“A
Hymn Before Battle” by John Ringo. Reviewed by Military Science Fiction World
So
for my next review I figured I would delve into a series I started not too long
ago. The series is The Legacy of the Aldenata, perhaps better known as The
Posleen War series. The very first book in the series is “A Hymn Before
Battle,” and actually was Mr. Ringo’s debut novel.
I discovered
the Posleen War by stumbling onto one of the last in the series, “The Hero.”
When I purchased the book, I didn’t know it was part of a series, and I guess
it really isn’t in the purest sense. The events of “The Hero” take place long
after the events of the first few novels, and Posleen are only mentioned in
passing. There is a new enemy, and there isn’t even a single Posleen to be
found. But I enjoyed the book enough that a couple years later, when looking
for good science fiction to read, I remembered about it being part of a series
and sought out the first installments.
So
anyway, I guess I should move onto the actual subject of this review (I’m sure
“The Hero” will get its’ own review here at some point). Let me preface this by
saying “A Hymn Before Battle” is a very good read. So good in fact I actually
am coming up a bit short on things to say about it. I don’t know about you, but
I always find it easy to tear into a novel I don’t like. When I actually like
something, I find describing what I liked and, more importantly, why I like it
much harder. So I guess I could throw the couple of negatives I noticed out
there, and see what develops as I free write away:
First
off, I will definitely say that it took a very long time to get to the action.
If you can’t tell by the first two reviews, I am a bit of an action junkie.
Many times I will judge a book based on how fast it gets to the exciting scenes
of combat, and if it takes a while, then it loses a few points in my book. This
novel, being the first in a series, had a lot of background to lay down before
it could jump into things, which is understandable. Because of that fact, I cut
Mr. Ringo some slack on how long he took for an actual bullet to be fired in a
combat situation. Plus, also a point in favor of the novel is that when the
action did come, it was well worth the wait. Still, Mr. Ringo could have given
us a taste of something exciting the way that Heninlin does (as I’ve already
described in my first review), or Robert Buettner, another author whose work I
likely will review in the future. But I guess every author has his or her own
style, and Mr. Ringo decided to lay extensive ground work before treating us to
some serious combat.
The
other negative, which is another trend you’ll see me point out in future
reviews, is the ending. I’ve seen it so many times in the novels I’ve been
reading recently, and it is one of my pet peeves. The issue is a rushed ending.
I find it kind of annoying when a novel goes right from the big climactic
moment to the ending in a matter of a few pages. This book did better than
many, it at least tied up all the loose ends of the current storyline. However,
as is common in books of a series, I felt like the ending was all about
building up and selling the next book. I suppose it is good marketing on the
part of the author, I mean we all have to look out for our future. But still, I
found myself wishing for a little more closure before the end. Perhaps it is
because I enjoyed the story so much that I really didn’t want it to end. If
that is the case then maybe there is no length after the climax before the
story ends that I would be happy with.
So,
after those few negative items, onto the positive: I’ll start with the
characters. In general, I found the main characters to be believable and
likable, especially the protagonist Michael O’Neal. Mr. Ringo paints a very
nice picture of your average ex-military family man who gets a life changing
dilemma dropped on his head very early on. The whole way that the character is written,
how he changes and develops along the course of the story was very realistic to
me. I found that despite the science fiction out of this world aspect, the characters
are still human, and that human side was portrayed very accurately.
Next,
I of course have to comment on the powered armor. Ever since reading “Starship
Troopers” I have been searching for a book to fill the “powered armor void”
left by the lack of extensive combat scenes in “Starship Troopers.” It wasn’t
until I read Mr. Ringo’s debut novel that I came pretty darn close to filling
that void. The powered armor in “A Hymn Before Battle” is in a word, awesome.
It is exactly what you would expect the soldiers of the future to be fighting
in. Strong, fast, self-sustaining, and damn near unstoppable. At least on a 1
to 1 basis, which of course you’ll quickly learn the Posleen are certainly not.
It was definitely the type of armored combat that I was looking for, and though
it took a long time to arrive, was well worth the wait.
And
finally, I think I’ve mentioned it enough so I won’t belabor the point much
more, but I at least have to formally acknowledge the action sequences. The
climactic battle of this novel was incredible, absolutely riveting to read. The
one shame about it, is that it was relatively short. There were a few other
intense scenes earlier on to slake the reader’s lust for action, however they
were nothing compared to the climax of the novel. And compared with the amount
of time spent setting the stage, the exciting parts were such a small
percentage of the novel, that it was a tad bit disappointing.
So
there you have it; a review of John Ringo’s debut novel, “A Hymn Before Battle.”
All in all, it was an enjoyable read, and I liked it enough to want to read the
second installment, “Gust Front,” which will be the topic of my next review.
Until
then, feel free to leave any thoughts in the comments. I’m always open to feedback,
and welcome suggestions for works you’d like to see reviewed here.
