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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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Emerald Sea – John Ringo
I found this book a little
disappointing, to be honest; it was a mediocre sequel to ‘There will be
Dragons’. The first book painted a vivid picture of the collapse of a
society and the war between the reformers and the traditionalists, the second is
centred on a diplomatic mission. Many
of the most interesting elements – the collapse into madness of Paul, the
strategic picture – are missing. I
find it hard to balance the use of the advanced tech from one side with the
near-complete absence of it from the other (or the unwillingness to use it.)
I could think of at least three different ways to use the power New
Destiny has to prevent the mission from succeeding. Perhaps the really
disappointing part is the lack of a real ending.
That has happened in Ringo’s books before (notably ‘When the devil
dances’), but this time the abrupt end is sharper.
I’m left confused; how will what’s happened affect the war at large?
How does it contribute towards a victory? If some of the Mer have joined New Destiny, how will that
play out? On the plus side, the book is
fun in places. The homicidal rabbit
– Bun-Bun – is an extremely amusing character.
Ringo must have had fun writing him.
Bast is interesting too, although she is almost too good. I do question the sense of the good guys in sending Baron
Talbot far away from any real support. He
is, in the first book, truly indispensable.
Now it seems they can risk losing him when he’s at sea and out of his
element. The horror elements from
TWBD – the death of the nanite girl sent shivers down my spine – are almost
missing. Much of the flaws in the book
are redeemed by the novella at the rear of the book.
‘In a time of darkness’ is a haunting tale of slavery and hell in the
heart of the enemy faction. It’s
more personal-based than the main novel, but it’s well worth a read.
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