Live Free or Die (Troy Rising, #1)

Sep 28, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, space-opera

I have read several books by John Ringo. I generally find that anything he writes is reliably a good read. This one would, in a perfect world, rate a little higher (for me anyway) than the last Ringo book I read. However since I can't really go all the way to 5 with it and the other is also undeniably a 4 star read, I'm left with little option. We'll just have to say this is one of the ubiquitous "4.5 star" ratings we almost all wish to give, but can't.

Now, why is this book, in my opinion a bit...more I have read several books by John Ringo. I generally find that anything he writes is reliably a good read. This one would, in a perfect world, rate a little higher (for me anyway) than the last Ringo book I read. However since I can't really go all the way to 5 with it and the other is also undeniably a 4 star read, I'm left with little option. We'll just have to say this is one of the ubiquitous "4.5 star" ratings we almost all wish to give, but can't.

Now, why is this book, in my opinion a bit higher on the rating scale than the last?

Mr. Ringo's books are all solid science fiction with enough theoretical and mathematical meat on their bones to satisfy most any hard science fiction fan. Mr. Ringo himself seems to have little patience with those who don't appreciate the scientific depth of his work. Still, we're out here. In the Looking Glass books ( Into the Looking Glass is the first) several times I bogged down completely in the math LOL. Here while the science is solid I never had the urge to yawn and skip a bit...well, not more than once or twice. The book holds the interest, tells a page turner of a story and never flags. Good book.

We get a story here of what happens when Earth is suddenly jerked into a wider universe where we occupy a position much like that of the native American during the colonization of the "New World" or the tribal peoples met by the British Empire. Humans are not faring so well...one more "adventurous" race of aliens has decided to make Earth a protectorate. Of course they can't do that for free...and all the metals that would otherwise be useful in technological advancement and as trade goods are what we have to pay...each year...all of it...

Leaving Earth a third world type backwater planet where unemployment is rampant and a worldwide depression is in full swing.

Enter Tyler Vernon, and a product that is in high demand...off world, that no one expected.

This novel is the beginning of a new series by Mr. Ringo, but it holds up as a stand alone novel (aside from the fact that it ends with obviously more to come of course). It also gives Mr. Ringo lots of room to unlimber his own political and sociological views, of course since these don't differ a whole lot from my own that isn't a huge trial for me. (One thing to be aware of...(view spoiler)

The conflict in the book and political situations atop the development of the plot (and technological wonders) gives a great stage for this big story to be played out. All in all I like it and will more than likely follow it up.

Enjoy, 4 stars and recommended.(less)

10 likes · like · see review

May 24, 2012 Dustin Voliva rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012

My requirements were thus when I set out to read this novel (which is really a series of three novellas packed into one larger work):

1. Aliens.
2. Lasers.

Live Free or Die starts with a near Douglas Adams' flair for comedy. Gate pops up in the general region of earth, aliens fly through and gave a brief humorous description of what the gate exactly provided: namely, the ability for anyone who could pay (aggressor/trader made no difference to it) a trip through. So, we had aliens. Shortly later, al...more

11 likes · like · see review

Oct 02, 2012 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

This is the second book by Ringo I've read and I believe I am going to read more. Live Free or Die (LFoD) is based on the Schlock Mercenary webcomic and I think Ringo did a great job playing with and expanding upon this world.

Firstly, I have to say that Ringo has a wonderful sense of humor and did an amazing amount of research in crafting this novel. His science is plausible but doesn't bog us down with too much description. Generally the characters talk about a situation, give a brief descript...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 06, 2013 Beau rated it 4 of 5 stars

Give me space opera or give me ... wait, I'm not that ready to commit.

I enjoyed Ringo's books about the Posleen, and Prince Roger. This is way different. Troy is a "Big Idea." Tyler Vernon, the character who has the "Big Idea" is the kind of protagonist I enjoy.

It feels a bit like Heinlein. If you like action, if you like alien invasion stories, if you like to see the good guys take a stand on principle ... well, you're gonna enjoy this one.

I understand that the trilogy is now expected to be...more

like · see review

Mar 08, 2013 Erik Nelson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Live Free or Die is mostly free of the things that I like best in novels--character growth and conflict, intricate plotting, etc. That's not what this novel is about. This novel is about exploring the complexities of megascale space engineering. It follows its protagonist from being a New Hampshire lumberjack to being the savior of the human race from an alien invasion. And if that's enough for you, you'll probably enjoy the book.

The book is a breezy, quick read. There are long sections of back-...more Live Free or Die is mostly free of the things that I like best in novels--character growth and conflict, intricate plotting, etc. That's not what this novel is about. This novel is about exploring the complexities of megascale space engineering. It follows its protagonist from being a New Hampshire lumberjack to being the savior of the human race from an alien invasion. And if that's enough for you, you'll probably enjoy the book.

The book is a breezy, quick read. There are long sections of back-and-forth between characters as they work out solutions to engineering problems. You get lots of discussions of various energy output requirements for solar-pumped "laser" arrays, asteroid mining techniques, and how one might go about building something similar in concept to a Death Star. If this is your bag, you'll love it.

My issue with the book is that its main character is something less than endearing. Like many of Ringo's books, his protagonist is a political libertarian/conservative who wears his politics on his sleeve. I don't mind this--I share many of the same political sympathies. But he's often a cold fish. Sure, he's doing what he's doing to save the human race, but is frequently a little too calculating. Just when I think Ringo is going to humanize him with a love interest (women who are regularly described as "stacked"), suddenly the personal backstory of the character gets shoved to the rear in favor of more tech. That's fine--but it's not the sort of thing I enjoy most.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book. Despite the fact that the two most interesting characters (an alien maple syrup aficionado and an AI on a spaceship-fabber) are bit parts, that alien races aren't well-developed, that characters seem to have little depth--none of that deterred me from enjoying the exploration of how one might actually go about building a ten-kilometer diameter space battlestation by using a vast array of focused space mirrors.

So, a qualified recommendation, depending on what you're looking for. This is more about tech than characters and plot. If you dig that, you'll dig this.

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 27, 2013 Christopher Smith rated it 1 of 5 stars

It's the near-future. Astronomers detect what appears to be a ring-shaped asteroid entering the solar system. But then the object decelerates. Okay, so it's not an asteroid; the astronomers freak out. Suddenly, the leaders of the world's major nations get a phone call. It's an automated message from an alien species called the Glatun, informing the hapless earthlings that the object is a hyperspace gate, and any alien race that wants to can now send ships to Earth. You are not allowed to block o...more It's the near-future. Astronomers detect what appears to be a ring-shaped asteroid entering the solar system. But then the object decelerates. Okay, so it's not an asteroid; the astronomers freak out. Suddenly, the leaders of the world's major nations get a phone call. It's an automated message from an alien species called the Glatun, informing the hapless earthlings that the object is a hyperspace gate, and any alien race that wants to can now send ships to Earth. You are not allowed to block or destroy the gate. Welcome to the universe, and good luck.

This book had such a promising beginning. The first hundred pages had good writing, a fascinating premise, and plenty of light-hearted comic relief. Unfortunately, the rest of the book doesn't deliver. The middle third gets extremely bogged down in technical detail. Worse, the main character, whose entrepreneurial spirit is initially endearing, turns out to be kind of an unsympathetic, egotistical jerk.

Even that would be bearable, however, if it weren't for the fact that halfway through the book Ringo ambushes his readers with a sudden barrage of conservative politics. Somehow Ringo manages to incorporate pretty much every right-wing caricature of liberals, government, and the mainstream media, all while patting himself on the back for "at least trying to understand" these groups, something they allegedly make no effort to do in return.

The dealbreaker for me was the tacit endorsement of eugenics. In one segment, some aliens attack the earth with a biological weapon basically designed to kill all the stupid people, the elderly, Islamic fundamentalists, and those with pre-existing medical conditions. The main character then treats us to a lecture about how this will balance the budget and stimulate the economy. He at least has the decency to feel bad for saying so, but not bad enough. Readers are not shown any of the horror of hundreds of millions of people suddenly dying; it's treated almost entirely as a financial and strategic calculation. Ayn Rand and Adolf Hitler would be proud.

After that, I stopped reading. I won't be finishing it, and I won't be picking up one of Ringo's books again.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 20, 2013 Dave Burns rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

This book entertained me well enough that I will try the sequels. But I had to skim some of the tedious descriptions. And I was more conscious than usual that the author had to bend reality to make the story work. I don't mean the technology, which had me happily suspending disbelief, but more the soft science, the economics, psychology and sociology ((though some of that works also). The protagonist of the story out-does the greatest figures of history by orders of magnitude, almost single-hand...more This book entertained me well enough that I will try the sequels. But I had to skim some of the tedious descriptions. And I was more conscious than usual that the author had to bend reality to make the story work. I don't mean the technology, which had me happily suspending disbelief, but more the soft science, the economics, psychology and sociology ((though some of that works also). The protagonist of the story out-does the greatest figures of history by orders of magnitude, almost single-handed. OTOH, the story would be a mess without the protagonist to hold it all together. Character development is secondary, the aliens are alien only in a physical sense and we have to make do with plot and cool ideas. Well, that's still something.

It's a Baen book. I've read and enjoyed many Baen books with similar virtues and vices. If you have too, you know what to expect

Science fiction, even when set in the far future, is always about the present. Ringo sees the world, and hence the universe, as a place primarily composed of persons who want to enslave everyone else and persons who want to stick their heads in the sand about those other persons. In the novel, this sets up conflicts that give us a plot. We could map it onto the history of colonialism, though I'm not sure how the author would react to that (he probably would rate it too PC). If I had to guess the author's spin, I'd guess "reluctant support for post-911 world policing and security theater." Yes, the government is inefficient, but so many people hate us we have no choice but to have the government drone them and surveil everyone just in case. Okay, I am being very unfair. Maybe in the sequel...

The Libertarian Futurist Society nominated the book for a Prometheus award and it made it into the group of finalists, but the voters gave it a pass. The protagonist is a dealmaker and is still portrayed as a hero. Despite saving the world more than once, the press hates him and leftists protest his desecration of the outer space environment. While the action depicted in the book does not portray the government as responding effectively to the various crises, it provides little insight into that ineffectiveness or possible realistic alternatives. So the politics works just as well (maybe better) as economic conservatism rather than libertarianism and is not too in your face. I'm not sure how to twist it to make it really libertarian. Give the colonialist aliens too much subtlety and you have no plot. Have the asteroid mining industry not monopolized by one brilliant person, and none of these brilliant stratagems will happen.

Maybe you should consider that a challenge, if you are an author. Luna is an anarcho-capitalist refuge, and rugged individualists are mining the asteroids as independent operators. Hostile colonialist slave-mongering aliens invade Terra. Who comes to the rescue? If it's a single superhuman Randian hero, you're cheating. But you'll have a novel. Okay, too tough. Let's imitate Ringo, and give Terra some alien allies. Now it's the aliens coming to the rescue. Maybe they're all libertarians too? Even with a government pushing everyone in the right direction and piling up debt to pay for everything, fighting a force armed with faster-than-light capability is pretty hopeless. That's way more lopsided a conflict than Spaniards with guns versus Apaches with bows. Space opera and feudalism seem to go together, at least if there's going to be a happy ending.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Dec 15, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was hard to rate. The (less-than-canon) prequel series to perhaps my favorite webcomic, lots of aliens, tech, action, and Earth kicking butt, and a good mix of hard sci-fi and technobabble keeping it interesting...in theory. In reality, it's not anywhere near that good. I won't cover the author shoving his political views into the reader's throat, or some of the unfortunate implications of Johannsen's, etc, because everyone else seems to already have done so...Instead, I'll cover the a...more

like · see review

Dec 01, 2012 Jonathan rated it 1 of 5 stars

This would have been a fun if utterly mindless little jaunt about aliens invading and humans fighting them off if the author could have not spent every other page stuffing his straight up fascist opinion in with the subtly of a sledge hammer.

I don't use the word fascist lightly. I love Heinlein and find the politics in his books more or less unoffensive. Heinlein certainly writes about brutal militaristic governments, but it is an exploration of those societies and shows both the good and bad....more This would have been a fun if utterly mindless little jaunt about aliens invading and humans fighting them off if the author could have not spent every other page stuffing his straight up fascist opinion in with the subtly of a sledge hammer.

I don't use the word fascist lightly. I love Heinlein and find the politics in his books more or less unoffensive. Heinlein certainly writes about brutal militaristic governments, but it is an exploration of those societies and shows both the good and bad. When Heinlein shoves his political opinion in, it is done with a little bit of finesse. You don't have to agree, but it is at least an interesting perspective. The author of this atrocity, John Ringo, should take a lesson from Heinlein.

In Ringo's world, anyone who isn't actively rooting for poor brown people to die is an idiot. I am not exaggerating. There is a point in the book where all the poor brown people die, and the red neck hero of the book declares it is a real shame, but applauds how much this is going to improve the economy. It would be one thing if this was written from the perspective of a red neck fascist, but it is pretty clearly a fantasy world where every even vaguely lefty decision results in doom, and every fascist decision in a win.

My favorite part is when, after all the poor brown people are killed, a virus makes it so that blond women (and only blond women) go into heat and it makes them desperate to breed and more fertile, thus ensuring that the future of the human race will be blond hair blue eyed white people. I didn't even make that up.

Throw on top of this pile of horrors the fact that there is not a single female character with more than a couple of lines (other than one brief villain), and it is pretty hard to not walk away utterly convinced that the author is just a straight right wing fascist nut. And when I say fascist, I mean it in the that he literally want all brown people to die, women should be slaves, and the world to be made up of blond hair and blue eyed people.

If you want to read some decent militaristic sci-fi with a conservative voice, read some Heinlein. I really can't recommend this crap to anyone who would feel uncomfortable at a KKK rally.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 15, 2012 Jon Bitter rated it 2 of 5 stars

I vacillated from entertained/engaged, mildly amused, bored, confused.

There are definitely a lot of redeeming qualities here. Humans harness the power of the sun to create massive death lasers, and wipe out some oppressive aliens. Good Stuff.

However, that only described the final 75-100 pages. The rest of the time you watch the main character scheme and build up earth's infrastructure to give us the ability to do the aforementioned badassery. To be honest, it was kind of fascinating to see the...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 ES rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, not-to-be-named

I read this book expecting human underdogs beating the crap out of aliens. I did not expect to also get a huge dose of smug ass bastard obliviously filled to the brim with white male privilege. What makes it worse is part of it is obviously on purpose due to the thinly veiled political commentary whenever the repercussions of various plot points are discussed (although still not fully extrapolated due to the unfortunate implications of certain events should they be pursued to their logical concl...more I read this book expecting human underdogs beating the crap out of aliens. I did not expect to also get a huge dose of smug ass bastard obliviously filled to the brim with white male privilege. What makes it worse is part of it is obviously on purpose due to the thinly veiled political commentary whenever the repercussions of various plot points are discussed (although still not fully extrapolated due to the unfortunate implications of certain events should they be pursued to their logical conclusion) but part of it is also in throwaway lines, assumptions of truth or fact that go unchallenged, as if all the people share the same group think-- at least any character given dialogue of any importance convey a very narrow view that the author undoubtedly possesses.

I really wanted to like this book because I love nothing more than the scrappy human picking themselves up and then beating alien overlords at their own games but this particular book's serving was interspersed with boring propaganda and monologues (verging on diatribes) that I suspect are just a vehicle for the author's own opinions. When I have to filter for extraneous BS just to get to the actual story to the point where I am sighing in annoyance and skipping ahead at the very climax of the story because the tension of the action has been tangibly reduced because yet another political tangent just HAD to make its way into the narrative AGAIN, then that's a very bad sign.

I'm sure John Ringo has his fans and I liked his Empire of Man series that he co-authored with David Weber (to the point where it's one of my favorite scifi series) but reading this book made me aware of the "OH JOHN RINGO NO" meme that I had, before this point, not been aware of. If I had found out about this meme before this book, I would've not understood. BUT NOW I DO.

Perusing the more positive reviews of the book, I will go on to read the second book in the series. But somehow I think I will be reading through it very quickly as well if things don't improve. Frankly, this book would likely be leaner and fitter if it was half as long-- by my rough estimate, that's how much space all the unnecessary political treatises was taking up. That's not even going into the unPC and arguably offensive commentary sprinkled throughout like golden nuggets of smug snake wisdom.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

May 21, 2012 Doug Dandridge rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Any fan of military science fiction

John Ringo is one of my favorite "new" authors. I have followed him from his collaboration work with David Weber in the March series and through his many novels. Live Free or Die is one of his best, in my humble opinion. Introducing several alien races, including the mercantile race that is in it for a buck but not conquest, and the evil conquerors who threaten our cities if they are not given exclusive use of Maple Syrup, a potent drug to the first race, Ringo presents a fast paced story with a...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 04, 2012 Christal rated it 2 of 5 stars

So this was my first ever John Ringo. All I can say is... this was a completely and utter train wreck and I kinda loved it! LOL Oh I don't think I will be taking on Mr Ringo as a new favorite author, but I think I will see this trilogy out eventually.

So I had heard about the whole 'Oh John Ringo NO!' and read the article. Laughed myself silly, and while there were parts ALMOST as bad as the example that blogger was using, it wasn't quite up to par just yet. However this is what I have learned f...more So this was my first ever John Ringo. All I can say is... this was a completely and utter train wreck and I kinda loved it! LOL Oh I don't think I will be taking on Mr Ringo as a new favorite author, but I think I will see this trilogy out eventually.

So I had heard about the whole 'Oh John Ringo NO!' and read the article. Laughed myself silly, and while there were parts ALMOST as bad as the example that blogger was using, it wasn't quite up to par just yet. However this is what I have learned from this book:

1) John Ringo can't write a complex, complete personality to save his life. Everyone has to be 1 or 2 things and to the extreme, but EVERYONE has to be amicable in the end to the protagonist.

2) Apparently all run of the mill citizens who are scifi geeks are apparently smarter than those trained in their fields (like NASA). It is just their inability to THINK BIG like the regular working Joe that limits them ::rolls eyes::

3) Maple Syrup is 'da bomb'

4) EVERY idea ever cooked up in old, scifi B books (not movies though, lets get that straight, books only) will ALWAYS work. Because they were obviously geniuses before their time

5) John Ringo hates peace loving hippies but doesn't have the balls to admit he might be a warmonger. So instead his character 'pretends' to only admit war is on the horizon because 'that's just how those aliens are and we must come to that realization before it's too late.' Sorry Ringo, not buying the whole I'm really a peaceful guy who just likes capitalism but I'm smart enough to know when we might have to fight' routine. Everything your guy built was with war in mind, and even when your guy went into a 'rant' when they built the Starfire he was creaming his pants to be the first one in that cockpit to fight the Horvath.

6) Military high mucky mucks are really just big teddy bears once they see that your 'top secret hush hush' deathstar is really for them to defend the planet. What? you built a giant weapon unbeknownst to us and want us to buy it for 3 trillion dollars of the governments money? Oh and tax free? Wellllll since it kinda works I guess I'm sorry for screaming that one time, and hey, let's go get malts together... K, call me!

7) John Ringo doesn't do smooth information giving or description/setting details. John Ringo basically does info dumps every other paragraph, like he's just read some new wikipedia page and had to vomit the information or die. And he HAS to tell a story through characters talking, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY. So our protagonist winds up being a very Chatty Cathy indeed.

And I'm going to leave it there, I could do this all day! But ohhhh sometimes we love our trash right?!(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Feb 10, 2012 Alain rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: funny, science-fiction, space-opera

Live free or die (February 2010) is the first book in the Troy rising series, to be followed by Citadel (January 2011) and The hot gate (may 2011).
The story begins in today's world, with aliens setting up a hyperspace gate in the solar system. Unfortunately, Earth is rapidly visited by hostile aliens, who ransom all of earth precious metals. Earth will be saved by Tyler Alexander Vernon, who discovers that maple syrup is an immensely attractive booze for some aliens. He makes a fortune out of hi...more Live free or die (February 2010) is the first book in the Troy rising series, to be followed by Citadel (January 2011) and The hot gate (may 2011).
The story begins in today's world, with aliens setting up a hyperspace gate in the solar system. Unfortunately, Earth is rapidly visited by hostile aliens, who ransom all of earth precious metals. Earth will be saved by Tyler Alexander Vernon, who discovers that maple syrup is an immensely attractive booze for some aliens. He makes a fortune out of his discovery, starts building a space force, including the deathstar-like Troy battle station, and successfully defends our planet.
I enjoyed reading this book, mostly because of its humour, and because I do like space adventure too. I had a few good laughs while reading it, though they are difficult to explain without spoiling the story. It is sufficiently fast-paced, although some pages are quite tedious because of long and technical discussions between characters, which do not add much to the story.
Being a physicist, I have a few reservations on the scientific side. There are some mixing up of energy units (power vs. energy) and other similar details. Some of the engineering feats also seem really far-fetched. In addition, the economics (oops, I am also an economist) of the making of the fortune of Tyler Vernon seem weak. Not the initial start-up from maple syrup, but the follow-up with asteroid mining operations. This, however, did not prevent me to enter the needed suspension of disbelief and enjoy the story.
I have more reservations on the ideological and political side of the book. John Ringo presents a very simplistic, libertarian and conservative view of the world. Only a good-willing, generous, rich and American benefactor (an enlightened leader ?) can save the world, thanks to free enterprise. And when a new epidemic hits the world, reactions from various countries are full of stereotypes.
In addition, political realism is totally absent. Once the Troy Battle station is set up, for example, only the US has access to it. Not a word of the reactions of Russia or China, among others, which would certainly want to participate to the space expansion at the same conditions than the US. They would certainly feel threatened by such a deathstar above their heads, with only US forces - and Tyler's - present in it. Not a word of the UN, either.
Again, this did not prevent me to enjoy the reading. It makes me hesitate to pursue the discovery of next volumes, though.
To sum up, good entertainment value. I had a good time reading it and would certainly recommend it, but with a pinch of salt and critical mind.
(less)

like · see review

Sep 19, 2011 Allisyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Live Free or Die is an excellent example near-future science fiction. Ringo imagines both how aliens react to Earth and how Earth reacts to aliens with a believable flair. The main character, Tyler Vernon, is a hero written to appeal to a target audience: science fiction fans. Vernon is a web comic writer and general techie who due to changing circumstances ends up in a small town working odd jobs. He's easy for the target audience to relate to because he's one of them. Tyler Vernon is a geek we...more Live Free or Die is an excellent example near-future science fiction. Ringo imagines both how aliens react to Earth and how Earth reacts to aliens with a believable flair. The main character, Tyler Vernon, is a hero written to appeal to a target audience: science fiction fans. Vernon is a web comic writer and general techie who due to changing circumstances ends up in a small town working odd jobs. He's easy for the target audience to relate to because he's one of them. Tyler Vernon is a geek well-placed and with the ingenuity and courage to step out of the crowd to discover a resource that Earth has to offer the aliens in orbit.

In a comical turn of events maple syrup turns out to be an intoxicant for one of the visiting species. I will never think of maple syrup the same way again! This turn of events allows Ringo to focus on the economic effects of an alien invasion on Earth and what lengths governments will go to try and have some control.

I also appreciated the more traditional science fiction aspects of the alien world and technology that help move along the plot and Earth's rebellion and technological revolution (led by Tyler Vernon).

The all-encompassing planning of Tyler Vernon doesn't ring as completely realistic but I was kept pretty well distracted from that by his dry sense of humor and good natured charm. I think that the reactions of the characters around him rang very true. I found Live Free or Die to be a fun and witty science fiction novel though it has the appropriate dark undertones for a captive Earth at the mercy of Aliens. I would certainly recommend this book and look forward to the sequel!

I listened to this as an audiobook which was definitely enjoyable. I thought the narrator did an excellent job of making the voices distinct. However, I was glad as a listener that there weren't too many female characters for him to voice since his attempts at feminine voices were pretty bad (I was less thrilled as a reader but it didn't detract from my enjoyment). This was a fun book to listen to and I think it transfered pretty well to the medium but someday I'll probably track down a paper copy and see how the experience differs.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 27, 2011 Andreas rated it 4 of 5 stars

More Ringo? Why yes. You can never have enough Ringo. Live Free or Die is the start of a new series (that man is a total workaholic) called “Troy Rising”. Aliens pop up, drop a stargate (well, it is) in space, and leave. A while later, another race pops up and demands tribute in the form of most of Earth’s more valuable metals. Humanity has no choice but to comply. Through a combination of luck and deviousness, Tyler Vernon, an IT guy reduced to doing odd jobs, manages to find something that ano...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 21, 2011 Brad rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-fiction-ghetto, sci-fi, political, fiction, technology-porn

I wanted to like this book. Really I did. The series is based off of Schlock Mercenary, which continues to be one of the most consistently funny webcomics around, and so I was predisposed to enjoy it, since it purported to tell the story of "how we got here", i.e. Humanity's first contact in the Schlockiverse and its development into a major intergalactic player. Unfortunately, this was my first John Ringo book, so I came in expecting something a bit different.

As always with Sci-Fi books to whic...more I wanted to like this book. Really I did. The series is based off of Schlock Mercenary, which continues to be one of the most consistently funny webcomics around, and so I was predisposed to enjoy it, since it purported to tell the story of "how we got here", i.e. Humanity's first contact in the Schlockiverse and its development into a major intergalactic player. Unfortunately, this was my first John Ringo book, so I came in expecting something a bit different.

As always with Sci-Fi books to which I give the bad reviews, the concept is very good. The story is even very good in this one, so he's already one up on the Vernor Vinge novel I reviewed here a week ago. The characterization is two-dimensional, which is possibly being generous by a dimension, but I expect that from a genre fiction ghetto book. The real problems with the book are IMO twofold:

1) Technology Porn. Ringo is clearly writing in the finest tradition of Tom Clancy and other tech porn authors, i.e. "why bother with characterization when you can fill your book with how your tech works"? It is not necessarily a BAD thing to discuss how sci-fi tech works-- particularly if you are trying to stay relatively high on the Mohs Scale of Sci-Fi Hardness-- but there comes a point where it's just time to give it a rest, already. Tom Clancy is a best-selling author so John Ringo obviously feels he can get away with pages upon pages of gravitics-- but it didn't work for me. The problem become particularly endemic in the last 2/3 of the book.

2) Obvious Conservative/Libertarian Bias. I don't NECESSARILY mind the "one hero who plays by his own rules saves the world" bit-- I am arguably a historian in the Whiggish tradition-- but Ringo steps beyond that to hit a number of horned-in talking points. Government in general is seen as inept and bureaucratic; Terrestrial liberals are depicted as limp-wristed and view surrender as the first and only option; the Terrans' Patron Race, the Glatun, are described as a society doomed to collapse in the near future due to their disrespect of military tradition and the decadence of their welfare state. There is something to be said re: writing what you believe in, but in a number of places the allegorical rhetoric steps over the line to outright propaganda. (Particularly in the places where he intimates that America is, as usual, at the forefront of the struggle for freedom and the rest of the world consists of cheese-eating surrender monkeys.) I don't think THIS level of political was necessary, and it really marred my enjoyment of the book.

The story is interesting enough that I am reading as we speak the second novel in this series, "Sentinel"... but I am notably reading the library's copy rather than my own, since I think I would feel dirty paying money for this.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Feb 15, 2011 Kathy Davie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, funny, military, sci-fi

A military SCIENCE fiction tale in the new Troy Rising series, Live Free or Die is an appeal to "life, liberty or death" when the Horvath come through the gate set up by the Glatun and demand Earth's most precious and rare metals in return for their protection (from the Horvath).

Fortunately, Tyler Vernon isn't all that accepting of what Jason Haselbauer calls Revenuers and he plots a tasty trade takeover to get what the he thinks the Earth needs to protect itself against the Horvath (and anyone...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 28, 2011 Asher rated it 2 of 5 stars

Pretty bad.
Unlike many of my fellow negative reviewers however i am not picking on the strong libertarian themes as my reason of dislike.
I liked Heinleins "Moon is a harsh Mistress", and the underlying political themes are quite similar.
Also i have nothing against Nietze "Ubermenschen" as Protagonist Heroes.

The writing to me just seems so clumsy in many ways.
It never really seems to flow, but stutter along.

Also, while i dont insist on a cast of all meaningful and complex characters, having a bo...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 16, 2011 Tom Rowe rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Right Wing Americans, People who like going to meetings

The book consists of three parts.

Part I: "The Maple Syrup War" is great. 4 stars. The tone is light and humorous. The writing style is fast moving and attention grabbing. The hero is inventive, ingenious and likable.

Parts II and III are dull, tedious, plodding, boring etc... 1.5 stars. These parts mostly consist of engineering design and business meetings. The hero from the first part becomes a bossy, threatening CEO who gets the impossible done by other people by shouting at them and threatenin...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 23, 2010 reed rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

2 likes · like · see review

May 31, 2010 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

I enjoyed this book for many reasons.
I first picked it up because I like a good space opera, but turned out to be more that just "space opera".

In the best tradition of Robert Heinlein we have a "lone" protagonist who takes responsibility and action when they realize that they have the means (i.e. leverage) to do so. But that's not enough to stymie and defeat an alien aggressor. You need to have big ideas, too. And Tyler Vernon does. Like many a dictator, those around him don't always know what t...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 19, 2010 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's a fun, fast read about the early years of interstellar contact. Three years after the arrival of an interstellar gate opened up contact between Earth and the rest of the galaxy, our planet is conquered by the Horvath. Now it's up to one man to save us (of course). I enjoyed this while I was reading it; there's some good military sf, some fun ideas about how to leverage our way into space, and he made _maple syrup_ into a major plot point which is all kinds of awesome.

But: Ringo couldn't se...more

like · see review

Feb 11, 2010 Dawn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

Better than the awful "Last Centurion" but....the political agenda is costing him my money.

The premise for this one was good. It could have been a wonderful read. The Earth is along the path of galactic progress and gets invaded by a slightly more powerful alien species, while the far more powerful and jaded really tough alien species watches it all happen.

It's up to One Man to Save Us All.

Fun, right?

Ringo has an excellent sense of humor and loves to make intelligent jokes in the middle of the a...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 10, 2013 Tom rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a book about the American dream of the future - not being the first person to talk to an alien, but the first person to make a deal, make the most of every opportunity, and prove himself the good old American way: by making his money, and spending it on enterprise.

The writing is pretty cool, the humour is entertaining without being too corny, and overall it's an entertaining book.

The only thing that marred the experience for me was the amount of political grandstanding. Tyler believes in...more

like · see review

Feb 14, 2011 Joe Martin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Once again, I greatly enjoyed a book by John Ringo.

If you're going to read Ringo, you need to know what you're getting yourself into. He's a veteran and (judging from his books) he loves blowing stuff up, he hates stupid people, he loves weird aliens or situations, and he has quite a vivid imagination.

Live Free or Die follows this trend. Like many of Ringo's recent books it has a "conversational style". When I say that, I mean that it reads as if you were sitting around a fire with him, listeni...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 25, 2010 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting and funny science fiction book. I wasn't too sure about it at the start because it involved selling maple syrup to aliens!

I guess John Ringo has some political issues and it comes out in his writing. He moves through this book pretty rapidly because he kind of skips things like language barriers and other stuff you'd expect upon a first contact story. The main character seems kind of old at the beginning but doesn't seem to age much throughout the book. He is obviousl...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 28, 2012 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, action-challenge, humorous, thriller, science-fiction, favourites

To John Ringo,

I'd never read one of your books. I had seen them at the library along with several other bestsellers as books I'd always intended to read but never had. In fact I often have had to resist the allure of their glossy, hard-cover jackets because I had plenty more books to read. Of course I always had that sneaking suspicion that one day I would have to take the plunge and read one of your books. It always ends up that way with the glossy best-sellers...

Eventually this book caught up...more
To John Ringo,

I'd never read one of your books. I had seen them at the library along with several other bestsellers as books I'd always intended to read but never had. In fact I often have had to resist the allure of their glossy, hard-cover jackets because I had plenty more books to read. Of course I always had that sneaking suspicion that one day I would have to take the plunge and read one of your books. It always ends up that way with the glossy best-sellers...

Eventually this book caught up to me thanks to my mother reading it and recommending it. So I picked it up curiously and I must admit that you won me over with the simple foreword. You wrote about how you had 'stolen' the idea for this novel from a web-comic. You mentioned how you had no intention of this being a great literary read, a tale about the 'other' or 'alienation' through 'othering'. No you had planned this as an entertaining space story and I respect that, above all I read for joy and entertainment.

When I begun I found that this was one of the most fun books I've read all year. Not the most unique (but you mentioned that it wasn't meant to be 'unique') and not the best book but one of the most fun. The whole opening with aliens dropping a intergalactic doorway in our solar system was very clever twist on that whole intergalactic 'stargate' idea. Following that up with traders from friendly alien planets coming through and then tyrannical aliens was also great. You had a set up that placed humanity under the boot of stronger and more advanced aliens. But then you went and came up with one entrepreneur who fought his way and humanity's way into power. A man who discovered that the aliens had an addiction to maple syrup. And how he traded up to gain alien technology for humanity was brilliant. I loved the way you showed an alien first encounter and humanity entering into a proper space age.

I loved the humour of your book, the jokes made through your story. I loved the entertaining action and the protagonists with their banter. I get that there was some politics in the story, which I'm probably not American enough to understand. I did like how you showed that sometimes governments can spend too much time working out the proper way to do things rather than the right way and the way that works to help its people. Are governments there for themselves or the people?

Most of all I loved the way all the elements combined in this story. It was a fun read, a book I will not regret having read and definitely a book for action adventure junkies. Thanks for writing this fun book Mr. Ringo!

Sincerely,
a new reader of yours
(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Aug 15, 2012 William rated it 4 of 5 stars

i have read all three books, and the story is good, the main characters of each book are also really good. The problems I personaly found are 1. the political commentary, and 2. the supporting characters. the problem i have with the political commentary is not so much what he said but how said it. A book can ex-posit conservative view points and do so well, unfortunately the problem with the troy rising series is Ringo lacks subtlety and instead chooses to take the liberal bashing point of view...more

like · see review

Aug 18, 2010 C.W. Holeman III rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: loved-it, wishlist

I've read some of his other books in the past, and I enjoyed them. But I just read "Live Free or Die" today (cover to cover). I have not enjoyed a book that much in years. From the moment I started to read the acknowledgments, until the end of the very last page, I was hooked. It was brilliantly written, and I loved it.

I have a vague recollection of there being more "mature" content in other books by him. I don't know if I'm remembering wrongly,or it was intentionally toned down (perhaps due to...more

1 like · like · see review

topics	posts	views	last activity
Small Government ...: Live Free or Die	11	31	Oct 29, 2012 01:12pm
What's The Name o...: Alien Invasion Trilogy.... [s]	3	116	Jun 10, 2012 07:11pm

title link	preview: Live Free or Die
avg rating	preview: Live Free or Die Goodreads rating: 4.10 (2530 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6713634-live-free-or-die?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347954277l/6713634.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6713634-live-free-or-die?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Live Free or Die by John Ringo[/url]

Live Free or Die (Troy Rising #1)

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (8)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About John Ringo

Books by John Ringo

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Live Free or Die