Keith Laumer's Bolos are Back
—and New York Times Best-Selling
Author John Ringo has Signed on
with the Bolo Brigade!
When a ruthless political regime seizes power on a world struggling to recover from alien invasion, a former war hero finds herself leading a desperate band of freedom fighters. Kafari Khrustinova, who fought Deng infantry from farmhouses and barns, finds herself struggling to free her homeworld from an unholy political alliance, headed by the charismatic and ambitious Vittori Santorini, which has seduced her young daughter with its propaganda and subverted the planet's Bolo, using the war machine to crush all political opposition. To free her homeworld, Kafari must somehow cripple or kill the Bolo she once called friend. Unit SOL-0045, "Sonny," is a Mark XX Bolo, self-aware and intelligent. When Sonny's human commander is forced off-world, Sonny tries to navigate his way through ambiguous moral and legal issues, sinking into deep confusion and electronic misery. He eventually faces a dark night of the soul, with no guarantee that he will understand—let alone make—the right decision. And caught in the middle of this volatile battlefield is Yalena Khrustinova, Kafari's young daughter. Will she open her eyes in time to save herself—and millions of innocents—or will Santorini's relentless brainwashing campaign continue to blind her while the tyrant engineers the ultimate destruction of a helpless and enslaved population
Praise for the Science Fiction of John Ringo
"MARVELOUS!" —David Weber
"As much action as you could hope for. . . . And then there's that quirky sense of humor running like a vein of gold under the mayhem." —Eric Flint
"Explosive. . . . Fans of strong military SF will appreciate Ringo's lively narrative and flavorful characters. . . . One of the best new practitioners of military SF." —Publishers Weekly
". . . since [Ringo's] imagination, clearly influenced by Kipling and rock and roll, is fertile, and his storytelling skill sound, [When the Devil Dances] is irresistible." —Booklist
"[Ringo demonstrates a] flair for fast-paced military sf peopled with three-dimensional characters and spiced with personal drama as well as tactical finesse." —Library Journal
"If Tom Clancy were writing SF, it would read much like John Ringo . . . good reading with solid characterizations—a rare combination." —Philadelphia Weekly Press
"Ringo provides a textbook example of how a novel in the military SF subgenre should be written. . . . For those who have read everything David Drake has written or who may have wished that Tom Clancy, Larry bond or Harold Coyle would write SF, Ringo provides what's needed. . . .Crackerjack storytelling." —Starlog
-
Product ReviewThis is by FAR my favorite Bolo book, and incidentally the only full length novel in the series. It was actually written by Linda Evans based on an outline by John Ringo, so that's where the politics which are central to the story come from.
The Bolo nicknamed "Sonny" is put in an untenable position when its orders have it fighting humans, whom the Bolo brigade is sworn to protect. It often doesn't know if it's fighting for the right side (no pun intended) or not, because during an extensive part of the book it doesn't have a commander.
The fact that is is an entire novel allows the author to humanize Bolos to a depth that the short stories and novellas just can't do. The battle scenes are first rate, even when Sonny is on his own and clearly fighting for the wrong side, and the conclusion is quite satisfying.
I've read every story in the series at least twice, but I've read this novel three or four times because the drama, both in battle and in the human (and Bolo) heart, is so poignant. Linda Evans shines as an author here, and I truly wish her health had allowed her to continue writing.Posted on
-
Product Review
Posted on
-
Product Review
Posted on
-
Product Review
Posted on
-
Product ReviewI like the Bolo stories. I like Ringo as an author. I Did Not Like This Book. There are plot lines that don't make sense. There are plot elements that don't go anywhere. And the ending is vague and minimal, like they got to a certain number of words or pages and needed to end it without any details or conclusion. Not worth my time, forget that it's free.
Posted on
-
Product Review
Posted on
-
Product ReviewThe worst bolo book never! Not only a right wing diatribe against a supposed left wing future, but badly thought out reasoning. Worse the story suffers very badly for political point trying to be made. I have been a big fan of his books until now. What a shame.
Posted on
-
Product Review
Posted on
-
Product Review
Posted on
-
Product ReviewAt first I was very skeptical about previous reviewers saying this book doesn't use the Bolos a lot. I bought the book anyway, because I am a total Bolo junkie. Well, sadly, the reviewers were totally correct. I am well over 200 pages in, and there's been no more than 10-15 pages of the Bolo's "mind". This is not a Bolo book at all. This is a book about planetary political intrigue that just happens to have a Bolo on the same planet. It's very disappointing. I am so glad I didn't buy this book new when it first came out.
However, if the book had not said anything on the cover about Bolos, it would have been much better. As far as the political intrigue goes, it's all right. Probably a 4-star book if they'd left the Bolo out entirely. But since this is marketed as a Bolo book, I have judged it as a Bolo book and it's total crap. There, I said it. Baen and the authors should be ashamed of themselves calling this a Bolo book. If a Bolo could crap, this is what it would look like.Posted on
