Go Navy! Beat… Well, Everybody…

Project Valour-IT (Voice Activated Laptops for Our Injured Troops)

Why support the Navy’s fundraising?

Because the planet is 3/4 water, and SOMEBODY has to keep crazy Jihadis from blowing it up.

Also, they’re the ones best equipped to fight the War on Fire.

Daily John Edwards Fabulous Fact

john edwards fabulous.jpgJohn Edwards’s personalized license plate: AMB CHSR
Bonus Fact from Casper the Friendly Host:
John Edwards’s OTHER personalized license plate:
edwards hello kitty.jpg

Frank Book Reviews: Better to Beg Forgiveness…

Wow. Now that was exactly my cup of tea. A military SF action-adventure with just a smidgen of politics thrown in to give it flavor and make you really root for the protagonists.
Michael Z. Williamson’s Better to Beg Forgiveness… is about a group of contractors (PC term for mercenaries… not that liberals care much for political correctness when it comes to military types) hired to protect a newly appointed president on a planet that’s basically a whole third-world hell-hole. Apparently, it’s dystopian future where all of earth (including America) is under U.N. control (the Secretary General seems to be the person with the most power on earth), and the contractors’ job is made worse by the love-hate relationship with the military sent there to quell things but often see themselves as rivals to the mercenaries. When the mercenaries have success and President Bishwanath ends up more of a independent figure than the U.N. would like, the corrupt nannyish government decides to declare Bishwanath to be dead and start over with a new president. Stuck without support, their contract from the Bureau of State canceled, and the government’s attitude towards the contractors a very Kos-esque “Screw ’em”, they decide to go rogue and and fine some way to protect the very much alive Bishwanath when rivaled by both the planet’s mobs and the U.N.’s near limitless resources.
Despite how big a roll contractors play in today’s world, I don’t think most people know much about them. When most people hear “mercenary” they think of people who will do anything for money, when in fact I believe companies like Blackwater (in the novel, the company is called Ripple Creek) only ever contract to the U.S. and are composed pretty much entirely of former U.S. military. Thus I found it quite fascinating to see a story told from their perspective, as they are very much entrenched in military hierarchy and sense of honor while not as hampered by its bureaucracy (which is made many times worse by the politicians in this future scenario). When it comes down to it, they take pride in what they do and money is only as big a part of it as anyone else’s job, and thus the decision as to what to do next when they see a good man being thrown to the sharks is an easy one.
Williamson makes writing a novel look hard, because there are tons of detail put into everything the contractors do in both the planning and operations to protect the president. It appeared very realistic, and while the protagonists deal with seemingly impossible odds, they always get out of it through skill and foresight instead of any deus ex machina sweeping in to save them. This wasn’t as preachy politics-wise (and certainly not as dark) as The Weapon as Williamson’s libertarian utopia Grainne plays a much smaller (but crucial) role, but there’s certainly enough political overtones that I don’t think a liberal is going to enjoy it much (though I doubt they’re a very large segment of military SF readers). It’s mainly all action, and quite enjoyable in that.
If I had any criticism it’s that of the six contractors, at least one never stood out enough for me to get a good visual of him. Also, the use of names obviously based off of contemporaries was a little too cutesy for my taste. That was used mainly, though, for characters who were mentioned only in passing except for a politician based off of Michael Moore who was the closest to straight out villain in the novel (most of the conflict is with military men who are just trying to do their best while hampered by politics).
I give it four and half stars out of five. I highly recommend it and think any ronin should really enjoy it. In the least, it’s some great escapism to see some people try and take charge in a big political and military mess. Though the release date is technically the sixth, Amazon has the hardcover available now. Here’s the first nine chapters as a sample, and I’m sure you can get an electronic version through Baen. I like their philosophy of assuming their customers aren’t thieves and selling the electronic versions without copy protection. They even usually make an RTF available so you can edit the story if you want to add more pirates and ninjas.

Hillary Clinton Terrible Truths

Hillary Clinton’s main reason for seeking the presidency is she’s decided her house could use more furniture.

The Kitten Has Claws

An attack on Hillary from John Edwards:

(hat tip Matt Lewis from TownHall.com)

Daily Fred Thompson Fact

Fred Thompson’s plan for the U.N. is to wait for a big conference and then melt down the entire headquarters, uniting leaders from all nations into a nice little paperweight for his desk.