A BOY AND HIS TANK [Paperback]

Leo Frankowski (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Baen (1999)
• ASIN: B00161TTH2
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light and human military SF, June 24, 2002

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Boy And His Tank (Mass Market Paperback)

New Kashubia is a planet of almost pure wealth. When its star went nova, the lighter elements were blown away leaving a complete planet of molten metal--which then cooled in neat layers. New Kashubia is a miner's delight, an industrialist's best dream, and the worst possible nightmare for any colonists unlucky enough to be sent there. With no oxygen, no hydrogen, no organic chemicals, essentially nothing to support life, the Kashubian population is condemned to slowly starve--while living in their gold-lined caves. When they discover that the industrialists left a vast array of military equipment, the Kashubians see a ray of hope--they can become mercenaries, exchanging their equipment and soldiers for the organics they require. Of course, without enough volunteers, it is tempting to resort to stripping the prisons--hence tank operator Mickolai.

The warring clans of the former Yugoslavia form ideal targets for mercenaries. The Kashubians sell their services to all sides and prepare for a friendly time with plenty of shooting and no casualties. Unfortunately for their plans, the Serbians discover that the divisions they paid for are severely undermanned and take over the largely automated tanks themselves. As a result, the hoped-for cake walk turns into real battle.

Author Leo Frankowski follows the tradition of Robert Heinlein more than that of David Drake with a personal adventure and coming of age story--yet he certainly doesn't neglect the battles. Frankowski's descriptions of the future tanks is a reasonable extrapolation from modern trends, which makes his story more compelling and interesting.

I did think that Mickolai's relationship with Kasia went a little too easily and the romantic conflict between the tank, the boy, and the girl could have been more fully developed, but this is a small quibble. A BOY AND HIS TANK is fun light reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting premise, mediocre execution, February 20, 2000

By 

Ben Klausner (Redmond, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boy And His Tank (Mass Market Paperback)

Frankowski ventures into territory charted by Drake, Laumer, Heinlein, and Saberhagen, and actually comes up with a number of original twists on the theme of space-age armored warfare. But while he does have some novel technical ideas, the story itself dies about a third of the way through and then limps along on Frankowski's folksy narrative style. While this is pleasant, the story would probably have been better as a novella or some such.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well-paced fantasy, March 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Boy And His Tank (Hardcover)

The book has some flaws, most notably that you don't have any idea until the end that the book might be the first of a series, (if it sells well). It's fun, lighthearted fare, and the author makes some serious points along the way about what might happen when reality and fantasy become indistinguishable. I found it well worth my time, and enjoyed myself along the way.