From fe504597bf7ecd271d41dd8e2918c266dd5270cd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Julio Biason Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2021 10:01:52 -0300 Subject: [PATCH] Book review: Live Free or Die --- content/reviews/books/live-free-or-die.md | 61 +++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 61 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/reviews/books/live-free-or-die.md diff --git a/content/reviews/books/live-free-or-die.md b/content/reviews/books/live-free-or-die.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3dcd0e4 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/books/live-free-or-die.md @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ ++++ +title = "Live Free or Die - John Ringo" +date = 2021-10-22 + +[taxonomies] +tags = ["books", "reviews", "john ringo", "scifi", "books:2021", +"published:2010", "stars:1"] ++++ + +[GoodReads +Summary](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6713634-live-free-or-die): When +aliens trundled a gate to other worlds into the solar system, the world reacted +with awe, hope and fear. But the first aliens to come through, the Glatun, were +peaceful traders and the world breathed a sigh of relief. When the Horvath came +through, they announced their ownership by dropping rocks on three cities and +gutting them. Since then, they've held Terra as their own personal fiefdom. With +their control of the orbitals, there's no way to win and earth's governments +have accepted the status quo. + + + +{{ stars(stars=1) }} + +You can say there is something wrong with a book when you have two parts in the +title, one positive and another negative, and you start wishing the protagonist +would get the later. + +For a story, it starts really well: It's not "humans conquer space", it is "the +first contact with another species happens on Earth". So, it is interesting how +human dynamics change when this happens at our door. + +But the thing focus on a single guy, who suddenly discovers something a merchant +species gets highly interested and that's when the story goes downhill. First, +the guy gets a bunch of money. Then it corners the something he figures out, +practically creating a monopoly -- most of the stuff belongs to him, and the few +others that have that something are really his friends. It gets to the point +that he starts complaining that nobody else is doing what he is doing. He bought +everything, left just a few scraps to others and then complains that nobody is +trying to do what he did. Genius. + +Also, the story age pretty damn bad, specially since, right now, we are facing a +virus that is killing a lot of people. In the story, there is something like +that, which can be cured with some care -- basically, people have to use +disinfectants to kill some parasite, which can be somewhat painful. And then our +"hero" proposes that the parasite is actually a good thing, 'cause it would +solve the problems with government pensions and most people that will die are +those that do not care or are too weak or not smart enough. The fact that he +says all this with a "Sadly" in front of it makes nothing to save his +reputation. + +And that's basically why, not even by half of the book, I was choosing that the +hero would take the later part of the title, even if that meant that all +humanity would be lost. 'Cause that guy doesn't deserve to be a "hero". + +I see that the book is part of a series, and even if I still have hopes that +later books will paint him as the villain, I have high doubts that that would +happen. + +Even if the writing style is good to read and you can churn chunks of the story +in fast pace, the whole is enough to make you want to punch a fictional person +in the face. Hard.