Honor of the Regiment: Bolos 1 (v. 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Keith Laumer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 2002

The future of war--and the fate of man--lies with one machine: the Bolo. With plated armor, a laser cannon, an electronic brain, and wheels, it defends humanity from aliens that threaten the entire species. Now comes the amplified history of the Bolo in stories by David Drake, S.M. Stirling, Mercedes Lackey and others.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Baen; 1St Edition edition (June 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671721844
• ISBN-13: 978-0671721848
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeping the faith with unit honor and history., January 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Honor of the Regiment: Bolos 1 (v. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Bolos Book 1: Honor of the Regiment" (ISBN 0-671-72184-4) is a collection of stories written by several of today's best science fiction-fantasy authors and edited by Bill Fawcett, continues the history of the Bolo, huge, self-directing and self-aware combat vehicles, first penned by Keith Laumer. Honor of the Regiment is a title, I feel, was developed from Keith Laumer's story "Field Test," which tells the story of the first Bolo, named Denny, to use the full capabilities of self-directing and self-aware computer circuitry. Denny's unknown capabilities and the fear by his creators of not being able to control this powerful war machine also prevent him from being deployed to fight off an invasion of his creators country. When Denny was deployed there appeared to be no chance of stopping the enemy advance, even with his added firepower and other capabilities. Denny does the unexpected, instead of doing a fighting retreat against a superior force he charges towards the enemy's lines. This charge eventually breaks the enemy's invasion and forces them to retreat, but the victory came with a price. Denny, in human terms, was going to die from the many wounds he had taken in his charge, and there was no way to save him. Just before Denny dies, his Commander asks "Why he had continued his charge, when he knew he would be destroyed?" Denny's last words were "For the HONOR OF THE REGIMENT." Each of the stories in "Bolos Book 1: Honor of the Regiment" continues the story line penned by Keith Laumer. Further, after serving my country during a twenty-year naval career I can relate to the ideal of self-sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds and to maintain the history and traditions of my unit and branch of service. I highly recommend the book to all science fiction readers.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BOLO power!, April 17, 2001

By 

M. J Lane (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honor of the Regiment: Bolos 1 (v. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I had never read a book that is a collection of works by different authors on the same topic. I was not sure I would like it. As it turned out I liked it very much. I am an avid sci-fi reader and this book really satisfied me and I found myself ordering book 2 before I even finished book one.

If you absolutely insist on full character development this book is not for you. Each of the stories are fairly short and really only tell a comprehensive tale when taken together. I was also longing for much more of the story from the POV of the BOLO than was given.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bolo, the Ultimate Fighting Machine., January 26, 2002

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Honor of the Regiment: Bolos 1 (v. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Bolos: Book 1, is the first in a series of books based on the fighting machine created by Keith Laumer. The idea was that tanks would develop not only better weapons and stronger hulls, but would also have computers build into them which would allow it to perform certain duties without a crew. By the time Bolo Mark XXX was developed, human strategic thinking was no longer required. Book 1 and the rest of the series are short stories done by some of the best, including David Drake, S.M. Stirling, Mercedes Lackey and more. Bolos may be machines, but the ones in the stories show heart.