Customer Reviews

Future Weapons of War

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joe Haldeman views writing as a craft, so its no surprise that an anthology of short stories edited by Haldeman would be chosen for their quality and originality. Although Haldeman may be best known for his Science Fiction works such as The Forever War, he has also written about his personal experiences in Vietnam ( War Stories ). The short stories in this collection are not "shoot'em up" stories, but thoughtful discussions of the future and philosophies of war. Haldeman and Greenberg have chosen their authors well and developed an excellent collection of short stories. Well worth reading!

I'm not a huge Sci-fi reader, but this collection was a fun read. Like any compilation, it's a mixed bag; a wide range of style and subject-matter (other than the unifying theme of war). There were some good, some great, and a few I could do without... worth picking up.

The cover here looks like space soldiers out of a computer game, or something like that. However, this is not, given Haldeman as an editor, a kill-'em-all marines in space sort of thing. Only one story really has military geek technobabble to the max, otherwise it is is all pretty good, and Rusch's story is excellent and chilling.

Future Weapons of War : Craters - Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Future Weapons of War : David In the Lion's Den - Geoffrey A. Landis
Future Weapons of War : Rocket Boy - Paul J. McAuley
Future Weapons of War : Jade Angel - Dena Bain Taylor
Future Weapons of War : Broken Bits - Mark L. VanName
Future Weapons of War : The First Cup of Coffee War - James H. Cobb
Future Weapons of War : The Soldier Within - Michael A. Burstein
Future Weapons of War : Spec-Ops - L. E. Modesitt
Future Weapons of War : The Weapon - William H. Keith
Future Weapons of War : The Looking Glass War - Brendan DuBois
Future Weapons of War : The Humans Call it Duty - Michael Z. Williamson
Future Weapons of War : Casualty - Brian Stableford


Mandatory babychipping has horrendously explosive terrorist consequences, reporter finds.

4.5 out of 5


Pork, it's what's for dinner. Cleverly used as a weapon against those for whom it ain't.

3 out of 5


Smartgun revolution overkill.

4 out of 5


Chimese dragon defence.

3.5 out of 5


"Not much call for fruit drinks"

3.5 out of 5


Near earth orbit warpron geekery.

2.5 out of 5


Telepathic rifle rejection subversion strategy.

3.5 out of 5


This war is for the birds, bats, gators, snakes, cockroaches...

3.5 out of 5


Long term social engineering.

4 out of 5


Leopardmanslaughter.

4 out of 5


Biosoldier up the duff drafting.

3.5 out of 5

While the stories were not of the usual military-oriented variety, by and large the whole book was unfulfilling.