GUST FRONT [Mass Market Paperback]

First, the flaws, to get them out of the way:
Ringo's characters are still mostly caricatures, though he has improved in this area to a degree. Mixed motivations, angst, realistic reactions to heartbreak and loss, and so on, are still weak. His soldiers, from the enterprising street kid-found-a-home to the old-timer Gunny sergeant, to the overwhelmed generals in charge, to 'Mighty Mite' O'Neal himself, are all better developed but still are fairly shallow. There are fewer physics goofs in this one, accepting and carrying forward the goofs made in the first book as a given. "GalTech," or Galactic Technology, is still treated like a magic wand for making anything happen in any way that seems to fit the story, but it receives much less attention in this story save for some of the results of scarcity: Misappropriation of ï¿GalTechï¿ into a largely unexplored black market.

The addition of a 'suggested soundtrack' is something entirely new in my experience, and marks Ringo's inventiveness and desire to create an immersive experience. I'm not sure, entirely, how I feel about that level of manipulation, however mild it might be. I'm much more used to allowing my own mind to create the mood when I read, and I find myself rather ambivalent towards this unique innovation.

To the good, one of my pet peeves from the first book has been avoided: The deux ex machina rescues are gone from this book, and good troops are allowed to die when overwhelmed. Sympathetic characters die in heroic stands, and in less heroic ways too. One character in particular, a resourceful young mortar platoon leader I'd hoped would survive, just vanishes into the battle, presumed dead, completely out-of-scene. I find that rather effective and refreshing close to what happens in the real world. Human resourcefulness in the face of overwhelming odds shows up all over the place.

This is a more fully realized story than A Hymn Before Battle. Black markets in 'GalTech,' bureaucratic screw-ups, personal agendas, cowardice, incompetence, malice, and simple happenstance are mixed liberally into the story, and it *works*. The suggestions of conspiracy and hidden alien AND human agendas are now emerging in the open, and itï¿s clear that Earth's allies are playing their own very nasty game, in which humanity is a pawn. The problem for the Darhel is that this particular collection of pawns are plotting their own moves within the larger scheme of things, and that tends to de-rail millennia-old schemes. Something will HAVE to give...

The Posleen are even more frightening than before, but humans are endlessly inventive in finding new ways of dishing out a heaping plate of hot, steaming death. The resulting brawl is very ugly, and makes some of the most compelling reading I've found. More desperate combat, more nasty surprises all around, and more innocents are caught in the gears make this book, especially that second half of it, a real page-turner. Despite some lingering roughness with his prose, and repetitive elements that still intrude, Ringo brings this story home with immediacy and flair. You can almost smell the smoke and hear the screams.

Gust Front's flaws are more than covered by its strengths. If you like stories about good heroes, really 'bad' bad guys, and realistically rendered blood-n-thunder, pick this up and give it a read!

First, as an military engineer veteran, it was gratifying to see the Engineers given prominence. Prominence? Hell! They taught the Posleen PAIN! There's very few alien invasions that can't be resolved by the suitable application of a few million tons of claymores and C4.

But there's more than that. He managed, technically, to portray combined arms interestingly and accurately, explain the frustration of dealing with political sandbagging, while letting us see why the politicians feel equally hamstrung. He let us feel the gut-wrenching fear of troops who know they're going to die, but get the job done anyway because sometimes there's no point in giving up.

The Posleen are an alien it's hard to feel empathy for. Reptilian centauroids that are immune to most toxins, are hatched knowing how to shoot, and slice anything animal including slow-moving children into sushi as they run, they just beg to be killed. And yet, they do have a culture and are grasping at an understanding of their first real enemy, the human race. By their own standards they are moral, and they have individuality and quirks.

Add in some hysterically entertaining NSTIW stories that are axioms among vets ("This is the USS Missouri, twenty miles offshore. Glad to help, Army!") that fit into the story without being cliche while still causing one to want to pop a beer, and you have riotous entertainment, gripping action and an ancient plot that holds up amazingly well through his telling.

And the engineers get to blow up whole DIVISIONS of Posleen.

You might want to read A Hymn Before Battle first, because it's also good. But this one ROCKS.