I’m quite partial to the idea of artificially intelligent super tanks. I think they’d simplify my social life quite a lot, for example. I’m also partial to short story collections, and this book is both of those. The short stories are written by some excellent authors as well, which certainly helps. This book continues on from The Compleat Bolo, although Laumer didn’t write any of the stories in this book. The stories follow two main patterns — long retired tanks which the locals don’t trust until they save the day; and stories about active combat. I guess that means you have to like war stories for these to work for you — the stories are quite similar to David Drake’s in that regard. Excellent, quick read.
Fiction
Baen Books
1993
301
Chronicles the history of the BOLO, a futuristic man-made machine that symbolizes brute force, defiance, and rigid will and is responsible for defending humanity against an invading alien group. Original.