Strong tea and good books

John Ringo's Citadel is surprisingly slow to get going at the beginning, considering that it is a sequel to Live Free or Die and that's because the focus at the beginning is on introducing two new characters to the plot, which does remove the almost complete focus on Tyler Vernon. In addition there are some ignorant errors in the book.

The problem with that is the way they are introduced, through their training, is slow, very technically orientated, and dull. As the story progressed to conflict and preparation for that conflict, it became more interesting and engaging a novel.

Of the number of awful errors in the book, the most glaring is how Ringo describes the current British Prime Minister (in the novel) as being the first Tory Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher. The glaring error is that Thatcher was immediately followed by John Major as Prime Minister, a man who was Prime Minister from 1990-1997, and I believe the first novel is set after 1990!

The other error is one I find common amongst American writers. This is where Ringo states, through the Indian Prime Minister, that the world's biggest democracy (India) will work with (or something along those lines) with the world's oldest democracy, which is implied to be the USA.

Now democracy was invented in Athens, Greece, but even if what was meant was oldest continuing democracy, it still isn't America, Iceland has the world’s oldest elected parliament, dating from 930 AD, while New Zealand granted universal adult suffrage in 1893, something not achieved in the US until after the Civil Rights movement had won the right to vote.

I like the book, I like the story, but when the author's own politics shine through the text in a way that shows a shocking lack of research, or ignorant patriotism, it is really annoying and greatly detracts from the quality of the work.