Watch on the Rhine: Legacy of the Aldenata

The premise is fairly simple. Aliens are invading earth. These aren't just any old aliens, these are nasty and powerful They have but one purpose. They want to harvest everything on earth so that it may be eaten. This includes the people. There is no arguing or reasoning with them. They are hungry and only death is the cure. It is them or us. The aliens do have a few weaknesses and can be fought. To do this requires blood, steel and fortitude. It needs soldiers. Where are they to come from? Germany has a particular problem. Politically correct politicians have so emasculated the German military that they have no cadre to fall back on. There is a solution, however, but it is an ugly one and anything but politically correct. The technology exists to rejuvenate old soldiers. The decision is made to revive the Waffen SS. This is not an easy decision and the novel makes it incredibly complex. There are some terribly evil characters from Germany's past and they are portrayed as such. There are also some good men who are glad to have an opportunity to try and redeem themselves and their past. The choice is simple: fight with every tool available including a revived SS or become Purina Alien Chow. For some, the choice is obvious. Being dead is preferable to having anything to do with Nazis. For some, it goes even further. It is better to be dead than to have anything to do with such evil creatures as soldiers, any soldiers. Some politicians seek advantage by thwarting their own forces. Some people are just to naïve to believe that THEY could be eaten. How could aliens who can fly to the stars possibly be warlike? The action scenes are well written. The political scenarios are frightening and disturbing. They are frightening because I can picture people and politicians who would collaborate with the aliens. It is disturbing because I recognize some of the things that have been done in the name of Green politics or Red. There is evil in this world and some people refuse to believe it. This book can be read as a science fiction military adventure or it can be read as a political and social commentary. It is best read as both.

Watch on the Rhine (2005) is a standalone novel in the Legacy of the Aldenata universe, following Hell's Faire in the Posleen War subseries. Unlike the prior volumes, this novel takes place in France, Germany and Poland, with most of the action occurring along the Rhine River. When the Posleen started landing on Earth, the German Chancellor considered the state of the Federal Republic's military forces and foresaw disaster. Germany had not fought in any war since World War II and all the veterans of that conflict were very old. Of course, the Galactic rejuvenation technology could restore anyone living or recently dead to perfect health, but who had the requisite experience? In this novel, the Germans rejuvenated every man they had, including the men of the Waffen SS, despite great objections from every political spectrum except the Neo-Nazis. In most cases, these men -- and they were ALL males -- were not the deathcamp guards of many horror stories, but the grunts who had served at Stalingrad and other battlefields throughout Europe. Some were heroes by any standard, but most were just soldiers who had served the Fatherland faithfully for over a decade. Lieutenant General Muhlenkampf was a battle machine. He had lived for war. The Waffen SS had given him an opportunity to use his talents to the fullest extent. Now he has been rejuvenated, placed in command of the new German SS Korps, and charged with resisting the expected Posleen invasion. His Korps is not alone in this mission, but they have the most experience and the best trained recruits. Colonel Hans Brasche had been a junior officer during World War II. Although he had been Waffen SS, he had avoided the deathcamps. Now he is charged with training the new soldiers. General Muhlenkampf has trusted Hans with this great responsibility and he will do his duty to his last breath. Sergeant Major Helmut Krueger had also been Waffen SS during the Second World War, but he had spent considerable time as a deathcamp guard. He had fond memories of gypsy, Jew and other girls in the women's camps where the guards spent their spare time. The girls would do anything a man wanted for a few trinkets. Gunter-- the chancellor's aide -- is a Green. The very thought of SS men in uniform is abhorrent to him. Even the threat of alien Posleen grazing on the German people doesn't deter him from spreading the word to his fellow Greens of this great atrocity. The Darhel Tir provides as much support as he can. Dieter Schultz is an eighteen year old volunteer in the newly formed SS Korps training center. He hates the training and his trainers -- particularly Sergeant Krueger -- but he is determined to do his best. Then the Greens have a nonviolent demonstration that clubs down the camp commandant. Schultz and his fellow trainees get a chance to apply their training in a very realistic exercise. In this story, the invasion is every bit as bad as expected. The Posleen overwhelm most of France and Poland and converge on Germany. Many civilians are overrun and eaten. Many soldiers flee from the enemy and are eaten. Some hold their positions as long as possible and fall back to previously prepared fortifications. Still, the Posleens are winning and eating every body available. The German engineers develop new weapons and rush them into production. Then they go back and develop better weapons and hope to have them ready for use before being overrun. One Tiger IIIB prototype is produced and the plans are transmitted back to the Scandinavian Sub-Urbs, but no more will be available for at least another year. Its builders decide to field test it, potting Posleen aerial vehicles and troops as they appear. This story is more about the mystique of soldiering than about the war itself. The Waffen SS has gotten a bad name due to a few of its troops and officers. Yet most of the Waffen SS were among the best soldiers in the world. The French government -- who had nothing good to say about them publicly -- still preferentially recruited them for the Foreign Legion over even former French soldiers. The war against the Viet Minh was often fought by German speaking troops. This work reflects the conservative slant of the authors, but I doubt that many military men/women are liberals. The US military is still composed primarily of conservatives, especially since the draft was abolished. Unfortunately, the effects of that decision have reduced the moderate elements in the US military. Now more of the command elements of all armed forces come from the service academies than in the past. This scenario is probably more pessimistic than reasonable. Technical objections about nuclear weapons, air superiority and other subjects are relevant, but problematical. Moreover, the machinations of the Darhels are not the only aspects of the psywar in Europe. Certain elements of the European populace are incapable of facing the realities of an alien invasion. Unlike the Americans in the War of the Worlds broadcast incident, the Europeans seem to deny the possibility of any such threat. OTOH, a similar denial process occurred in the American populace prior to World War II over the German threat. FDR is hated by some people even today because he happened to be right about Hitler. BTW, many liberals in the US seem to be denying the possibility of any threat from Islamic terrorists. Plug in "alien Posleens" for "Islamic terrorists" and you have the basic premise of this story. Even official word of millions of aliens would be ignored by some people as "just another government scare tactic". Of course, the government DOES use scare tactics, but so do other groups. Sometimes they are true! Highly recommended for Ringo & Kratman fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of alien invasions, military tactics and light romance. -Arthur W. Jordin

If you like the other books in the series, you will love this. I was at first fearful that perhaps resurrecting the dreaded SS was risky and wrong. The way the book portrays them however is very balanced and fair. Yes there are one or two nasty nazis amongst them, participants of the baba yah massacre and the infamous camp guards, but it is balanced by an idea of never really considered before. That like many other veterans of elite units, some soldiers wanted to serve in the most elite cadre available, I remember some 101st airborne vets saying that of they were going into battle they wanted the best fighting alongside them. I think the book realistically illustrates the political agony of the decision to bring back this unit to fight the alien horde. It is quite ironic that a force which once spearheaded the conquest of Europe is now in the vanguard of protecting it against the worst threat man has known. It is a very well balanced book which does things tastefully and deosnt seek to glorify past actions of the SS, but neither does it shy away from the truth...in the darkest times, darker men are needed to see the job through. My favourite book of the series so far, refreshing to see a European perspective of the alien invasion, well done to the authors, how's about a story of little England ls struggle next?

I love the Posleen war series by John Ringo. Tom Kratan's idea of WWII veterans defending Germany against the Alien Cannibal Hordes actually is interesting and full of potential. The problem with the book is that nearly all the rejuvenated SS (save one token Nazi) are portrayed as non-Nazis, just patriotic idealists and heroic saviors, while the reds and greens are ALL rotten to the core. Conclusion, fascism is good, democracy bad. This is silly beyond what is normally meant by the word silly. Fascism, democracy and communism fought it out in WWII and guess what? Fascism lost. Then communism and democracy had a 50 year toe off and when the cold war ended, democracy won. Democracy outperforms fascism and communism. What would have happened to Germany if in 1930 instead of Hitler and the Nazis the late 20th century greens had taken over? Well, since the green priority is the environment, no WWII would have happened. What would have happened if the late 20th century reds had taken over? Well, the red priority is better public services, such as schools, hospitals, museums, universities and transportation. No WWII. What about the capitalist Democrats? Better banks, more trade, no WWII. Modern parties are better than the old twits. What happened with the Nazis? The worst possible result. The Nazis declared war on the largest empire the World has seen, the British Empire. Then Russia. Then the US. How stupid can you be? Presumably the 1930s Reds would side with Stalin, there would be a partition of Poland, and World War II would be on. But no final solution, no extermination camps. Maybe Gulags. But for real, the worst possible future was that delivered by Nazism. This particular Philosophy is a recipe for disaster. Obviously, a Democratic Germany with Reds and Greens (and all the other colors) would better fight the Posleen because the Darhel would have a harder time corrupting a plurarity of parties. Besides, it takes many viewpoints to see reality for certain, which is the basic strength of democracy. Churchill worked with a coalition government made up by the full spectrum of parties, all united by a common goal. Same for Roosevelt. Under a national threat nations come together. The lessons of history.

Vorweg, ob sich dieses Buch für politische Debatten eignet, bezweifle ich sehr stark. Es handelt sich eben um Fiktion und vor allem um Military Sci-Fi. Dazu sollte man einige Faktoren noch bedenken: 1. Die Waffen SS ist für angloamerikanische Weltkrieg II-Interessierte der Inbegriff des Bösen und damit für eine fiktive Geschichte sehr reizvoll 2. Die Waffen SS wird im angloamerikanischen Raum ex post als eine fanatische Elitetruppe gesehen, die anfang des Krieges eine nachweisbar hohe Kampfkraft hatte. Allerdings durch den furchtlosen Fanatismus auch Ausfallsraten bis zu 80% (z.B. Polenfeldzug) 3. Der Roman verherrlicht keine Nazigräuel, spielt jedoch bewusst mit der Faszination des Bösen und ist für Deutsche sicherlich schwer verdaulicher als für den Leser im angloamerikanischen Raum Zur Geschichte selber: Aufgrund der verzweifelten Lage durch die Invasion der Posleens greift der deutsche Bundeskanzler zum letzten verfügbaren Mittel, um die deutsche Bundeswehr, die in Friedenszeiten viel an Durchschlagskraft verloren hat, zu stärken. Mithilfe von Alientechnik werden die letzten Überlebenden der ehemaligen Waffen SS verjüngt und erhalten den Auftrag, eine Panzervision aufzubauen. Dies geschieht natürlich unter heftigsten politischen Protesten, und auch die Darhel-Aliens spielen wieder ihr Doppelspiel. Letztlich kommt es zur entscheidenden Schlacht um Deutschland, und es liegt nun an der "neuen" Waffen SS, ihre Kampfkraft unter Beweis zu stellen. Wenn man dem Autor kein faschistischen Tendenzen unterstellt und ein bisschen die angloamerikanische Einstellung zu dieser Thematik kennt, dann sollte man es auch in unseren Breitengraden schaffen, diese Geschichte eben als reine Fiktion zu betrachten. Keine politische Aussage, sondern ein fiktives Szenario, das Ringo hier anbietet. Aufgrund des historischen Kontextes will ich nicht von Lesespass sprechen. Fakt ist jedoch, dass die Geschichte spannende Military Sci-Fi präsentiert. PS: Ringo schafft es aus meiner Sicht, das Thema der Naziverbrechen relativ taktvoll aufzugreifen. Ich respektiere jedoch, dass dieses Thema sehr starke Gefühle hervorrufen kann und daher von Anderen durchaus kritischer gesehen werden kann. Daher halte ich hier nochmals deutlich fest, dass ich das Buch als Fiktion und nicht als politisches Statement verstehe. So bezieht sich meine Wertung auf eine fiktive Geschichte und hat nichts mit meiner persönlichen politischen Einstellung zu tun.

A premise intended to shock, and it succeeds in doing so. A worthwhile read for what it says, and what it does not say, but leaves it to the reader to draw out. Political correctness is not always necessarily correct, at least as presented in this story.

As above.