Bolo: Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade

Bolo is one of the original titles of Military science fiction and considered a classic by many of the writers in the genre who consider this a seminal work that shaped their own storytelling.

The book describes the evolution of intelligent fighting machines. As the capabilities of artificial intelligence increased, the Bolo division of General Motors started working on tank designs that incorporated awareness and intelligence within the development of their tactical tanks.

With each new generation, these awesome fighting machines become more self-aware, with capabilities not only matching their human controllers, but often surpassing them.

This collection of action-packed stories lets the Bolo war machines speak for themselves as they hunt and destroy all who stands in their way. But beyond the action itself, these stories speak to us all on a very human level ... about the far-reaching, and often tragic, consequences of our actions.

About the Author
Campbell, Jack: - Jack Campbell is the pseudonym of Jack G. Hemry who has written a number of New York Times bestselling science fiction books. Drawing on his experience as a retired United States Navy officer, he has written the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series. Under the name Jack Campbell, he has written six volumes of the Lost Fleet series and the Steampunk/Fantasy The Pillars of Reality series. He has also written over a dozen short stories, many published in Analog magazine, and a number of non-fiction works.

Laumer, Keith: - Keith Laumer is one of the earliest writers of "Military" science fiction.

He is known for the Bolo and Retief stories. Stories from the former chronicle the evolution of super tanks that eventually become self-aware through the constant improvement resulting from centuries of intermittent warfare against various alien races. The latter deals with the adventures of a cynical spacefaring diplomat who constantly has to overcome the red-tape-infused failures of people with names like Ambassador Grossblunder. The Retief stories were greatly influenced by Laumer's earlier career in the US Foreign Service. In an interview with Paul Walker of Luna Monthly, Laumer states I had no shortage of iniquitous memories of the Foreign Service.

In addition to his Bolo and Retief stories, Laumer's more serious adventures included the subjects of time travel and alternate-world adventures such as found in his The Other Side of Time, A Trace of Memory, and Dinosaur Beach.

Four of his shorter works received Hugo or Nebula Award nominations (In the Queue, was nominated for both) and his novel A Plague of Demons (1965) received a nomination for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966.

His Bolo creations are considered a major early influencer of the military science fiction sub-genre, and many well known military science fiction authors have written stories in tribute to this original.

An anthology Created by Keith Laumer, Dangerous Vegetables, appeared in 1998. Actually edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh, the book's introduction (by Ben Bova) said the book was Laumer's idea but that he had died without completing it.