John Ringo

pwalker8 · 05-10-2018, 10:59 AM

I first read John Ringo back in 2000, with his mainline Posleen War books, and liked them a lot. Then I read the Empire of Man series that he co-wrote with David Weber and liked those a lot. But then, I found his spin off series uninteresting (Cally's War and the Council Wars) and his Paladin of Shadows series pretty much clinched the deal for me. Ringo was off my reading list.

I decided to take a chance on Ringo again when he came out with his Black Tide Rising series, and really liked it. That lead me to try the Troy Rising series and found that I liked that one as well. When he came out with his Monster Hunter Memoirs, I really liked those (just finished the last as an ARC), so I went back to the Looking Glass series, which I had because they were included in the Baen ebook monthly bundles. Nope, still didn't care for them.

That's a fairly unique experience for me. I can't really think of any other author where I liked their initial books, then put out a group of books that I didn't care for, and after almost a decade, started to put out books that I liked again. I can think of authors who I liked at first, and then lost interest in. I can think of authors who I generally liked but put out a book or two that I didn't care for, but none that I had that extreme of a reaction to.

Anyone else have that experience? For that matter, how do others hear feel about Ringo's various books?

Darqref · 05-11-2018, 02:35 AM

Strangely, I have similar thoughts about Ringo, but on mostly different series. It took me three tries to get interested in There Will Be Dragons, but I've never found any interest in the Black Tide stuff. Somehow I've taken that to be his take on a modern zombie story, and I'm much too overloaded with that to try it. Posleen stuff was interesting, but the later spinoffs went too far.

The Monster Hunter stuff is ok, but based on a whole series that just *starts* off way too far, and I probably won't re-read. I actually like the Looking Glass series.

There's a post up today on Tor.com that talks about Steve Stirling, and I have similar thoughts about his work. I really liked the Island trilogy, and initially thought the "emberverse" spinoffs could be interesting, but quickly got way too mystical for something that started off in a fundamentally SF way. I love his stand-alones Conqueror and Peshawar Lancers - Wish he might try more new ideas instead of piling on to things I'm not going to read. He had another early collaboration with Shirley Meier (and one other that I've forgotten....) that had some interesting threads.

Even Harry Turtledove had a couple of series I like, and others that I don't feel I want to re-read.

meeera · 05-11-2018, 02:43 AM

I cannot for the life of me read Ringo. I find his writing clunky in the extreme, and a giant yawn.

Penforhire · 05-11-2018, 11:35 AM

He's like a guilty pleasure for me. I mostly enjoy his work but some of it just appeals to my inner pre-teen boy. A co-writer like Weber limits his self-destructive drive. A good editor probably would as well, if he let them. Writing for an audience is always partly an ego trip. "Let me tell you what is on my mind." He just gets infantile and rant-y when he lets go of the reins and lets the horse go wild.

05-10-2018, 10:59 AM	#1
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,196 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	John Ringo I first read John Ringo back in 2000, with his mainline Posleen War books, and liked them a lot. Then I read the Empire of Man series that he co-wrote with David Weber and liked those a lot. But then, I found his spin off series uninteresting (Cally's War and the Council Wars) and his Paladin of Shadows series pretty much clinched the deal for me. Ringo was off my reading list. I decided to take a chance on Ringo again when he came out with his Black Tide Rising series, and really liked it. That lead me to try the Troy Rising series and found that I liked that one as well. When he came out with his Monster Hunter Memoirs, I really liked those (just finished the last as an ARC), so I went back to the Looking Glass series, which I had because they were included in the Baen ebook monthly bundles. Nope, still didn't care for them. That's a fairly unique experience for me. I can't really think of any other author where I liked their initial books, then put out a group of books that I didn't care for, and after almost a decade, started to put out books that I liked again. I can think of authors who I liked at first, and then lost interest in. I can think of authors who I generally liked but put out a book or two that I didn't care for, but none that I had that extreme of a reaction to. Anyone else have that experience? For that matter, how do others hear feel about Ringo's various books?

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05-11-2018, 02:35 AM	#2
Darqref space cadet Posts: 333 Karma: 2999999 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Seattle area Device: Rocket PRO, gen3, Pocketbook360	Strangely, I have similar thoughts about Ringo, but on mostly different series. It took me three tries to get interested in There Will Be Dragons, but I've never found any interest in the Black Tide stuff. Somehow I've taken that to be his take on a modern zombie story, and I'm much too overloaded with that to try it. Posleen stuff was interesting, but the later spinoffs went too far. The Monster Hunter stuff is ok, but based on a whole series that just starts off way too far, and I probably won't re-read. I actually like the Looking Glass series. There's a post up today on Tor.com that talks about Steve Stirling, and I have similar thoughts about his work. I really liked the Island trilogy, and initially thought the "emberverse" spinoffs could be interesting, but quickly got way too mystical for something that started off in a fundamentally SF way. I love his stand-alones Conqueror and Peshawar Lancers - Wish he might try more new ideas instead of piling on to things I'm not going to read. He had another early collaboration with Shirley Meier (and one other that I've forgotten....) that had some interesting threads. Even Harry Turtledove had a couple of series I like, and others that I don't feel I want to re-read.

05-11-2018, 02:43 AM	#3
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,797 Karma: 68145694 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	I cannot for the life of me read Ringo. I find his writing clunky in the extreme, and a giant yawn.

05-11-2018, 11:35 AM	#4
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	He's like a guilty pleasure for me. I mostly enjoy his work but some of it just appeals to my inner pre-teen boy. A co-writer like Weber limits his self-destructive drive. A good editor probably would as well, if he let them. Writing for an audience is always partly an ego trip. "Let me tell you what is on my mind." He just gets infantile and rant-y when he lets go of the reins and lets the horse go wild.

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