Yellow Eyes

Posleen War: Sidestories #2

by John Ringo, Tom Kratman

With the alien Posleen invaders advancing on the strategically important Panama Canal, the United States, overstretched as it prepares to defend the U.S. itself, sends a handful of advanced Armored Combat Suits, rejuvenated combat veterans, and three antiquated warships to assist the Panamanians in preventing the canal from falling into enemy hands.

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

624 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

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

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting reading this book after not having read it for several years. Some of it was not quite as "good" as I remembered it being; some if it seemed sillier than I remembered. It builds up to the Posleen invasion, and then bounces around Panama over the course of the invasion. Overall, I still enjoyed the book. It definitely has some gritty moments and the language does alternate between coarse and gritty in parts over the course of the book. It ends with a fascinating essay at the end in which the authors share some of their personal feelings and concerns about "events" they feel are important. I did like how the book fits into the overall "Posleen War Universe" (as it were), as the first four books focused almost exclusively on the United States. I thought it was well-written and follows a "logical progression" as the narrative progresses.

The humor is rather quirky in parts of the book. The authors anthropomorphize several animals from the Darien jungle. I remember laughing the first couple of times I read the book, it was so "weirdly funny" reading about events from the perspective of a poisonous ant, a colony of poisonous ants, a caiman, and a "super jaguar" in regards to a group of Posleen moving through the Darien. This time around, though, it was a bit "jarring" to the narrative to read these "scenes" in the book. On the one hand, I "get it" that the authors were being a bit creative with the writing and trying to inject some humor into what could otherwise have been an exceedingly dark novel nearly EVERYBODY dies!. Instead of describing in boring, banal terms a swarm of ants attacking and overcoming some Posleen normals, the authors chose to portray the assault on the Posleen normals from the perspective of the poisonous ants if the ants were somewhere between "intelligent" and "semi-intelligent" and capable of having emotions. It is funny, but it somehow works.

The caiman was funny on multiple levels. It is described as looking for a meal and swimming amongst the "herd" of Posleen wading and sitting in the warm water, taking a rest break. One of the God Kings (Guanamarioch, "Guano" for short) apparently gets aroused by the soothing sensations of the warm water and has an erection. The caiman naturally thinks Guano's genitalia is a meal and attacks. In the process of trying to separate the caiman from Guano's genitals, a couple of the normals use their boma blades to kill the caiman; in the process, Guano is castrated. Poor Guano! I felt bad for the poor thing! hahahah

Intellectually, I know the ants, caiman, and jaguar do not process thoughts like they did in the book, but it was still humorous to read. It was just so quirky and outright unexpected it seemed to add something to the story.

I did enjoy the relationship between Guanamarioch and Ziramoth. It was funny; it was quirky; it was good-natured. Ziramoth showed Guano that there was more to "just fighting" for the Posleen and that the Posleen could live relatively peaceful lives. Guano's character really seemed to grow under the tutelage of Ziramoth, in my opinion, and I thought it was sad that Ziramoth "had to die" before the end of the tale.

I also thought the ending was funny, how Guano was so desperate to surrender to some "official" military personnel in order to prevent himself from being killed by the chief of a butchered Chocoes tribe. That, and his reaction to the jungle, how he has come to hate it and sneaks into it at times in vain attempts to "kill it" by destroying some trees or hunting caiman.

The story takes place during the "latter portion" of Gust Front and "shortly" thereafter. I thought it was an interesting take on an alien invasion of Panama and how it might transpire. It did not quite end the way I expected or thought it would. I was "heart-broken" the first time I read it; I was so hoping Captain Connors and Lieutenant Diaz would survive! I was shocked when Diaz died, the doubly so when Connors died! I was also angry/frustrated that both of them died; I thought one of them could have survived. This time around, it was not a shock, but I still found myself wishing they had survived.

I also did not expect Morgan to appear like he did at the end. It was "funny" how the authors ended it, too, as if they were trying to hide that Daisy and McNair were alive as well. They do not show up until The Tuloriad and Into the Storm, though, sad to say. I did like that the USS Des Moines was brought back to the surface "after the war was over"; I cannot say why except that I thought it was somehow "fitting" that she be resurrected from the waves.

I like how the USS Des Moines and the USS Salem had AIDs as well as their own "personality gestalt" that eventually bonded with the AIDS to form "living beings." I thought it was also an interesting take on the combining of alien and Terran technologies blended with the emotions, memories, and "ghosts" of each combat vessel. I also thought it interesting that the American battleship USS Texas was described as having some kind of "intelligence" even though it was not hooked up to an AID like the two heavy cruisers were.

I wish the authors had not had the Texas destroyed "so soon" in the story. I would have loved to have seen how the Posleen would have fared against the Texas. Perhaps if the battleship had had a mix of "anti-lander gravity guns" and "normal sixteen-inch guns" it would have lasted longer or fared better? It almost seemed a waste to have the battleship in the story and not have it "do anything", not have it fire its weapons "in anger" against the Posleen. That was probably one of the "weakest" aspects of the story, in my opinion, having such a potent weapon introduced and then it is never utilized.

I still thought the authors did a good job with the two heavy cruisers, describing them and how they might survive most of the encounters with the Posleen forces. I enjoyed reading about the perspectives of the military vessels in regard to their mission and their respective crews as well as their own perspectives on themselves as military vessels. It was an interesting take on artificial intelligences and colloidal hybrids (as it were).

Another "weakness" in the book is that the secret machinations of the Darhel to sabotage the defense of the Earth is revealed to the "heroes" by an AID that was tortured and "broken" before revealing the depravity and duplicity of the Darhel. This revelation is passed on up the chain-of-command, that the Darhel cannot be trusted and have ulterior motives. Now, this story does take place toward the end of Gust Front, so it is not like the Americans or Fleet could have done much with the information at that point. It will be interesting to see what happens in the last two books of Ringo's original series, as this revelation has been retroactively fitted into the overall narrative.

In addition, considering how the humans originally reacted to negative revelations about the Darhel and how they were "short-changing" the humans, one would have thought that the revelation of the Darhel-ian machinations and sabotage, their underhanded dealings, would have caused an even more severe reaction by the humans (especially the Americans after what happened in Virginia with the hacking of the Tenth Corps and the subsequent loss of life, or how the IVIS had Galactic code inserted so that there were numerous "blue-on-blue" "friendly fire" incidents. The events in Gust Front were bad enough to paint the Galactics in a horrible light, but the revelations of the Darhel in this novel (and the fact that the American President knew about it kinda ruins the flow of the novels and makes what happened in the third and fourth books of Ringo's original series stupid and unnecessary as a result).

I did think Ringo had forgotten "some things" about the Posleen. They are described in Ringo's first four books as being essentially "impervious" to any kind of chemical or biological agent. That being the case, it seemed "weird" for the Posleen to be suffering from mosquitoes and leeches while in Panama. Guano's "herd" was drained because of the swarms of mosquitoes; it seemed oxymoronic until I remembered something about the Posleen. I had thought they were also inedible for humans until I remembered either O'Neal Senior or one of the other "major 'minor' characters" from the original tetralogy had tried eating some to see if a human could survive on them. Still, though, it just seemed weird [and wrong] for the Posleen to die from ant poison or even wooden arrows when no biological or chemical agent could harm them or kill them. But it could also be just me misinterpreting what was in this book and how it was presented.

It does have some "squeamishly uncomfortable" moments in the book. Digna, a female war hero, is brutally beaten by a coward named Cortes; the beating is described in some detail [but not the rape that occurs afterwards, thankfully]. The "punishment" of Cortes [his being crucified and left to die] is described, in detail, and it is somewhat disturbing and very dark. There might have been a few other moments, but those two stand out the most.

I enjoyed reading about the "Mobile Infantry" in the story, about how the ACS were used to help in the defense of Panama. It was very different reading about the suits, the characters, and how they performed in this novel when compared to the "original" series. In that series, Mike O'Neal basically commanded every aspect of the armored suits in his unit and how they were used. This book did not have the same "level" of "micromanagement control" or, necessarily, the same results, as the unit under O'Neal. This is not to say the armored combat suits were used improperly; it was just "different" than how they were presented in "the Posleen War" books and the strategy used by the "command officers" to get the job done in the most efficient way possible with the least amount of casualties. The ACS is not the "primary" focus of the book; the primary focus are the two heavy cruisers and their gestalts. I was okay with how the suits were described so sparingly in the book. Perhaps that is why the paperback cover is so different when compared to the hardback cover; the hardback cover features a couple of armored suits, implying the book will focus on the ACS in Panama whereas the paperback copy features some Posleen on the cover, three US Navy vessels, and the giant avatar of Daisy Mae. The paperback reveals the true focus of the books whereas the hardback cover focuses on the secondary "characters", the suits.

It does have a fascinating discussion at the end by both authors where they express their opinions on some attempts by the UN and liberals to take away the rights of common citizens everywhere.

One thing the authors do is they do a good [kinda great] job of instilling "character depth" into some of the Posleen God Kings and making them seem like "real characters" (as much as invading alien omnivores can be "real characters"), some of whom had some good character development over the course of the novel. I enjoyed the characters, and the authors actually made me feel some sympathy for some of the Posleen characters over the course of the novel. I thought that was a pretty impressive feat they were able to accomplish.

The novel also goes more into the philosophy by which the Posleen live, their personal, philosophical, and spiritual beliefs. I felt this helped give the Posleen more depth of character as a race and made them something more than just mindless eating-and-killing machines. I am not saying that the Posleen gained anything in terms of overall intelligence, but the God Kings had more reactions in line with their belief systems and tenets as opposed to "the dirty humans are destroying our sources of food!" like they were presented in the first two novels. This introduction into the Posleen's spiritual and philosophical beliefs lays the foundation for The Tuloriad to be told. I thought the comments and "revelations" were insightful, clever, and realistic, which helped define the race of invading omnivores even better. I also liked that some of the God Kings had taken on human phrases and mannerisms (and actions/habits, to a limited extent) in this novel. That also added some layers of character for the Posleen.

I know it is stupid/silly, but every time I read about a boma blade being drawn and used by the Posleen, I picture a Klingon bat'leth in my mind, for some reason. hahahah I don't know why, but I do. Crazy.

On a bit of a side-note: the Darhel are still portrayed as "evil incarnate" who do not want to give up any of their power or control of the universe. They desperately need humanity to survive against the Posleen invasion, yet the continually sabotage the Earth's efforts to defend itself against the alien invaders. The Darhel continue to seek out the crooked, the morally bankrupt, the cheats, the scoundrels, the selfish, in order to sabotage the Terran defenses. For beings that are supposedly as smart as they are, they are incredibly stupid. They are saving "the worst' the Earth "has to offer" in hopes that these selfish individuals will be willing to give up their own lives, if needed, to continue to defend the Galactic civilization? The Darhel have to be all kinds of stupid-crazy if they honestly believe the humans they are saving will be willing to die to save the universe. These humans have already betrayed their own species, their own "race", to the Posleen invaders! Why would the Darhel think the humans would act any way differently than they did to ensure the survival of their own skins from the invasion on Earth? It got real old, real quick, constantly reading about how the Darhel want the least amount of humans to survive the invasion; they only wanted "just enough" to continue to fight/hold back the Posleen without considering the costs of what their decisions were bringing about. They should have tried to save as many of the military personnel, at the very least, as possible, instead of abandoning the military. Ah, well. I didn't write the story.

On a "second note" - the authors continue Ringo's "trait" of using (some of) the last words/phrases/sentences from "one" scene as the opening line of the very next scene. It happens throughout the entire book. I cannot decide if I like it or not, or if it just becomes "annoying" because of how often it is used. Perhaps if there were some kind of "point" to it all as opposed to the author trying to be "clever" in his storytelling? It is creative and clever, make no mistake, but the author abuses it to the point of distraction (I felt, this time around reading the book).


Overall, I enjoyed reading this book (again). I felt it has stood up well to the "test of time" since I first read it. While it does have some uncomfortable elements and sections in the book, it is about a brutal war for survival. It should make the reader somewhat uncomfortable, as a result. I enjoyed the "deeper revelations" of the Posleen in terms of their beliefs and philosophy as a race. Many of the "shocks" that I felt the first few times I read this were no longer "shocking' to/for me, but I still enjoyed reading the book. I am glad that I re-read it.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Publishers Weekly

In this breathless page-turner, the latest in the Posleen military SF series from Ringo and Kratman (_Watch on the Rhine_), Latin America falls to the reptilian alien invaders without much struggle, except for Panama. There, members of the U.S. military enlist local forces and desperately resist. The terrain aids the defenders, as do the local flora and fauna, but it's the fighting men and women's brains and guts that make the real difference. Interestingly, the hideous, hungry Posleen, who are helplessly following their racial instincts, come across as more sympathetic than the cowardly traitors—i.e., diplomats and politicians—who obstruct the human warriors; the aliens get to die with more dignity. Characterization generally is exaggerated but vivid, and the battle tactics are worked out in satisfying detail. Readers who can forget the authors' right-wing politics and approach it all like a professional wrestling show will have fun. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The latest Posleen War novel's title comes from an old song about yellow fever in Panama, site of the battle in it between the alien Posleen invaders and both Americans defending the canal and Panamanians defending their homeland with growing assurance and skill. The usual many good action scenes are on hand, along with sometimes overly political but often intelligent lectures on military science and the expected charming superweapon, here the old heavy cruiser Des Moines, fitted with a number of advanced systems, including an AI named Daisy. The series already has a number of fun books in it. This is another. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

[Kamas Kirian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely entertaining book about the Posleen invasion of Panama. It was informative about the area and some military tactics, but was mostly a study of characters. I cared not only about the humans in the story, but also the aliens. It was quite fast paced as well. I liked this even better than Watch on the Rhine.

I found the "Afterword" by Ringo and Kratman to be quite informative as well. It could have been written last year or yesterday rather than a decade ago and been just as relevant in explaining today's events as reported in the media.

The eBook was formatted well with only a couple of spelling/grammar mistakes. Thanks to the Baen Free Library and CD images.

[Xan · Rating 2 out of 5]

No sé que pensar. Como historia independiente puedo aceptar los argumentos de Kratman sobre las posibilidades de frenar una invasión Posleen en un terreno tan difícil como el de Panamá. Como parte de la serie iniciado por Ringo me resulta desconcertante porque los Posleen son tan superiores que arrasan cualquier resistencia salvo la apoyada por la tecnología galáctica. El conjunto no me convence.

Con respecto al ensayo en el que Kratman expone su visión de la noción de Justicia Internacional, de la utilidad del Tribunal de la Haya, de las acciones de la Justicia española para juzcar el asesinato del periodista José Couso (sin citarlo)...Bueno. Utilizando su lenguaje: las opiniones son como el culo, todo el mundo tiene uno.

[Dan Green · Rating 1 out of 5]

this novel turned the hard sci-fi posleen series into a mess of silliness, fantasy, magic, and attempted humor on the level of jarjar binks. Aliens that had thus far been protrayed as very alien in their motivations and behavior, suddenly acted 100% human in just about every way and despite having yellow blood and being impervious to any chemical or biological weapon, are now nearly sucked dry by mosquitoes, and are getting their junk bitten off by jungle animals.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please pass the mouthwash. This is one of the worst books that I have ever read.

It is apparently a part of a larger series but there is no lead-in or recaps to bring a new reader up to speed.

The living ship is a clever idea and one that could occupy a book on its own. Instead it is buried under a confusing mishmash of perspectives where it is never clear why the aliens are there or why humanity chooses to stand where it does.

The plot is fat and bloated and seems to only serve to bring the reader to extended alt-right postscript/rant.

There are far better Earth invasion stories to read than this...

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking to read this book, get ready for a wild ride. Similar to 'Watch on the Rhine', this book is well-written, includes a Posleen perspective on the situation, and provides a fascinating dive into the history of the country (in this instance Panama) and the political issues that have flowed from that. However, be prepared for the unexpected - an AID love story, Posleen learning to fish, and a pretty vividly described torture scene. Overall, despite these elements, this is still one of the better written books in the series and good to cover off if you like the Posleen War setting.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

combine predator, Battle Ship, Zulu Dawn, Starship Troopers, and maybe Green Barets and then you will have an idea of the action in this book, I liked this book the most of the whole series, and it is a decent stand-alone but I would still read these books in order just so that you know better what is going on. This was a Good Read.

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standalone novel set in the Posleen War series. Focuses on the defense of the strategically-significant Panama Canal from alien invaders. What I found most interesting was a subplot about the introduction of AI technology into naval vessels.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting side story to John Ringo's Posleen War series that I skipped earlier, choosing at the time to stick to the main story line. Panama is the setting for one of the early alien invasions in the series and is a (sort of) preview of Kratman's Carrera series.

[Bill Brinkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another well paste and exciting novel from John Ringo. It kept take on the edge of my seat the entire book. I enjoyed the military tactics and the interaction with the civilians. I recommend this book.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story in this series and a fun read!! (if you can overcome the authors' American tribalism and cheap slurs against any International or European institutions).

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out feeling a bit sorry for the aliens. Then the story got weird, and not in a good way. Rather confusing, so after a few attempts, I gave up.

[Procrastinador Diletante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para começar, reparem bem na capa deste livro. Temos uns monstros meios reptlianos (e um olho da mesma espécie); um cruzador de guerra em acção; uma mulher gigante - desculpem spoilar, mas é um holograma ;) - a disparar raios das mãos e, para finalizar, o nome dos autores. Acredito que 99% das pessoas não deve conhecer nenhum deles, mas os outros 1% sabem que eles são dois autores da chamada "ficção-científica militar". E normalmente as capas desse género de FC são sempre assim...mostram logo ali aquilo que o leitor pode esperar no seu interior.

Visto que este pode ser considerado o 6º livro da série "Legacy of The Aldenata", não me posso alongar muito sobre a história (mas mais tarde vou reler os outros para escrever uma crítica) mas vamos lá ver. A Terra vê-se subitamente envolvida numa guerra interestelar e à mercê de uma raça alienígena que consome tudo que vê pela frente.

Perante estes omnívoros vindos do espaço, tecnologicamente mais avançados mas com pouca inteligência, a Humanidade tem que se unir para os derrotar, sob a pena de ser toda devorada. Neste livro, a história gira em torno da defesa do Panamá, onde se encontra o canal com o mesmo nome, importante ponte de ligação entre o Atlântico e o Pacífico e vital para o esforço de guerra.

O autor principal, John Ringo, é um homem de direita e um daqueles defensores fervorosos dos EUA e das suas forças armadas. Neste livro até tem um pequeno ensaio onde diz mal dos liberais europeus entre outras coisas, mas a verdade é que tudo isso só interessaria se ele escrevesse mal. Aí era possível atirar-lhe tudo isso à cara, pegar no livro e meter na prateleira dos livros manhosos, para nós esquecermos dele.

O que acontece é que acho que ele escreve muito bem. Não é, nem nunca será, um autor consagrado de FC, mas os livros deles são daqueles que agarram os leitores dos colarinhos e não os largam até todas as balas terem sido gastas. Talvez por sido soldado durante vários anos, as suas descrições da vida militar e dos combates são extremamente realistas e fazem com que o leitor se sinta mesmo lá - nas trincheiras, a enfrentar vaga após vaga de extraterrestres sedentos de carne humana.

É claro que também há defeitos: há personagens que só surgem para morrer uns capítulos à frente; os vilões humanos (sim, também os há nesta história) são sempre cobardes e, no caso de pertenceram às forças armadas, normalmente oficiais, e há muitas cenas de sexo, assim como alguns dos romances, que parecem metidas lá para o meio só para encher buracos.

Mas já que falei de defeitos e para terminar de uma maneira mais animador, deixo uma última coisa que vos pode convencer a ler este livro...e quase todos os outros dele. É que eles estão disponíveis de borla (e legalmente) no site do editor.

[Heinz Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 of Ringo's, outlined, 'Legacy of the Aldenata' trilogy which is a sub series within the Posleen War main series of books. These three books all tell, significant, side stories of the human war against the Posleen invasion. One thing many won't know is that Ringo didn't write these, Tom Kratman did. John only outlined these and Tom did, well, pretty much his own thing with them.
This volume, 'Yellow Eyes', is Colonel Kratman's love letter to Panama.
Kratman was an infantry officer (a Colonel, why we, his fans and legionaries, call him 'Colonel') who spent a large part, if not the majority, of his US Army career in Panama. He married a Panamanian beauty, and pretty sure much of his heart still belongs there. In fact, practically all of his books involve Panama, or Latin culture, or Latin main characters in some form or fashion.
The action in this book is, as always with either of these men, fantastic. The focus upon a trio of US Navy warships makes me wonder if, secretly, Tom didn't wish he had joined the Navy. (Read the Carrera series, you'll see what I mean.) The 'soul' of the ship is also a major character and is not as weird as this at first sounds.
One thing this trilogy does, superbly, is tell the backstory and 'humanize' the heretofore largely faceless devouring hordes of the Posleen. Tom, despite all the flak and worse thrown at him by his SJW enemies, does a superb job of getting into the heads of 'the other side'. Perhaps being a trial lawyer (yes, he was that too, though don't worry, he's not tainted) helps in that regard. As such, half the fun of this series is reading the interludes, all told from the Posleen viewpoint.
For a book, and series, with plenty of realistic military action, fiery social and political commentary, and an always direct, blunt and in your face afterword, read the 'Legacy of the Aldenata'.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How depressing. Turns out the State Department has been working with the Darhel, and against the Earth, since 1932.

Yellow Eyes takes place in Panama when the Posleen are overrunning Washington D.C.

This story is a bit of a departure from the usual as we learn a lot more about the history of the Posleen and their creators, the Aldeant', as well as the Posleen religion.

I'm not sure what Ringo and Kratman were drinkin' when they wrote this one...they have an AID going mad and blending with the USS Des Moines becoming one sentient being who just happens to fall in love with the rejuved captain whom the ship remembers from an earlier stint of his aboard. And the ship's cats are aware of it.

So the Des Moines has become Daisy Mae with a need for pretty clothes and the enjoyment of an orgasm between the two PBMRs when a crewman scrubs that bit of deck...where are they going with this???

Ringo and Kratman have whales and Posleen getting drunk... Well, I suppose considering how the corrupt members of various governments and the military are selling Earth out to the Darhel and the Posleen, it's only fair. I will never understand that lack of honor...ah, man...

it does amaze me how they can write such an incredibly depressing story and still make events rise above it...I always find myself shouting "yahoo!!"


I do love their sense of humor!

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even more Ringo! For some reason I had been avoiding this Posleen series side story. That came back to bite me as I launched into the follow-up Hedren series and some of the characters popped up.

The story is set before and during the Posleen invasion of Earth, but deals specifically with events in Panama. Realizing that the Panama Canal is strategically important, the US sends military and material aid to bolster the defenses, including three warships. Through a complex series of events, one of the ships, the USS Des Moines, gains sentience. The story follows the defense of Panama, both from the perspective of the Posleen-Human conflict, and from the perspective of the struggle between corrupt officials and honorable ones. The Darhel, overlords of the Galactic Federation, want the humans to win, but only just, so that human civilization is shattered and cannot be a threat to them.

The Panama aspects are very interesting, and it shows that both authors have been posted there during their military careers. The story itself is quite good, with predictably excellent battle scenes. It is a worthy addition to the Posleen series, but should probably not be read as a standalone.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=64

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably should have read this book before reading "Eye of the Storm". This book introduces the Daisy character while Eye of the Storm is the continuing saga of Daisy. Now some of the things I read about in Eye of the Storm make better sense.

Otherwise, this book is the same as the other Posleen War books with the focus on Panama this time.

WARNING: Children are in danger in this book. They are also used as soldiers. If that sort of thing bothers you, don't read this book.

Any modesty issues? Yes. The F-word is used. Daisy is rather voluptuous for a hologram. Rape is used as a means of control. Sex is described a little bit more than I am used to in books like this, but not overly so.

The ending was satisfying and a little bit surprising.

I'll probably read this book again.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really changes the view we get of the pollen. No longer a faceless mindless enemy. We had an occasional smart commander or two in the previous entries, but now we see the way the other pollen interact with each other, see their culture, get thoughts from their point of view. It makes an interesting read.

Ringo and Kratman know how to write action. They get it down right, with great thrilling combat.
The sci fi arc with the ship becoming sentient was very strange. Not my favorite part of the book. But the rest was a solid read in a solid series.

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual when Colonel Kratman writes you will get a dark, dark novel, with lots of black humor as well as quite un-pc; not so controversial as Rhine or Caliphate since this time it's the defense of Panama, Yellow Eyes has also the first insight into Posleen as "people" with possible souls, subject which is explored in the upcoming Tuloriad

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than Cally's War
Little disjointed, perhaps trying to demo the fog of war.
Gets rather graphic--just not sure it adds to the storyline. More true than not but rather beyond what the series started with. Think this may be the last of the series I read.

[colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

read 04.26.07

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was probably my least favorite of the series.

[Adam Shields · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took me forever to get this read. It just meanders without a lot of point.

[Brett]

Science Fiction

[Bryan457 · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you did not get enough of the Posleen in the 4 main books, here is the war in Panama.

[Abby Fick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the idea of Daisey Mae.

[Gordon McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn't sure what to expect from this one but it's one of the best of the series to date. Fantastic characters throughout.

[Bill Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 USN heavy cruisers assist the PDF and jungle in defending the Panama Canal Zone from the Postie hordes.

[Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

More D&D than SF but a good book for a long plane trip.