Wow it has been way too long since my last review and I am soooo behind schedule it is not funny, or maybe it is. No excuses since really I have had many ample weekend opportunities to write about John Ringo and Travis Tays new (on paperback) book Von Neuman's War. Hey but since I try to put away at least 2 books a week, and work tends to interfere or as John Lennon once said " life is what happens when your making other plans", no quibbles here it goes. [GUSH ALERT] Okay so I will admit it: I am a John Ringo fan. There its out now stop beating on me. Travis Tay, a new voice in science fiction, I am still reserved about since I really do not know his work other than the collaborations that I have read where he is involved. The Mucno Theorem of Finite Collaborations states thus: If I can't tell where one writer ends and the next one begins then that is a Fine Collaboration. Herein is the case. With VNW we get just that, a well blended adventure yarn of the old Ringo School o' Semibeliveable Situationocity. Okay it is Science Fiction but that is my big box of love. Weaned on old school Heinlein and Asimov and Clarke and Von Vogt.
This is your non typical earth invasion yarn handled with the usual Ringo/Tay audacity. Throw it out there and watch to see if it is andante and if it sticks to the wall then the pasta is ready. Those of you which are already Ringo fans and have sucked down the Posleen saga and what I call the There Will Be Dragons Legacy, will have no doubt already ingested this novel. I haven't been keeping up with Ringo's work of late, so many authors and so little time, so like everything else I will be going back and finish up the Posleen wars last one I caught was Hell's Faire which rocked. Go Bun Bun Go!
Those of you who are new to Ringo/Tay's work will be happy with this novel that appears to me to be the beginning of a new series of work. The ending is left so far open that you could drive a dodecahedron ship through it. Our premise here is based on the theory by scientist/theorist Von Neuman that held to explore or colonize a world that nanobots would self replicate enough to build ships that could move from system to system (Replicators anyone?) This was a theory that predates most of your present day SF and so seems to be in public domain. Although Von Neuman used large scale non-sentient robots vs. nanobots that for the most part are part of a larger intelligence. Our heros are a intrepid crew of nerds and warriors that seems to be taken right out of present day. In this book we meet Capt. Shane Gries and his First Sergeant Cady and their squad and the crew that takes rocket science to the readable level with Roger Reynolds and how with true human ineptitude and mettle turn the tide on and slow down the invasion of earth by a massive alien force, that just happens to eat everything metal that is not tied down and then even eat that as well. The use of the web, Hooters Restaurant, late night call in radio shows, rocket science, government contracts gone balls up and ballistic are liberally poked fun at and used to a such an extent that your suspension of belief actually pulls up a chair and enjoys it self. What I call a Reading Magnet..okay so I read this one in literally one sitting. The pace is hectic with out being confusing, the rocket science and history behind it is grounded in actual science. The governmental bickering and shortsighted tomfoolery is written as such that it neatly reflects present day without soapboxing.
Ringo brings such authenticity to his combat sequences that when we lose a member of the squad you actually feel the pain of loss. Being a veteran myself that is important when I read mil-grade SF, I suppose that is why I am impartial to know if the author actually spent service time or not. It is not a deal breaker but if gives more relevance to know the writer has been if not at the point at least holding the shaft of the spear.
There are weakness' inherent in every alien invasion book I have ever read and this one thankfully suffers from only a few which are easily overlooked, sometimes the pace drags during the less relevant rocket science at times I felt lost during these sequences but that could be due to my lack of love for calculus. The human interaction is believable and strong and I think John or Travis must have sat through a few episodes of Rollye James or Coast to Coast AM with a liberal dosage of Michael Savage thrown in.
My normal take is that I rarely if ever give 5's and in this case that stays the same I give Von Neuman's War a strong 4.5 based on these points. Humor, style, action, sf elements. and hey we are talking John Ringo.
If your a fan well I am preaching to the choir here.
If you haven't read a Ringo novel yet. This is a good start.
If you don't like science fiction, can't help you there seek help now!!!
Now I have some toys for you go check out: Adventures in Scifi Publishing.com and Scifi surplus.com for some very entertaining podcasts about the industry in general and you can't go wrong with either of these and I use them to exercise and fill my brain with that good ol' scifi fix. Look them up on iTunes they are free, sometimes funny and always informative.
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