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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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Into the Looking GlassJohn Ringo – Baen Books, 2005. I have to admit, I've been
worried about John Ringo lately. While
he came up with some excellent ideas, I found that my initially high level of
interest in the Council Wars had fallen as book 2 and 3 (Emerald Sea,
Against The Tide) came
out. While Ringo remained
tactically brilliant, strategically the books weren't so great.
All of the characters with the exception of Edmund and Herzer struck me
as stupid - what's the point in planning a coup if you don't have any idea how
to use what you've got to fight? What's
the point of brilliantly arranging to get extra power if you don't use it? Into the Looking Glass, however,
restores my confidence in Ringo's work. The
book begins with a nuclear-type explosion when an experiment into particle
theory goes wrong. On the site of
the blast, researchers discover a gateway to another world, gates which begin
multiplying - and some of them lead to dangerous places with a dangerous alien
threat. Ringo is on top form with the
battles. It's nice to see battles
on American soil for once, something that most writers dismiss as impossible
(Eric L. Harry is the main exception, although his writing stretches
probability) and the aliens are well described.
The Dreen make deadly foes, while Ringo is as reassuringly politically
incorrect as ever. The ending of
the book, with the description of global events, is great.
A dream come true. Its funny
to have President Bush and Ms Rice as characters - Ringo should send them a
signed copy. Other parts of the
book are wonderfully funny, including the safety briefing at the beginning of
the gate exploration. As always when Doc Travis is
involved, the science is well above my head.
All I can really say is that it sounds good and the book does not go too
far out of its way to explain it all. An
infodump at the back of the book might have been helpful, but no matter.
The military implications of the gates and their disruptions are well
described; even if Ringo does downgrade nukes a little. There are a couple of minor
oddities. Why would the government
allow a potentially dangerous alien creature to remain with a little girl and
her family, rather than placing it (and her) into secure quarters somewhere.
It's not just logical, it is dangerously incompetent not to secure Tuffy.
The second odd point is what happened to the Cthulhu creature in Florida?
Was it nuked? Did it just vanish? If
it starts expanding in the next book, that would add some impetus to the space
program. One question; what is it with the
long chapters? I've still waiting
on Amazon to deliver my printed copy, but its very odd on the ebook. Well worth a read.
Five out of five.
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