Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Baen
Manufacturer: Baen
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 390
Printing Date: February 28, 2006
Publishing house: Baen
Sale Popularity Level: 219056
Studio: Baen
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Product Description:
Problems, problems, problems! All Mike Harmon ever wanted to be was a SEAL. But after problems in the teams, college student was a decent second best. However, trouble seemed to follow him where he went. Now, after having angered every terrorist on Earth and at least five governments, buying a farm in a third world country was looking pretty good. Of course, nothing was ever simple. With Chechen terrorists knocking on the door and tenant farmers with a truly Byzantine culture, the question was whether he could drag the keldara into the 21st century before the Chechen put them back in the 6th. Kildar answers the question: Where would an international security specialist and former SEAL choose to retire-if he's going to buy the farm, it should be one with beautiful women and the best beer in the world. Valhalla on Earth complete with Vikings.
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Rated by buyers 
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Very Engrossing, I had trouble putting it down. The story line is very probable in todays world, with very realistic type of situations.
Rated by buyers -
Ringo has a flair for writing War-Scifi-Adventure. I have read these in paperback so many times I wore out the Books, so I opted for hardback. To Me, that is the sign of a good book when You reread it so much You wear out the Book. A very Excellent Read!
Rated by buyers 
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I have to say that Kildar, which is the sequel to Ghost, is a better book. Part of the reason is because it is a single story, whereas it predecessor was a sequence of three somewhat loosely related stories. Another part is the fact that sex is downplayed, not eliminated, but downplayed and Ringo is not as "preachy." Another good thing, No nukes in this book.
This novel starts out with Mike traveling in the Republic of Georgia, and being stranded in a blizzard. This sets off a series of events, starting with an excellent beer, that ends in Mike become something of a feudal lord. While that sounds somewhat unlikely, it actually works in this book. You get to see good character development and find yourself rooting for him to succeed.
As a landlord, Mike finds himself trying to organize the people living on his newly acquired property, called the Keldara. The one who owns the land the Keldara live on is called the Kildar, which is where the title of the book comes from. In the act of organizing the Keldara, in order to protect himself, Mike develops a strong sense of responsibility toward them. If you've read Ringo's Prince Roger books, you have already seen a somewhat parallel character arc. Still, it is well done.
One of the mysteries in Kildar, is who or what are the Keldara. Though it is not as well written a mystery as others, it does allow a certain insight into the characters, and though we are given the answer, there are still other questions to be answered.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book is that though Mike is still the primary character of Kildar, the supporting cast is less one-dimensional than in Ghost. Mike does not come across as being a superman in this book, though he does come across as being very competent. Mike is now firmly ensconced in a "Good Ol' Boy" network at the highest levels of government, and though this might be a bit of a reach, again it works well within the context of this story.
In my opinion, Kildar is an excellent adventure story and a good book. It reminds me very much of the books I enjoyed in Science Fiction and Fantasy, but is done is a contemporary setting. Almost any young man, or heck any older man, would like to be in the shoes of Mike as the Kildar.
The military action in Kildar is not nearly as prevalent as Ringo's other works, but the structure fits well. It did leave me wanting to continue on to the subsequent book, Choosers of the Slain, and actually this is for the most part a good thing. Even tough I wanted to continue, mainly to find out what happens next, the story was complete in itself.
There is still a certain amount of sex in these books so it is intended for mature audinces. I would still recommend a minimum age of 18 or 19 for reading this book. But if you are mature enough, and like adventure, this is a book that you will enjoy.
Just FYI, as of the time of this review, the Paladin of Shadows series consists of five books in this order; Ghost, Kildar, Choosers of the Slain, Unto the Breach, and A Deeper Blue.
Rated by buyers 
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When I can figure out which John Ringo book goes with what series and in what order I'll buy it. Any of John Ringo's books were a must read right up until I read Kildar.
This was the very first of the "Ghost" series books that I bought and was bored to tears after wading through three quarters of a book filled with the hero's sexual exploits. Yes, the sociology is fascinating and Mr. Ringo's characters are almost up to his usual high standards but almost isn't what I spend my money for.
I'm no prude and enjoy a bit of titillation as much as the subsequent reader but I I wanted porn I'd hit the XXXX book store up the street and if I wanted formula plotting I'd stick with Clive Cussler and Pitt where I can predict just what is going to happen subsequent throughout the book.
No more Kildars for me this one soured my taste for the series. I'll just go back to trying to sort out what John Ringo's prolific titles go with which series and in what order.
Rated by buyers -
How many people have fantasized about being rich, deadly, super-fit and a sexual monster all at the same time? Well, Ringo wrote about it and built a fun story-line that is entertaining while remaining just outside the realms of reality.
Kilar is a fun follow-up to the very first book in the Ghost series and it lacks some of the grit and much of dark overtones that they very first book included. The main character is still a testosterone-ridden adrenaline junky with too much libido and just barely enough self-restraint to remain out of prison. With that in mind, the story is just for fun. It's like reading a Rambo book where you know that the hero is going to win every fight and even if he gets banged up he will still get the girl in the end.
Don't look at this like it's anything other and entertaining fiction with a little bit of geography and a little bit of political commentary(very minor) thrown in for fun. It's basically a man's fantasy of what would happen if....
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