good story, but a prime example of what great literature should be: enjoyable, thought provoking, educational, and more.

The Apocalypse Troll is set in a different universe from Honor Harrington, and deals with an alien threat to Earth that turns out to be not so alien. In the midst of a good action yarn, the reader gets to see humanity at its best and its worst. A lighter read in many ways, but well worth the time.

Enjoy.