When the Devil Dances (Posleen War Series #3)

by John Ringo

Book Overview

The human-eating Posleen have invaded Earth, decimating all but two North American territories. Heavily outnumbered, humans cluster close together, the possibilities of habitable space shrinking by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743436024
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.2" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

When will the devil dance in Poland?

When it comes to the militaristic SF there are a few really good authors and without doubt John Ringo is one of them. For an unknown reason you can't buy his books in Poland, however... "When the devil dances" continues the story of war between Posleen and humans. You can read it alone and if that's the case you'd be surely tempted to read the previous ones... There's a lot of reviews telling what this book is about so I won't do that. If you're even marginally into militaristic SF go for it and you won't be disappointed.

Getting stronger!

The aliens are less alien seeming in this book, and more like very extreme examples of human archetypes. The humans are still mostly two-dimensional, but that doesn't manage to damp the enjoyment of reading this rocket sled-ride-to-doom! Looming extinction, back-stabbing 'superiors,' feckless bureaucrats, logistics SNAFUs, good soldiers and bad, and the fabulous GalTech all still mix together to create a fast-paced read.My complaints from previous books in this series remain: The deux ex machina rescues are back, and the technology still has magic performance. Now, I realize that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," but a little explanation of how, for instance, soldiers can wield what are, in essence, heavy-duty mass-driver hoses yet not suffer recoil forces would be interesting. Some fairly obvious tactical screws-up exist, too. For instance, the GalTech Aid (personal computer/secretary/librarian/etc.) can produce an impenetrable reactionless shield, but yet no one bothers to use them as such in combat. What's with that? Instead, they use them as pop-up land mines, with the force field flipping on and off in unrestrained mode to slice the Posleen into gobbets of dripping yellow meat. Now that's a nifty, nasty, and believable innovation, but how come everyone's forgotten to use these same screens in their originally-intended mode?One especially jarring element is the Rah-Rah cheer leading for the online comic Sluggy Freelance, and in particular, for Bun-bun the homicidal mini-lop rabbit. While I enjoy Sluggy very much, and have been reading it for years, I find the over-the-top evangelical enthusiasm of Ringo for Sluggy to be annoying and distracting.To the good, many of the stronger points of the previous books are retained. Sympathetic characters still die. Human resourcefulness in the face of overwhelming odds is still the order of the day, and shows up all over the place. There is more focus on the civil effects of living under the threat of extinction, and it's not pretty. Ringo has done a nice job of showing the Law of Unintended Consequences here, where pre-invasion political considerations & shortsightedness come back to haunt humanity. People, who relied upon their politicians to be wise, instead find themselves squarely in the path of danger due to "politics-as-usual." The Posleen are no longer complete cyphers, and show that they *can* learn. This isn't at all good for humanity, and the entire book revolves around what happens when one brilliant and innovative Posleen commander intersects with the defects of human foresight.There is a widening of scope that moves the focus somewhat away from the principle characters of the first two books, and sharpens the focus on some previous bit-players. New characters are introduced, and hints of schemes within schemes begin to surface. It seems that humanity isn't without allies against the treachery of the Darhel, even though the Darhel appear to be playing

Don't Get the Wrong Idea ...

Reading the other reviews I find a repeated criticism of this book as not being long enough, the series being too long, etc., etc. I come to John Ringo via David Weber and going on 60 years of SF background and the library to prove it. This book is every bit as good as those that preceded it in this series and that means VERY, VERY GOOD (if you like this sort of thing). As the series develops the stories keep getting richer and more believable. Here is a saga of interstellar invasion in a setting of galactic society with all sorts (maybe too much) of political incompetence and duplicity. It starts nearly in the present. Anyone who thinks that Ringo is going to compress this into 2 or 3 books is fooling themselves, Especially with his style of gemlike episodes and emphasis on individual military actions. Yes, I too wish there were more books readily available without waiting years for the series to end. But it's worth it to have such good stuff at all!If Ringo could wrap up the battle for Earth in one more volume and then the battles to take over the galaxy from its evil (and still unknown) overlords in one more I would be very surprised. To stop short of that would REALLY be frustrating and upsetting. I fear for the worst in this respect because of his recent association with David Weber who is well known for leaving nascent series to die on the vine. Practically every book Weber writes cries out for a sequel, a cry which is seldom answered - except in the one Honor Harrington series which is almost too much the other way. I do wish that his publisher would get the word to publish hardcovers first instead of later if at all. Both Weber and Ringo are now "big boys" and deserve full scale publication.

Leaves you wanting more..and SOON

Ringo's Posleen books (A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, and now When the Devil Dances) are powerful, near future combat sci-fi. If that's what you like, these deliver a complex plot, detailed characters, and compelling action. I think Gust Front (at least) should be read before WTDD to get a sense of the characters and context.My only, small, disappointment with WTDD is its cliffhanger ending - but as my review title says, I look forward eagerly to Mr. Ringo's next Posleen book.I highly recommend this series.Mr. Ringo is a very accessible author, who discusses a number of subjects (including previous and future books) at the Baen's Bar website. It's surprising and gratifying to receive an author's response to questions about apparent inconsistencies in his books, as well as his writing schedule.

More Fun than a barrel of Pegullahs

Want a Wild Ride ? Your copies of Hymn before Battle and Gust Front starting to lose pages from being reread? Wait no Longer. John Ringo is Back. And with him the Posleen Invasion. I have a feeling that people either love or hate this genre and particularly Ringo's writing. So if you enjoyed the first two, you're going to eat this up. Be prepared for late night reading with a flashlight, hemorrhoids from hiding in the [bathroom] so you can finish a chapter, cold leftovers instead of meals, and a general disorientation when you are not reading the book that will include a general glazing over of the eyes and a far away look that people will wonder where you are as you certainly are not all there. Run, don't walk to order this book. The only bad thing about this book is that it ends and you want more. Hurry Up John Ringo - I'm ready for MORE !