Cally's War FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Fans of John Ringo's bestselling Legacy of the Aldenata series (A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, When the Devil Dances, et al.) who were sad to see the sequence end can rejoice once again! Cally's War, which takes place approximately 40 years after the events in Hell's Faire, begins a new saga featuring Cally O'Neal, a little girl in the previous novels who is now the world's deadliest -- and sexiest! -- assassin.
On a post–Posleen War Earth ruled by the Galactic Federation, a sense of normalcy has finally returned to everyday life -- cities are rebuilding, businesses are prospering, people are beginning to forget about the nightmarish war against the reptilian invaders. But while much has changed, many things have stayed the same: like the scheming Darhel, an alien race of elfin beings that has covertly been puppet master to the Galactic Confederacy for decades.
As part of an elite group of warriors known as the Bane Sidhe -- an organization dedicated to breaking the stranglehold of the Darhel -- Cally has become a master assassin who can change personas like she's changing clothes. But after so much bloodshed and so many killings, Cally is losing her humanity. In desperate need of a vacation -- and a loving relationship -- Cally finds her soul mate at the worst possible time: in the middle of her most dangerous assignment yet.
While Cally's War doesn't have the hard-core military science fiction feel of Ringo's Legacy of the Aldenata saga, fans of his previous works will undoubtedly enjoy this dark and sensual tale of post-apocalyptic intrigue. Paul Goat Allen
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"For as long as Cally O'Neal could remember, she had lived in danger. While her father was off fighting the invading Posleen she had been raised by her grandfather, practically on the front-lines of a war that had erased five billion humans from the face of the earth." "In the final stages of the war she had officially "died" and been recruited into the elite ranks of the Bane Sidhe, a group of underground warriors dedicated to breaking the stranglehold of the elf-like Darhel. A stranglehold the Darhel held on the Galactic Confederation before the war and now were extending to their human "allies."" "For forty years she has led a life of unremittent, unrecognized, unhallowed slaughter, wearing a constant stream of disguises, sending humans who support Darhel off to meet their Maker, with her body, mind and soul twisted and "improved" to serve the needs of her own "allies."" Now, on the most important mission of her career, at odds with her superiors, hunting a mole that could destroy her at any moment, and inexorably falling in love with the enemy, for the first time in her life she has to wonder if it's worth it. If being the dragon is the best way to fight the dragon. And if there will be a morning after for the little girl who liked to play with guns and swim with the dolphins. Cally had been fighting for the future of the human race, but now she is in a war for survival: the survival of her soul.
FROM THE CRITICS
AudioFile
As the most effective assassin on earth, Cally takes advantage of being "officially dead" by living on the fringes of an underground movement that continues its fight against invaders. But her last assignment threatens to break through her seemingly impervious personal shield. Christine Marshall and William Dufris team up as narrators. Their personification of characters is vivid, strong, and distinct, whether they're presenting humans or humanized voices of artificial intelligence devices and a smattering of nonhuman characters. In segments with both narrators, they work well together; their dialogue is quick and sharp. Marshall and Dufris are a well-matched team. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
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