The Hero - Hardcover

John Ringo; Michael Z. Williamson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 074348827X ISBN 13: 9780743488273

Publisher: Baen, 2004

Synopsis

The human was an expert sniper-and a psychopath. He had never failed in the past when he stalked human prey. But now he is on an enemy planet, and his prey is anything but human. The Darhel are a race with a highly developed empathic sense. Long ago, they learned that they cannot deal death to another intelligent being without being destroyed by the death agonies of their victim. Even though they have been manipulating other species behind the scenes for millennia, including the humans of planet Earth, they cannot bear to kill another being, and depend on other, less sensitive beings, to do their dirty work. But now one of the Darhel must kill or be killed. And the fate, not only of his own race, but all of humanity, is riding on his survival. The course of the next thousand years will be determined by whether or not he can learn to fight back. If he cannot, it will be too late . . . for the entire galaxy.

About this title

From the Author:

I've noticed a lot of confusion over the nature of the device. The following is a spoiler, so if you've read the book and didn't grasp the significance of the artifact, here it is:

Hardcover, page 310 bottom and 311 top Paperback, page 390 top to 2/3 down.

The device is a Lindal, an artificial means of initiating Lintatai--catatonia--in an empathic Darhel. This is the psychological danger Tirdal faces throughout the book. This genetically engineered trait is called Lindai.

Obviously, the Aldenata needed some way of keeping a race as dangerous as the Darhel from rebelling, and this was the extra safety--a psionic device to prevent them from entering controlled areas. Naturally, it would be disastrous to allow humans to study this device and possibly gain control of Darhel.

Which left as the ending of the story: which one of the three was the hero?

About the Author:

John Ringo is author of the New York Times best-selling Posleen War series which so far includes A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, When the Devil Dances (New York Times best seller), and Hell's Faire (New York Times best seller), and is the hottest new science fiction writer since David Weber. A veteran of the 82nd Airborne, Ringo brings first-hand knowledge of military operations to his fiction. He had visited 23 countries and attended 14 schools by the time he graduated high school.
Michael Z. Williamson, an 18-year veteran of the US Army and US Air Force, is a state-ranked competitive shooter in combat rifle and combat pistol. As with John Ringo, Williamson's military experience gives him the first-hand knowledge to bring an adventure yarn to vivid life and keep it moving at a breakneck pace. Williamson's first novel for Baen was Freehold (January 2004). He has also written three action-suspense novels in the Target: Terror series for Harper-Collins, which will publish One Shot, One Kill; Scope of Justice; and By the Book in 2004.

About this edition

• Publisher: Baen
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 074348827X
• ISBN 13: 9780743488273
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320