Watch on the Rhine (Posleen War Series #7)

For the most part I enjoyed this installment of the Posleen War Series. Kratman continued the story from a different part of the world, something that I always thought about when reading Ringo's original 4 books, how the rest of the world faired against the alien invasion. Kratman does a decent job, although there are definitely pros and cons to his style of writing.

Pros: I love the idea of exploring what an alien invasion would be like and how Humans would respond. Kratman explored this just as well as RIngo did in the first 4. We see defense lines overrun and how the Humans responded. The use of supped up Tiger tanks, with an upgrade of alien technology, was fun to read about. Though not as fascinating as Armored Suits, the Tigers are a nice addition to the Posleen Saga. Kratman certainly expressly makes clear the consequences of traitors, vengeance to those aiding the invasion, at least indirectly, and to vengeance upon the aliens. I would imagine in an invasion a hard line would have to be taken, and Kratman certainly explores this (i.e. Gunter and the soldier who turned and ran from advancing Posleen). He also explores the contrasting view points of cowardice and/or the inability to act (i.e. the soldier who ran and Thomas unwilling to detonate the bridge).

Cons: Everything was laid out so perfectly with never a doubt that the Humans would lose. I mean it is a given that they will ultimately win, but there was no stress or suspense. It was more this is what is happening and how they did it, instead of seeing overwhelming odds and the loss of hope. On the same note it was a little annoying to see the Posleen constantly saying how the Humans were too powerful a force or that they would never beat the Humans. The suspense angle should have shown the Posleen defiant to the very end, as we saw in Ringo's original 4.

Ultimately I enjoyed Watch on the Rhine. I feel more suspense could have done wonders for this book, as opposed to laying out what happened with no wonder at the what ifs and so on. I would recommend and will read Kratman's next in the series to see where the Posleen War Series takes us, as his Epilogue certainly hints at.

3.5 stars.

The series written by John Ringo (and a few guests) is not your standard aliens invade earth story. I found it intriguing and entertaining and recommend it to any 16 and up. - Derek Peterson

Not great literature but at times it can certainly be fun.

I have done a complete 180 on John Ringo whatever problem I am have with his other books this book is gold. Yes the characters are never complicated but there are times when I prefer a simplistic story to all of this "conflicted villain" nonsense that has become vogue in Scifi in recent years.

At least with Ringo you always know what you are going to get Humans are good and Posleen are bad, humans do whatever it takes to survive even rejuvenated Nazis and Posleen ignore common sense. You also need to remember that any human who talks about retreat or negotiation isn't going to last very long.

Do yourself a favor, don't read this trash. And I do NOT refer to the book's subject matter. It's simply that this is one of the worst-written books I ever came across. The plot and subject matter could have been made interesting. Other sister-books in the series (Hero, Cally's War) are well written and enjoyable to read. This literary abortion is absolutely awful, could have been the literary creation of an IQ-challenged ten-year old.

This is a book with a promising premise that's ruined by the author's agenda.

I came to the book, and John Ringo, cold. I hadn't read anything else by him, thought the cover was interesting, and needed something to read on the plane. The quality of the prose is workmanlike--it didn't impress me, but it didn't get in my way either. That's sufficient if the story itself is good.

The problem is that the book was written to convey a lesson about our current circumstances in the War on Terror that Ringo and Kratman felt they had to communicate. The agenda itself is made explicit in an afterward--you can flip right to it before you read, and if you agree with it, maybe you'll enjoy a nice tale.

The premise is that the Posleen, who are literally flesh-eating aliens, are coming to Earth to extinguish humanity, and humanity has to reach for its darkest extremes to find the will and the tools to survive; enter the SS, resurrected by a rejuvenation therapy and equipped with the best technology that can be developed by crash programs.

Up to this point, it's an interesting idea. How far must and will we go to survive? How do we tolerate the evil we must do, so we can live and try to be good? Is it possible to unleash something like the SS for a limited purpose and then get rid of them when the threat is past?

Unfortunately, it's all downhill from that starting point. Anyone of a less than enthusiastic sentiment towards the SS is lumped into the category of weak-willed betrayers of humanity (again, literally). There are no moral qualms or questions about the necessity or wisdom of resurrecting the SS, just a "with us or agin us" depiction of various fates. The apologetics for the SS are cloying as well--revisionist history about certain divisions, and a desperate attempt to separate the fighting spirit of the SS from the uses to which it was put and the circumstances under which it flourished. Basically, a "they weren't all bad" defense that's a further textual repudiation to those in the novel who might have thought that resurrecting the SS might not be the best idea in the world.

That's the problem with an agenda book. It's a meaty premise that could have explored a lot of interesting angles of the situation. Instead, you get a pedantic lesson where the authors try to equate Islamic terrorists with flesh eating, baby flaying (again, literally) aliens. That they had to go that far to draw the comparison is a subtle reproof to the agenda itself, though I don't think they caught that.

The contempt the authors feel for anyone who disagrees with them is made plain in the afterward, and that includes you if you think that the comparison is maybe a bit hyperbolic. It's also a bit nonsensical--they say that "it is a world war that is putting to the test every notion of individual liberty, freedom of conscience, and the rule of law that the West prizes", then in the next paragraph decry "a narrow, legalistic mindset", as if the rule of law were somehow at odds with the demands of the legal mechanisms that are its body. Also, the bit about freedom of conscience is nice, since everyone in the book who's less than an ardent supporter of the SS is... well, let's let Tom Kratman say what should be done to them: "Can we hang 'em? No drop?" ("Oh, alright" replies Ringo).