Honor of the Clan

Posleen War: Cally's War #3

by John Ringo, Julie Cochrane

First Time in Paperback. The Latest Sequel to the New York Times Best Seller, Cally’s War .

Duty. Honor. Country.
Three words that resound in the heart of the warrior. But what is duty when country is gone? Where does honor lie when allies are revealed as enemies, when friends are not who they seem and when enemies are the ones we love?
For Cally O'Neal and the O'Neal Bane Sidhe, underground fighters against the tyranny of Earth's Darhel “allies,” duty lies in the overthrow of the established order. For Major General Michael O'Neal, her father, duty lies in maintaining that order to prevent a reinvasion by the dreaded Posleen.
When diamond meets diamond, when O'Neal battles O'Neal, the only sure outcome is fireworks.

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction, Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Space, Adventure, Space Opera

490 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 8, 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

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense. The Darhel are not too happy about the "deletion" of the Epetar group and they are striking back. DAG dependents and Indowy are being slaughtered, the Bane Sidhe are on the run, and Clan O'Neal is under the gun from enemies and allies alike. Even "Iron Mike" O'Neal is brought back to Earth to fight this particular fight but does he realize whose side he's on?? Even Cally's husband, Stewart, is needed but can his need to wheel-and-deal be used to help or hurt the O'Neals?

Tragedy runs amuck in Honor of the Clan and, although some of the issues which arise are settled, the big conflicts brought up remain unsettled. I'm not sure how I can wait for The Eye of the Storm.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iron Mike O'Neal is recalled to Earth and giving the task of subduing the rebel Bane Sidhe who are giving the Darhel elves problems. He is unaware that his father and daughter survived the Posleen wars and that they are the leaders of the rebels as they object to humans being treated as garbage when humans are the ones fighting the galactic confederations' wars.
Ringo always has great characters and lots of action along with a unique outlook.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd re-read 6/3/17 - Very good.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was . . . fine. Obviously, it clearly came out before “ the “Sidestories” that Ringo co-authored with Kratman. It is the third book in the “sub-series” called “Cally’s War” and was the “last book” in the series [other than The Sniper]. This time around, it felt like it was two stories blended into one story. It seemed like the authors had the start and finish for one story but neither a middle nor enough to sell as a complete novel AND they had another story where they had the “middle” but not start and no finish, so they took their beginning/ending and worked it to fit it around their other incomplete story. The pacing is uneven; it moves slow, then fast, then slow, then proceeds to the ending. It is not nearly as thick or as long as Sister Time, but that is not necessarily a good thing. It has a lot of errors in it that should have been caught by the editor [well, a lot in my opinion]. The errors are some misspelled words and some awkward sentences; most of the errors are missing words (especially pronouns or subjects of sentences). The mistakes doe break up the narrative and make it choppier than it needs to be or already is. I am not sure how much I enjoyed reading it this time around; it is a dark novel and probably one of the “darkest” in the series, considering its subject. I did “like” it more than Cally’s War (which seems to obsess too much about sex and not enough on the narrative itself). It was “ok” – somewhere between 2.7 – 2.9 stars, rounded up to three.

The ending: I hated the ending, for more than one reason. I absolutely, positively hated it that Papa O’Neal dies at the end. Totally unnecessary death. Totally sucked. It was wrong on SO many levels! I am sure the authors were trying to create some kind of “moment” for Mike, Junior, in regard to Mike killing his own father like he did. BUT! Mike had no idea his father was still alive and had just been killed by his own son, so whatever they were trying to set up failed. Perhaps if they had written a fourth book and explored “things” a bit further, it might have made Papa O’Neal’s death “more meaningful” or something. Perhaps the authors were trying to get across not everything is going to have a “meaning” attached to it; hence, Papa O’Neal’s unnecessary death.

Also, if Mike, Junior, had been appraised that his father and oldest daughter were still alive, then this whole situation could have been avoided. It was just all-around stupid. I hated it. So perhaps the authors did a better job than I am giving them credit for having done because of the strong reaction it has produced in me. You cannot tell me that, with all of the crap in the Bane Sidhe stronghold on Earth, that Papa never got a glimpse of the ACS commander’s suit before the hide was opened to reveal his flesh-and-blood son standing before him. You cannot convince me of that. Not at all. The place was wired to the gills and had cameras, sensors, and weapons all over the place. He should have recognized his son well before that point had been reached so that his dying would not have been an issue.

I also hated the whole patricide thing going on with Papa O’Neal’s death. Having Mike kill his father was just all kinds of stupid. There was no valid reason for Mike to have been brought back to Earth to deal with the “rebels/insurgents” – any officer with any kind of experience could have dealt with the Bane Sidhe base. Anybody could have. General Mike O’Neal was not needed; nor was he necessary for the mission to have proceeded the way it had. The only “reasonable” or “logical” explanation I can come up with is that somebody leaked to the Darhel that General O’Neal’s father was the leader of this group of insurgents and they were hoping to either demoralize Mike, Junior, through Mike’s killing his own father OR have Mike, Junior, be killed by the insurrectionists. I do not know; I am just theorizing. Either way, though, Mike, the appearance of General Mike O’Neal was completely unnecessary to the overall plot of the story [at its bare bones]. It was stupid and a waste of a perfectly good character [or reappearance of a beloved character].

I was SO excited when I started reading and Mike O’Neal, Junior ,was introduced in the very beginning of the story. I thought it was going to be a great story, he would FINALLY discover that his oldest daughter and father were still alive, and that he had grand-children via Cally and Stewart. Shows what I knew! Sadly, my hopes were cruelly dashed upon the rocks of despair by the end of the story. Mike, Junior, was introduced in the very beginning to give the readers a “history lesson” on the state of the Earth and the Galactic Federation. Mike is supposed to be taking over some kind of "investigation" as to what happened to an "Earth-bound" military force that had nothing to do with the Galactic Military, so it seems kind of odd that Mike was recalled at all. It was not a "Fleet" or "Fleetstrike" issue; it was a "local" issue amongst the military force(s) of the United States of America. I would go so far as to say that Mike really serves no purpose in this book at all, in terms of the overall narrative, to be honest. He is "only" included to kill his father at the end of the book; he has plenty of other men under his command [officers AND enlisted] who could "do the job" he was given back on Earth, especially as there is, essentially, nothing to the job except to lead a squad of ACS at the end into the Bane Sidhe compound and chase the O'Neal clan and the Bane Sidhe off-planet.

I did enjoy Mike's responses to finding out there were teams named after his daughter and father. I did "understand" his taking up offenses against the Bane Sidhe for that. However, had he been appraised of the true status of his father and daughter this situation could have been avoided from the beginning. I thought that was fairly realistic [how he responded] and made perfect sense.

Galactic society [the Federation] is such a weird beast in this series. The Indowy and Darhel have a hard time even using violent words, let alone thinking about using any kind of violence. The Darhel will go into some kind of "force suicide" if they become too excited or lose control. Yet in this novel it talks about how the Darhel could "pilot" some kind of warship that could destroy the entire Earth with one shot! How is this even possible? It seems like the Darhel should go into lintati while piloting the vessel. But what do I know? They are not my creations; I did not come up with this race of schemers and plotters. The Indowy do got get off lightly, either, in this book. They are called to account for their attitude that they are somehow "innocent" because they are not actively involved in plotting or killing individuals; neither do they see themselves as having any blood on their figurative hands even though they make weapons of [varying levels of] mass destruction for both Darhel and Terrans to use. Cally (finally!) calls them to account on this, throwing their "collective" sins into their faces because of how they spurned and abandoned the Bane Sidhe and then turning around begging for the Clan O'Neal to protect them. Papa's comments that if the Indowy "insurgents" are saved, the Indowy race will owe the O'Neals an unpayable debt, and the Indowy leaders acknowledge this perpetual debt owed to the O'Neals. I do not think much of this "Galactic Society" called a "Federation" that runs the way it does.

As I said at the outset, this book seemed like two partially completed stories forcefully merged into one single story in order for it to make the presses on time. The "second story" had to do with the dependent families of the DAG group that defected being killed and the retribution sought by the O'Neal clan. It starts out with a game between a Crab and an Elf. Even though the Crabs have more "power" than the Darhel, one of them is taught a lesson by a Darhel during some kind of board game. The Darhel tells the Crab to "fix" its race's mistake(s) (made when the Epetar Group was brought down). This creates the situation whereby Indowy "rebels" are being systematically hunted down and exterminated, and the civilian dependents of the DAG group that defected are being systematically murdered. The O'Neals "declare war/open season" on those killing their dependents, claiming "the gloves are now off," yet not once do they ever go after a Darhel to kill in retaliation for the deaths of the many dependents. Not only that, but the "lead assassin" for the Darhel manages to escape and we never find out what happens to him [if anything]. Maybe something is mentioned about him in Eye of the Storm. Either way, "somebody" [either a Himmit or a Crab] provides the location of the "Rebel's secret base" to the Darhel, who then provides it to the ACS after two teams of mercenaries are exterminated by the Bane Sidhe/O'Neal defenders. This leads into the "final conflict" [with far, far too many Star Wars jokes] between the ACS and the DAG/O'Neal defenders (during which Papa O'Neal is killed).

So how would this work in the future? Mike O'Neal, Junior, would now be the head of his "clan" but he does not know that he even has a "clan" of extended family members or that it even exists. So how could Cally or even Michelle continue making decisions for the O'Neal Clan or O'Neal Bane Sidhe when "the O'Neal" is now Michael Leonidas O'Neal, Junior? Mike O'Neal, Junior, should be contacted about any subsequent or future decisions for this branch of the Bane Sidhe as he is now the "acting head" [regardless of whether or not he knows it]. The other races assisting the Bane Sidhe would be aware of this and should have been demanding the truth be revealed to Mike, one way or another.

There was also a "sub-story" about Papa O'Neal having to go to some "table" for some kind of ceremony to decide the fate of humanity. It is a very involved ceremony, involving scads of diplomacy and maneuvering and assistance from a device to avoid offending anybody. As groups of four coalesced around each table, comments would be made that were inane and banal until Mike, Senior, reached "the parent's table" and was supposed to remove any guilt of what happened to the Epetar Group from humanity by saying a particular phrase. At the critical moment, his mind went blank and his comment was "That's gotta suck." It was hilarious, as was the responses of some of the Galactic races to his response. It was perceived (and rightly so) that humanity refused to claim any responsibility for what happened because the Galactics should have known better to interfere with "things" like they had because they were "so much more advanced" than humanity. It was one of the better parts of the book, in my opinion.

I "get" the whole "revenge thing" for the deaths of the dependents, but the numerous deaths and retaliatory killings were something else. It made for a very, very dark novel.

Pinky was annoying. He was some kind of five-year old "super-genius" that had to hide his "powers" from those older than him to avoid getting beaten up by older kids. He just became annoying as a character in the story; he was always portrayed as being smarter and "stronger" and "more mature" than the other kids around him, including even older kids. One of the "best parts" of the book (in relation to this five-year old jerk) was when Pinky was complaining to his dad about the base using children to plant Buckley's in the snow while it was snowing. His father pointed out that if the freak snowstorm had not occurred, then the children's footsteps would not have been buried by the snow. Most people would not think twice about seeing children's footprints in the snow. However, if adults had gone out or had used snowmobiles to emplace the sensors, it would have looked strange to overhead satellites or anybody passing through.

There were some "other problems" with the book as well. Those problems stem from the "Posleen Sidestories," though, and how those stories "retconned" a lot of history. In this story, one of Jimmy Stuart's "lieutenants" [from the Tong] is trekking through the Darién in Panama, looking for a place where the DAG troops and Bane Sidhe could set up a base. The implication is that Panama is destitute and wide-open for the taking. However, in Yellow Eyes and The Tuloriad, it is established that Panama is one of the few countries to have not only made it through the Posleen invasion intact, but the country thrived. In addition, and Darhel that showed up in Panama were executed on sight, no questions asked and no quarter given. So, logically, the O'Neal Clan could have gone to Panama for assistance and protection, especially since Panama had become a "minor power" in its own right and could have protected the DAG troops, the Bane Sidhe, and the O'Neal Clan [those who needed protecting]. In addition, the Panamanian troops and citizens were not in the least bit worried about offending the Galactic races, considering how badly they tried to screw Panama over in the Posleen invasion.

Hmmm . . . . I guess that was the "biggest major" problem I saw in the book that comes immediately to mind. It seems like there were others. Well, there would be Guano, who worked for the Panamanians. For sure, the "fact" that there was a "tame God King" in Panama should have grabbed the notice of at least SOME of the Americans, especially with the number of captured Posleen forges that were not being used. Also, at this point in time, the Des Moines would have been raised from its watery grave and repaired, and her sister ship (the Salem) would have returned from its intergalactic voyage. So Panama should have been a thriving community at this point in time, and there would have been no need for any kind of "sneaking around" by anybody the Panamanians would have seen as "allies" against the Galactic races.

Also, there are the Tiger IIIs, whose plans were released onto the Internet prior to Germany's collapse. One would have thought Panama would have built a slew of them, especially as they were able to destroy battle globes still in orbit around the Earth. Pretty tough beasties, there! The German uber-panzers were SO much better than the SheVas, I wish that more of them had been built and were described in the novels, to be honest. So, yeah, I "wish" these novels had been written after the "Sidestories" as the "future history" would probably have made more sense than they currently do [with the novels having been written "out of order" and created problems with the timeline].

I did "like" the discussions about how history had progressed since the failed Posleen conquest of Earth. We discover that the ACS is not receiving enough replacements in terms of suits, men, supplies, or war materials, especially if they are to continue exterminating the Posleen wherever they find them. We also learn that one world managed to survive Ornadar long enough for ten Posleen ships to take off and getting ready to look for new worlds to conquer. The military strength of the Federation AND the Earth's defenses are no longer "strong enough" to deter a Posleen invasion above some specific level; the militaries have become weak because of human weaknesses and Darhel stupidity and machinations. Africa is still a batch of somewhat-wildlands as practically most of the Posleen have been killed, and any that are still living are hunted down by any still-living predators AND African elephants. There are mining facilities attempting to remove the natural resources without Darhel interference, but the Darhel still manage to sink their claws into any facility that becomes too productive. This book kinda bounces around the Eastern half of the United States, as it focuses on "battle" between the Clans and the murderers and hit teams that went after the dependents. The inhabitants of Earth have grown leery of colonization offers because of the number of vessels lost enroute to potential planets and the subsequent loss of human life. Again, all Darhel-driven losses.

I suspect that if Ringo had not gone the way he did with Eye of the Storm, the Federation would have been exterminated by any Posleen that were able to form new battlegroups and start swarming out of the Blight to invade more Federation worlds. That was clearly already beginning to take place on some of the worlds "Iron Mike" and his troops attacked during their search, as he indicated in his conversations with his nominal superior officer at the start of the book AND with his daughter, Cally, at the end of the book. The book ends with a sense of "doom-and-gloom," that the Darhel have "won" because "Iron Mike" will not buck the system, he has unknowingly killed his father, and he has driven his extended family into exile onto another planet all while knowing what the Darhel have done and how badly they have screwed humanity over since before the start of the Posleen invasion of Earth.

Not only have Darhel screwed over the humans, but the Indowy have somewhat screwed over humanity as well. They, especially the Bane Sidhe members, should have known about the different aspects of Federation "Law(s)" that would have put "Iron Mike" O'Neal in a better position than he realized he was in; they should also have told him about the immense power he had over the Galactic races, especially if they were trying to provoke the Darhel to provide better working conditions [as described in the book]. Well, I felt like the Indowy should have been "more aggressive" about telling Mike O'Neal, Junior, about what was due him and his clan because of his exploits. They were the servants of the Darhel and the Darhel treated them like Terrans treat their servants - servants are treated as if they do not exist even if they are in the same room as their masters. So, logically, the Indowy had access to far more information and knowledge than the Darhel realized, which should have put the Indowy at a better advantage than it did, regardless of how "alien" alien minds truly might be. I was glad that Michelle, Cally, and then Papa O'Neal put the screws to the Indowy like they did. Served the Indowy right for bailing on the human groups like they did because the Indowy were hypocrites.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I still liked it more than I liked Cally's War, even though I hated the ending. I did like the "historical discussions" in the book that brought the reader up to speed on the situation on Earth as well as in the Galactic community at large. I did not care for the murders of the dependents, and there were other aspects of the book I did not like (as discussed above). I loved "seeing" "Iron Mike" back in action, in a sense, but I did not like what happened in the book. I felt he was an underutilized character who did not need to be in the novel for it to work like it did. While I did not enjoy it as much as I would have liked, I am still glad that I read the book.

[Taimo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author not only has no idea how men work in general, she does not have any idea how humans work. Everything written is so off like its written by alien who has no idea what humans are. No logical reason for anything to happen.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great end to the trilogy! The authors hit just the right balance of politics, intrigue, character development and violence.

[Kerry L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ends with Papa O'Neal probably dead, Michael O'Neal, Jr in exile to the blight, Cally, Tom Sunday, and the O'Neal Bane Sidhe going somewhere off earth.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a scattered start but the finish was well worth the wait. I find that I like this series more with each book I read. This was a Good Read.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good conclusion to the Cally’s War trilogy, wrapping up the major threads. I note with interest the introduction of the next generation, leaving toom to continue the series.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait for the next book in the series. Action, Sci Fi, Aliens - on Earth and beyond.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Product Description

First time in paperback! Honor of the Clan is the sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Cally's War.

About the Author

John Ringo is author of the New York Times best-selling series known by most as "The Posleen Wars" comprising A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, When the Devil Dances, Hell's Faire, and Cally's War. He also co-authored- with David Weber- March Upcountry, March to the Sea, March to the Stars and We Few in the Prince Rogers series. A veteran of the 82nd Airborne, he brings the first-hand knowledge of military operations to his ficition.

Julie Cochrane was born in Ohio and made her first attempts at novels in junior high and high school. Initially studying Chemistry at Georgia Tech, she got her bachelors in psychology and promptly decided that computer science was a better way to earn a living. Hr hobbies include pistol markmanship, history, criminology, Irish language and folk music.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this book as much as the previous book (Sister Time) even though both sisters (Cally and Michelle) are involved in the plot. Cally took on a different role. Michelle seemed to fade into the background. Everything seemed scattered. In summary, I liked the book. I didn't love it. I might read it again later to see if I change my mind. That happens sometimes.

Update: 2024-June-4: I read the book again. I liked it a little better, but it was scattered.

[Liviu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just could not find more than cursory interest to read the never-ending Posleen/O'Neal saga latest installment; John Ringo has great talent but outsourcing books and churning them in a saga that needs more and more complications to hide its essential preposterous setting is losing me as a reader.

The only books I have recently enjoyed from the series are the Kratman ones (Yellow Eyes and Tuloriad) and I wish both authors will start writing more original stuff soon.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine described this book as ending a bit like Empire Strikes Back. Yes, Ringo get the next book out in paper already.

Good book, a little disjointed as it skips from scene to scene, but a good read.

[Barbara Ghylin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this one last before going to bed. Not what I was expecting. All it did was leave me wanting to continue the story. John Ringo has once again hooked me into a story that I can't wait to finish!!

[Pedro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really?

Well, the book is mostly good, but having one of the main characters buy it in such an unglorified way, right at the end of the book killed the hole experience for me...not sure if I'll read whatever comes next.

[Adam Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than the previous one. It was more about the characters and less about moving the whole story along.

[Nancy Agnew · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one was pretty sad. I really hope he does a follow-up to this one.

[Fitchburg]

Put your initials and Y for a book you think should be included.
Put your initials and N for a book you don't think should be included.
Put your initals and ? for a book you are not sure about.

[Tim]

John Ringo writes action packed military science fiction. Great continuation of his series on the Posleen war

[Bill Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The despicable Darhel (damn dirty elves) attempt to wipe out the Indowy and Clan O'Neal through their hired killers--they only succeed in driving Bane Sidhe O'Neal further underground.

[Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely into the tails of the distribution. Ringo does military politics better than civilian. Good airplane book.

[Alex]

False

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good, if somewhat tragic, addition to the series.

[Kevin Halleran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, that ending was wrong on so many levels.

This book caused a couple sleepless nights, and worth every second. Sir, keep 'em coming. Oh, and stop killing great characters.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book until the end, and then ugh, the end of the trilogy was horrible. It's like John Ringo wanted to emotionally punish people. Maybe I'm just a sensitive soul...

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I am caught up with the Posleen series until the next volume is out.

[Thomas Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the best of the Cally books. But still not as good as the original trilogy.