Pentapod reviewed Bolo rising by Ian Douglas
Review of 'Bolo rising' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A full novel set in the Bolo universe; humanity has scattered to different planets, trying to establish colonies and perpetuate the species. On the planet Cloud, the colony suffered a devastating attack from a machine race that has enslaved the humans and put them to work mining and scavenging. The Mark XXXIII Bolo (aka "Hector") who was intended to act as the colony's defense was disabled early on, but survivors of the human military believe there may be a way to reactivate Hector and try to fight back ... of course it's not going to be easy.
It's a very 70s style of science fiction, lots of militarism and macho, but still has some very smart and useful female characters, and what particularly stands out in the Bolo books is the parts of the story told from the point of view of the Bolo itself, an AI developed for and …
A full novel set in the Bolo universe; humanity has scattered to different planets, trying to establish colonies and perpetuate the species. On the planet Cloud, the colony suffered a devastating attack from a machine race that has enslaved the humans and put them to work mining and scavenging. The Mark XXXIII Bolo (aka "Hector") who was intended to act as the colony's defense was disabled early on, but survivors of the human military believe there may be a way to reactivate Hector and try to fight back ... of course it's not going to be easy.
It's a very 70s style of science fiction, lots of militarism and macho, but still has some very smart and useful female characters, and what particularly stands out in the Bolo books is the parts of the story told from the point of view of the Bolo itself, an AI developed for and to defend humanity but now both stronger and faster than any of them. The long-term relationship that develops between the Bolos and the humans is what interests me most about Laumer's view of this future universe and he develops the Bolos as real personalities and interesting characters on their own.