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Special Circumstances #1
Princess of Wands
distinguished by some unusual quality . . .
a piece of evidence that indicates the probability or improbability of an event . . .
Barbara Everette, homemaker living in a small town in Mississippi, had the perfect life. Perfect husband, perfect children, perfect house, perfect Christian Faith. She cooked and cleaned perfectly and managed all of the chores of the modern suburbanite, toting the kids, running the PTA, teaching kung-fu in the local dojo . . . perfectly. But perfection has a price and the day came when Barbara snapped. She simply had to have "one weekend off." God had to grant her that much. It said no where that she was a slave. Waving goodbye to her hapless, entirely undomestic husband, she set out on the quest for a weekend of peace and maybe some authentic Cajun food.
Detective Sergeant Kelly Lockhart, New Orleans Homicide, had a perfect record on his latest not a single suspect. And there should be at least five or six, given the DNA traces on the many bodies. Furthermore, his sole really outstanding clue, a mysterious fish scale, had disappeared into the recesses of the FBI Crime Lab. But the old fortune-teller was sending him into the bayou, down in the land of authentic Cajun food, on the track of a mysterious pimp with the admonition to "watch for the Princess." Or die. Barbara and Kelly were heading to a rendezvous that might be fate and might reveal the hand of God. There was more cooking in the swamps than jambalaya. Unknown to either, the mystery of the Bayou Ripper had Special Circumstances .
a piece of evidence that indicates the probability or improbability of an event . . .
Barbara Everette, homemaker living in a small town in Mississippi, had the perfect life. Perfect husband, perfect children, perfect house, perfect Christian Faith. She cooked and cleaned perfectly and managed all of the chores of the modern suburbanite, toting the kids, running the PTA, teaching kung-fu in the local dojo . . . perfectly. But perfection has a price and the day came when Barbara snapped. She simply had to have "one weekend off." God had to grant her that much. It said no where that she was a slave. Waving goodbye to her hapless, entirely undomestic husband, she set out on the quest for a weekend of peace and maybe some authentic Cajun food.
Detective Sergeant Kelly Lockhart, New Orleans Homicide, had a perfect record on his latest not a single suspect. And there should be at least five or six, given the DNA traces on the many bodies. Furthermore, his sole really outstanding clue, a mysterious fish scale, had disappeared into the recesses of the FBI Crime Lab. But the old fortune-teller was sending him into the bayou, down in the land of authentic Cajun food, on the track of a mysterious pimp with the admonition to "watch for the Princess." Or die. Barbara and Kelly were heading to a rendezvous that might be fate and might reveal the hand of God. There was more cooking in the swamps than jambalaya. Unknown to either, the mystery of the Bayou Ripper had Special Circumstances .
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
46 people are currently reading
838 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 121 reviews
August 17, 2012
I want to give this minus a million stars
The complete and utter clueless f***wittery that Ringo comes up with while trying to write a female viewpoint character [0] was something I was willing to put up with because it was so fun to mock [1], but when he flat out states that the practice of Islam is evil [2], I quit.
[0] Barb, the main character, is a female, gun-packing, martial-arts-teaching, PTA president, stay-at-home-mom, traditional-values, husband-is-the-master-of-the-household, Republican-wet-dream Mary Sue. Who gets to fight demons and save the world. The woman John Ringo lies in bed at night imagining he would be, right before he reaches for the hand lotion and kleenex.
[1] Really, John? You think that the solution to date rape is for all women to be combat trained and pack heat? Do you really want to live in a world where all the women are sexually paranoid and heavily armed?
[2] To quote, and this is during a discussion of defining good and evil, "the current cultural expression by the majority of the active members of Islam is highly negative and in many cases involves interaction with negative intermediaries [demons]. Those who are using the name of Allah for their activities range from dupes to those who know very well the entities are enemies of their God.... Some day, perhaps, Islamics will adjust their culture and quit making pacts with the daevas and djinn [previously defined in conversation as enemies]. But until then I can't in good conscience put the religion of Islam fully on the side of Light." And this is from a character who is playing the role of the Wise Mentor.
The complete and utter clueless f***wittery that Ringo comes up with while trying to write a female viewpoint character [0] was something I was willing to put up with because it was so fun to mock [1], but when he flat out states that the practice of Islam is evil [2], I quit.
[0] Barb, the main character, is a female, gun-packing, martial-arts-teaching, PTA president, stay-at-home-mom, traditional-values, husband-is-the-master-of-the-household, Republican-wet-dream Mary Sue. Who gets to fight demons and save the world. The woman John Ringo lies in bed at night imagining he would be, right before he reaches for the hand lotion and kleenex.
[1] Really, John? You think that the solution to date rape is for all women to be combat trained and pack heat? Do you really want to live in a world where all the women are sexually paranoid and heavily armed?
[2] To quote, and this is during a discussion of defining good and evil, "the current cultural expression by the majority of the active members of Islam is highly negative and in many cases involves interaction with negative intermediaries [demons]. Those who are using the name of Allah for their activities range from dupes to those who know very well the entities are enemies of their God.... Some day, perhaps, Islamics will adjust their culture and quit making pacts with the daevas and djinn [previously defined in conversation as enemies]. But until then I can't in good conscience put the religion of Islam fully on the side of Light." And this is from a character who is playing the role of the Wise Mentor.
June 11, 2019
The first story owes much to Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth, April 25, 2016
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Princess of Wands (Special Circumstances Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
Publication date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Baen Books
Language: English
ASIN: B00APACLA2
This book has garnered some very unfair criticism. Even though I didn't like it or the last two of Ringo's books which I read before this, GHOST and THE LAST CENTURIAN, I also do not like critics who, apparently motivated by religious or political beliefs, read or skim Ringo's books looking for something to dislike.
Addressing the critical reviews posted on Amazon and Goodreads, I found the following to be among those which are untrue or at best half true:
One of the common fallacies in many of the negative reviews is that this is some sort of Christian fiction. Whatever it is, it is not Christian as any Christian who reads it could tell you.
"Islam is evil" -- This opinion does not appear in this book. Ringo does have a character say, "Allah is as much on the side of light as The White God," Sharice said, frowning. "However, the current cultural expression by the majority of the active members of Islam is highly negative and in many cases involves interaction with negative intermediaries. Those who are using the name of Allah for their activities range from dupes to those who know very well the entities are enemies of their God. However . . . just as there are very few Protestant Christians among our ranks, there are very few members of Islam. Some day, perhaps, Islamics will adjust their culture and quit making pacts with the daevas and djinn. But, until then, I can't in good conscience put the religion of Islam fully on the side of Light."
"Your pro-life stance is something your assailant cares about in a life and death situation" -- Characters in the book do discuss abortion and opinions on the subject, however this does not occur during anything even remotely like a life and death situation. Though, of course, abortion itself is a life and death situation.
"I can't get over an EPISCOPAL woman in the shepherding movement. Pentecostal, yes, Baptist, maybe, but no self respecting member of a mainstream protestant sacramental church is going to go for it. There were a few other denominational/ religious issues, but that was the one I just couldn't get past......." -- I remember nothing in this book about the shepherding movement. Perhaps the author of the quoted remarks is referring to "The Foundation for Love and Universal Faith. Est. 1907." which is Ringo's name for the group which consults with the FBI and others concerning "special circumstances." That fictional foundation has nothing to do with the Shepherding Movement which, if memory serves, was established in the 1980's and pretty much died in the 1990's. I will point out that even an "EPISCOPAL woman" would probably be open to hearing new ideas after being nearly killed by and having her soul stolen by an ancient fish god/demon.
"In the second story line in the book, she steals a very valuable weapon and she then uses that stolen weapon to channel her holy power in battle with a force of darkness. I guess she missed the sermon on Thou shalt not steal, or was just that the end justified the means? Who knows? Ringo doesn't address it, though we are told that she keeps the weapon and no mention of payment is ever made." -- This is sort of a half truth. With many of the conventioners dead or in a demon induced trance and a powerful necromancer and a demon about to establish a quite literal hell on earth, Barb remembers a Japanese sword which may be the only available weapon which she can use to stop the demon. Steal is not really the right word as the swords' owner is either dead and his soul a plaything in hell or he is about to be. I don't believe he would complain about Barb borrowing his sword. It is true that Barb still has the sword in the third story. No mention is made of how she still has it or of payment to the owner (or his heirs) but the book makes it clear that the foundation has large financial resources which they spend on whatever is needed in the fight against evil. The book doesn't mention payments for the rest of Barb's equipment either.
Several reviews refer to Barb's hypocrisy for lying to her husband about where she is going and what she is doing. This is real stretching by the critics. In both fiction and real life, it is called working undercover. In these stories husband Mark is pretty much a self-satisfied non-entity. Can you just picture Barb telling him that she is going off to do physical battle with demons and other forces of hell?
There is more but I believe these examples are sufficient to illustrate my meaning. Now, as for why I don't like the book. In book two Mr. Ringo wastes at least 100 boring pages detailing the foundation's purpose, the very convoluted religious beliefs of its members and the training courses Barb is taking. I don't know if any of the religious views expressed by various characters are Mr. Ringo's as is claimed by some critics, but if he believes all of those views he must be a very confused puppy.
A vast oversimplification of the Foundation's teachings include the tired old, "there are many paths to God" and it doesn't matter what you believe if your faith is strong enough so long as you believe in one of the many gods on the side of right. One of the lectures Barb attends seems to teach not just situational morality but generational morality as well. For these people, choosing right or even recognizing it must be difficult at times. Though when a demonic entity is trying to kill you that makes it a little easier to decide.
All of this not only offends my beliefs, which is my problem, not Mr. Ringo's, but is very boring. The first story has less of this than the others and is the only one I liked. Mr. Ringo should move away from confused discussions of religious and political philosophy and back to writing the fine action novels which originally brought him to my attention.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Princess of Wands (Special Circumstances Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
Publication date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Baen Books
Language: English
ASIN: B00APACLA2
This book has garnered some very unfair criticism. Even though I didn't like it or the last two of Ringo's books which I read before this, GHOST and THE LAST CENTURIAN, I also do not like critics who, apparently motivated by religious or political beliefs, read or skim Ringo's books looking for something to dislike.
Addressing the critical reviews posted on Amazon and Goodreads, I found the following to be among those which are untrue or at best half true:
One of the common fallacies in many of the negative reviews is that this is some sort of Christian fiction. Whatever it is, it is not Christian as any Christian who reads it could tell you.
"Islam is evil" -- This opinion does not appear in this book. Ringo does have a character say, "Allah is as much on the side of light as The White God," Sharice said, frowning. "However, the current cultural expression by the majority of the active members of Islam is highly negative and in many cases involves interaction with negative intermediaries. Those who are using the name of Allah for their activities range from dupes to those who know very well the entities are enemies of their God. However . . . just as there are very few Protestant Christians among our ranks, there are very few members of Islam. Some day, perhaps, Islamics will adjust their culture and quit making pacts with the daevas and djinn. But, until then, I can't in good conscience put the religion of Islam fully on the side of Light."
"Your pro-life stance is something your assailant cares about in a life and death situation" -- Characters in the book do discuss abortion and opinions on the subject, however this does not occur during anything even remotely like a life and death situation. Though, of course, abortion itself is a life and death situation.
"I can't get over an EPISCOPAL woman in the shepherding movement. Pentecostal, yes, Baptist, maybe, but no self respecting member of a mainstream protestant sacramental church is going to go for it. There were a few other denominational/ religious issues, but that was the one I just couldn't get past......." -- I remember nothing in this book about the shepherding movement. Perhaps the author of the quoted remarks is referring to "The Foundation for Love and Universal Faith. Est. 1907." which is Ringo's name for the group which consults with the FBI and others concerning "special circumstances." That fictional foundation has nothing to do with the Shepherding Movement which, if memory serves, was established in the 1980's and pretty much died in the 1990's. I will point out that even an "EPISCOPAL woman" would probably be open to hearing new ideas after being nearly killed by and having her soul stolen by an ancient fish god/demon.
"In the second story line in the book, she steals a very valuable weapon and she then uses that stolen weapon to channel her holy power in battle with a force of darkness. I guess she missed the sermon on Thou shalt not steal, or was just that the end justified the means? Who knows? Ringo doesn't address it, though we are told that she keeps the weapon and no mention of payment is ever made." -- This is sort of a half truth. With many of the conventioners dead or in a demon induced trance and a powerful necromancer and a demon about to establish a quite literal hell on earth, Barb remembers a Japanese sword which may be the only available weapon which she can use to stop the demon. Steal is not really the right word as the swords' owner is either dead and his soul a plaything in hell or he is about to be. I don't believe he would complain about Barb borrowing his sword. It is true that Barb still has the sword in the third story. No mention is made of how she still has it or of payment to the owner (or his heirs) but the book makes it clear that the foundation has large financial resources which they spend on whatever is needed in the fight against evil. The book doesn't mention payments for the rest of Barb's equipment either.
Several reviews refer to Barb's hypocrisy for lying to her husband about where she is going and what she is doing. This is real stretching by the critics. In both fiction and real life, it is called working undercover. In these stories husband Mark is pretty much a self-satisfied non-entity. Can you just picture Barb telling him that she is going off to do physical battle with demons and other forces of hell?
There is more but I believe these examples are sufficient to illustrate my meaning. Now, as for why I don't like the book. In book two Mr. Ringo wastes at least 100 boring pages detailing the foundation's purpose, the very convoluted religious beliefs of its members and the training courses Barb is taking. I don't know if any of the religious views expressed by various characters are Mr. Ringo's as is claimed by some critics, but if he believes all of those views he must be a very confused puppy.
A vast oversimplification of the Foundation's teachings include the tired old, "there are many paths to God" and it doesn't matter what you believe if your faith is strong enough so long as you believe in one of the many gods on the side of right. One of the lectures Barb attends seems to teach not just situational morality but generational morality as well. For these people, choosing right or even recognizing it must be difficult at times. Though when a demonic entity is trying to kill you that makes it a little easier to decide.
All of this not only offends my beliefs, which is my problem, not Mr. Ringo's, but is very boring. The first story has less of this than the others and is the only one I liked. Mr. Ringo should move away from confused discussions of religious and political philosophy and back to writing the fine action novels which originally brought him to my attention.
April 21, 2022
I’ve read this book at least four times. It’s a modern urban fantasy in which a soccer mom, Barb Everette, devout Episcopalian woman, finds herself confronting one of the elder gods from the Cthulhu mythos and after that gets pulled into an organization that helps the government handle Special Circumstances. The book is structured in three major (and one minor) parts and it moves very quickly in three of the four, keeping up a level of excitement while Ringo builds a fascinating world of secret investigations into things pretty much everyone believes the general public of the world is better off not knowing anything about.
Barb is a very interesting and unusual central character. She’s a military brat with extensive martial arts and weapons training, but she’s also a soccer mom with all that that implies. One day she gets fed up with her mundane existence and over her husband’s protests decides to take a weekend off for herself. She gets off her track and ends up broken down in a small town in the bayou which just happens to be the site from which a serial killer has been operating as he attempts to cause the manifestation of one of the elder gods. This is not a coincidence but, we assume, the result of the subtle influence of God getting Barb to the one place the world most needs her to be. The resulting action is well developed.
The second section of the book is much lower key, but just as interesting. Barb is brought into the U.S. organization that deals with Special Circumstances and learns a lot about people that are very different from her. They are a colorful group that don’t all get along with each other, but they are the best line of defense that America has for dealing with supernatural threats, of which there are many.
The third part of the book is the longest and the slowest. Barb is brought in on the investigation of a serial murderer with special circumstances. Her area of investigation is a science fiction convention, and Ringo has way too much fun going into the details of who attends conventions and what happens there. The excuse to do this is to identify suspects who might be the killer, but I’ve read the book four times and I still can’t keep track of the wide host of possible suspects. I would have liked this section to be cut in half. It’s good once all hell breaks loose, but pretty slow before that.
Finally, there’s a very nice extended epilogue in which Barb has to deal with a small but real problem at home.
As you can tell from the fact that I’ve read the book four times, I love this novel. If you like supernatural investigations and combat, this is a good book for you to try out.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
Barb is a very interesting and unusual central character. She’s a military brat with extensive martial arts and weapons training, but she’s also a soccer mom with all that that implies. One day she gets fed up with her mundane existence and over her husband’s protests decides to take a weekend off for herself. She gets off her track and ends up broken down in a small town in the bayou which just happens to be the site from which a serial killer has been operating as he attempts to cause the manifestation of one of the elder gods. This is not a coincidence but, we assume, the result of the subtle influence of God getting Barb to the one place the world most needs her to be. The resulting action is well developed.
The second section of the book is much lower key, but just as interesting. Barb is brought into the U.S. organization that deals with Special Circumstances and learns a lot about people that are very different from her. They are a colorful group that don’t all get along with each other, but they are the best line of defense that America has for dealing with supernatural threats, of which there are many.
The third part of the book is the longest and the slowest. Barb is brought in on the investigation of a serial murderer with special circumstances. Her area of investigation is a science fiction convention, and Ringo has way too much fun going into the details of who attends conventions and what happens there. The excuse to do this is to identify suspects who might be the killer, but I’ve read the book four times and I still can’t keep track of the wide host of possible suspects. I would have liked this section to be cut in half. It’s good once all hell breaks loose, but pretty slow before that.
Finally, there’s a very nice extended epilogue in which Barb has to deal with a small but real problem at home.
As you can tell from the fact that I’ve read the book four times, I love this novel. If you like supernatural investigations and combat, this is a good book for you to try out.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
May 7, 2008
Repeat after me: "Oh, John Ringo, NO!"
You'll be saying it a lot while reading this. If this is what Christian urban fantasy looks like, I'll pass. Clunky chunks of preachy exposition, gratuitous sexual violence, and a Mary Sue heroine.
You'll be saying it a lot while reading this. If this is what Christian urban fantasy looks like, I'll pass. Clunky chunks of preachy exposition, gratuitous sexual violence, and a Mary Sue heroine.
September 18, 2016
I'm happy to report that I have just read my last novel by John Ringo.
"Princess of Wands" has all the things I love and hate about Mr. Ringo's writing. I had hoped that the things I hated were restricted to his other series but unfortunately they are not. On the good side, Mr. Ringo writes a good action scene and his style doesn't challenge me too much as I read his books during the commute.
Unfortunately, Mr. Ringo insists on sidetracking his characters literally in the middle of a life and death struggle to spout what are clearly his own wingnut politics. He's done this in his great, then tedious, then insufferable "Troy Rising" series, and he continues in this book. I was willing to accept a main character who was one of God's warriors but stopping the story cold to go on a pro-life rant through the mouths of his characters is a cowardly and boring way to write. It didn't advance the plot, it didn't provide insight into the characters, and it so one-sided he's obviously handicapped the opposition.
Mr. Ringo's main character is also perfectly capable of speaking like a normal human until she touches on items of faith. In those instances she is reduced to stilted, trite, and ridiculous "shall"'s, "unto"'s, and "whereupon"'s as she makes a caricature of the faithful.
I appreciate Mr. Ringo's attempt to make a strong female lead - and a woman of Christian faith to boot - but it didn't work. At all.
"Princess of Wands" has all the things I love and hate about Mr. Ringo's writing. I had hoped that the things I hated were restricted to his other series but unfortunately they are not. On the good side, Mr. Ringo writes a good action scene and his style doesn't challenge me too much as I read his books during the commute.
Unfortunately, Mr. Ringo insists on sidetracking his characters literally in the middle of a life and death struggle to spout what are clearly his own wingnut politics. He's done this in his great, then tedious, then insufferable "Troy Rising" series, and he continues in this book. I was willing to accept a main character who was one of God's warriors but stopping the story cold to go on a pro-life rant through the mouths of his characters is a cowardly and boring way to write. It didn't advance the plot, it didn't provide insight into the characters, and it so one-sided he's obviously handicapped the opposition.
Mr. Ringo's main character is also perfectly capable of speaking like a normal human until she touches on items of faith. In those instances she is reduced to stilted, trite, and ridiculous "shall"'s, "unto"'s, and "whereupon"'s as she makes a caricature of the faithful.
I appreciate Mr. Ringo's attempt to make a strong female lead - and a woman of Christian faith to boot - but it didn't work. At all.
July 25, 2023
Adding books read before 2017....
January 31, 2015
A fun light fantasy novel about a soccer mom who saves the world, or at least a fair number of people, on several occasions. The main character is a fervent Christian, but she is accepting of other beliefs and actually works with a Wiccan and several followers of the ancient Norse gods over the course of the stories. Also, the portion that takes place at a sci-fi/fantasy convention is really funny. Basically, a well-written, funny light fantasy read with an atypical heroine. Who will be polite while she kicks your ass.
August 24, 2009
It's actually the second time I've read this. I'm not a John Ringo fan, and neither is the LA librarian who gave it to me, but we both like this book. It's the story of a devout, NOT preachy, soccer mom, daughter of a military man who trained her to shoot and encouraged her interest in martial arts. At the age when her husband is discovering his love for his Barcalounger and her oldest daughter is of an age to help run the house, Barb discovers she is called to represent her God in the ages-long battle against the evil things that prey upon human begins. In her first encounter against a nasty demon who, with the help of its cult, has been raping and murdering hookers in order to enter this world, she has to play it by ear, with only the advice of a New Orleans to detect her. In other encounters she is dealing with the organization of fellow avatars, many of whom view her suspiciously at first, because their experience with Christians is not good. Her last assignment, at a science fiction convention, has its funny aspects for those of us who attend these things!
I really enjoy this book, as I said. Barb is very human and very practical, dealing with things like getting the kids off to school while trying to find out if the new coach is A) a major jerk, B) a pedophile, or C) a Satanic cultist. When she is partnered with an omnisexual exotic dancer and call girl who is also an avatar of Freya, the culture clashes are truly funny. And Barb is a major @ss-kicker, rather what Buffy might have grown up to be if she'd had a long, fallow period. The only thing that doesn't quite fly is Barb's stated belief that the husband is the head of the household. That seems to be straining at the seams by the book's end.
I wish Ringo would write more about her!
I really enjoy this book, as I said. Barb is very human and very practical, dealing with things like getting the kids off to school while trying to find out if the new coach is A) a major jerk, B) a pedophile, or C) a Satanic cultist. When she is partnered with an omnisexual exotic dancer and call girl who is also an avatar of Freya, the culture clashes are truly funny. And Barb is a major @ss-kicker, rather what Buffy might have grown up to be if she'd had a long, fallow period. The only thing that doesn't quite fly is Barb's stated belief that the husband is the head of the household. That seems to be straining at the seams by the book's end.
I wish Ringo would write more about her!
December 9, 2012
I'm not the biggest John Ringo fan in the world, and often times I think he's better at just typing and stereotyping than writing and creating, but there are times (truth be told, after a hard day at work that translates to too much of the time) where I just want entertainment and don't want to put much thought into what I'm reading. His Posleen books were like that, and I took them for what they were worth.
I liked the idea behind Princess of Wands; a badass Christian mom takes on sinister baddies from the supernatural world, while along the way learning that there's more than just one god on the block. I was kind of interested in the seeing how she'd deal with that since the idea that other religions had/have are more than mythology should be a real kick in the pants to the whole idea that there is only one God. I read some of the reviews and they really seemed to bring out the vitriol, but that's not unusual. I knew from his other books that he's pretty ham-handed with the anti-liberal bias, so seeing that again here wasn't a shocker. I didn't think that the Muslim comments in the book that so many reviewers teed-off on were anti-Muslim as much as they were anti-Fanatic either, but I guess that's open for interpretation. Certainly I didn't see the blantant bigotry here that I saw in horrible Tom Kratman diatribe, "A Desert Called Peace."
The book itself was more like three poorly sewn together short stories about Barb, the main character. The first was where we learned that Barb is pretty much a suburban Delta Force ninja babe with a crappy husband and a couple of kids at home. Later on, during the second story (which just dragged on, and on) we learn she's a suburban Delta Force ninja holy-warrior babe on a mission from God. I also learned more than I ever needed or wanted to know about SciFi Con subucultures, that writers are amazingly jealous of each other, and that Ringo hated Robert Jordan with a passion. I wasn't a fan either, but jeeze louise. The third story was so short that I can't even figure out why it was there except to introduce the family cat. So much was implied to have happened between stories two and three that I can only wonder if there was a minimum page requirement from the publisher.
The strangest thing about the book for me was that Barb was so open-minded when it came to other religions (a relief), but she was so close-minded and obedient about her own. I'm really talking about her obedience to her husband, who was pretty much the biggest loser in the book. He's a couch potato who doesn't even give her the slightest bit of attention and whines when faced with the prospect of having to make his own dinner or having to take care of his own kids. He's genuniely useless, yet she's completely loyal to him. I'm sure that Ringo's painting of him as a big, steaming turd and not even worth someone like Barb's notice, much less obedience isn't accidental, but I'm having a hard time figuring out why. Maybe it's his way of saying she's not perfect, or it's demonstrating her obedience to God's commandments? Who knows. I'm hoping he gets munched by a demon if there's another book.
I liked the idea behind Princess of Wands; a badass Christian mom takes on sinister baddies from the supernatural world, while along the way learning that there's more than just one god on the block. I was kind of interested in the seeing how she'd deal with that since the idea that other religions had/have are more than mythology should be a real kick in the pants to the whole idea that there is only one God. I read some of the reviews and they really seemed to bring out the vitriol, but that's not unusual. I knew from his other books that he's pretty ham-handed with the anti-liberal bias, so seeing that again here wasn't a shocker. I didn't think that the Muslim comments in the book that so many reviewers teed-off on were anti-Muslim as much as they were anti-Fanatic either, but I guess that's open for interpretation. Certainly I didn't see the blantant bigotry here that I saw in horrible Tom Kratman diatribe, "A Desert Called Peace."
The book itself was more like three poorly sewn together short stories about Barb, the main character. The first was where we learned that Barb is pretty much a suburban Delta Force ninja babe with a crappy husband and a couple of kids at home. Later on, during the second story (which just dragged on, and on) we learn she's a suburban Delta Force ninja holy-warrior babe on a mission from God. I also learned more than I ever needed or wanted to know about SciFi Con subucultures, that writers are amazingly jealous of each other, and that Ringo hated Robert Jordan with a passion. I wasn't a fan either, but jeeze louise. The third story was so short that I can't even figure out why it was there except to introduce the family cat. So much was implied to have happened between stories two and three that I can only wonder if there was a minimum page requirement from the publisher.
The strangest thing about the book for me was that Barb was so open-minded when it came to other religions (a relief), but she was so close-minded and obedient about her own. I'm really talking about her obedience to her husband, who was pretty much the biggest loser in the book. He's a couch potato who doesn't even give her the slightest bit of attention and whines when faced with the prospect of having to make his own dinner or having to take care of his own kids. He's genuniely useless, yet she's completely loyal to him. I'm sure that Ringo's painting of him as a big, steaming turd and not even worth someone like Barb's notice, much less obedience isn't accidental, but I'm having a hard time figuring out why. Maybe it's his way of saying she's not perfect, or it's demonstrating her obedience to God's commandments? Who knows. I'm hoping he gets munched by a demon if there's another book.
January 10, 2024
Reading this book was a Special Circumstance… I was asked by my wife too. Unfortunately, our opinions of the book vary greatly. It was an ok book for me, but a great one for her. But like most people in the book, we can debate about it.
The problem is almost every single character is totally open-minded and philosophical. The world just doesn’t work like that. Even at a Con it doesn’t work like that. The world view presented here is totally unrealistic. It would be nice if the world worked that way, but it doesn’t. Just look at the other reviews of this book for example.
The main character, Barb, was an interesting take on a Christian housewife. I did like the portrayal of mixed faith with reality. That said, she was also very boring as far as characters go. She was too perfect for me to empathize with her or even really root for her.
The concept of the book though is fantastic. I love this idea of mixed faiths battling the forces of evil and being willing to be open to each other, just there would be conflicts and only one was presented at all. Once again… too perfect of a world.
The action scenes are only so-so. They have a touch of confusion to them, which no battle is without, but the confusion is more of a doesn’t know how to describe it rather than the confusion associated with any combat. This is strange as the author is known for action scenes he writes.
Overall, a midgrade fantasy novel with a touch of faith spread around in multiple religions and mythologies. Not bad, but really nothing special.
The problem is almost every single character is totally open-minded and philosophical. The world just doesn’t work like that. Even at a Con it doesn’t work like that. The world view presented here is totally unrealistic. It would be nice if the world worked that way, but it doesn’t. Just look at the other reviews of this book for example.
The main character, Barb, was an interesting take on a Christian housewife. I did like the portrayal of mixed faith with reality. That said, she was also very boring as far as characters go. She was too perfect for me to empathize with her or even really root for her.
The concept of the book though is fantastic. I love this idea of mixed faiths battling the forces of evil and being willing to be open to each other, just there would be conflicts and only one was presented at all. Once again… too perfect of a world.
The action scenes are only so-so. They have a touch of confusion to them, which no battle is without, but the confusion is more of a doesn’t know how to describe it rather than the confusion associated with any combat. This is strange as the author is known for action scenes he writes.
Overall, a midgrade fantasy novel with a touch of faith spread around in multiple religions and mythologies. Not bad, but really nothing special.
June 16, 2017
I enjoyed the beginning and the last stories! The middle story about the scifi convention had too many characters to keep track of!
April 18, 2025
Konceptet fotbollsmorsa som slåss mot lovecraft-gudar borde inte funka. Men det gör det. Jag skrattade högljutt vid flera tillfällen.
April 24, 2020
Oh John Ringo, no.
July 10, 2024
There is a story in there, someplace. The main character, Barbara, is a former military brat who has also been extensively trained in martial arts, is such a skilled combat shooter the FBI's HRT wants her to join sight unseen after investigating battleground where she fought a minor godling and his small-town minions (right out of an HP Lovecraft story, but hey, steal from a master), but also a good Christian soccer mom and wife. Unlike, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, whom she is compared to, she learns, and hones, all these skills mundanely rather than as a supernatural power. So she is a bit hard to take seriously. And Ringo's skill at writing a female character is not high, which makes things worse. She has her positive points, especially when it comes to her faith-- she is a strong Christian but not a "Bible Thumper" as she puts it. She is loving and accepting to everyone. Then it turns out she is a powerful, natural, magical adept, skilled at channeling the power of God to fight demons with guns and swords. This gets her hired by the FBI's supernatural consultants, called Special Circumstances, and off we go. It is an interesting premise, and she is a light, but not unlikeable, character. A story or three could be interesting and fun.
But here is where it bogs down. A majority, and I mean a majority, of this book is nothing but Ringo lecturing on various topics, including the importance of the tradition roles of men and women, guns, how much he hates Robert Jordan, military science fiction, book sales, China, environmentalists, military veterans, conventions, and, for an extended scene and for no reason whatsoever, abortion. And they are all written as straw man arguments against political liberals, who are all rendered powerless to the stronger logic. And it all looks horribly tacked on. If they were important to the story, they could be overlooked. Instead, they look tacked on as "take thats" to whatever bee he had in his bonnet at the time.
And writers, oh, he goes on about writers and writing. There is always a danger when an author has writers as characters, and this book provides numerous examples of why. (A character sells his soul to a demon because the book version of Robert Jordan is more popular than he is while writing "nothing"). All of them seem to be based on friends and acquaintances, and you get the feeling that you are just outside an inside joke. A lot.
So you have a superhero magic ninja soccer mom fighting for the Lord alongside the FBI. Not a bad idea for a light urban fantasy. But it is so buried in things that the author should blog about, rather than bogging down his story by having various characters preach them.
But here is where it bogs down. A majority, and I mean a majority, of this book is nothing but Ringo lecturing on various topics, including the importance of the tradition roles of men and women, guns, how much he hates Robert Jordan, military science fiction, book sales, China, environmentalists, military veterans, conventions, and, for an extended scene and for no reason whatsoever, abortion. And they are all written as straw man arguments against political liberals, who are all rendered powerless to the stronger logic. And it all looks horribly tacked on. If they were important to the story, they could be overlooked. Instead, they look tacked on as "take thats" to whatever bee he had in his bonnet at the time.
And writers, oh, he goes on about writers and writing. There is always a danger when an author has writers as characters, and this book provides numerous examples of why. (A character sells his soul to a demon because the book version of Robert Jordan is more popular than he is while writing "nothing"). All of them seem to be based on friends and acquaintances, and you get the feeling that you are just outside an inside joke. A lot.
So you have a superhero magic ninja soccer mom fighting for the Lord alongside the FBI. Not a bad idea for a light urban fantasy. But it is so buried in things that the author should blog about, rather than bogging down his story by having various characters preach them.
April 10, 2012
I think one of the reviews on Amazon summarizes this best: June Cleaver as a ninja warrior of God.[return][return]Barbara Everette is a Mississippi soccer mom and devoted Christian. She's also trained in multiple disciplines of martial arts and an excellent markswoman. Little does she know that a weekend getaway will land her in a huge mess of a Cajun cult trying to summon a rather nasty demon, and thus introduce her to a new line of work in the government's secretive Special Circumstances division.[return][return]John Ringo manages to make some creative twists on the newfangled Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer-grows-up theme. Barbara may be a Christian, but she's no Bible thumper, and she doesn't usually preach at people; this causes some conflicts amongst her new peers who are mostly pagan and bullied by so-called Christians as they were growing up. Barb constantly has to battle against people's poor expectations of her and her tolerance. Ringo's definite strength is during action scenes. He builds suspense and you can picture the battle scenes, movie-style. His descriptions... not so much. I really got tired of Barbara's well-endowed chest being mentioned and commented on by random folks. Okay, she has big boobs, I get it. The best part of the book is Ringo's dead-on lampooning of a small sci-fi convention, complete with intellectual debates, the socially-inept, and snarking authors obviously based on real authors. The obvious slam on Robert Jordan had me giggling out loud, especially as the plot developed.[return][return]This was a fun and fast read, and I'd like to read more in this series. It's nice to see a fantasy book that isn't anti-Christian, but actually explores the dynamics between religions old and new and makes good points about how you can tolerate folks without compromising your morals.
November 5, 2012
This was a very nice change of pace from what I had been reading. It is 3 short stories in one book, all following the same characters and in chronological order, so definitely not your typical short stories. The concept is an old one made fresh and the characters are well done. I *never* would have thought that I could really actually like a strongly Christian soccer mom, but here we are. Even the fact that she is a total badass, enough so that Buffy would be hard pressed to keep up with her, is actually pretty reasonable given the background of said soccer mom. And of course Ringo keeps his normal humorous dialogue and descriptions going on throughout the story that has made me laugh regardless of whether we're talking urban fantasy, sci-fi or military sci-fi. Long story short, you really need to read it, and the follow-up Queen of Wands.
January 5, 2011
Princess of Wands is a one-off which I desperately wish Ringo would follow up on. Not so much for the action, although there is plenty of that - but I have never before read a book where the protagonist is a fundamentalist Christian, draws her strength from that, and expresses her beliefs in a strong way that also powers a good story. It's not a preachier 'better than thou' attitude, it brings in other religions, it just handles the base power of 'drawing on the Lord' in a much different way than portrayed elsewhere, and it works - oh, how it works!
I really enjoyed this book. I want another one!
I really enjoyed this book. I want another one!
October 1, 2012
This really can't be classed as Urban Fantasy, its really a just a script that allows the author to vent his political, cultural and religious views in your face, spittle and all. Sure, there are demons and whatnot to be killed and he moves location to push the somewhat thin staggered plot along before another tirade begins, but it is really secondary to is dislike of (what it seems) anyone who holds any belief or option that is not his.
April 20, 2021
I quite enjoyed this story of a dedicated religious soccer mom who is drawn by fate or a higher power into the fight against supernatural evil. Lots of horrific terrors, gun fights, magic and general butt kicking. The book is broken into two separate stories. While hardly comedy, the the second story in particular does contain a lot of in jokes about, fringe culture, geeks, science fiction fandom and certain authors which a casual reader might not "get".
April 8, 2014
I have truly enjoyed both books in this series. The characters are delightful. What a great concept for a series. One thing, if you and Barbara are going somewhere, its best that you do the driving!
May 28, 2017
Would have gotten 3 stars, but the convention story was too obviously getting cheap shots and fantasy revenge on real authors and editors. Sounded far too childish.
Main character annoying.
Main character annoying.
Read
February 1, 2021(review written 10/17/07)
Soccer Mom goes Rambo? This seems to be the underlying theme of Princess of Wands, by John Ringo. As always, Ringo writes fast-paced action that entertains, but there's just a few flaws in the book that niggle at my mind.
We have Barbara Everette, a "good Christian" woman, who was raised as a military brat, and whose father instilled in her a penchant for martial arts mastery and firearms proficiency. One weekend, while on a solo "vacation" from her husband and three kids, she gets forced into a conflict with a minor demigod who has begun gathering worshipers down in the Louisiana bayou. Her strong faith in God and Christ protects her from his evil influence, and allows her to manifest some pretty strong offensive "magic" skills and take him down. She's then recruited by a secret organization that battles supernatural evil creatures.
The first thing that sorta bugs me in this story is the cardboard cutout nature of some of the supporting characters, especially her husband. He's briefly summarized as a typical sports obsessed, helpless in the kitchen (and probably in the bedroom), self-absorbed twit. When his wife tells him she's taking off for the weekend by herself, he can't even rouse himself from the playoff game he's watching on tv to ask her any questions except, "Who's going to cook for us?" Same scene replayed later when she's leaving for a week to go to a training camp for paladins.
I have a tough time believing that a heroine as strong, intelligent and capable as Barbara is ever going to settle for someone this dopey. I also have a tough time believing that husbands that shallow actually exist, except in sitcoms. Their three kids in the story are pretty much just scenery, as well.
There's a conversation about going armed whenever leaving the house where Barbara says something like, "I'm pretty sure I would have been date-raped a couple of times, if the guys I was with hadn't known I was packing (a pistol) and wasn't afraid to use it" GMAFB! Not only would she not get date-raped, she wouldn't ever get asked out a 2nd time. How in the world did she snag a husband, with that attitude?
Barbara remembers being attacked by a knife-wielding rapist when she was in college, and disabling him quickly with her martial arts skills. She's also spent a lot of time at the gun range over the years, perfecting her target shooting. Ok, both plausible, I suppose. I'm not sure how well this translates into true combat skills when she finally faces a half-dozen armed thugs attacking her through the window of her hotel room, but she's able to take them all out without taking any damage, herself. Supernatural aid?
I was sorta irritated that Ringo introduces a cop character named Kelly, gives him way more fleshing out than any other character in the book, then kills him off halfway through. Wouldn't it be nice for a supernatural crime fighter to have a friend on the police force in later installments?
I'm not sure if Ringo's playing it straight or not in this book, but one of the themes that emerge is that not all Christians are the judgemental, holier-than-thou sorts that get skewered in the media. Or, at least, Barbara is not, and she claims there are others who aren't, either. We don't meet any of them in this book, though. Makes me wonder...again, a cardboard cutout view of the Christian and soccer mom life. We don't hear about any of Barbara's friends, who presumably would be that sort of Christian, and that she'd be close to. We are briefly informed that she was PTA president, and a couple other things, but still she has no close friends that appear in the story. Doesn't seem to have any commitments to worry about when she goes jaunting off on the weekend or for the whole week, like attending a bible study, teaching a sunday school class, or anything community oriented. Doesn't sound like a "good Christian woman" to me, but hey, I'm funny that way.
Ringo's got this ecumenical thing going on with the secret organization. Most of its members are not Christians, but mostly Wiccans, worshipers of Norse Gods, oriental gods, etc. There's an ongoing dialog about how all of the "good" gods are perhaps just facets of "The Light" and the christian or "White God" is another, albeit extremely powerful one. This is so totally in conflict with Christian doctrine, i.e., "I am the Way...no man comes to the Father but through Me.", that I begin to think the point of this book is more an anti-apologetic than not. He seems to be attempting to reconcile christianity with all those other "equally valid" religions out there. Very New Age.
Anyway, the story is pretty good, the concept interesting, but I know that Mr. Ringo can do a much better job of plotting, characterization, and making the details of the story consistent. If he's going to engage our brains by introducing philosophical discussions, he needs to keep the rest of the story more believable, so we're not distracted.
Soccer Mom goes Rambo? This seems to be the underlying theme of Princess of Wands, by John Ringo. As always, Ringo writes fast-paced action that entertains, but there's just a few flaws in the book that niggle at my mind.
We have Barbara Everette, a "good Christian" woman, who was raised as a military brat, and whose father instilled in her a penchant for martial arts mastery and firearms proficiency. One weekend, while on a solo "vacation" from her husband and three kids, she gets forced into a conflict with a minor demigod who has begun gathering worshipers down in the Louisiana bayou. Her strong faith in God and Christ protects her from his evil influence, and allows her to manifest some pretty strong offensive "magic" skills and take him down. She's then recruited by a secret organization that battles supernatural evil creatures.
The first thing that sorta bugs me in this story is the cardboard cutout nature of some of the supporting characters, especially her husband. He's briefly summarized as a typical sports obsessed, helpless in the kitchen (and probably in the bedroom), self-absorbed twit. When his wife tells him she's taking off for the weekend by herself, he can't even rouse himself from the playoff game he's watching on tv to ask her any questions except, "Who's going to cook for us?" Same scene replayed later when she's leaving for a week to go to a training camp for paladins.
I have a tough time believing that a heroine as strong, intelligent and capable as Barbara is ever going to settle for someone this dopey. I also have a tough time believing that husbands that shallow actually exist, except in sitcoms. Their three kids in the story are pretty much just scenery, as well.
There's a conversation about going armed whenever leaving the house where Barbara says something like, "I'm pretty sure I would have been date-raped a couple of times, if the guys I was with hadn't known I was packing (a pistol) and wasn't afraid to use it" GMAFB! Not only would she not get date-raped, she wouldn't ever get asked out a 2nd time. How in the world did she snag a husband, with that attitude?
Barbara remembers being attacked by a knife-wielding rapist when she was in college, and disabling him quickly with her martial arts skills. She's also spent a lot of time at the gun range over the years, perfecting her target shooting. Ok, both plausible, I suppose. I'm not sure how well this translates into true combat skills when she finally faces a half-dozen armed thugs attacking her through the window of her hotel room, but she's able to take them all out without taking any damage, herself. Supernatural aid?
I was sorta irritated that Ringo introduces a cop character named Kelly, gives him way more fleshing out than any other character in the book, then kills him off halfway through. Wouldn't it be nice for a supernatural crime fighter to have a friend on the police force in later installments?
I'm not sure if Ringo's playing it straight or not in this book, but one of the themes that emerge is that not all Christians are the judgemental, holier-than-thou sorts that get skewered in the media. Or, at least, Barbara is not, and she claims there are others who aren't, either. We don't meet any of them in this book, though. Makes me wonder...again, a cardboard cutout view of the Christian and soccer mom life. We don't hear about any of Barbara's friends, who presumably would be that sort of Christian, and that she'd be close to. We are briefly informed that she was PTA president, and a couple other things, but still she has no close friends that appear in the story. Doesn't seem to have any commitments to worry about when she goes jaunting off on the weekend or for the whole week, like attending a bible study, teaching a sunday school class, or anything community oriented. Doesn't sound like a "good Christian woman" to me, but hey, I'm funny that way.
Ringo's got this ecumenical thing going on with the secret organization. Most of its members are not Christians, but mostly Wiccans, worshipers of Norse Gods, oriental gods, etc. There's an ongoing dialog about how all of the "good" gods are perhaps just facets of "The Light" and the christian or "White God" is another, albeit extremely powerful one. This is so totally in conflict with Christian doctrine, i.e., "I am the Way...no man comes to the Father but through Me.", that I begin to think the point of this book is more an anti-apologetic than not. He seems to be attempting to reconcile christianity with all those other "equally valid" religions out there. Very New Age.
Anyway, the story is pretty good, the concept interesting, but I know that Mr. Ringo can do a much better job of plotting, characterization, and making the details of the story consistent. If he's going to engage our brains by introducing philosophical discussions, he needs to keep the rest of the story more believable, so we're not distracted.
December 13, 2022
This book made me feel like I was going to die.
With every page, I could feel my brain cells slowly withering, my faith in humanity leaking away. Every time I cringed, I came closer to death. Or, at least, to throwing the book across the room and screaming into my pillow.
It's not that the concept of the story itself was bad. I actually thought it was quite interesting. After all, if the blurb on the back hadn't caught my eye, why would I have read it in the first place?
However, the execution was terrible. The writing was just horrific, and the way the narrative was set out was haphazard and ineffective. Interesting ideas were slaughtered once they reached the page.
And the characters...I didn't mind Kelly too much, even though he was a caricature. But the problem with Barbara, on the other hand, was that she went beyond simple. Many men can write women, but Mr. John Ringo is not a man who can do this successfully. Barb was also a caricature, in the worst way, where the deconstruction that could have happened was instead reinforced by her simplicity and boringness.
And then there was the religious aspect. Christian fantasy can be done effectively, and even though I'm not religious anymore, I still don't mind stories that are, because if done effectively, they can actually really add something to the tale. But Princess of Wands was not an example of that. Instead, Barb's constant preaching was irritating, and the way religion was put into the story...It just didn't work.
Even worse was the way it was used to put down others, because according to this book, Islam is evil. What happened to respecting one anothers' beliefs, Mr. Ringo? And compile that with the plethora of other borderline bigoted comments throughout...Not only was this book poorly written, but it was self-righteous and needlessly judgmental.
The whole thing was just embarrassing.
With every page, I could feel my brain cells slowly withering, my faith in humanity leaking away. Every time I cringed, I came closer to death. Or, at least, to throwing the book across the room and screaming into my pillow.
It's not that the concept of the story itself was bad. I actually thought it was quite interesting. After all, if the blurb on the back hadn't caught my eye, why would I have read it in the first place?
However, the execution was terrible. The writing was just horrific, and the way the narrative was set out was haphazard and ineffective. Interesting ideas were slaughtered once they reached the page.
And the characters...I didn't mind Kelly too much, even though he was a caricature. But the problem with Barbara, on the other hand, was that she went beyond simple. Many men can write women, but Mr. John Ringo is not a man who can do this successfully. Barb was also a caricature, in the worst way, where the deconstruction that could have happened was instead reinforced by her simplicity and boringness.
And then there was the religious aspect. Christian fantasy can be done effectively, and even though I'm not religious anymore, I still don't mind stories that are, because if done effectively, they can actually really add something to the tale. But Princess of Wands was not an example of that. Instead, Barb's constant preaching was irritating, and the way religion was put into the story...It just didn't work.
Even worse was the way it was used to put down others, because according to this book, Islam is evil. What happened to respecting one anothers' beliefs, Mr. Ringo? And compile that with the plethora of other borderline bigoted comments throughout...Not only was this book poorly written, but it was self-righteous and needlessly judgmental.
The whole thing was just embarrassing.
April 3, 2020
I can't remember the last time I read a book of any type with a badass female Christian heroine. Barbara Everette is an expert marksman, martial artist, housewife, mother, and devout Episcopalian. Those elements come together to create a heroine who is tough and ready to fight for a good cause. She channels the power of God to battle evil, whether she's facing a demon, a necromancer, or a wannabe cultist.
The book is divided into three parts. In the first, Barb needs some time away from her regular life, with her lump of a husband Mark. She goes to Lousiana and finds herself embroiled in a case involving mysterious murders that may be connected to an ancient evil. As Barb helps to solve the case, she discovers she has power she has never imagined.
In the second part, Barb attends a course to train her in her new role as a warrior against evil. She meets a variety of people on the side of Light, mostly not Christians. Her willingness to tolerate other beliefs allows her to bond with them, and after the course, she accepts a mission. She, along with an FBI agent briefed on "Special Circumstances" cases and a Freya worshipper named Janea, are looking for a necromancer responsible for multiple gruesome murders.
The third part tells the story of a softball coach whose cultish aspirations may be endangering Barb's daughter Alice's very soul.
Yes, the book can be rather prosy about political and cultural views, but kudos to Ringo for writing a female Christian character who isn't a total wimp. Barb is intelligent, powerful, and strong in her faith. She is a rescuer, not a damsel in distress, and she does it all without sacrificing her feminity (even though the constant references to her beauty and shapeliness do feel gratuitous.)
The book is divided into three parts. In the first, Barb needs some time away from her regular life, with her lump of a husband Mark. She goes to Lousiana and finds herself embroiled in a case involving mysterious murders that may be connected to an ancient evil. As Barb helps to solve the case, she discovers she has power she has never imagined.
In the second part, Barb attends a course to train her in her new role as a warrior against evil. She meets a variety of people on the side of Light, mostly not Christians. Her willingness to tolerate other beliefs allows her to bond with them, and after the course, she accepts a mission. She, along with an FBI agent briefed on "Special Circumstances" cases and a Freya worshipper named Janea, are looking for a necromancer responsible for multiple gruesome murders.
The third part tells the story of a softball coach whose cultish aspirations may be endangering Barb's daughter Alice's very soul.
Yes, the book can be rather prosy about political and cultural views, but kudos to Ringo for writing a female Christian character who isn't a total wimp. Barb is intelligent, powerful, and strong in her faith. She is a rescuer, not a damsel in distress, and she does it all without sacrificing her feminity (even though the constant references to her beauty and shapeliness do feel gratuitous.)
December 2, 2019
This was my second reading of the book. There are a lot of monster hunting stories out there. Especially the Buffy type, where a 'normal' girl/woman discovers she has special powers to fight demons. This one is a little different. the main character is a Christian and it is her faith in the Lord that gives her the power to fight the demons. The nice thing is she is accepting of others even if their belief or life was much different than hers (as long as they are not evil). One of her newest friends is a former stripper than follows a Norse goddess of love/sex. The part that is hard to believe is that her family remains clueless to her demon hunting (for the most part).
October 11, 2019
This was kind of lame from my point of view. Although I will admit I have a bit of a problem with books that are our current world, where faith in God/gods is required to survive/prosper. I don't really have a problem with that same thing if it's a fantasy world, which probably says something iffy about myself. I have read some where it doesn't bother me(in our current world), but that's rare.
It probably has something to do with separation of church and state stuff that I grew up believing in. And perhaps that I'm an atheist is another thing.
It probably has something to do with separation of church and state stuff that I grew up believing in. And perhaps that I'm an atheist is another thing.
July 24, 2018
A wonderful read, and this is at least my 5th one. A different take on the supernatural, and one that deeply intrigues me. Plenty of action to enjoy, and enough surprises to make this enjoyable, and revel in with another reading.
All that said, it is a string of 2 Novellas and a short story, but I can work with that when there is character continuity. And I certainly enjoy the combination of the arcane and ecumenical belief more than most people.
Recommended highly.
All that said, it is a string of 2 Novellas and a short story, but I can work with that when there is character continuity. And I certainly enjoy the combination of the arcane and ecumenical belief more than most people.
Recommended highly.
September 9, 2017
Felt good to have read.
1. Very entertaining addition to the urban fantasy genre.
2. Though I'm not really Christian, I have a resentment towards the over used trope of the close minded, naive Christian fool. Barbara Everette is a character more in line with what I have experienced them to be.
Believable characters in exciting situations.
Loved it.
1. Very entertaining addition to the urban fantasy genre.
2. Though I'm not really Christian, I have a resentment towards the over used trope of the close minded, naive Christian fool. Barbara Everette is a character more in line with what I have experienced them to be.
Believable characters in exciting situations.
Loved it.
September 20, 2019
Started good but failed to deliver
First story was good and promising but instead of developing it author started to describe all his friends and foes from some writers workshop.
As a result no character development, not lot of action and not very good detective story with lots of sketchy characters. Second book is even worse.
First story was good and promising but instead of developing it author started to describe all his friends and foes from some writers workshop.
As a result no character development, not lot of action and not very good detective story with lots of sketchy characters. Second book is even worse.
November 21, 2015
Despite my annoyance at all the religious talk, it worked out much better.
The protagonist is strong, not in her physical abilities aspect but in her mentality and personality. She is a housewife and believes that her husband is the man of the house yet she still holds and retains her own self. She is not your smartest know everything type of protagonist. But she is also not your dimwit that pushes the plot forward through "fucking up" (pardon my language) and being stupid. She's definitely bright and smart enough to see things and think in a way most general mundane people, like myself, wouldn't.
Plot wise, it's alright. I enjoyed how the book is broken up. Three stories equals three parts. Distinct and definite with an epilogue too. Part 1 is the coming of age. Part 2 is training up. Part 3 is an ending and showing how she copes with life.
I can't remember the last time, which wasn't that many anyways, I read a "fantasy" or "urban fantasy" with any mystery involved. Well, at least, not in English. Well, there might be some out there shining itself to me but shadowed by a thick wall of "romance". I do hate the modern "romance".
John Ringo wrote this in a rather fast paced way. Things come and go without too much pause or thinking. The whole plot happens and finishes within days. He also didn't do much descriptive writing, which I call superficial writing because that's what descriptive writing is, masking everything over a layer of I don't know what.
I like to do Pros and Cons but those are subjective and not facts, so just a warning. So my Pro can be your Con. :)
Pro:
- Urban Fantasy with some Mystery element to it.
- Rather than boring modern Romance, where you have any age of girls/women thinking about kissing and sleeping with any good looking guy at their first or third sight, there's none.
- A strong female protagonist, not your "omg, I screwed up because I'm too stupid or couldn't make up my mind" kind of gal.
- Fast paced with pretty good action scenes.
Con:
- Waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much praying to God and being Christian. There's a bunch of other religions but those are okay, not elaborated.
- A bunch of politics and other not-so-friendly opinions and statements of others. If you're open minded, then it just slides. It works even better if you listen to the Audiobook. Not a major thing to me though.
- Near the end of the book, the protagonist, Barbara, got quite a bit of a jump with her personality.
- I liked how the book is chopped into three parts and shows different stages. But some might not.
- Little to no character developments, characters are as presented. Barbara is Barbara (knows guns, martial arts, housewife, etc). Mark is a lazy considerate husband. Alice is cute but annoying. Janea only cares about her looks, whines, attention whore, call girl and nice. Even in Book 2 where Ringo talks about Janea's history, it's still not deep and good development. It's just presented as is.
- I don't get Janea and Barbara. First off, I don't get how a fully devoted Christian can be attracted and wanted to be good friends with a part time call girl and exotic dancer. Being open minded with other religion is alright, but being that open minded is just not right. Even if Barbara claims she's not the type to try to convert others, it's just not right that she's associating herself to that depth with Janea.
I didn't really search into Norse or the Bible, but I really disliked how Freyja, who was supposed to be the "party girl" and slept with every guy, equates to a call girl, exotic dancer and a somewhat nymphomaniac. And only that. That's really all I see out of Janea, sorry to be shallow. She's knowledgeable and smart with a good personality. But beyond that, she doesn't really do much other than adding a very beautiful, hot, sexy or whatever call girl into the picture. What happened to the "love, fertility (other than herself), gold, seiðr, war, and death" part of Freyja? I really don't see Janea loving anyone other than herself. Liking someone as good friends, yes but not "love". Her magic is just minor mind alterations as compared to seiðr. There's near zero war and death potential while gold is obvious to be opted out though. Only war and death attribute is Janea likes fighting to the death and thinks death in battle is great.
I lost track and forgot other Pros and Cons.
At the end of the day, I truly liked this book despite all the minor annoying details. I do recommend listening to it. I find that if you listen to an Audiobook, you'll skip over a lot of the annoying minor details. And if it's a book you don't like, you can get over it. And yes, there are quite a bit of aggravating parts about this book but, at least to me, it's not the worst thing I've listened. I mean, the idea is great. The main characters, Barbara and Janea, are great with one being serious and the other being silly (even if there's no real character developments). The plot isn't groundbreaking but it's still solid. It's just the minor details, the politics, the religions, and a few other things that gets on people's nerve. If you can ignore it, like I did, it's great.
The protagonist is strong, not in her physical abilities aspect but in her mentality and personality. She is a housewife and believes that her husband is the man of the house yet she still holds and retains her own self. She is not your smartest know everything type of protagonist. But she is also not your dimwit that pushes the plot forward through "fucking up" (pardon my language) and being stupid. She's definitely bright and smart enough to see things and think in a way most general mundane people, like myself, wouldn't.
Plot wise, it's alright. I enjoyed how the book is broken up. Three stories equals three parts. Distinct and definite with an epilogue too. Part 1 is the coming of age. Part 2 is training up. Part 3 is an ending and showing how she copes with life.
I can't remember the last time, which wasn't that many anyways, I read a "fantasy" or "urban fantasy" with any mystery involved. Well, at least, not in English. Well, there might be some out there shining itself to me but shadowed by a thick wall of "romance". I do hate the modern "romance".
John Ringo wrote this in a rather fast paced way. Things come and go without too much pause or thinking. The whole plot happens and finishes within days. He also didn't do much descriptive writing, which I call superficial writing because that's what descriptive writing is, masking everything over a layer of I don't know what.
I like to do Pros and Cons but those are subjective and not facts, so just a warning. So my Pro can be your Con. :)
Pro:
- Urban Fantasy with some Mystery element to it.
- Rather than boring modern Romance, where you have any age of girls/women thinking about kissing and sleeping with any good looking guy at their first or third sight, there's none.
- A strong female protagonist, not your "omg, I screwed up because I'm too stupid or couldn't make up my mind" kind of gal.
- Fast paced with pretty good action scenes.
Con:
- Waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much praying to God and being Christian. There's a bunch of other religions but those are okay, not elaborated.
- A bunch of politics and other not-so-friendly opinions and statements of others. If you're open minded, then it just slides. It works even better if you listen to the Audiobook. Not a major thing to me though.
- Near the end of the book, the protagonist, Barbara, got quite a bit of a jump with her personality.
- I liked how the book is chopped into three parts and shows different stages. But some might not.
- Little to no character developments, characters are as presented. Barbara is Barbara (knows guns, martial arts, housewife, etc). Mark is a lazy considerate husband. Alice is cute but annoying. Janea only cares about her looks, whines, attention whore, call girl and nice. Even in Book 2 where Ringo talks about Janea's history, it's still not deep and good development. It's just presented as is.
- I don't get Janea and Barbara. First off, I don't get how a fully devoted Christian can be attracted and wanted to be good friends with a part time call girl and exotic dancer. Being open minded with other religion is alright, but being that open minded is just not right. Even if Barbara claims she's not the type to try to convert others, it's just not right that she's associating herself to that depth with Janea.
I didn't really search into Norse or the Bible, but I really disliked how Freyja, who was supposed to be the "party girl" and slept with every guy, equates to a call girl, exotic dancer and a somewhat nymphomaniac. And only that. That's really all I see out of Janea, sorry to be shallow. She's knowledgeable and smart with a good personality. But beyond that, she doesn't really do much other than adding a very beautiful, hot, sexy or whatever call girl into the picture. What happened to the "love, fertility (other than herself), gold, seiðr, war, and death" part of Freyja? I really don't see Janea loving anyone other than herself. Liking someone as good friends, yes but not "love". Her magic is just minor mind alterations as compared to seiðr. There's near zero war and death potential while gold is obvious to be opted out though. Only war and death attribute is Janea likes fighting to the death and thinks death in battle is great.
I lost track and forgot other Pros and Cons.
At the end of the day, I truly liked this book despite all the minor annoying details. I do recommend listening to it. I find that if you listen to an Audiobook, you'll skip over a lot of the annoying minor details. And if it's a book you don't like, you can get over it. And yes, there are quite a bit of aggravating parts about this book but, at least to me, it's not the worst thing I've listened. I mean, the idea is great. The main characters, Barbara and Janea, are great with one being serious and the other being silly (even if there's no real character developments). The plot isn't groundbreaking but it's still solid. It's just the minor details, the politics, the religions, and a few other things that gets on people's nerve. If you can ignore it, like I did, it's great.
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