Kildar

John Ringo's KILDAR tells of Mike, who has always wanted to be a SEAL, but who is currently hated by every terrorist on Earth and many governments. Facing danger, the Ghost decides to come out of retirement - with dangerous results.

Kildar (2006) is the second novel in the Ghost Saga, following Ghost itself. In the first work, Mike Harmon had rescued some young kidnap victims from terrorists, intercepted a group smuggling a nuke into the US, and disrupted an attempt to nuke the Pope within the Notre Dame cathedral. He also earns 30 million dollars in rewards from the US government. But Islamic terrorists have offered their own rewards worth millions of dollars for his capture or death. In this novel, Mike is driving through Georgia, the country not the state, trying to avoid any conspicuous notoriety. While lost in a snow storm, he asks for directions from a local woman and then offers her a ride to her home. At the house, he meets Katrina's family and gets additional directions to the nearest town. Later he learns that the family are members of the Keldara. Barely making it through the snow and ice to Alerrso, Mike searches futilely for a petrol station. Eventually he parks at a local tavern for food and drink. He learns that the snow storm will continue through the night followed in a short while by another, blocking exit from the valley for weeks. Mike rents a room upstairs and catches up on his sleep. The next day, the local constabulary commander, Vadim Tyurin, gives Mike a tour of the sights. He finds little to interest him as a temporary dwelling, except for a nearby caravanserai. But he is informed that the caravanserai is entailed with additional property -- i.e., the whole valley where the Keldara dwell -- and that the package deal will cost a million Euros. Mike finds that the owner/occupant of the caravanserai becomes the Kildar, to whom the Keldara owe a special fealty. Spurred by a strange impulse, he buys the property and hires a new overseer. Then he supplies the Keldara with farm vehicles and builds hydroelectric facilities for power to the caravanserai and farms. The Chechen have been using northern Georgia as a staging area for raids into Russia. They have also been raiding farms near Alerrso, kidnapping young women to sell to brothels, killing the rest of the family, and burning the buildings. Mike wants to stop such raiding of his retainers and nearby farms, so he recruits a small local militia from among the Keldara. He also hires some special military trainers and provides top line weapons and equipment for the militia. A continuing mystery throughout this book is the identity of the Keldara. They speak a different dialect of Georgian, with many strange terms. Many are red-headed or blondes, unlike the black-headed Medeans in the surrounding area. Also, the Keldara have strange customs and mores, including a strong warrior ethic. The Office of Special Operations Liaison still plays an important role in Mike's endeavors. Although Mike is only a specialist on contract to the US government, OSOL expedites some of his plans, but also involves him in a few diplomatic missions. It is handy to have an outside contractor with real

Former Navy SEAL Mike Harmon uses the large award he received for his recent rescue mission (see GHOST) to travel. Currently he is in the Caucasus Mountains touring the former Soviet state of Georgia looking for the Bakuriani Resort when a blizzard leaves him stranded and in need of shelter. He is fortunate as a young girl Katrina rescues him and takes him to her home in a remote area over the objections of her father. The American likes the tranquil area and soon buys the land. Harmon rules in his fiefdom with kindness towards the natives, but soon finds that Eden has its outside snakes. He organizes the local tribe, the Keldara, to protect them from Chechen raiders and begins to learn their customs and heritage. However though he is their ruler, the Keldara hide some information from their foreign warlord. Mike Harmon is a fascinating hero who epitomizes the maxim that power corrupts as he learns that moral issues are not simple up and down votes; choices for the good of one person can negatively impact another. The story line is action-packed as expected with a John Ringo tale, but as in GHOST, once again Mr. Ringo provides a thought provoking character driven thriller (not a military sci fi) as his champion finds the paradox of ethics means someone, often an innocent, gets hurt. This is a great sequel from Mr. Ringo. Harriet Klausner

Ghost aka Mike Jenkins is at it again. Getting lost in a snow storm on the way to Georgia, the country not the state Mike stumbles upon the Kildara, a small and forgotten tribe deep in the mountains. This the second in the Paladin of Shadows series starts off slower than the original. The reason for this is not to be missed especially if you want to enjoy the third book Choosers of the Slain. In Kildar, Mr. Ringo lays a lot of gound work and history for what is to come. This is not to say that Kildar is by any means boring! Where do you get 150 sets of combat gear for your new militia? More importantly where do you get a hareem manager for your newly aquired hareem and how can you get a manager for said hareem before the lassies love you to death? These and many more interesting and humorous happenings fill the pages of this, the sequal to Ghost. A very enjoyable read.

Mr. Ringo has produced a much better sequel than the original book in this series. The sex has been downplayed in this novel, although some still exists, and an intriguing mystery has been added. Just who are the Keldara? For those who expect a large amount of military action, there will be some disappointments. The only major military action takes place in the last few chapters. This book seems to be setting the stage for further books in the series. I look forward to the next book. As another reviewer has mentioned you can read a few chapters on-line for free at the Baen website. Highly recommended.