The Last Centurion

By: John Ringo

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In the second decade of the 21st century, the world is struck by two catastrophes: a new mini-ice age and a plague to dwarf all previous experiences. Rising out of the disaster is the character known to history as "Bandit Six", an American Army officer caught up in the struggle to rebuild the world and prevent the fall of his homeland - despite the best efforts of politicians, both elected and military.

The Last Centurion is a memoir of one possible future, a world that is a darkling mirror of our own. Written "blog-style", it pulls no punches in its descriptions of junk science, bad strategy, and organic farming.

©2008 John Ringo (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Dan John Miller’s delivery is perfect for this no-punches-pulled first-person narrative by Bandit Six, the Last Centurion. Laced with crude language and dark images of the future, Miller’s reading is straightforward and army tough." (AudioFile Magazine)

"Ringo excels in the depiction of combat, managing to capture the carnage and horror while maintaining a sense of the absurd....with the unexpected twists that Ringo has made his hallmark." (Publishers Weekly)

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Would you try another book from John Ringo and/or Dan John Miller?

I would be wary of buying another one of John Ringo's books.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The beating of the RIGHT WING RHETORIC drum was too strong in this book. I'm a moderate conservative and some of his Ringo's views about the economy and how people act were just wrong. It also had a little too much of making every bad guy a pedophile a little too much for me. Plenty of bad people don't have to rape children to be evil. Cough *Rambo V* cough.

Which scene was your favorite?

The battle of the iran depot was one of my favourite scenes.

Could you see The Last Centurion being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Mini-Series told like

Any additional comments?

Great books, less politics.

Interesting take

I would really like to talk to John Ringo about the current dynamic of world events. In the book he is a huge proponent of vaccination to the point that only stupid people that deserved to die would pass up the vax. The first gen and second gen vaccines had different efficacies, but there was no real delineation and all vax is good vax. There were no apparent side effects and the bird flu had a high mortality rate of 40-80%. Our current flu has a mortality rate of less than% based on total population.

It is a interesting book because he caught some of the current dynamics and some are 180 degrees out, but still happened to some degree.

I'm against forced mandates and am curious if John Ringo's opinions are the same after the actual events, or if they evolved once the incompetent response from the WHO, NIH, and governments. Make no mistake, the NIH funded coronavirus gain of function research and helped create the Moderna vaccine before COVID 19 was either intentionally or accidentally released from the lab in China. Documents are slowly leaking out and people like Fauci are transforming from heroes to villain right before our eyes.

Does this rant really deserve five stars....?

In a word “yes.” I
Have no doubt about it, this is a partisan philippic.… But it is also an indictment… Long overdue… Of those ridiculous kumbaya chortling, virtue signaling evil doers intent upon destroying the republic from within. John Ringo exposes, tries and convicts the leftist press, toadying politicians and the fascist enemies of freedom who attribute all of America’s ills to some kind of non-existent “ism”...racism, sexism whatever. I am usually a fan of classic literature and sweeping history. Hence, I usually reserve my five star ratings for books And performances like Herman Melville‘s “Moby Dick“ (read by William Hoskins)… Or Tobias Smollett translation of “Don Quixote” ...Shelby Footes epic “the Civil War a narrative”. Not because (I hope) I am some kind of intellectual elitist, but because I think five star ratings should be reserved for true masterpieces...where brilliance of metaphor… Language and style...is almost divine. The Last.Centurian is none of these things. But it is a modern day… (Mostly low brow and consistently vulgar…) Soldiers version of Thomas Paine’s “common sense”. It is prescient, timely, imaginative and best of all, skewers the enemies of this nation who… For the most part, come from within. As a warning of things to come (and as they are) it is brilliant...and should be required reading in all colleges… Along with a curriculum featuring a bunch of other dead white guys… Like Shakespeare, Dickens, Mark Twain, and Anthony Trollope.

A Good Story Made Excellent.

I have read the Last Centurion two times now and I've listened to it once and I can attest that the narration by Dan John Miller has brought the story to a whole new level.
The Last Centurion is one of the most interesting books I've read, do to the Viewpoint of Bandit six, his viewpoint is expanded apon made understandable by the narration of Dan John Miller. He makes Bandit six relatable, fun and most importantly represent Bandit Six's view piont in a way the character would. He doesn't try to construe it or try to make it more digestible for certain audiences. I may not agree with everything in the book but the narration is made it an excellent story and worth listening to.

Enjoy the story and forget the politics

I see a lot of reviews complaining about Ringo's politics. And yes, this book has an obvious right wing point of view. If you cannot enjoy a good story without that yarn also being liberal friendly, I suggest you look to SM Stirling for your post-apocalyptic fiction fix. This is a very engaging tale, but if you can't stand a book that says Climate Change is not real, get something else.

Prescient - and lefty heads explode

That's right. This is a book of political fiction with a point of view. Deal with it.


The main theme of the book is what happens when leadership handles a crisis using ideology rather than practicality. When John Ringo wrote this book, it seemed likely that Hillary Clinton would become President. Instead we got Barack Obama and he has gotten several crises with which to illustrate Ringo's point. You only have to look at his feckless response to the Gulf Oil spill to know that Ringo is right on the money.

My only criticism of the book is that Ringo didn't need BOTH a plague and a weather-induced famine to illustrate his point. One or the other would have done nicely. Even something less dramatic, such as an oil spill, would have made the point. Life imitates fiction yet again.

Loved It!!

Best part: Mr. Miller added just the right tone of snark to match the "voice" of Bandit 6 that I heard in my head when I read the book.
Second Best: It is unabridged!!! None of the original story was lost.

I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who does not get offended by F*** Bombs, as there are plenty inside.

A Domesday Diary by Ringo

The Last Centurion covers just about every subject, no holds barred, with a rather skewed indulgence in Ringo’s uber leftist political agenda. It’s certainly controversial, and also one heck of an interesting read. Despite blatant ignorance of certain scientific truths, particularly those regarding climate change, Ringo tells it ‘like it is’. Essentially, the world is fucked, and there’s very little a mere mortal can do about it, without a baker’s dozen Abrams tanks that is.
This journal will aid in your contemplation of the nature of pandemics, life in quarantine, and the awaiting return of normality — while you too await the return of normality. Both Ringo’s penmanship and Miller’s narration are works of art and. This listen is well worth your time and credit.

Somewhat prophetic....

I absolutely loved listening to The Last Centurion. Considering how things are going literally today, John Ringo was somewhat prophetic as to circumstances. I'm just glad the prophesy didn't fully pan out. I feel this book would be a great example of what we would be dealing with if the situation today were only slightly different. I still think he called it though.

right up my alley but still fairly heavy-handed

a good message about the realities of the world especially when it comes to the economics of farming. still fairly heavy-handed and repetitive even though I resonated with the message.