Tyler takes advantage of his new wealth to gain knowledge and technology, trying to find ways to struggle out from the iron heel of the aggressive aliens who control Earth. After a successful career as an SF graphic artist crashes once SF becomes mundane, he works five part-time jobs in New Hampshire, when a chance meeting with a more friendly yet non-interventionist alien turns him into the wealthiest man on Earth in one blinding instant, as he becomes the biggest drug dealer to the friendly aliens (their economy and society bears a striking resemblance to over-extended welfare states, with high taxation and unemployment, but strangely, the only controlled substance is Coca Cola, not this new drug). Ringo’s novel varies this somewhat, as the central character, the confusingly named Tyler Alexander Vernon, starts from relative humble beginnings. With war, some people can dream big on the backs and minds of others, move vast armies around like set-pieces, and marshal forces into giga-projects to achieve greatness. And war, as the old saying goes, is the health of the state. This sets the stage for Ringo’s ouvre, military sf on a grand scale. Shortly thereafter the first hostile aliens appear, the Horvath, who start by immediately nuking major Earth cities and demanding tribute in the form of previous metals. It is, in effect, a gateway hauled into place by aliens, who tell the various leaders of earth that anyone can use it, friendly or hostile. Low-level star gazers track an object through space that seems natural, but ends up being a space-ship. Ringo’s turgid and stilted prose paints the opening background in broad strokes.

This should in no way imply his novel is libertarian, despite its appearance as a Prometheus Award finalist. The title of John Ringo’s 2010 novel and Prometheus Award Best Novel finalist is Live Free or Die. The state of New Hampshire’s official motto, which appears on license plates, is “Live Free or Die.” This should in no way imply the state of New Hampshire is a libertarian Galt’s Gulch.

Live free or die book john ringo