A Hymn Before Battle

John Ringo again! This is his debut novel in the Legacy of the Aldentata series, and one of the finest examples of the ‘who’s the real bad guy?’ idea that science fiction authors have been mining for decades. Here, theGalactic Federation, or Galactics, tell Earth leaders that there’s another, dangerous alien race, the Posleen, who are about to come a-callin’ and they aren’t going to be nice about it. This, coupled with the questionable intentions of the Galactics, makes for a book full of paranoia, and good old battle readiness. Ringo is in top form here, creating a universe that mirrors our own in the level of political intrigue, as well as giving an incredibly smart look at the military concepts that come along with those very machinations of the political forces. The writing is crisp, and the plot rolls along drawing the reader in further and further by developing strong, intelligent characters. The real joy comes when we begin to understand the alien races we’ve been introduced to, and the deeper we go in them, their ways, and their possible motivations, the more fascinating this book becomes. Why it’s on the list One of the best works by one of Military Science Fiction’s leading authors!