The Compleat Bolo: Compleat Bolo

This is one of my very favorite books. Just reading the chapter titles brings back a flood of emotions. And that's the special part, the emotions engendered by these stories. How can you feel a stab of pain when a tank dies? You'll find out! Each of these tales depicts a Bolo that is either severely handicapped or hopelessly outnumbered. Most are sentient, although a few stories deal with earlier pre-sentient models. Each story stands on its own and can be read easily without need of prior Bolo knowledge. At their hearts, they are tales of selflessness, loyalty, and duty. You'll have to keep reminding yourself that the main character is a tank.

My first Bolo story was "Rogue Bolo", which I read over 20yrs ago, and which got me hooked on Mr Laumer's admirable and self-aware Continental Siege Units. Artificial intelligence, coupled with irresistable force . . . A noble, multi-PhD-level entity that is not a two-arms, two-legs "classical-style" robot is a suprisingly engaging idea. These beings have 4 sets of treads,2 megaton per second firepower,and armor that can withstand a nuclear explosion 50yds away. Anyone who has an issue with "military scifi" has an issue with scifi in general. As long as humans are human, there will always be those who will stop at nothing to impose their ideas on everyone else by force, whether its a street thug or an Evil Interstellar Empire. Warp drive and colonization of other star systems is just going to export the same old crap out into a bigger playing field. The idea of the evil that men do taking place on such a vastly magnified scale is a hideous contemplation that has given any true scifi buff (military or otherwise) a shiver or two. The bad guys have the shortcuts and hyperfocus of evil on their side - the rest of us have the Bolos!

Anyone wishing to become familiar with Keith Laumer's Bolos should start here. It collects many previously published and widely scattered stories into one handy volume, and the writing is terrific. The stories cover many different eras, from the mid-21st century to the far future. A great all-around collection of SF stories, and the perfect starting place for the universe of the Bolos.

This book should be made a movie

Keith Laumer, in the book "The Compleat Bolo" (ISBN 0-671-69879-6) takes the tank, which was first deployed during World War 1 and uses the advances in technology (computers, armor, and weapons) to develop the most powerful combat vehicle known to man called a Bolo. There are eight stories that describe the evolution of the Bolo. His first story covers a Mark II and Mark III as man begins the first deep space mission and recovery from a war eighty years in the past. Next in the series, he describes how the first self-aware and self-directing Mark XX Bolo enters service with the military during another war. This Bolo, named Denny, scares many of the military brass, because of the potential for the gaint combat machine to attack its own creators. Denny's actions in battle and the results make good reading. Each of the other stories build on the honor and devoted service of these giant creations. This book is well worth the read for any science fiction addict.