Eye of the Storm (Legacy of the
Aldenata) by John Ringo
The New Invasion
Beneath A Banner Burned . . . In an instant the world changed for
Lieutenant General Michael ONeal. His beloved Corps of the last
remaining ACS destroyed beneath the guns of the Fleet, his staff shot
before his eyes, arrested on the charge of war crimes, he faces a short,
one-sided, trial, a trip to the Fleet Penal Facility and a bullet to the back of
the head while trying to escape. The Boundaries Blur
General Tam Wesley faces trying one of the most beloved heroes in
Federation, not to mention a friend of decades, on trumped up charges.
He alternative is having the last corps of humans that havent sold their
souls to the Darhel be taken apart like a chicken. Then he finds out
the bad news... The Chaos Has Returned With a new
invasion from a previously unknown race threatening the Federation
capital, Darhel Tir Dal Ron faces his ultimate nightmare: He is going to
have to reinstate the one man human soldiers trust, a man with the power
and knowledge to destroy the Darhel oligarchy forever. And instead

convince him, against all logic, to save the Darhel. Somebody is
going to die. General Michael ONeal, Supreme Commander, Federation
Forces, just has to pick.
Personal Review: Eye of the Storm (Legacy of the Aldenata) by
John Ringo
Eye of the Storm (2009) is the fifth SF novel in the Legacy of the Aldenata
series, following Honor of the Clan. In the previous volume, the ACS
under Mike raided a Bane Sidhe facility and found themselves in a
firestorm. Mike kills a sniper who had him under the gun and didn't fire.
Most of the rebels got away and fled the site.
In this novel, Michael O'Neal is a Major General within Fleet Strike. His
11th ACS Corps is on R-1436 Delta -- AKA Akoria/Ackia -- reclaiming the
planet from the Posleen. The fighting is brisk and Mike is very busy.
Calliope O'Neal is Mike's daughter, although he doesn't know that she is
alive. Cally is also a member of the Bane Sidhe, the underground
resistence to the Darhel.
Michelle O'Neal is Mike's youngest daughter. Chelle was raised by the
Indowy to be a Sohon Mentat, a person with wizardly powers.
James Stewart -- AKA Joshua Price, Julio Ingatio Garcia and Yan Kato --
is a former Fleet Strike Lieutenant General. Now he is Cally's husband
and the father of her children. He is also a mamber of the chinese Tong.
William Young Boyd is a rejuvenated former soldier and a Panamanian
entrepeneur. He was Dictator of Panama during the Posleen invasion (see
Yellow Eyes). Now he is merely a very rich man, despite Darhel efforts to
assassinate him and to ruin him financially.
Daisie Mae is the spirit of the Des Moines, a sea-going heavy cruiser.
Now she owns a body grown from the DNA of the actress who played
Daisie Mae in the movie. She has to remain near the AI device that
controls the cruiser. Daisie Mae is also a prime contributor to Boyd's
financial success.
Guano was a Posleen God-King and the only survivor of the aliens who
invaded throgh the Darien. His experiences have caused him to have
some fearful phobias. Now he belongs to Boyd, providing access to
Posleen devices via his passwords and physiology.
In this story, Mike finds human beings on Ackia, descendants of people
who had been sent to this planet of exile thirty thousand years ago by the
Darhel. Since the Darhel have kept such information away from the
humans on Earth, this news will badly hurt their public image. Then he
discovers that the Darhel owe him a great deal of money.

The Darhel have corrupted most Fleet officers. The Admiral commanding
the ships that had brought the 11th Corps to R-1436 Delta is a Darhel
lackey. When he is ordered to prevent the spread of this disturbing truth,
the Fifth Fleet ships destroy the troops of 11th Corps and capture Mike.
Back on Luna, Mike is tried by a kangaroo court headed by his friend
Lieutenant General Tam Wesley. He is allowed into the courtroom only to
hear the foregone decision and punitive sentence. But Mike -- and
General Wesley -- are not the only persons upset by the courtmartial.
The Bane Sidhe -- together with Michelle -- rescue Mike from his Fleet
guards. Moreover, the news of this fiasco is spread widely. A mutiny
starts on Luna and spreads to other Fleet Strike facilities.
Then the human Mentats arrive to separate the opposing forces and to
inform them of an invasion of the Federation by the Hedren Tyranny.
These alien invaders have developed the sohon powers in directions
abhorrent to the Indowy Masters. They use such powers in warfare and to
subjugate their slaves.
This invasion changes everything within the Federation except the power
desires of the various peoples. But the threat to the Darhel worlds gives
Mike a stronger hand against the alien manipulators. He also uses the
Bane Sidhe threat against the Darhel. Cally is very pleased to be allowed
to kill more Darhels.
This tale places Mike O'Neal into the role of Supreme Commander of all
armed forces within the Federation. He forms a new General Staff, with
Boyd as his logistics manager and Steward as his intelligence chief. Then
he finds a competent and honest Fleet officer and gives him overall
command of the navy.
Federation ground troops have been greatly depleted by the destruction of
the 11th Corps, so Mike starts looking for replacements. The former SS
troops who fought the Posleen have settled the devastated remains of
Germany (see Watch on the Rhine). Mike designates their militia as Fleet
Strike auxilaries and provides them Posleen forges -- activated by Guano
-- to produce arms, munitions, vehicle parts and other neccessities.
The Des Moines is reshaped, refurbished and enhanced by the Mentats
into a space-going warship. Daisie Mae is delighted with her new body.
Now she is not limited to ports and other bodies of water. And her new
guns are fantastic.
The story is full of conflict and violence. After the destruction of the 11th
Corps, the killing is less general among the humans. However, the Hedren
are massacring people --- especially the Indowy and Tchpht -- and
destroying ships in the Darhel core worlds. The Posleen are being
exterminated by everybody, but they breed like rabbits.

This story brings all the threads in the previous books of this series -- and
the Posleen War subseries -- together in a new adventure. The sequel will
surely be forthcoming. Read and enjoy!
Highly recommended for Ringo fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales
of armed combat, exotic forces, and imminent destruction. For those who
have not previously read this series, the initial volume is A Hymn Before
Battle.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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