Bolo!

If I had to describe a Bolo, I'd have to say they are something akin to David Dranke' Hammer Slammers tanks put on steroids, meets a Dahak kind of machine of similar intelligence and equal personality. Saw this book at a local Hastings and since Weber is one of my preferred authors, decided try it out. Though every book to date I've read that Weber has put together have been full novel length (currently reading By Schism Rent Asunder), this one didn't disappoint. It has piqued my interest in other Bolo books. Of the four short stories that make this installment, all are separate while taking place in a time line to one another, I'd have to say the 4th one was my favorite. Compounded mistakes on both sides creates an almost primal hate that begets hate, eventually driving both sides into an insanity where neither will settle for anything less than the annihilation of the other. But after all is said and done...a smattering of survivors manage to come to terms. I'm reminded a great deal of Dahak from the Mutineers Moon Trilogy in many respects. While Dahak is like a rock when it comes to upholding his own morals, Bolo! shows that even a sentient machine can succumb to same madness that begets humans in A Time To Kill. I'm not doing Bolo! any justice in my own words, but I highly recommend this read.

David Weber has taken over the Bolo series, and as both a Weber fan and a huge Bolo fan, I couldn't be happier. The ONLY disappointing thing about this book is that it has a few stories that appear in other works, like BOLOS, BOOK 3 and BOLOS, BOOK 4. But even then, the new story is worth the price of admission. Bolo fans will want to add this to their collection. Not a Bolo fan? You will be after this book. Don't know what a bolo is? Pick up this book to find out.

Bolo! (2005) is the second work in the Fourth Bolo Series, following The Road to Damascus. It is a collection of four stories about unusual Bolos. Of course, *all* the Bolo stories are about unusual actions by these machines; a sufficiently advanced artificial intelligence will necessarily have its own quirks and interpretations. "Miles to Go" was initially published within Triumphant, Book 3 of the Second Bolo Series. This story relates the tale of XXIII/B-0075-NKE. Nike is a Bolo prototype stranded on Santa Cruz during the Quern Hegemony Wars. Major Marina Stravrakas, Nike's commander, was also Project Chief of the experimental psychotronics upgrade for Nike and spent the remainder of her life tweaking the Bolo's brainbox. After Sector Command on Ursula rediscovers the deployment of Nike to Santa Cruz, Captain Paul Merrit is sent there as the Bolo's commander. He is amazed at the degree to which Major Stravrakas has enhanced the Bolo's capabilities. Then GalCorp sends a mercenary brigade to savage the residents of Santa Cruz so that they will sell their property to the company. "The Traitor" was initially published within Last Stand, Book 4 of the Second Bolo Series. This story relates the tale of XXV/D-0098-ART in his pursuit of his crazed creche mate XXV/D-0103-LNC, who fled the Enemy in Morville and even fired on another Bolo. Lance was terribly wounded by the Enemy and is now fleeing toward the mountains, with Arthur in close pursuit. Of course, Lance has a reason for his flight. "With Your Shield" is an original story, published for the first time in this volume. This story relates the tale of Lieutenant Maneka Trevor, freshly graduated from the Academy, on her first field assignment to the Thirty-Ninth Battalion on Santa Cruz. To her amazement, she is immediately assigned as the commander of the Bolo XXVIII/G-862-BNJ. Of course, Benjy is obsolescent and used only to train new commanders, but Maneka is awed by his combat record. Then the battalion is shipped to Chartres to oppose an Enemy invasion. "A Time to Kill" was initially published within Last Stand. This story relates the tale of XXXIII/D-1097-SHV on Ishark. Shiva had been part of the XLIII Corps in the last battle of the Final War. He and his mates had killed every Melconian on the planet, every male, female or child, whether service or civilian. With the last shot, Shiva had died. Now humans have settled on Ishark, calling it Ararat. They settle near the last battle site where the human transports landed, hoping that any active war machine will be human. Jackson Deveraux is out exploring the site when Shiva reactivates after almost seventy years of extensive repairs by its maintenance nanites. Shiva has reverted back to the creche state and is imprinted by Jackson as his commander upon first hearing his voice. Shiva has been reactivated prematurely because Melconian battle comms have been detected in the system. A Melconian fleet has arrived in sorry

Outstanding! David Weber again proves his abilities as a Bolo story teller. The four stories in this book entertain and honor the Dinachrome tradition, although I thought I had read one of them before. In addition, one of them sets the stage for his next novel, "Old Soldiers". The Bolo technical chronology at the end is a must for anyone wanting a comprehensive collection of Brigade History. For any of you that can't seem to satiate your need for Bolo lore, this is definately one to add to your collection.

Man's need for more power, more military might has resulted in the ultimate killing machine--the BOLO. Starting with the Abrams battle tanks of the 20th/21st centuries, BOLOs became increasingly armored, capable, and finally intelligent until they became self-aware entities--people who formed a partnership with the humans who created and ultimately controlled them. In BOLO!, author David Weber takes the BOLO idea originated by SF classic writer Keith Laumer and builds on it. Weber provides BOLO-based novellas, along with a detailed history of the BOLO from its 21st century origin to the ultimate BOLO XXXIII of the end-days of human civilization. Each of these pits a BOLO against powerful enemies--sometimes human, as in 'Miles to Go,' sometimes alien, as in 'With this Shield,' sometimes with themselves ('The Traitor'), and sometimes with human nature itself ('A Time to Kill'). Weber is at his best in those stories that deal with emotion and growth. The more militaristic stories--especially 'A Time to Kill' slip into Weber's weakness--detailed statistics on how many missiles carry payloads vs. electronic warfare warheads, how many are stopped by counter-missiles, how many confused by electromagnetic pulses or target already destroyed BOLOs, etc. Where he lets himself go, concentrating on the man/machine relationship and the increasing humanization of the BOLO (even in an era where mankind itself is losing its humanity), Weber is strong indeed. Although BOLO! is about war, it doesn't glorify war the way so many recent Baen books do. Instead, both the BOLOs and Weber see war as a tragic failure. If you're looking for a thoughtful approach to war, a stealthy look at what it means to be human, BOLO! is a great place to start.