The Last Centurion

On the recommendation of RandyGC I read (listened to via Audible) The Last Centurion.

RandyGC said:

Spooky on similarities to current events.

Uhhh.. Yeah!

The book was written in 2008. In the book a virus jumps from birds in China to humans and engulfs the world in a pandemic. The story takes place in 2019 and extends into 2020. There’s even a parallel to CHAZ.

The story has a woman president who sounds a lot like Hillary Clinton, so he had a miss on that point. But, hey, over eight years later the pollsters the day before the election missed on that one too so I give him a big break on it.

There is a fair amount of farm stuff in the story. It takes place in Minnesota instead of Idaho but it’s spot on as near as this Idaho farm boy can tell.

There is a lot of military action in the book. I can’t speak authoritatively to the military aspects but it seemed authentic as I would expect of the author. John Ringo is a veteran of the 82nd Airborne so my bet is that is spot on as well.

It is a great book. Ignore the one star reviews from the libs on Amazon. Or maybe, take those as ringing endorsements.

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12 thoughts on “The Last Centurion

  1. I’ve been having the same thoughts non stop these last few days. And the Chaz in the book is getting scarily close to real life.

  2. A long time favorite of mine… what’s unusual about it is that Ringo often writes in series. This is one of his few “stand alones”. But, it’s good.

    The military jargon and systems are pretty accurate. There’s as with most of JR’s writing a lot of tongue in cheek humor also.

    Jeff B.

  3. I have everything that John Ringo has published. The Last Centurion is one of my favorites. If only a media series like the one described in the book could come to life to counter the mass media as it did there. But things would have to get worse than they are now for those centurions to stand up and put themselves between their loved ones and the media’s war for desolation.

  4. I really don’t want to live in a John Ringo novel.

    For most of the characters it doesn’t end to well for them.

    • Especially if his name is “Joe Buckley”…

      Then again, that’s a hazardous name to have in any book that Baen Books publishes.

  5. Ringo is great! Read them all, Baen.com. Lots of MilSF, some brain stretching SF, and a realistic zombie apocalypse. Great space opera.

    One of my favorite authors.

  6. In my read list for the same reason. Unfortunately OldNFO got there first and I’m hooked on his Grayman Series.

  7. I downloaded the Kindle version awhile back myself. Yes, the ‘military aspects’ are pretty accurate. I’m a veteran of the 9th Infantry Division, having spent some time up your way at Fort Lewis.

  8. The Audible narration for The Last Centurion is amazingly good. Dan John Miller hit the right cadence and tone for someone telling a “No shit, there I was” autobiographical story, interrupted in one or two places with a (uncredited) female voice that fits the ‘wife interrupted the flow to tell you what the main character wouldn’t say’ parts (that are straight out of the text).

  9. I’m hearing that Baen has gone WOKE, so it may be difficult to find good books from that publisher in the future. Shame, as it was my go-to for good SF and SF/Mil books. Wondering if JR will split from Baen as a result, as I can’t imagine him being published by a Woke enterprise. Probably the dumbest thing the owner could have done, to go down such a stupid rabbit hole.

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