The Tuloriad

Legacy of the Aldenata #12

by John Ringo, Tom Kratman

The Enemy of My Enemy . . .

Of the once innumerable battle clans of the Posleen only a handful survive. And that on the sufferance of a group of despised Indowy and Himmit. Plucked from the maelstrom on Earth they are cast out into the eternal blackness of the stars with only a slighltly insane Indowy and a computer virus to guide them.

What follows is a trail of tears and remembrance as the Posleen retrace the footsteps of their ancestors in a search for their homeworld. A search to determine if the Posleen posess the one thing no Human would give them credit for: A soul.

Returned to their beginnings, the question remains: Is there a new path for the Tular Posleen?

At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Action, War

371 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

John 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.

Reviews

[Paul Weimer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC from the Amazon Vine program.

The Tuloriad is an ancillary novel in the Legacy of Aldenata (Posleen) universe of John Ringo. The Tuloriad was written in collaboration between Ringo and Tom Kratman.

I only knew the basics of the Posleen universe and the premise before taking up this novel. In the Posleen series, alien races make first contact with man, in an effort to manipulate them as warriors against the galaxy-wide threat of the centauroid Posleen, an aggressive warrior species. The novels in the series, in its main lines and its side branches, explore the war between the Posleen and the humans, and other conflicts as well.

The Tuloriad is set after the Posleen have been evicted, with enormous damage, from their occupation of portions of the Earth.The novel follows two strands--a group of humans sent by the Pope to try and give the Posleen a human faith in order to try and civilize them, and a group of the Posleen fleeing after the disaster of the invasion of Earth.

While the military SF aspects of the book and some of the technological speculations and ideas are most interesting (high tech halberdiers for the win!), the rest of the novel is weak and underwritten. Although while I found the sentient embodied AI the most interesting single character, I didn't feel the human "mission" to the Posleen as interesting as the Posleen exodus thread. They were necessary to the finale, but otherwise could have been excised completely.

There was a good novel in here, or bits of one, but its hard to find.

The other problem with the novel is the afterword. Niven says that the technical term for someone who attributes the POV of a novel and its characters to its author is "idiot". However, the afterword makes it clear that the tone and themes of the novel is, indeed, a feature and not a bug.

There are novels and authors who manage to use their faith and religious beliefs in a positive and constructive way.

In this novel, and especially in its afterward, the authors instead use it like a bully club against anyone of divergent beliefs, Muslims and non-believers in particular. If I had read the afterword first, as I sometimes do, I would not have continued with the novel at all. Which is a shame because, despite the weaknesses I said above, there are a few things to find and enjoy in the novel and I would have missed them.

I find I have no desire to return to Ringo's Posleen universe, although I suspect devotees of the universe will enjoy this volume far more than I did.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It was quite different than the “other” books in the series involving the Posleen. I would say it continues the “humanizing” of the alien invaders begun in Yellow Eyes while attempting to explore the “historical heritage” of this alien race. It bounces around “in time” a bit between two story threads that alternate every other chapter until toward the end of the book. It has elements of humor scattered throughout the book; some of the humor is pretty gritty and some of it actually is funny/humorous. I thought it was a decent book about two races who had been bitter enemies trying to find a way by which they could live at peace with one another. I also thought the authors did a decent job in trying to have tell a story about various religions of the Earth attempting to proselytize an alien species. I thought it was well-written and told in an entertaining way (that, at times was gritty in parts).

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would the first time I read it when it came out, and I still enjoy it quite a bit today. Each of the “Sidestories” does a nice job of expanding upon what was revealed of the Posleen in Ringo’s original “tetralogy” as well as how humanity reacts (reacted?) to the alien invaders. The Posleen were originally introduced as the “ultimate monsters from the dark” in the first two books, but Ringo seemed to have changed his mind about them as the attitudes towards the alien invaders held by some of the major characters changed over the course of the novels (especially Major Mike O’Neal). That change (growth?) continues in this novel as different characters who suffered much at the hands of the Posleen now seek a form of reconciliation between the two races (even if the Posleen reject the various human religious beliefs, the other “ultimate” goal is one of peaceful co-existence, if possible).

I also enjoyed the various “religious” discussions throughout the book, as well as that most of the “major” religions seemed to be treated decently/fairly. I did find it funny that the surviving Jewish sects refused to send any “missionaries” to the Posleen because they did not wish to be blamed for anything the Posleen did if the Posleen were to have converted to Judaism. Their point-of-view was that they, as a people/race, had been blamed for enough of the world’s problems over time and did not want there to be any chance for them to be blamed for anything the Posleen might do in the future after being exposed to Judaism. It struck me as funny, as well as the discussion over “kosher Posleen” and what might be considered “kosher” for a Posleen. It seemed like the Muslim representative had some interesting discussions with Tulo, as did Father Dwyer. It was also interesting to me that some of the Posleen would go on to develop their own religion, based on statues and some reliefs that they found on some of the worlds they visited. Ultimately, though, the Posleen were won over to Roman Catholicism because of the Swiss Guards that came with the Salem. The Posleen are a martial race, and they recognized a kindred spirit within the Swiss Guards, who were both religious and militant in nature. It was kind of “funny”, though, that while Shinto adherents were also mentioned as being one of the larger religious contingents sent on this “mission of mercy”, they were not an integral part of the story. In fact, none of the other smaller factions who came along were an integral part of the story. They were just along for the ride, apparently.

I also liked that Christians were not portrayed as crazy whackjobs, nutcases, or psychos. I also appreciated that Christians were not portrayed as being Nazis in disguise. All too often, Christians who are portrayed as extremists in fiction and science-fiction are implied to be representative of every Christian on the planet. There are people who call themselves "Christians" who have odd views, and there are people who claim to be "Christians" yet live hypocritical lives; I will not deny that. But it is intellectually dishonest to portray every Christian as crazy or fascist when that is not the case. Also, it is difficult to portray any religion (especially one that would have difficulty assimilating an alien species) in science fiction stories, so I thought the authors did an incredible job at portraying credible responses by "conservative religious leaders" to an alien species that sought to annihilate humanity and terraform Earth to suit their own needs.

To go with that, I enjoyed the portrayal of the lone Muslim in the team of "missionaries" aboard the Salem. He was portrayed as being a logical, reasonable person who sought peaceful reconciliation with the Posleen as well as the "right" (privilege) to be able to proselytize amongst the Posleen race. I enjoyed his conversations with Father Dwyer over the course of the novel; I thought they were well-written and al Rashid reminded me of some of my former friends and classmates from college who were Muslim. One of the best scenes in the book has Dwyer and al Rashid consoling Guano over the lost of Guano's wife.

There was one thing that I really, really, really disliked in the book. Brasingala’s death (190-192) was a needless, pointless, and stupid death in the book. The only reason for the death of Tulo's son/bodyguard was to portray Brasingala as a being of honor and to generate sympathy/regret over his death in the reader. Earlier, Tulo had ordered Brasingala and his troops to get their flying tenar out of the way due to the massed fire that was about to occur against the mindless horde (176). Not all of the pilots made it out of the path of danger; Brasingala ordered his AID to take control of the now-pilotless tenar and continue flying them in formation with the survivors (177). He could easily have taken one of the pilotless tenar with him to save Tulo; Tulo could have jumped into the empty tenar, taken control, and flown to safety with his son/bodyguard flying next to him. I never realized it in prior readings, but I had to reread the section as to why Brasingala had ordered his AID to take control of the pilotless in the first place. So this might be why the fact that there were empty tenar available for Tulo to use stood out this time as opposed to my missing that "fact" in prior readings.

I thought the authors did a decent job at being able to generate “sorrow” or empathy throughout the course of the book for the Posleen. When Finba’anaga discovers the core of the partially completed battleglobe is still “alive” [never turned off], he learns quite a bit about the Posleen and the Aldenata. I felt the authors did an excellent job in developing a “character” for the battleglobe even though “he” only appears briefly in the story. I was saddened that Hope Bringer could not be saved (finished) and brought on the journey with the rest of Tulo’s clan. The last thing Hope Bringer says before being deactivated is, “Thus ends the agony of my long and intolerable loneliness. Bless you” (238). It was very sad. Another scene that I thought was well-written was when Tulo looks upon a statue that was discovered in pieces and had been repaired. Mesmerized at the artistic beauty which his ancestors had been able to create before Aldenata meddling, he shouts, “We were robbed!” I felt it was another powerful moment, as Tulo realized the Posleen race could have accomplished so much more had the Aldenata not interfered with them as a race and altered them to suit whatever purpose the Aldenata had before being discarded by the Aldenata. I also felt the sorrow that Guano and his son mourning felt over the death of Querida. It was a “sad but powerful” moment in the book.

It was interesting seeing Sally grow as a character over the course of the novel (well, the continuation into this novel after the events of Yellow Eyes]. One of the carryovers from Yellow Eyes was the “O Club” that Daisy had first created then shared with her “sister-ship” Sally. In this novel, Sally contacts one of the AIDs and allows it’s “sentience” to join her in her club. As it is an Aldenata creation, it mirrors how the Aldenata must look (or see themselves) and it is described as, essentially, a “sentient violet turnip” (296-297) which struck me as hilarious. What was even more interesting to me was that the viral coding used to send the Posleen band of escapees to their “homeworld” was a Himmit virus/code. When this discovery is made, a “Himmit” artificial intelligence reveals itself to Sally and the AS in the “O Club” (372); its description is dramatically different from the Himmit, and it claims it is not like any other kind of Himmit that they have ever seen, which means it is an “open thread” that was never finished or tied up (yet) in a subsequent novel. Sally does grow as a character, though, as she comes to accept Guano as a “person” and valuable member of her crew as much as she considers Guano’s family to be her friends and a part of her crew as well. She even reaches the point where she is willing to consider some form of reconciliation and peaceful co-existence with the former alien invaders. Granted, this is just “one band” of the Posleen; there are still plenty more in the Universe living out the sad life the Aldenata programmed them to have.

There were various “loose ends” and “new threads” that were left undone by the end of the book. In addition, considering the “final” book in the series involving the Hedren, it is somewhat a shame that the loose ends in this book (and in Hell’s Faire) have been left to dangle. For example, in this book, there is the “new” Himmit AI that is introduced in the “O Club” – it is clearly more aggressive than the Himmit are portrayed as being, which would seem to imply it may or may not be a different species or branch of the Himmit race. Who is this being? Is it a representative of an unknown branch of the Himmit?

At the end of this book, several Posleen return with the Salem because they wish to explore and study some of the planets visited by the Salem and the discoveries made by the humans more thoroughly. Some of the Posleen also wish to return to Earth to study Roman Catholicism further as well as to be able to return to their new homeworld to be better equipped to meeting their people’s spiritual needs and answering questions. What happened to these Posleen? They are never referenced in Into the Storm, which takes place after this book. Perhaps if Ringo had continued the series after the initial Hedren invasion, we would have learned what happened to the Posleen students and the race of “quasi-peaceful” Posleen.

There were some others, but now my memory is failing me. Hahahah

I thought it was interesting how Tulo and his friend, Goloswin, discussed the direction the Posleen invasion fleets had been taking. They discussed how if the humans had not stopped them at Earth, then the Posleen would have continued heading into a “dead end” of that arm of the spiral galaxy and died as a species. As it was, because the humans stopped the Posleen “advance” the race was saved from extinction. Tulo commented that one could almost say they owed the humans their very lives. It struck me as funny.

This book also explains “the Net” in further detail and shows how the AIDs essentially “control” the Posleen and act as arbiters and judges. It was interesting how the AIDs claimed they could not be held accountable for the actions of the Posleen; the AIDs were more “benevolent overseers” and had no direct control over the Posleen. What the Posleen had become was a direct result of Aldenata meddling and the AIDs squarely placed the blame on them.

I also enjoyed the descriptions of the various planets visited by the two crews. It was a fascinating exploration of the forgotten past of the Posleen and a glimpse at what they might have become had the Aldenata not interfered with their race. There were some interesting discoveries made, be it buried pyramids, long-forgotten and long-lost artwork, or even statues buried under the “sands” of time. It was equally interesting that they may or may not have discovered a “primary” planet of the Aldenata that had been modified to specifically meet the needs of the Posleen race. I thought it interesting how the Posleen reacted when they discovered this planet that seemed “right” to them and for them, how this planet “fit” them perfectly even to the point of having grains grown that met their dietary needs far better than any other organism, be it flora or fauna, ever could.

I also thought it would have been “awesome” if they had taken the time to fully rebuild the buried battleglobe so that it could have joined them on their journey to their new home. At the same time, I think it says something about what the Posleen were capable of, that they could build a sentient intelligence that did not go mad or insane like the AID that was merged with the Des Moines; that AID had “only been” left on for a period of time that was far shorter than what the Hope Bringer experienced in terms of solitude, of being alone for millennia.

Overall, it was a fun book to reread and revisit. I enjoyed it. It was quite different than the prior books in the series (especially those dealing with the Posleen). It was well-written, it was entertaining, and it had elements of humor in it that made me life. I would probably rate it as a 3.5 - 3.7 star on the scale, maybe even 3.8, some of it was so well done. That being the case, I will bump it up to four stars, rounded up. I enjoyed (re)reading it.

[Rick Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really - really - enjoyed this series. But Ringo abandoned it after book 12, after killing off a main character in what can only be described as a tragedy that's a setup for the next book. Starts some new sub-plots, ends on a massive cliffhanger, promotes book #13. And - nothing. No book 13, no explanation. Nothing. A slap in the face to all his fans.

[Craig Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow through the first half. So slow, and uninteresting, that I was going to give this a 3 out of 5, or perhaps lower. I was actually considering putting the series down, in fact. The last half was so good that I bumped the entire book up to a 4 out of 5.

[Scott Mattson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, There is a lot going on in this book. Lots of spirital questions, and hints about what else is going on in the Posleen universe. Lots of actions, great characters, and thought provoking questions.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A feminist believes in equality not domination.

It is pleasing that his later books (Black Tide rising)show a more mature understanding of the many different qualities both men and women bring to a story.

[PCress · Rating 4 out of 5]

joining with another writer made for some interesting change.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secrets of the Posleen Home World Revealed this was a great book, but only if you read the other books first, This has been a great series well worth the read. This was a Good Read.

[Kubany Csongor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Complete bullshit, full garbage story. One of the worst book I ever read.

[Cassandra Brothers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

Rushed as hell to make a couple bucks... Ideas good but the execution was crap.... Not sure what happened to ringo.

[Rlupchurch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betrayed

Loved the series. So disappointed that the authors have decided not to finish the series after I've read 12 books.

[Nancy Agnew · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books in the series.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelfth in the Posleen War (also known as the Legacy of the Aldenata), a military science fiction series. Tuloriad is a bridge book setting us up, I think, for bringing the Posleen in as allies...

It was very confusing at first as it kept jumping around in time and between groups of "people". The story finally settled between two groups: one which the Himmit and Indowy Aelool had helped to escape the Posleen disaster in Panama and the (mostly) human missionaries, led by the U.S.S. Salem (Sally) and Father Dwyer, who went in search of them with the primary focus on our backtracking through the background and history of the Posleen which essentially translates to more information about the Posleen religion.

Guano and his family have a major role to play on the missionary trek while ex-dictator of Panama, Boyd, is set up for his next starring role as the incorruptible supply master performing miracles with the Indowy.

I primarily kept plowing through it because I knew eventually Ringo and Kratman would take me somewhere! Some very interesting info "turns up" about the Aldenata.

I'm confused as to how the end of Tuloriad ties in with Eye of the Storm. Eye ends with the Posleen Emperor (Elect) Gamalsarad receiving a message to Return to Earth but Tulo'stenaloor (in 2028) is still the ruler of the group the Himmit and Indowy helped to escape. It sounds like they are two different groups of Posleen and the start of Tuloriad makes me wonder if the Aldenata are somehow pulling strings...I just have a hard time seeing two groups of Earth-friendly Posleen. I sure hope they're coming up with #13...the suspense is killing me!

[Nathan Balyeat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Kratman and John Ringo have a thorough understanding of what drives people and leaders and that have usually shown that in their books. They create characters that are enjoyable, complex, and interesting while still keeping the plot and actions moving forward. They make a great team that I've always enjoyed reading.

In this one, there's a real exploration of the "human condition" as it relates to religion and choosing to believe or not, making political choices with religious consequences and vice versa. This novel is part of the Posleen universe and part of a much larger, multi-author saga but stands very well on its own.

It might also be one of the best books in the whole series too.

Worth a read if you like heavy speculative politics or if you like military science fiction. A must read if you're into the Posleen universe at all.

[David Broussard · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those that are die hard Aldenata fans, thus is a must read. Our favorite Posleen Tulustentaloor is back. When last we saw him the Indowy Aelool was making him an offer he could not refuse. Now we see what the Band Sidhe want from him...to find the origin of the Posleen and to see if they an change from what the Aldenata did to them. In this installment we learn more about the Posleen, where they came from, and the Aldenata as well. While the story suffers a bit, it reinforces the complexity of a race that initially was about as two dimensional as a sheet of paper. Through these stories, the Posleen have become a rich race as developed as any other race in the universe and in many ways more interesting.

[Andreas · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the Posleen War ends, a small band of Posleen is smuggled off Earth in secret to start their civilization anew. They start on a sort of quest to find a home. At the same time, elements of humanity led by the Catholic Church aim to bring religion to these Posleen, saving their souls and making allies of them.

If you liked the other Posleen books, you will probably enjoy read this one. It doesn’t have much value if you haven’t read them, especially Yellow Eyes. It is reasonably good fun but there are no massive stakes. In some ways it is a setup for the Hedren War. The discussions on the role of religion are reasonably interesting, and superficially contrarian for a science fiction book.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1715

[Jeff Means · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instead of centaurs John Ringo has created a race of horses that have there heads of reptiles, more specifically crocodiles. Now these reptilian horses are doing their damnedest to wipe humanity out of existence along with help (behind the scenes at least...) from humanity's supposed alien allies, so the plot and writing style makes for a great read. So I'd say if you have the time and at points a strong stomach then this book is a real page turner it seemed for me at least to just drag me along for the ride turning the pages all by its self, I'm still amazed that John Ringo can write like he does. Before you start this or any of John's books make sure you have the time for a book that will be damn hard to put down before you are finished with it.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

sigh... I should have checked my GoodReads...

So there I was, rereading the entire series and I saw this as a Kindle eBook. Well since this is the last published book, I had to grab it and read it.

There I was, reading and by the third page, "I've read this before..." and yep, I sure did, two years ago, faithfully logged here too.

Well anyway, I think it's actually a better read, reading it as the 12th (13th?) book in the series.

Now I want to see how this side story gets integrated into the main plot line as the other side stories have... These Posleen and Humans fighting side-by-side? Hum...

[Camilo Emiliano Rosas Echeverria · Rating 2 out of 5]

An enjoyable read if you manage to overcome the racist, misoginist, conservative undertones. The world-building is pleasant, the characters are sympathetic and Kratman knows his trade. Still, is below average in the Aldenata series, and is far worse than Watch on the Rhine: there you could just pretend the chapters with politicians just didn't exist, and you have a very good book. Here the usual Kratman message (liberals are wimps, only god-fearing male conservatives are fighters. And "god-fearing" means Christians: Muslims are pussies) is so tightly intervowen with the narrative that is not possible to separate it. Anyway, if you don't read it, you will miss something.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got to say I love Ringo and Kratman mil-sci-fi. Don't read this book if you havn't read the others in the Aldenata Series that come before it, by both authors.

But if you've read them, then this one is a must read.

There's two timelines in the book that merge into one toward the middle, but those always throw me for a bit until I get into the groove of the story.

The characters are great as are the subplots and minor twists.

If your Posleen story fan and havn't read this one yet, make sure you add it to your list...

[Chris Picchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a indirect link in the Legend of Aldenata series. Of the others I've read in this series, I was 50/50 love/hate, so I did go into this with some trepidation. In this book, the "bad guys" from the series get a chance at redemption. There is a very interesting religious undertone to this book, but it's not preachy. All in all, an enjoyable read, but you HAVE to at least read the 1st three in the series, and the companion book "Yellow Eyes" to really enjoy this book. A good read for the military sci-fi fan.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book in Aldenata-verse!

The overall religious theme of this was brilliant as well. Without getting into the sticky issue of reality of a supreme being, this book looks at how important faith has been in warfare. I put this book at almost the same level as Watch on the Rhine, for the way it deals with morality in warfare.

Odd that a science fiction series can provide greater context for understanding historical facts... Good stuff!

[Eric Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its interesting for those looking to find the back history of the Posleen War Saga. Its not the best, but its good enough. Even Ringo and Kratman playing a more sedate story is good. Plus the theological bits of being missionaries to an alien species that has recently just tried to eat every human on Earth is rather cool.

[Jay Masters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sat in my Google ebook library for a few years before I finally read it this week. I believe I've read everything in this series now. I enjoyed the book because it filled in some additional background details, but I didn't think it was as good as the other books in the series. It was more philosophical with less action than the other books.

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Direct sequel to Yellow Eyes and chronicling the saga of the defeated Posleen war leader, this is the only Posleen novel that held my interest recently and it's relatively independent of the rest of the series

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have enjoyed the books in the story line,you should enjoy this one also.Helps to fill out the story line. Fill in holes of the the other books. A fun read, brings you up to date on some of the people in the other books, fills them out. Overall a realy good read.

[Synobal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like, this book mostly because it deals with the Posleen, and I really like the Posleen and their culture. The religious parts of this book are a bit grating to me and the ending is a bit baffling at me but what ever. I liked this book, it was just a bit silly for me at points.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished over the weekend. Not bad. Bit of a split view with alternating chapters from Posleen and human view. More backstory of Aldenta/Bane Sidhe/Posleen revealed.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pretty entertaining read for the most part, but it does go on the religion path a bit much.

[Jeffster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad... missionaries in space? Meh.....