Damn, did this book throw me for a curve? I’ve read many of John Ringo’s books, and I’ve always thought of him as one of the best military SF writers out there, together with David Weber, and he delivers as well as ever in “Ghost”, but not only does he show us another interesting character like Michael O’Neal from the Legacy of the Alldenata series, he shows us a true anti-hero, a sexual sadist that fights against the call of the pleasure of inflicting pain…and not always wins the battle.
The book mostly threw me for a curve not because of the sexual content, but because of the *quality* of said sexual content. Most SF authors trully suck at writing about relationships and sexuality (which is why, for instance, Asimov never ever wrote about either…not because he didn’t want to, but because he sucked at it, and he said it more than once), but Ringo knows his pr0n :) I can easily see this book posted in alt.sex.stories or in Stories Online (warning, sexual content), and racking in good critiques on the sexual scenes.
On the other hand, the real meat of the book is still the great writing that has characterized Ringo in all of his books. Intense characters, interesting situations, shootings, pursuits and even atomic bombs. The Ghost, aka Michael Harmon, is a well rounded character, one you get to know as the stories (three of them in this book) unfold, one we see do battle with himself as much as he does battle with the bad guys he faces…and who seems to have better luck with the bad guys than with his inner demons :)
The bad guys. John Ringo decided that this time he wasn’t going to call in the Posleen or any of their outer-space cousins. This time the enemy comes from Earth, just like the hero (if such label can be applied to Ghost). No space ships, no alien invasions, no first contact…just your garden variety Middle East terrorists…with plans you’d really hate to see come through. Kidnappings and atomic bombs, a fun combo that makes the Ghost come back from retirement (he’s an ex-SEAL) and do battle again.
All in all, a very good book, even if outside of Ringo’s usual style, worth reading even for those that don’t enjoy the sexual parts of it. And for those that enjoy the sexuality included, it’s even a better book :)
technorati tags: Books, Science Fiction, Sexuality
Tags: Books, Reviews
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