Live Free or Die: Troy Rising I

John Ringo (at least the Troy Rising series) is idiosyncracic, a singular voice. I was recommended to it, by a friend. John Ringo did not disappoint.

A real page-turner. Excellent story telling, just enough character development without getting bogged down in it.

John Ringo has "done it" again! Written an outstanding story, that is the first book of a great series! A Great story of alien domination
and the courage and vision of one man's determination to " Live Free or Die ".

All of John Ringo's books should be on your reading list, for he is certainly on my MUST READ LIST.

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Minor Spoilers ahead -

Had a bit of a Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" feel to it for me. The irreverent humor, the way the primary character interacted with the alien species, and his general outlook on life. John Ringo is a great storyteller and this story just rolls along seamlessly. Great minor character development as well across all three books honestly. There aren't many books I read where I am disappointed to reach the end that there isn't 'just one more chapter please!' but all of this series were that way.

Live Free or Die is undoubtedly one of John Ringo's finest efforts. Without giving anything away, Ringo has produced the perfect blend of science fiction, alien invasion, space opera, social commentary and humor. Liberals will certainly be incensed by John's exposure of liberalism's inherent hypocracy, destructiveness and core falsehoods. Live Free or Die illustrates in a lively & entertaining way the huge role liberalism/statism play in the degradation and decline of great societies/empires. An absolute page turner, never has a more invaluable, priceless message been delivered in a more entertaining fashion.

Tyler Vernon is a handyman and lumberjack just scraping by making in a living. In a previous life, before the Aliens arrived, he was a successful comic writer and IT industry professional. When he finally gets to meet an alien at a SciFi convention (they are virtually non existent now SciFi is real) he makes a deal with them when he finds a product they will buy that will change both his future and that of the earth itself.

This is best described as a space opera and patriotic homage to the American political system. Tyler is really the only character that is well developed in the book, and there is a notable lack of female characters in general. The whole thing comes of as unashamedly over-the-top and I had the impression that the world bounced back weirdly well from the mass disasters inflicted on the planet. If I could I would give this book 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the first half of the story more than the second half which descends to a large degree into techno-jargon. Having finished it I'm inclined now to wait for book 2 Citadel: Troy Rising II in paperback rather than hardcover.

I enjoyed this book, the ideas presented in its pages were interesting and fun. The biggest detractor from enjoying this book to its greatest potential has to come from the bouncing around of ideas and rapid time/scene/idea changes that are admittedly a key point of the writing style employed. I just disliked it more than I liked it. I feel that Ringo has written better as a linear progression author than he did in this book.

Love this book. It has the self starting Heinlein character who rises to wipe out the enemy and plant his flag. Interesting info about asteroid mining and some fun characters including a floating factory/AI that helps the main character.

I have read other John Ringo books and really enjoyed them so expected the same out of this one. Wow! Was I disappointed! I found this to be the worst John Ringo book I have ever read. I managed to finish it but it was a struggle. The book has about 600 pages and I was well into it before there was any action. The first couple of hundred pages were about selling maple syrup to the aliens. (it is intoxicating to them). I found myself skipping paragraphs and even full pages sometimes. It became a little interesting to me after I was 60% into it. Cut the excess detail and add a little action and I may have rated it higher. Enough said.

When I heard that John Ringo had another military series, I thought to myself that John has started another one to suck me in. Well, guess what? I was right, he has. The first Troy Rising novel is a great read with enough twists and turns to keep even the most jaded reader happy for picking it up. This book contains unforgettable characters who actually attack problems in a common sense way duel with their own clueless politicians and liberal median to win the day. As I said, a great read. It is so good, that I have already ordered the next two books in the series.