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   Book Info

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The Road to Damascus  
Author: John Ringo
ISBN: 0743471873
Format: Handover
Publish Date: June, 2005
 
     
     
   Book Review

From Publishers Weekly
Readers interested in ethics as well as tactics will welcome this splendid new entry in the late Keith Laumer's Bolo series from military SF masters Ringo (When the Devil Dances) and Evans (Far Edge of Darkness). When the planet Jefferson faces an interplanetary Volkswanderung every bit as nasty as when the Huns drove the Goths into Roman territory, commander Simon Khrustinov and his Unit SOL-0045, a "Surplus on Loan" Bolo, "but still the finest Bolo any man could claim as partner and friend," defeat the alien menace. (Bear in mind that a Bolo is a self-aware tank roughly the size of the Pentagon that packs more firepower than most combatant powers of WWII.) However, this turns out to be just the start of the trouble. Much of Jefferson's infrastructure has been devastated, and the reconstruction entails unpopular taxes and conscription. When the government falls into the hands of radical utopians, the planet's new rulers eventually attempt to use the Bolo to destroy their class enemies in a blaze of ethnic cleansing. The subsequent conflicts within the sensitive Bolo's core programming cause the machine to question the reason for its existence. Laumer may rest easily knowing that his creation is in good hands. Ringo and Evans have written a strong cautionary tale that entertains as well as instructs, even if at times those lessons can be less than subtle.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.




The Road to Damascus

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Readers interested in ethics as well as tactics will welcome this splendid new entry in the late Keith Laumer's Bolo series from military SF masters Ringo (When the Devil Dances) and Evans (Far Edge of Darkness). When the planet Jefferson faces an interplanetary Volkswanderung every bit as nasty as when the Huns drove the Goths into Roman territory, commander Simon Khrustinov and his Unit SOL-0045, a "Surplus on Loan" Bolo, "but still the finest Bolo any man could claim as partner and friend," defeat the alien menace. (Bear in mind that a Bolo is a self-aware tank roughly the size of the Pentagon that packs more firepower than most combatant powers of WWII.) However, this turns out to be just the start of the trouble. Much of Jefferson's infrastructure has been devastated, and the reconstruction entails unpopular taxes and conscription. When the government falls into the hands of radical utopians, the planet's new rulers eventually attempt to use the Bolo to destroy their class enemies in a blaze of ethnic cleansing. The subsequent conflicts within the sensitive Bolo's core programming cause the machine to question the reason for its existence. Laumer may rest easily knowing that his creation is in good hands. Ringo and Evans have written a strong cautionary tale that entertains as well as instructs, even if at times those lessons can be less than subtle. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In the midst of an ongoing interplanetary war between human-colonized worlds and the hostile alien species known as the Deng, one planet chooses to rebel against the sentient BOLO war machines that serve as the primary line of defense against the Deng. Ringo (Hell's Faire) and Evans contribute another tale of military sf to the series of novels featuring the BOLOs originated by sf author Keith Laumer. Despite the general hawkish politics lacing the plot's subtext, the authors provide a wealth of military action along with a cast of well-developed characters, including a sympathetic BOLO named Sonny. A good choice for series fans and readers of military sf. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

     



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