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Looking Glass #3
Manxome Foe
In the midst of recovering from their successful if casualty prone first mission, the crew of the Alliance Space Ship Vorpal Blade are suddenly scrambled back into action. All other priorities take second place as word arrives on earth of a gate colony which has fallen to an unidentified alien assault. As the only space ship currently available to the Human-Adar Alliance, the Vorpal Blade is dispatched to find out what happened to the colony, rescue any survivors and learn the identity of the attackers. With new complexities added to the universe started in the novel Into the Looking Glass and continued in Vorpal Blade , Manxome Foe continues the tradition of non-stop action, valorous if quirky characters and rigorous science drawn from the frontiers of current theory. The odd-ball crew of the Vorpal Blade is an unlikely savior of earth, but none dare say they quail at engaging the Manxome Foe.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2008
71 people are currently reading
483 people want to read
About the author
John Ringo
101 books1,830 followersJohn Ringo is a prolific author who has written in a wide variety of genres. His early life included a great deal of travel. He visited 23 foreign countries, and attended fourteen different schools. After graduation Ringo enlisted in the US military for four years, after which he studied marine biology.
In 1999 he wrote and published his first novel "A Hymn Before Battle", which proved successful. Since 2000 Ringo has been a full time author.
He has written science fiction, military fiction, and fantasy.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
In 1999 he wrote and published his first novel "A Hymn Before Battle", which proved successful. Since 2000 Ringo has been a full time author.
He has written science fiction, military fiction, and fantasy.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
May 24, 2017
After, "Into the Looking Glass," and Vorpal Blade comes "Manxome Foe." John Ringo has solidified his place as not only one of my favorite Sci-Fi authors but favorite authors, period. This story is outstanding. 10 of 10 stars
January 17, 2023
The U.S. has mastered a technology which opens gates to other planets. A scientific outpost is overrun on a far away world and the U.S. fears that the alien Dreen are to blame. Fearing to reopen the gate lest they trigger a second Dreen invasion of Earth, they send their one faster than light starship, The Vorpal Blade, on a rescue mission. All of that worked pretty well for me as the crew gets called back early interrupting Two Gun’s first date with a young woman he is obviously very enamored with. But it wasn’t until they figure out that the Dreen did wipe out the outpost (and by starship, not gate) that things really get hopping, The Vorpal Blade goes in search of the bad guys and finds a whole new alien race with advanced technology fleeing “Battlestar Galactica like” from the Dreen. They also learn that at their current rate of expansion, the Dreen starships will reach the Earth in about fifteen years. It quickly becomes apparent that saving the aliens from the Dreen to get access to their technology is the only chance our planet has to survive the coming war.
Manxome Foe is a fun novel with tons of action The aforementioned romance between Two Gun and Brooke was a little off the walls. Somehow it moves from first date to marry me with two under 12 word texts and that was plumb crazy (especially since everyone else thinks it’s absolutely normal), but heck, if one tiny subplot is my only complaint it must have been a great book.
Manxome Foe is a fun novel with tons of action The aforementioned romance between Two Gun and Brooke was a little off the walls. Somehow it moves from first date to marry me with two under 12 word texts and that was plumb crazy (especially since everyone else thinks it’s absolutely normal), but heck, if one tiny subplot is my only complaint it must have been a great book.
October 23, 2022
Very good read. 2019 reread: Quite good!
April 26, 2012
In the list of reasons to read a new author and a new series, add this: I was upset that a sequel to the excellent Armor was never published, so in frustration I tried this book out. If ever there was a setup for disappointment, here was a perfect example.
But ... I was pleasantly surprised. Manxome Foe is opposite Armor in tone, the former being light, as the butter on Panera's toast, and the latter, serious, as a bout of asthma. However, in both cases, the approach is fitting. Manxome is candy to Armor's sour core. Oddly appropriate that I would go from one to the other. The two novels' most striking similarity is the alien enemy --- unyielding, overwhelming and ultimately dumb. (Somehow, these aliens remind me of the Pak of the Ringworld books, purportedly smarter than man and yet bound by the programming of their genetics.)
Ringo and Taylor make it feel like nothing's happening, as the story flows thus: "they flew here" then "they flew there" and, then "the marines made fun of each other". Along the way, the characters meet astonishingly trusting aliens as the tale builds up to the inevitably final battle with the bad guys. There's also a lot of plausible physics to feed us SF geese, not distracting and not absolutely essential to the story, but adding to the fun. The light tone remains even through the most bloody and high-casualty scenes, as if to say, this is not what this story is about. So what is it about? To me, the book spoke of the continuity of life, human or alien, despite the inevitability of death. Quite profound, eh? In overall sum total (does that mean 3 times the whole?), I enjoyed the book.
This would be a worthwhile read for anyone who: (a) has just finished Armor, and been depressed by its utter melancholy, (b) is not annoyed by military humor and gory violence, and (c) likes John Scalzi.
October 9, 2020
Overall a good sci-fi romp picking up from the last book, more exploration and knowledge gathering about the existence of the dreen; more Miller, Weaver, and Twogun shenanigans; and sadly more losses. New friends, old foes, and shenanigans abound.
Solid narration as usual ( with perhaps some odd pronunciation decisions. Taco taco taco... Maybe I was just hungry)
Caveats:
Much like the prior books the political jokes are really not aging well especially in current climate, However!, The action and sci-fi portions are solid.
The romance, if you can even call it that, subplot is absurd and a bit squicky. Especially considering the epilogue. However, I have heard crazier in life I suppose.
Solid narration as usual ( with perhaps some odd pronunciation decisions. Taco taco taco... Maybe I was just hungry)
Caveats:
Much like the prior books the political jokes are really not aging well especially in current climate, However!, The action and sci-fi portions are solid.
The romance, if you can even call it that, subplot is absurd and a bit squicky. Especially considering the epilogue. However, I have heard crazier in life I suppose.
December 17, 2014
I enjoyed this book in general. The whole series is a fun bit of fluff Sc-Fi. The reason I wanted to write this review, though, is to pick on a couple of things that annoyed me, though not enough to remove more than one star from the overall picture. I felt it would be appropriate to start at book 3 because this was when that stuff started to add up to a good sized review for me.
First of all, fake swearing NEVER works. I realize he was trying to make things more authentic, and the fact is that soldiers will swear in those kinds of situations. Okay, fine - but soldiers actually use REAL swear words. Replacing them with fake swear words doesn't make you sound more authentic, it makes you sound less authentic.
So either use real swear words, or don't use any at all. If you try to have it both ways, you'll fail miserably. I WILL say that I like the words "Grap" and "Mock" a little bit better than the fake swear words that others have attempted, such as "Frell" and "Tang". But they still don't work.
And every single person in the book uses the word "Shiny" when they like something. I've heard people using that word like that before, but it's not all that common. Why would you make EVERYBODY use it? Different characters will have their own ways of saying things. Don't make everybody conform to the exact same template!
As for the completely unnessary, tacked-on love story, that should have just been removed. Eric (Two-Gun) goes back home for a visit and starts catching the eye of this girl. They go on one date, and all of a sudden she's promising to not date other men and to wait for him to come home in spite of the odds against his survival.
Okay, it's not too unrealistic for something like that to happen. Teenagers often get swept up in their feelings of the moment and all that. But nobody else in the story seems to think it's a little too much. After she receives a message from Eric, Eric's mother asks her if she's going to be her mother in law soon, and she replies "I hope so!".
Seriously? Nobody's saying, "Hey, you two have basically just met each other and been on ony one date! Don't you think you should slow things down a bit?"
And the scenes where she's pining for him and watching a video montage to a song from the war on terror... kind of cringe-inducing. I guess it's just some video that gave the author the feels and he felt he needed to work it in. He should have reconsidered.
By the way, spoiler alert, though not by any means a big one, he asks her to marry him when he gets back and she says yes.
*SIGH*
The technobabble was a little heavy, and I'm not sure that the author himself even understood most of what he was saying. I think he got most of the scientific basics right though.
Also, the dig against France at the end there was completely unnecessary and historically innacurate. It was just the authors feelings on the subject being thrown in ham-fisted.
But like I said, it was an entertaining bit of sci-fi fluff overall. You can't take a light sci-fi like this too seriously. I'm just the kind of guy who loves to nit-pick.
First of all, fake swearing NEVER works. I realize he was trying to make things more authentic, and the fact is that soldiers will swear in those kinds of situations. Okay, fine - but soldiers actually use REAL swear words. Replacing them with fake swear words doesn't make you sound more authentic, it makes you sound less authentic.
So either use real swear words, or don't use any at all. If you try to have it both ways, you'll fail miserably. I WILL say that I like the words "Grap" and "Mock" a little bit better than the fake swear words that others have attempted, such as "Frell" and "Tang". But they still don't work.
And every single person in the book uses the word "Shiny" when they like something. I've heard people using that word like that before, but it's not all that common. Why would you make EVERYBODY use it? Different characters will have their own ways of saying things. Don't make everybody conform to the exact same template!
As for the completely unnessary, tacked-on love story, that should have just been removed. Eric (Two-Gun) goes back home for a visit and starts catching the eye of this girl. They go on one date, and all of a sudden she's promising to not date other men and to wait for him to come home in spite of the odds against his survival.
Okay, it's not too unrealistic for something like that to happen. Teenagers often get swept up in their feelings of the moment and all that. But nobody else in the story seems to think it's a little too much. After she receives a message from Eric, Eric's mother asks her if she's going to be her mother in law soon, and she replies "I hope so!".
Seriously? Nobody's saying, "Hey, you two have basically just met each other and been on ony one date! Don't you think you should slow things down a bit?"
And the scenes where she's pining for him and watching a video montage to a song from the war on terror... kind of cringe-inducing. I guess it's just some video that gave the author the feels and he felt he needed to work it in. He should have reconsidered.
By the way, spoiler alert, though not by any means a big one, he asks her to marry him when he gets back and she says yes.
*SIGH*
The technobabble was a little heavy, and I'm not sure that the author himself even understood most of what he was saying. I think he got most of the scientific basics right though.
Also, the dig against France at the end there was completely unnecessary and historically innacurate. It was just the authors feelings on the subject being thrown in ham-fisted.
But like I said, it was an entertaining bit of sci-fi fluff overall. You can't take a light sci-fi like this too seriously. I'm just the kind of guy who loves to nit-pick.
January 4, 2011
Third in the series, and if anything this one is even heavier on the techno-speak and theoretical math than the second in the series. Oddly this will be what makes some of you love this book more and will come close to driving others away.
I must admit that while I like some hard science fiction, the math etc. in this one was a bit much for me. Now, if you are really into that part of it, then you'll really love this. If you don't care for it then you can (if your a "skillful skimmer") skim your way through that part of the book and get to the plot of the piece.
I admit that there was a point where I almost drifted away from this one, but sticking with it and skipping a bit of the details about the drive, warp and etc. I had put the book down, and wasn't in a real hurry to get back to it. But I finally did and I enjoyed the story overall.
This one ends with things in a bit of "cliffhanger" situation and the story of the fist star ship from earth "must go on" as the Dreen are pretty much committed to a "them or us" out come to things. Their attitude it apparently that "there ain't room enough for us and them in this here galaxy".
I must admit that while I like some hard science fiction, the math etc. in this one was a bit much for me. Now, if you are really into that part of it, then you'll really love this. If you don't care for it then you can (if your a "skillful skimmer") skim your way through that part of the book and get to the plot of the piece.
I admit that there was a point where I almost drifted away from this one, but sticking with it and skipping a bit of the details about the drive, warp and etc. I had put the book down, and wasn't in a real hurry to get back to it. But I finally did and I enjoyed the story overall.
This one ends with things in a bit of "cliffhanger" situation and the story of the fist star ship from earth "must go on" as the Dreen are pretty much committed to a "them or us" out come to things. Their attitude it apparently that "there ain't room enough for us and them in this here galaxy".
January 4, 2018
Looooooove. Love. Love. Satisfies all my science fiction battle adventure dreams.
At first, I was a little skeptical. The whole Two-Gun and Brooke thing was bothering me, because she's like, 17 and they had one date and suddenly they're passionately in love and gonna get married and stuff? Well, okay. But it seemed somewhat sudden and irrelevant.
But then that got shoved aside and they went back into SPACE!! And it was EPIC!! Miriam makes me laugh all the time, and even though her subplot wasn't resolved, I'm still content with it. I can tell it will be continued in the next book (and it darn well better be).
Plus, Two-Gun. He definitely became my favorite of this novel, somehow replacing my beloved Bill Weaver. I mean, Bill is still cool. He just doesn't do quite as much this time around. Two-Gun gets all the action, but he's better suited to this story than Bill.
Really, this book made me want to go reread the first two and read more stuff and just read it again and again.
Also, would definitely recommend to fans of Stargate.
At first, I was a little skeptical. The whole Two-Gun and Brooke thing was bothering me, because she's like, 17 and they had one date and suddenly they're passionately in love and gonna get married and stuff? Well, okay. But it seemed somewhat sudden and irrelevant.
But then that got shoved aside and they went back into SPACE!! And it was EPIC!! Miriam makes me laugh all the time, and even though her subplot wasn't resolved, I'm still content with it. I can tell it will be continued in the next book (and it darn well better be).
Plus, Two-Gun. He definitely became my favorite of this novel, somehow replacing my beloved Bill Weaver. I mean, Bill is still cool. He just doesn't do quite as much this time around. Two-Gun gets all the action, but he's better suited to this story than Bill.
Really, this book made me want to go reread the first two and read more stuff and just read it again and again.
Also, would definitely recommend to fans of Stargate.
April 9, 2018
Another very entertaining read by John Ringo. I like the science (even the bits I don't understand), the first contacts, the characters, and the action.
I don't love the romance between Berg and Brooke. WTH? They went on one 2-3 hour date, exchanged messages that totaled 12 words, and then he proposed six-ish months later?! Does that seem ridiculous to anyone else? Ringo couldn't have at least written it up so that they'd been dating for a couple of months while the Blade was being repaired?
Also, I'm not really sure what the whole point was with the episode with Portana. I guess just to show how military units resolve conflicts . . ? In book #2 Tuffy and his companion (forget her name right now) also just seem to disappear in the last third of the book. This time it was Portana (admittedly a lesser character). I dunno. A small thing I suppose (sometimes characters just might not be involved in everything), but it kinda bugged me a little.
I don't love the romance between Berg and Brooke. WTH? They went on one 2-3 hour date, exchanged messages that totaled 12 words, and then he proposed six-ish months later?! Does that seem ridiculous to anyone else? Ringo couldn't have at least written it up so that they'd been dating for a couple of months while the Blade was being repaired?
Also, I'm not really sure what the whole point was with the episode with Portana. I guess just to show how military units resolve conflicts . . ? In book #2 Tuffy and his companion (forget her name right now) also just seem to disappear in the last third of the book. This time it was Portana (admittedly a lesser character). I dunno. A small thing I suppose (sometimes characters just might not be involved in everything), but it kinda bugged me a little.
Read
December 11, 2020Everything in space: A+++, love the science, love the space, manages to be pretty hard sci fi with actually interesting characters
Everything on earth: be prepared to be hit by a brick labeled "2008 era War on Terror proto Tea Party American exceptionalism" that has not aged particularly well in 2020 (and was fairly insufferable at the time. We're being invaded by aliens and the president still has the time to make a crack about cheese eating surrender monkeys and hit on the pretty linguist? You were doing so well, Ringo)
Also, Moon's high heels continues to be a deeply stupid plot point that doesn't make sense in terms of women or submarines and adds absolute fucking nothing to the book
Everything on earth: be prepared to be hit by a brick labeled "2008 era War on Terror proto Tea Party American exceptionalism" that has not aged particularly well in 2020 (and was fairly insufferable at the time. We're being invaded by aliens and the president still has the time to make a crack about cheese eating surrender monkeys and hit on the pretty linguist? You were doing so well, Ringo)
Also, Moon's high heels continues to be a deeply stupid plot point that doesn't make sense in terms of women or submarines and adds absolute fucking nothing to the book
March 24, 2008
I really enjoyed the first book in the series. This one and the previous book has a lot of more science and a lot more exploration. The action occurs only toward the end. (for both this book and the previous book).
I am not sure if this is because of the other author (Travis S. Taylor), however, this is definitely not a fast past action book similar to other books that John Ringo writes that I enjoy reading.
Even still, it was a relatively good read.
I am not sure if this is because of the other author (Travis S. Taylor), however, this is definitely not a fast past action book similar to other books that John Ringo writes that I enjoy reading.
Even still, it was a relatively good read.
April 18, 2008
3rd book in the Looking Glass series. It's looking like another alien invasion series for Ringo, but that's okay, he does alien invasion very well. Bergstresser (Two-Gun) is in this series again, and he's a fun character. What's not to like about an SF geek who is also a hunky warrior marine?
Seriously if you like Heinlein's old juvie novels of SF, you'll like Ringo. He's not PC, but then again I like that about him. Plus, a redneck physicist astrogator. Neato!
Seriously if you like Heinlein's old juvie novels of SF, you'll like Ringo. He's not PC, but then again I like that about him. Plus, a redneck physicist astrogator. Neato!
January 27, 2014
I really enjoyed this book and the series itself. What a fun read!!
November 23, 2023
The idea of converting a nuclear submarine into an interstellar spacecraft might not be new (I'm pretty sure it's been done in at least one anime.), I found it to be a lot of fun. Ringo pays attention to plausible space-battle and other space-related physics while remembering the limits he's set for his worldbuilding. His idea for an alien race that can't see is something I encountered in Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary," and honestly I think Weir did it better--but I still found it fascinating the way Ringo manages to handle without going full Star-Trek-episode on us.
The only thing that really detracted was the faux profanity. Real profanity is grating at the best of times, sure. And modern military personnel are known for swearing. While I didn't miss its absence on "J.A.G.," I almost did in this book. But I couldn't quite decide if the fake words were more annoying than the real ones would have been. It's not even like what Ringo did in his Council Wars series, which takes place centuries in the future, or what Carver did in "Neptune Crossing," also set in the far future.
The only thing that really detracted was the faux profanity. Real profanity is grating at the best of times, sure. And modern military personnel are known for swearing. While I didn't miss its absence on "J.A.G.," I almost did in this book. But I couldn't quite decide if the fake words were more annoying than the real ones would have been. It's not even like what Ringo did in his Council Wars series, which takes place centuries in the future, or what Carver did in "Neptune Crossing," also set in the far future.
May 25, 2024
Three books into the series. The action is good, characters are solid. I think where I struggle with the series the most is tone has moved around a lot. The first book has a very tongue in check feel. Its goofy but its written to the be goofy. That is kind of the point. Its got enough physics in it to be science-y but in the end its all used to serve the plot.
Book 2 still has some of the tongue in check feeling but its very toned down, and we also not have starship and a doing our best Star Trek TNG impression. Which is fine but very different than the first book.
So, we get to book 3 and not the series is not playing the setting almost straight. Many of the same characters which haven't changed its just the tone of this book is much more serious than the first two books which I think its step back form the first two.
That is not to say the book is bad. I enjoyed seeing the armorer from the Empire of Man series man an appearance here. Not sure which one came out first but a fun character. Action is still solid, characters are good. Its just not quite as much fun as the first two books in the series.
Book 2 still has some of the tongue in check feeling but its very toned down, and we also not have starship and a doing our best Star Trek TNG impression. Which is fine but very different than the first book.
So, we get to book 3 and not the series is not playing the setting almost straight. Many of the same characters which haven't changed its just the tone of this book is much more serious than the first two books which I think its step back form the first two.
That is not to say the book is bad. I enjoyed seeing the armorer from the Empire of Man series man an appearance here. Not sure which one came out first but a fun character. Action is still solid, characters are good. Its just not quite as much fun as the first two books in the series.
July 9, 2017
The story continues as The Blade is tasked to a Rescue and Recovery mission to one of the archeological outposts on a planet where some kind of emergency closed its Looking Glass portal. The dreaded Dreen are encountered and their planned progression uncovered as an alliance is made with another race as well as an as yet unrealized encounter with an vastly superior, intelligent entity.
Not quite as much action but perhaps more suspenseful, this installment backs off of the overloaded futuristic and military jargon that was distracting in the second book, Vorpal Blade. As a result, the second and third books are an equal 3.5+ Stars.
Not quite as much action but perhaps more suspenseful, this installment backs off of the overloaded futuristic and military jargon that was distracting in the second book, Vorpal Blade. As a result, the second and third books are an equal 3.5+ Stars.
February 13, 2023
Third in the Looking Glass series (there are 4), Manxome Foe is another winner. Not quite as good as the two previous novels it ws still very good indeed. It still has the great characters of 1 & 2, the humor, the cammaraderie and the constantly building excitement. It even added another 1st contact with another species that was about cooperation through necessity.
I guess for me it was a little too much of the same, having read the other 2 so recently. It lost a little of the newness and surprise that pushed #1 and #2 to 5 stars. It's still terrific, though so 4 stars for me.
I guess for me it was a little too much of the same, having read the other 2 so recently. It lost a little of the newness and surprise that pushed #1 and #2 to 5 stars. It's still terrific, though so 4 stars for me.
August 8, 2024
Mostly good
Okay there is an issue that really bugs me to no end. As stated in the teaser the ship is sent on a rescue mission and find someone to rescue. That person is unconscious and in bad shape and is confined to sick bay for thirty days for treatment and quarantine reasons. The mission goes on for several weeks with the rescued survivor never even mentioned for the last two thirds of the novel including the epilog. Why go to such pains fleshing out a survivor and then never mention them again even in passing? It really bugs me to see such sloppy writing when this author has done so much better in other novels.
Okay there is an issue that really bugs me to no end. As stated in the teaser the ship is sent on a rescue mission and find someone to rescue. That person is unconscious and in bad shape and is confined to sick bay for thirty days for treatment and quarantine reasons. The mission goes on for several weeks with the rescued survivor never even mentioned for the last two thirds of the novel including the epilog. Why go to such pains fleshing out a survivor and then never mention them again even in passing? It really bugs me to see such sloppy writing when this author has done so much better in other novels.
March 23, 2023
4 1/2 - the front piece dragged just a tad, and again one of the forced romance angles was just bad (fabricated poorly). But it picked up nicely and the back half was excellent. As usual, the new species meetings, and space opera battles is what these guys know how to write about.
September 1, 2017
Gotta live Ringo's sense of humor. Makes you wonder, makes you laugh.
June 14, 2018
Much better than book 2 in this series.
November 20, 2018
Good Sci-Fi. Much better than Vorpal Blade (2nd book in this series).
June 27, 2025
Slam Dunk
Everything a geek could ask for - action, more action, science, and crazy humor. Activate nerd and warp drive for a fun ride
Everything a geek could ask for - action, more action, science, and crazy humor. Activate nerd and warp drive for a fun ride
November 1, 2025
Even better than the proceeding two
And i really liked those.
I was late to one of my favorite things ( Halloween trick or treating ) b'c i lost track of time reading this :)
And i really liked those.
I was late to one of my favorite things ( Halloween trick or treating ) b'c i lost track of time reading this :)
March 2, 2014
Product Description
In the midst of recovering from their successful if casualty prone first mission, the crew of the Alliance Space Ship Vorpal Blade are suddenly scrambled back into action. All other priorities take second place as word arrives on earth of a gate colony which has fallen to an unidentified alien assault. As the only space ship currently available to the Human-Adar Alliance, the Vorpal Blade is dispatched to find out what happened to the colony, rescue any survivors and learn the identity of the attackers.
With new complexities added to the universe started in the novel Into the Looking Glass and continued in Vorpal Blade, Manxome Foe continues the tradition of non-stop action, valorous if quirky characters and rigorous science drawn from the frontiers of current theory. The odd-ball crew of the _Vorpal Blade_ is an unlikely savior of earth, but none dare say they quail at engaging the Manxome Foe.
About the AuthorJohn Ringo is author of the New York Times best-selling Posleen War series which so far includes A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, When the Devil Dances, and Hell’s Faire, as well as the connected novels Cally’s War (with Julie Cochrane), The Hero (with Michael Z. Williamson), and Watch on the Rhine (with Tom Kratman), and is the hottest new science fiction writer since David Weber. A veteran of the 82nd Airborne, Ringo brings first-hand knowledge of military operations to his novels of high-tech future war.
Travis S. Taylor—“Doc” Taylor to his friends—has earned his soubriquet the hard way: He has a doctorate in optical science and engineering, a master's degree in physics, a master's degree in aerospace engineering, a master's degree in astronomy, and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. Dr. Taylor has worked on various programs for the Department of Defense and NASA for the past sixteen years. He's currently working on several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space-based beamed energy systems, and next generation space launch concepts. He lives in Auburn, AL with his wife Karen and their daughter.
January 10, 2013
This book is a big improvement over the previous two books. Sure there still the faulty science with the Higgs Boson and they are still roaming around the stars in a converted submarine but things are changing…for the better.
The book blurb actually only tells the beginning of the story in this book. It continues the saga of the humans (or at least the US part of them) and their alien allies as they continue to try to understand their mystical warp drive and survive against the Dreen.
Without spoiling the plot (too much) they, of course, runs into the Dreen again as well as some new aliens at the same time. The new aliens, surprise surprise, are in a fight with the Dreen and we all know how the proverb goes, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, so after some initial communications problem the humans got themselves a new ally. John made an interesting twist to this encounter by inventing aliens that didn’t use “normal” vision to perceive the reality around them. How do you explain things, like language, when you cannot even draw a picture?
Naturally there are plenty of dry humor, marine stuff and action, both on the ground, in space and on board spaceships (including on a Dreen one). As usual John Ringo is very good at writing this stuff. The space battles are not at the level of David Weber when he’s at his best but they are still good.
I wasn’t too keen on the “MacGyver stunts” they pulled when cobbling together repairs on their stardrive. That part was just plain ridiculous but, thankfully, short. However, then there’s the best of it all. With the help of their new allies they finally get a real spaceship, The Vorpal Blade II, instead of that cobbled together “submarine in space” kludge.
After reading this one I’m quite looking forward to read the next one.
The book blurb actually only tells the beginning of the story in this book. It continues the saga of the humans (or at least the US part of them) and their alien allies as they continue to try to understand their mystical warp drive and survive against the Dreen.
Without spoiling the plot (too much) they, of course, runs into the Dreen again as well as some new aliens at the same time. The new aliens, surprise surprise, are in a fight with the Dreen and we all know how the proverb goes, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, so after some initial communications problem the humans got themselves a new ally. John made an interesting twist to this encounter by inventing aliens that didn’t use “normal” vision to perceive the reality around them. How do you explain things, like language, when you cannot even draw a picture?
Naturally there are plenty of dry humor, marine stuff and action, both on the ground, in space and on board spaceships (including on a Dreen one). As usual John Ringo is very good at writing this stuff. The space battles are not at the level of David Weber when he’s at his best but they are still good.
I wasn’t too keen on the “MacGyver stunts” they pulled when cobbling together repairs on their stardrive. That part was just plain ridiculous but, thankfully, short. However, then there’s the best of it all. With the help of their new allies they finally get a real spaceship, The Vorpal Blade II, instead of that cobbled together “submarine in space” kludge.
After reading this one I’m quite looking forward to read the next one.
November 17, 2013
For Book 3 in a series, this one still manages to stay fresh. The pattern established in Book 2 is repeated here: 1/3 setup, 1/3 sci-fi world building, 1/3 awesome battle action stuff. All three sections are very well done. I am especially impressed how the author manages to sneak a little piece of Christian romance into a strictly hard sci-fi military fiction story. It raises the stakes and makes us care more about the outcome on a personal basis, rather than the standard "Will humanity survive?" question (since we know there is a Book 4, it's not much of a suspense).
As many reviewers have mentioned, I was a little disappointed by complete absence of Mimi/Tuffy, but the increased role for the ever-whacky Miriam Moon compensates for it in the end. The new race introduced in this story is a stroke of brilliance in a way that it allows to explain the complexities of communication and poke fun at pop culture at the same time.
The final battle sequence is especially well done, once again with a fairly high body count and a nail-biting resolution. It ALMOST makes up for the brain-hurting rocket science stuff in the middle section, although even that is beginning to grow on me. It's too bad there is only one book left in the series. With this setup, it could in theory have gone on pretty much forever, and I would keep reading.
As many reviewers have mentioned, I was a little disappointed by complete absence of Mimi/Tuffy, but the increased role for the ever-whacky Miriam Moon compensates for it in the end. The new race introduced in this story is a stroke of brilliance in a way that it allows to explain the complexities of communication and poke fun at pop culture at the same time.
The final battle sequence is especially well done, once again with a fairly high body count and a nail-biting resolution. It ALMOST makes up for the brain-hurting rocket science stuff in the middle section, although even that is beginning to grow on me. It's too bad there is only one book left in the series. With this setup, it could in theory have gone on pretty much forever, and I would keep reading.
January 23, 2025
Manxome Foe is book #3 of the Looking Glass series. I liked it.
The Story: This continues the story of exploration of the Vorpal Blade introduced in Book #2. After repairs they set out to answer a call for rescue from a science team and to look for the aliens who caused such devastation to the science team on a far away planet.
Any problems with the book? There is some cursing. The F-word is used once in context so it fit. The rest is filled with made up curse words. That is fine.
No sex.
Lots of violence.
It had a satisfying but obvious ending. It did have an interesting twist at the end. I was surprised.
I'd read this book again. It was fun.
The Story: This continues the story of exploration of the Vorpal Blade introduced in Book #2. After repairs they set out to answer a call for rescue from a science team and to look for the aliens who caused such devastation to the science team on a far away planet.
Any problems with the book? There is some cursing. The F-word is used once in context so it fit. The rest is filled with made up curse words. That is fine.
No sex.
Lots of violence.
It had a satisfying but obvious ending. It did have an interesting twist at the end. I was surprised.
I'd read this book again. It was fun.
August 3, 2015
Another great entry in the Looking Glass series. Bill Weaver, Chief Miller, Two-gun Bergstresser, and many of the other crew members are back in action aboard the Vorpal Blade. While not all the other characters from the previous books are present, the action is definitely more intense in this book. With a human scientific expedition on a far off asteroid missing, the Vorpal Blade and its Marines are sent in to investigate. Finding only one survivor in bad shape, they find out that the Dreen (not seen since the first book) are back. Meeting potential allies, the ship must assist these new aliens in their fight against the Dreen or lose an important ally. With amazing space ship battles and dangerous Marine ground combat, this book raises the stakes from its predecessor and is an amazingly enjoyable read.
June 18, 2010
This was another good book, full of action, adventure, humor, and lots of sciencey bits. I really, really enjoy John Ringo's writing, and Travis S. Taylor adds a lot of good hard science fiction bits to it.
This time, the crew of the Vorpal Blade is off to rescue some scientists who have been attacked at a far off planet, but they can't use the Looking Glass which goes there due to a large bomb having been set off on the other side, destabilizing it. So, they set off through space using the human's only interstellar spacecraft.
If you like a great action-movie-in-a-book filled with interesting characters and interesting plot, then this is a great book. Nothing too deep, just rip-roaring fun.
This time, the crew of the Vorpal Blade is off to rescue some scientists who have been attacked at a far off planet, but they can't use the Looking Glass which goes there due to a large bomb having been set off on the other side, destabilizing it. So, they set off through space using the human's only interstellar spacecraft.
If you like a great action-movie-in-a-book filled with interesting characters and interesting plot, then this is a great book. Nothing too deep, just rip-roaring fun.
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