When the Devil Dances (Posleen War Series #3)

When it comes to military science fiction I always turn to Ringo. His writing is nonstop military sci fi from beginning to end. Which is great, but the plot isn't always that focused. What you get, instead, is lots and lots of details about all things military: strategy, weapons, troops.

Although Ringo's plots aren't always that in depth, he tightened it up quite a bit in this his third book of the series. He has a lot of threads going in this one: Cally and Papa Oneal, Oneal, Duncan and Pappas, Shari and Wendy along with a few other lines, most importantly we follow a couple of SheVas. The problem is that some of the lines were tidied up, but some of the important ones were just left in the air, presumably to set up for the next installment.

I would certainly recommend Ringo to anyone looking to read some great military science fiction, but I am not too sure if you would like it if you don't like military books. I definite recommend for the genre.

5 stars.

This third installment in the Posleen Wars series takes place about five years after the end of GUST FRONT. The Posleen invaders have overrun nearly the entire planet, with only America still putting up any significant resistance. While it was a bit of a disappointment to find that we've missed reading about a large part of the war, it is acceptable that Ringo has a larger story to tell. WHEN THE DEVIL DANCES is another long book, being over 700 pages in the mmp edition, but Ringo does a great job of keeping your attention. You won't be bored while reading this one.

This book devotes a lot of energy and time to secondary character development. In particular, Cally O'Neil, Annie Elgars, and Wendy Cummings (pictured on cover) are greatly expanded upon and will undoubtedly play major roles in future books. Mike O'Neil is for the most part left on the sidelines for this one, but some of the other characters from the previous books play significant roles, including Mosovich, Mueler, and Ryan. A new Posleen commander (Tulo'enstolar or something) is introduced and promises to be extremely troublesome to the human defenders.

The other major thread in this book focuses on changes in weaponry and tactics of the war. The humans have developed the gigantic SheVa gun (basically a mobile, anti-lander cannon) and have relocated most of the civilians into enormous underground bunkers/cities called 'Urbs'. They have also finally accepted that using nukes has to be considered. The posleen have also developed a bit, particularly because of the cunning of the new commander. Flying tanks and changing tactics make the posleen in this book much more of a threat than in the previous books.

The book ends with a major cliff-hanger which better be concluded in the next book or many people will be disappointed. Looking forward to reading HELL'S FAIRE.

Great military Sci-Fi book, but it's best to start at the beginning of the series. There are many things that carry over from one book to the next and it's like watching a TV series. If you don't start at the beginning it takes a while to catch on to the character development.

Perhaps the best book yet in a great series of future war. Read it with pleasure and satisfaction!

"A Hymn Before Battle" and "Gust Front" introduced John Ringo and his War Against the Posleen universe with a rousing start. Unfortunately, the next two books (this review is for "When the Devil Dances" and "Hell's Faire" because, even as Ringo admits, they are really one book) do not live up to the beginning. "When the Devil Dances" starts strong, picking up a while after the battle of "Gust Front"; humanity is struggling in pockets of civilization as they continue to battle against the initial invasion of the Posleen. But, they also know that the next, bigger wave is approaching, and that stopping the final taking of Earth by the Posleen seems impossible without re-enforcements from the units fighting off world - re-enforcements that they are told are not coming.

These two books are darker as well; Ringo admits to this in his afterwards of "Hell's Faire" where he talks about the effects of 9-11 on his writing of the book(s) and where he also admits to the faults of the third and fourth books of the series.

Though the book(s) has(ve) some great moments and some great battles, there are some serious flaws riddling the story. The biggest problem with the third book (or third and fourth books), is that it is too long...way too long - really needed some editing. Again, Ringo admits to this; which is unfortunate because that means it could have been fixed before publication. I think most of the blame falls on Baen Books, not Ringo; Baen has become a bit of a factory and its good authors suffer for it.

Another big problem with "When the Devil Dances" and "Hell's Faire" is the direction Ringo takes to story and the characters. The darkness that Ringo brought to these books, does not fit the first two books or the universe he created. And, he leaves us completely unfulfilled in regards to the background intrigue that has been building throughout the series. And, when he talks in the afterwards of walking away from the universe for a period of time because he is burned out on it, I found that very unfair as there was too much left undone.

And a warning: my biggest problem with these two books is the way he ends it! I won't tell you the ending, but it is so quick and so pat, I was left so dissatisfied, that it spoiled the universe for me. Then it got worse when the next books in the universe were cash-cow pot boilers written by other authors! What a disappointment.

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A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.