This is David Weber's addition to the pile of "Bolo" stories that many other SF authors have written. A Bolo, for those who don't know, is essentially a sentient tank, a self-award and able-to-think weapon of war in some far flung future where such things make sense.
Bolos were first conceived of by Keith Laumer, way back when, and I was never really impressed with the Laumer stories I read talking about them. David Weber does a better job, I think.
This book is a set of a number of short stories and novellas set across the Bolo history, so it's interesting to see how the different technological levels of them are addressed. Weber has always written excellent military fiction, and these stories fit in very well with his skill set. The Bolo stories are interesting as well because they allow for much more complex thinking (both ethically and strategically) by the weapons themselves, and I really liked Weber's approach.
At any rate, I liked it enough to give Weber's sequel a shot.
4 of 5 stars.
Bolos were first conceived of by Keith Laumer, way back when, and I was never really impressed with the Laumer stories I read talking about them. David Weber does a better job, I think.
This book is a set of a number of short stories and novellas set across the Bolo history, so it's interesting to see how the different technological levels of them are addressed. Weber has always written excellent military fiction, and these stories fit in very well with his skill set. The Bolo stories are interesting as well because they allow for much more complex thinking (both ethically and strategically) by the weapons themselves, and I really liked Weber's approach.
At any rate, I liked it enough to give Weber's sequel a shot.
4 of 5 stars.
Great book. David Weber is a master storyteller.
Excellent stories. Very true to the "Bolo" writing style of Laumer.
