Citadel: Better than first book, but still not good

Citadel by John Ringo

Citadel is the second in John Ringo’s TROY RISING series. The first book, Live Free or Die, had an interesting plot that was totally derailed by John Ringo’s intrusive and ugly political views which seem closer to neo-Nazism than anything else. So why did I read Citadel? Only because the audiobook publisher sent me a free copy and, out of a sense of completion, I wanted to review it for FanLit. I was prepared to hate it.

Fortunately, Tyler Vernon the Nazi is only a secondary character in Citadel. The plot mostly follows two new recruits who are joining Earth’s space defenses on Troy, the hollowed-out asteroid that Vernon built as a battle station. Dana is a pilot who’s got some mad flying skills. Butch is a welder. Interestingly, to me at least, Butch was trained in my hometown on Florida’s “Space Coast,” so Ringo won me over a little when we spent some time there and he accurately portrayed the area.

Most of the story tells of the mundane events of life aboard Troy for Dana and Butch. They spend time welding, flying, swimming, shopping, eating, and getting tattoos. They are likable characters, but they just aren’t very interesting and they don’t even have a good sense of humor to make the dull parts more lively. Things finally pick up when the aliens called the Rangoras decide to make war on the Earth’s allies, the Glatun. Then we actually get to see Troy in action, and that’s kind of cool.

Fortunately, since there is less of Tyler Vernon in this book, there is less of his politics, but it does at times rear its ugly head — jibes at the president and the French, for example, and long discussions of what America’s role in the war should be. There are also several instances of John Ringo’s annoying habit of describing the breast size of every female we meet (usually using the word “stacked”). And then that stupid thing about the blondes in heat. It seems that now blonde women are constantly pregnant because they can’t control themselves. What, they’ve never heard of a condom? There are a few things like this that just make no sense and seem like Ringo’s personal wish fulfillment. I won’t even mention the sister porn. Yuck.

So, overall, Citadel was not as exciting as Live Free or Die, but it toned down the obnoxious politics. The trade-off makes this a less annoying book, but still not a good one. I can’t recommend this series, but if you want to try it, I suggest the audiobooks narrated by Mark Boyett. He does a good job with what he’s given.