Tuesday, 21 April 2026 04:34 pm
Book Review: Bolo: The Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade
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deckardcanineKeith Laumer's first Bolo collection is surprisingly thin, unlike the fourth Bolo anthology by other authors. It consists of only an introduction by Jack Campbell, a brief "history" of the AI battle tanks, and six stories of 10-41 pages published between 1960 and 1976 (not presented in chronological order). When I found it in a Little Free Library, I figured it was the best way to get acquainted with Laumer.
So much for my assumption that earlier works would show Bolos at their best. Sure, they're a force to be reckoned with, but they've usually taken a beating, run low on resources, gotten confused, and/or separated from the rest on their own side when we see them. Laumer's approach is almost as diverse as the multiple authors' together. Once again, I'll describe each story.
The Night of the Trolls. First-person narrator Jackson is one of several volunteers in a suspended animation experiment. He awakens by himself decades later than he expected, to find that civilization has largely collapsed into anarcho-tyranny. Most people now have a primitive concept of machines, hence the use of "trolls" for Bolos. Jackson has a bone to pick with the self-styled Baron of the area, who knows more than most and sees unique value in him.
I have mixed feelings about post-apocalyptic tales, which tend to be high on adventure yet low on perceived stakes. This one's not too detailed in the dreary picture it paints, but it gets off to a slow start, until Jackson meets the right people. At least I can enjoy an unambiguous main villain.
Courier. At last, I read about Laumer's most notable character, Jame Retief. A facetiously skilled if unruly agent, he evokes a spacefaring James Bond. Since this is primarily his story, Bolos don't come up for quite a while. He's on a mission to help foil pirates on an ice planet, after contending with mobsters on the ship he boards. The dialog gets pretty fun, tho Chip the cook, Retief's nearly constant companion for the journey, talks in such a folksy way that I suspect political incorrectness.
Field Test. Here's where Laumer really shows his artistry, with perspectives shifting between chapters. Sometimes we get a news report, sometimes an official's monolog (often a long paragraph), sometimes the Bolo's italicized and remarkably emotional thoughts, and eventually a more conventional narration. True to the title, there's a new Bolo model, and it's not behaving the way the makers had in mind. While the previous two stories' Bolos seem merely automated, this one can talk and make judgment calls. That's what initially intrigued me, so I was a tad disappointed at how little it does.
The Last Command. A Bolo that has been buried almost as long as Jackson was comatose somehow burrows its way out. Unaware that the war it was in is over, it threatens regular citizens and distrusts the legitimacy of new orders. Can someone get through to it in time? Laumer finally goes the typical sci-fi route in calling the wisdom of making new tech into question, and I for one agree that AI is ripe for disaster.
A Relic of War. An old Bolo has become seemingly benign enough that the locals deem it a mascot, suitable for children to play with, until a military visitor accidentally switches its war mode back on. The same officer will have to bring it to heel. This feels a bit like the prior story, only with arguably better dialog and less tragedy.
Combat Unit. For once, the whole story is narrated by the Bolo itself. This one has fallen into the hands of a dictatorship that wants to utilize it. How well can the old machine do its job without guidance? I'd be happier if the Bolo provided details of more human interest than nerdily precise measurements.
Finishing a book in a week is good by my standards, but I could easily have gone faster if my attention didn't keep drifting. If I read more of Laumer, it'll be unrelated to the Boloverse. And from before 1971, when he got paralyzed and, according to Campbell, declined in writing quality.
My next novel is Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. That'll add geographic diversity to my readings.
So much for my assumption that earlier works would show Bolos at their best. Sure, they're a force to be reckoned with, but they've usually taken a beating, run low on resources, gotten confused, and/or separated from the rest on their own side when we see them. Laumer's approach is almost as diverse as the multiple authors' together. Once again, I'll describe each story.
The Night of the Trolls. First-person narrator Jackson is one of several volunteers in a suspended animation experiment. He awakens by himself decades later than he expected, to find that civilization has largely collapsed into anarcho-tyranny. Most people now have a primitive concept of machines, hence the use of "trolls" for Bolos. Jackson has a bone to pick with the self-styled Baron of the area, who knows more than most and sees unique value in him.
I have mixed feelings about post-apocalyptic tales, which tend to be high on adventure yet low on perceived stakes. This one's not too detailed in the dreary picture it paints, but it gets off to a slow start, until Jackson meets the right people. At least I can enjoy an unambiguous main villain.
Courier. At last, I read about Laumer's most notable character, Jame Retief. A facetiously skilled if unruly agent, he evokes a spacefaring James Bond. Since this is primarily his story, Bolos don't come up for quite a while. He's on a mission to help foil pirates on an ice planet, after contending with mobsters on the ship he boards. The dialog gets pretty fun, tho Chip the cook, Retief's nearly constant companion for the journey, talks in such a folksy way that I suspect political incorrectness.
Field Test. Here's where Laumer really shows his artistry, with perspectives shifting between chapters. Sometimes we get a news report, sometimes an official's monolog (often a long paragraph), sometimes the Bolo's italicized and remarkably emotional thoughts, and eventually a more conventional narration. True to the title, there's a new Bolo model, and it's not behaving the way the makers had in mind. While the previous two stories' Bolos seem merely automated, this one can talk and make judgment calls. That's what initially intrigued me, so I was a tad disappointed at how little it does.
The Last Command. A Bolo that has been buried almost as long as Jackson was comatose somehow burrows its way out. Unaware that the war it was in is over, it threatens regular citizens and distrusts the legitimacy of new orders. Can someone get through to it in time? Laumer finally goes the typical sci-fi route in calling the wisdom of making new tech into question, and I for one agree that AI is ripe for disaster.
A Relic of War. An old Bolo has become seemingly benign enough that the locals deem it a mascot, suitable for children to play with, until a military visitor accidentally switches its war mode back on. The same officer will have to bring it to heel. This feels a bit like the prior story, only with arguably better dialog and less tragedy.
Combat Unit. For once, the whole story is narrated by the Bolo itself. This one has fallen into the hands of a dictatorship that wants to utilize it. How well can the old machine do its job without guidance? I'd be happier if the Bolo provided details of more human interest than nerdily precise measurements.
Finishing a book in a week is good by my standards, but I could easily have gone faster if my attention didn't keep drifting. If I read more of Laumer, it'll be unrelated to the Boloverse. And from before 1971, when he got paralyzed and, according to Campbell, declined in writing quality.
My next novel is Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. That'll add geographic diversity to my readings.
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