Under a Graveyard Sky (Black Tide Rising)

Ringo does Zombie Apocalypse as only Ringo can... In a tangential but VERY possible direction and the initial set-up got me to buy in all the way. Mostly well written... read like the end was delivered under a hard deadline while his editor was on vacation... I joyfully wait for the follow-up chapters. Jim Baen would have loved this one for sure.

-Big Greg

I have read several vampire books and a number of werewolf books, but this is my first zombie book. I liked the premise and I felt the rational behind the cause of the zombie apocalypse was well thought out. The main characters seemed believable and I was rooting for them. A couple of minor items was the book ends with a "to be continued" when they are still in the middle of things. I personally like to have each book wrapped up a little more. I also found there was a bit of heavy jargon in some places, but I enjoyed the story and will buy the next book in the series.

The book is terrific. It started off as an apocalypse book and just got better from there. The girls are amazing and amusing and start growing up fast but retain their youthfulness when off duty. The parents grow and change too, becoming lean and as tough as they need to be. Watching the development of the battle tactics is fun too. A thoroughly great read and Ringo at his best.

Curse you, John Ringo! Once again, you have crafted a tome I cannot seem to be able to put down, causing me to forsake my usual discipline and neglect my other duties. My initial reaction was "what, ANOTHER zombie apocalypse!?! Seriously?" However, like all of your other books, once started I could not stop... Love the plausibility of the tale, and the gallows humor! This series may even beat out "The Last Centurion" as my favorite book from one of my many favorite authors.

I enjoyed these books. They were a little repetitive at times but what are you going to do during a zombie apocalypse? Kill Zombies. The characters are well developed and there are some stirring, chuckling moments as well as a large dose of patriotic feelings and hope for society as a whole.

I find John Ringo's books entertaining. They are not great literature but they rattle along, some better than others. This one is a bit like the curates egg - good in places. I have not been enthused enough to venture into the second and third volumes yet, though.

My first introduction to the Zombie Apocalypse and wow, what a story to start with. I read the full series, waited a couple of months and started again. The storyline is great, filled with humor, horror, hope and just ass kicking fun. It's got a nice balance of science and story, tech and humanity. I used to have a "top three" list of my favorite books of all time. Now I have a top four.

A really fun read. Love, love, love Faith and Trixie. Not being in the know weaponry wise, I found myself doing the skim over arms lists and descriptions. Great story, likable and engaging characters. Cliff hanger ending drive me batty, so I'm off to buy the next in the series.

First book in John Ringo's zombie apocalypse 4 book series. It's different from other zombie novels - the heroes in this one are actually intelligent, prepared, and willing to do what it takes to survive.

I keep saying great this and great that, but this series is one of those and all of the three I have read deserve the same accolade. Can't wait for the final one in the series. Some books are such that you can't put them down. These, in this series, certainly qualify!

I have read Baen books of different series but had yet to actually read any of Mr. Ringo's works. This was a fantastic way to be introduced to John Ringo. The story is very realistic and obviously well researched. I was able to burn through the bulk of the book in three days and at the end was upset only that the book was over. I cannot wait until the sequel to this quartet is published in February.

Classic Ringo: guns, strong characters (including female characters!), overwhelming odds, good soundtrack! I'm reading #2 now (right after finishing #1, which should tell you something), and hopefully Ringo can stay strong to finish the series and not peter out like others have (Hot Gate, etc)...

The start of yet another great series by John Ringo. The action is superb and characters keep you totally absorbed. I read all four as quickly as I could. Had to pre-order the 4th in the series which is something I never do, For these - I did HAPPILY!!!

I own the hardcovers of John Ringo's Keldara series and loved them for their action and tech talk that is deep enough to interest but not too deep to stall the story. My thought about Graveyard Sky is that there was far more talk about microbiology and DNA, RNA, and RZA (oops, Wu Tang Clan reference) than was necessary to convince the reader that there are a lot of really smart characters in this book. My only other criticism is that while I can accept Mike "Ghost" Jenkins as a former SEAL master of all violence I find it difficult to imagine a 13 year old girl doing the same thing with virtually no hesitation and in fact pretty much absolute glee. More than one set piece with zombies piling on the armored Faith until there is just a pile of "living dead" becoming actually dead as she eventually works her way to the top with shotgun, pistol, knife, etc is one too many. Daughter Sophia and wife Stacy essentially fade into the background which is a shame.

I also hope that volume 2 comes up quickly because I don't think that there is enough literary meat in volume 1 to chew on for a Patrick Rothfuss decade. Enjoyable and a fast read and certainly a 13 year old the store heroine is a nice choice but this isn't up to Ringo's "Ghost" series standards.

John Ringo has answered a lot of basic questions about the zombie apocalypse that others leave hanging... I could not put this book down, and despite some serious gore, I found myself rolling with laughter at the antics of the best shooter they have- a 13 year-old girl...

These days, Zombie Apocalypse stories are a dime a dozen. Rings approaches the subject from a realistic perspective, revealing characters with a degree of depth and a heroic streak a mile wide. This book will make you update your Bug-Out plan, and show you why...

John Ringo has written an excellent treatise on today's society. His science and military aspects all ring true. The series should be required reading by all government leaders and those seeking leadership positions. Not such a great fan of apocalyptic novels or series as they tend to dissolve into fantasy realms. Ringo keeps it realistic.

Ringo continues his unbroken streak of riveting stories. Locked into a desperate fight for survival, his characters live and breathe on the page, giving a whole new meaning to the words "pucker factor"!

Another winning series for Mr. Ringo. Best Zombie book I have read. I hope this doesn't end up like the Legacy of the Aldenta series and never get finished, but I can hardly wait for tomorrow when the Earc of the next book is out.

This series absolutely rocks - the science is well researched, the combat terms and expressions are excellent and the character's are believable. They are real enough to have me laughing and crying along with the characters. The story line is enthralling to the point where I stayed up several nights finishing the book.

Ramp it up another notch. Haven't found another author yet that writes a book like an infantryman monologue. If your idea of Peace is crushing the enemy then picking up your big stick and continuing to walk tall this is your author.

Ringo is one the best currently writing military style futuristic adventures. This is a clean strong story of survival in a realistic zombie disaster. Don't expect a lot of philosophy just shot and survive.

For Walking Dead fans wanting a literary fix, this is your book. Some slow spots in the beginning laying the groundwork for the virus, but it soon took off and never slowed back down. Entertaining and thought provoking.

This review pretty much covers the series as there is no real difference in any of the books.
The Good: Zombies Yay! Military Yay! Everyone who is into zombies always thinks how they would handle it instead of accepting the boneheaded decisions the characters make in other movies and books. The author has thought through his plan on how people should handle zombies that is believable.
The Bad: Okay, the author thought through his plan but he bogs down the story with tedious explanations. He often repeats storylines instead of moving the story forward. Whole chapters should be reduced to a paragraph. But the story does grind forward eventually.
The Ugly: His main character is Faith, a 13 year old girl who is a super model, super soldier, and super annoying. Take a 50 year old super geek gun nut who is filled with movie trivia and cram all that knowledge into a 13 year old. Never in the entire series is she in any real danger so there is no suspense. At every event she has a witty and clever comment which wouldn't be bad but there were so many events it quickly became tiresome. After a while I was shouting at the character to "Just shut up!"
The Badugly: Repetition of Faith. 5-6 times in every book they introduced a new character(s). Sometimes the character sticks around but mostly it's just to show how wonderfully wonderful Faith is. In every instance Faith shows off her super zombie killing powers and "coolness" by accomplishing the impossible while acting stupidly (head phones on, singing, dancing, shooting to the beat, wisecracking). The new character at first judges Faith as they should, a stupid teenage girl. But within 5 minutes of being her awesome self they all fall in love with her. At one moment she's stumbling over words the next she's quoting some obscure passage. She is a badly written character.

So should you read this? Let's face it there aren't many good zombie Apocalypse out there. This isn't one of them. Maybe if you read one book a month you might enjoy it but I read the entire series back to back. He should have cut out the filler, repetition, and overly descriptive explanations and wrote a single book.

The story really moves, but the main characters are May Janes, with little real characterization. That would be my only real negative as I found myself laughing out loud several times and really rooting for the people making their way through a zombie apocalypse at sea.

If you want a zombie apocalypse novel that feels like fact, has a blistering pace, and yet has moments of hold-your-sides hilarity, look no further. John has done it again. The first of four planned books in the series, Graveyard Sky rises to his high standards and is well worth the price!

Another excellent adventure with Ringo. I like the new character,s and it is already moving quickly, which I expect from his stories. I love the detail and the humor. Ringo always takes us on a wild "what if" ride of exploration. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Another excellent adventure with Ringo. I like the new character,s and it is already moving quickly, which I expect from his stories. I love the detail and the humor. Ringo always takes us on a wild "what if" ride of exploration. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Ringo has knocked another one out of the park with this post apocalyptic tale. Read of the last concert in New York and zombie mothers. Read of the harvest of inflected people for their spines. Read of the heroism of Wolf's Squadron.

John Ringo rocks!!!!!!!! These books are fat and I burn threw them like a 12 ga saiga threw a herd of zombies. I love action syfy and he is the Edgar Rice Burroughs of our time. I just can not get all of these fast enough!!!!!!!!!!

Another well written book by John Ringo. A real page turner that was hard to put down. Am really looking forward to the sequel. His science is well researched and as always, great characters. Zombies beware.

I have never previously had any interest in reading a books about a zombie apocalypse - at least not until I saw that this one was written by John Ringo. I am so glad I took a chance on this book. If I had never read any of Ringo's earlier work, I would never have believed that a thirteen-year-old girl could be so hilariously lethal. Tons of fun.