The Last Centurion - H5N1 + The Big Chill

[1Tonka_Truck]

Anybody else read it? I almost brought it up during the Iran dust up, but I'm an inherently lazy person. The background to the book is it's 2019. The US invaded Iran at some point beforehand. Not-Hilary is president and trying to fuck over the military bigly, but still get re-elected. A strain of H5N1 breaks out in China that has high lethality among healthy adults. On top of this, the sun hits a deep and long solar minimum. Bad times ensue.

Spoiler: Synopsis

In the second decade of the twenty-first century the world is struck by two catastrophes, a new mini-ice age and, nearly simultaneously, a plague to dwarf all previous experiences. Rising out of the disaster is the character known to history as “Bandit Six” an American Army officer caught up in the struggle to rebuild the world and prevent the fall of his homeland—despite the best efforts of politicians both elected and military. The Last Centurion is a memoir of one possible future, a world that is a darkling mirror of our own. Written “blog-style,” it pulls no punches in its descriptions of junk science, bad strategy and organic farming not to mention all three at once.

 

[Justtocheck]

Not read it. Have checked some of the synopsis and reviews. Sounds like a pulpy mess of a fun read. And what better name to author military science fiction that John Ringo?

I do find very funny how an american Officer would be nicknamed "Bandit six" as if he were trying to sound cool. The only way a real officer would get such a nickname would be if he either a) got so drunk in a thailand leave that he tried to have a sixsome with five thaibois or b) Fucked up a headcount on an RTB so bad he got six men left behind.

 

[A Cardboard Box]

It's ass and has virtually no base in reality.

 

[Karl der Grosse]

It's a mess of a book, but it's fun. As long as you turn off your higher brain functions it's enjoyable.

 

[Hugbox Kommissar]

I thought it felt vaguely unfinished, like it was a rough first draft that got published. Ringo is the McDonald's of mil scifi but its enjoyable for what it is, even if the Anabasis has been retold before and better.