Transformations in John Ringo Novels (Dragon, Mermaid, Half-Elf, Orc, more)

frice2000 · 02-01-2009

Since Lorekeep posted the thread about Jack Chalker in the TG forums I thought about other authors that have some sort of TF or TG in them and one of my favorite series of fantasy novels (that I purchased without knowing it contained TFs) is the Council Wars series by John Ringo.

(Cover from There Will Be Dragons. The Elf is named Bast she is kick ass awesomeness)

(Cover from Emerald Sea the second book in the series).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amazon.com Editorial Synopsis

In the future there is no want, no war, no disease nor ill-timed death. The world is a paradise-and then, in a moment, it ends. The council that controls the Net falls out and goes to war. Everywhere people who have never known a moment of want or pain are left wondering how to survive. But scattered across the face of the earth are communities which have returned to the natural life of soil and small farm. In the village of Raven's Mill, Edmund Talbot, master smith and unassuming historian, finds that all the problems of the world are falling in his lap. Refugees are flooding in, bandits are roaming the woods, and his former lover and his only daughter struggle through the Fallen landscape. Enemies, new and old, gather like jackals around a wounded lion. But what the jackals do not know is that while old he may be, this lion is far from death. And hidden in the past is a mystery that has waited until this time to be revealed. You cross Edmund Talbot at your peril, for a smith is not all he once was. . . .

My Shittier Synopsis:
It is many thousands of years in the future and humanity has grown quite complacent. We've designed a god like computer (no its not evil) to help run all of the mundane things that we must do for us and engage only in entertaining activities. Having children of course wouldn't be too entertaining so birth rates have plummeted and the population of the planet has fallen into only a few million. Members of 'The Council' that controls the computer that runs most of the world have differing ideas about what needs to be done to fix this population problem, one of them is the forced breeding of others. Due to competing ideas over this the Council splits and a war begins. Since all of the power that the world uses is taken by these two sides the average inhabitant of the world regresses in technology and power back to a classical fantasy type world, and this sets the stage for the stories I'll be linking to in a minute. Luckily for the survivors with infinite boredom some individuals are "re-enactors" who build castles and the like and engage in a very Middle Age-esque existence. These individuals will help fight the war for the one side.

Where's the Process?:
The TF elements in the story come from a variety of factors. The 'evil side' in the novels change humans and other races into Orc like beings for use in their cannon fodder armies. Also included are Elves that were created by genetic scientists many thousands of years previously. Also around are Dragons and a few other races that (no joke) Disney created for use in their theme parks. Humans often change themselves into other races such as Centaurs, Mermaids, etc. for entertainment prior to the war starting with the Council when such changes require power that is no longer available.

The second book in the series, Emerald Sea, deals with Mermaids and the oceanic races almost exclusively, and talks about how their society functions, etc. Very definitely this series is a entertaining read, and the best part I can LEGALLY link you to the full novels for free online.

Links to the Books (Free no sign-up required):
http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/1...gons/index.htm (There Will Be Dragons)

http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/1...0Sea/index.htm (Emerald Sea tons of Mermaids in this)

http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/1...Tide/index.htm (Against the Tide includes 'Dragon Carriers' sort of like Aircraft carriers but with Dragons)

http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/1...Moon/index.htm (East of the Sun, West of the Moon...Fights in space worst one of the series thus far was not too enjoyable)

As to descriptive process there isn't too much but for the transformations of humans and others unwillingly to Orcs. However, the inclusion of discussions of a entire Mermaid society, kick ass Wood Elves, and Dragons more then make up for this if you like a fantasy series. I'd recommend you give this book series a read especially since its free :P. Also Bast the slightly crazy nympho Wood Elf is one of the best and most well written Elves I've seen in any fantasy fiction hands down. She is the epitome of awesome. Oh and quick note if you like the Webcomic Sluggy Freelance Bun-Bun has a cameo of sorts in the series

.

cpt soban · 02-01-2009

is the dragon carrier itself, a larger dragon?

Or is it hilariously just an aircraft carrier fielding dragons, which would be the most ridiculous and most effect selling feature of a book to me.

.... Or are all these books shown off for free on the site.... wow... well theres something to occupy my time when homeworld is acting up.

frice2000 · 02-01-2009

It is indeed a Aircraft Carrier that fields dragons and wyverns. Built from wood with huge food stores for the dragons (they need massive amounts of ketchup placed on the food or they won't eat it). And yep all of those books are totally free cover to cover on that website. I think they figure that you'll read a bit get sick of reading them off the computer and actually buy the print version.

funfun74 · 02-01-2009

Ah, i read those just recently. Its not just mermaids. Technically you have pretty much the whole gambit of fantasy creatures. there are werecreatures, dwarves, three types of elves. Bast, the wood elf, is sadly one of a kind, but then again their world probably wouldn't survive having more then one. dragons could change from human form to dragon. the first three books are well worth the read as frice2000 said. I haven't read the fourth but it didn't sound like it did to well.

Zipper · 02-01-2009

Jokes on them, we speen hours infront of a screen anyways

Xodiac · 02-02-2009

Dragon carriers are large wooden ships that carry a number of dragons into naval battles. Aircraft carriers in a fantasy milieu, in other words.

Dragons and elves are two races (and so far, the only two mentioned) that were created from scratch rather than from Changed humans. As such, it is illegal to Change into a dragon or an elf.

There's tons of other things you can become, though - pretty much anything you can imagine. When the war hit and everyone but the ruling council was essentially stripped of their abilities to use Mother (the supercomputer that runs the world and essentially runs the technology that allows "magic") there were a lot of people stuck in nonhuman forms. Most of them are not used as part of the plot, however; the cast is almost entirely human. The second book, Emerald Sea, is an exception, but even there all the mer and the orcas and other sea sentients are NPCs. Important NPCs, but still not really part of the core cast.

As for process, there isn't all that much. I can really think of only one scene that has transformation in it, and there might be a second that I'm remembering less clearly. The Change is essentially a poof that takes a couple of seconds and is obscured by a cloud of nanites as they remake the person. I don't recall any happening to one of the core cast, so we never get a description of what it's like from the inside, either.

Not that these aren't good books. But from a transformation viewpoint, there's not a whole lot there, especially not on-screen.

You can read my thoughts on the four books of the series (which isn't complete, by the way) at http://xodiac.fo.cx/rev/listbooks.ph...es&seriesid=87.

blackvelvetrpg · 02-17-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpt soban

is the dragon carrier itself, a larger dragon?

Or is it hilariously just an aircraft carrier fielding dragons, which would be the most ridiculous and most effect selling feature of a book to me.

.... Or are all these books shown off for free on the site.... wow... well theres something to occupy my time when homeworld is acting up.

From what I gather the Bonhomme Richard is a 65 meter long 19th
century clipper ship with a capacity of
36 wyverns or 4 great dragons.The dragons weigh 2 tons each
and cause the ship to move when they move.

The quick once over I gave to the first 3 suggest
Ringo dropped all the cultural icons of 1996-2004 USA into the
future.Probably the series will age badly.

02-01-2009	#2
cpt soban Likely Suspect Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 476	Re: Transformations in John Ringo Novels (Dragon, Mermaid, Half-Elf, Orc, more) is the dragon carrier itself, a larger dragon? Or is it hilariously just an aircraft carrier fielding dragons, which would be the most ridiculous and most effect selling feature of a book to me. .... Or are all these books shown off for free on the site.... wow... well theres something to occupy my time when homeworld is acting up.

02-01-2009	#3
frice2000 "My way of thanking you" Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 401	Re: Transformations in John Ringo Novels (Dragon, Mermaid, Half-Elf, Orc, more) It is indeed a Aircraft Carrier that fields dragons and wyverns. Built from wood with huge food stores for the dragons (they need massive amounts of ketchup placed on the food or they won't eat it). And yep all of those books are totally free cover to cover on that website. I think they figure that you'll read a bit get sick of reading them off the computer and actually buy the print version. Last edited by frice2000; 02-01-2009 at 12:03 PM.

02-01-2009	#4
funfun74 Wolf Girl Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Space Posts: 622	Re: Transformations in John Ringo Novels (Dragon, Mermaid, Half-Elf, Orc, more) Ah, i read those just recently. Its not just mermaids. Technically you have pretty much the whole gambit of fantasy creatures. there are werecreatures, dwarves, three types of elves. Bast, the wood elf, is sadly one of a kind, but then again their world probably wouldn't survive having more then one. dragons could change from human form to dragon. the first three books are well worth the read as frice2000 said. I haven't read the fourth but it didn't sound like it did to well.

02-01-2009	#5
Zipper Wanted for: EVERYTHING Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 136	Re: Transformations in John Ringo Novels (Dragon, Mermaid, Half-Elf, Orc, more) Jokes on them, we speen hours infront of a screen anyways

02-02-2009	#6
Xodiac Process Fan Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 88	Re: Transformations in John Ringo Novels (Dragon, Mermaid, Half-Elf, Orc, more) Dragon carriers are large wooden ships that carry a number of dragons into naval battles. Aircraft carriers in a fantasy milieu, in other words. Dragons and elves are two races (and so far, the only two mentioned) that were created from scratch rather than from Changed humans. As such, it is illegal to Change into a dragon or an elf. There's tons of other things you can become, though - pretty much anything you can imagine. When the war hit and everyone but the ruling council was essentially stripped of their abilities to use Mother (the supercomputer that runs the world and essentially runs the technology that allows "magic") there were a lot of people stuck in nonhuman forms. Most of them are not used as part of the plot, however; the cast is almost entirely human. The second book, Emerald Sea, is an exception, but even there all the mer and the orcas and other sea sentients are NPCs. Important NPCs, but still not really part of the core cast. As for process, there isn't all that much. I can really think of only one scene that has transformation in it, and there might be a second that I'm remembering less clearly. The Change is essentially a poof that takes a couple of seconds and is obscured by a cloud of nanites as they remake the person. I don't recall any happening to one of the core cast, so we never get a description of what it's like from the inside, either. Not that these aren't good books. But from a transformation viewpoint, there's not a whole lot there, especially not on-screen. You can read my thoughts on the four books of the series (which isn't complete, by the way) at http://xodiac.fo.cx/rev/listbooks.ph...es&seriesid=87.