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Bolo #Anth1
Honor of the Regiment: Bolos 1
Anthology: Bolos 1 (Bolo, Bk 4) Chronicles the history of the Bolo, a futuristic man-made machine that symbolizes brute force, defiance, and rigid will, and is responsible for defending humanity. 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. Cover art by Paul Alexander.
Contents:
Lost Legion [Bethany Martins • 1] / novelette by S. M. Stirling
Camelot / novelette by Shariann Lewitt [as by S. N. Lewitt]
The Legacy of Leonidas / novella by Andrew Keith [as by J. Andrew Keith]
Ploughshare / novella by Todd McCaffrey [as by Todd Johnson]
Ghosts / short story by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg
The Ghost of Resartus / novelette by Christopher Stasheff
Operation Desert Fox [Bolo] / novelette by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
As Our Strength Lessens [Bolo] / short story by David Drake
Based on the fighting machine created by Keith Laumer.
.
Contents:
Lost Legion [Bethany Martins • 1] / novelette by S. M. Stirling
Camelot / novelette by Shariann Lewitt [as by S. N. Lewitt]
The Legacy of Leonidas / novella by Andrew Keith [as by J. Andrew Keith]
Ploughshare / novella by Todd McCaffrey [as by Todd Johnson]
Ghosts / short story by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg
The Ghost of Resartus / novelette by Christopher Stasheff
Operation Desert Fox [Bolo] / novelette by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
As Our Strength Lessens [Bolo] / short story by David Drake
Based on the fighting machine created by Keith Laumer.
.
301 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
1 person is currently reading
511 people want to read
About the author
Keith Laumer
498 books225 followersJohn Keith Laumer was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the U.S. Air Force and a U.S. diplomat. His brother March Laumer was also a writer, known for his adult reinterpretations of the Land of Oz (also mentioned in Keith's The Other Side of Time).
Keith Laumer (aka J.K Laumer, J. Keith Laumer) is best known for his Bolo stories and his satirical Retief series. The former chronicles the evolution of juggernaut-sized 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 United States Foreign Service. In an interview with Paul Walker of Luna Monthly, Laumer states "I had no shortage of iniquitous memories of the Foreign Service."
Four of his shorter works received Hugo or Nebula Award nominations (one of them, "In the Queue", received nominations for both) and his novel A Plague of Demons was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966.
During the peak years of 1959–1971, Laumer was a prolific science fiction writer, with his novels tending to follow one of two patterns: fast-paced, straight adventures in time and space, with an emphasis on lone-wolf, latent superman protagonists, self-sacrifice and transcendence or, broad comedies, sometimes of the over-the-top variety.
In 1971, Laumer suffered a stroke while working on the novel The Ultimax Man. As a result, he was unable to write for a few years. As he explained in an interview with Charles Platt published in The Dream Makers (1987), he refused to accept the doctors' diagnosis. He came up with an alternative explanation and developed an alternative (and very painful) treatment program. Although he was unable to write in the early 1970s, he had a number of books which were in the pipeline at the time of the stroke published during that time.
In the mid-1970s, Laumer partially recovered from the stroke and resumed writing. However, the quality of his work suffered and his career declined (Piers Anthony, How Precious Was That While, 2002). In later years Laumer also reused scenarios and characters from his earlier works to create "new" books, which some critics felt was to their detriment:
Alas, Retief to the Rescue doesn't seem so much like a new Retief novel, but a kind of Cuisnart mélange of past books.
-- Somtow Sucharitkul (Washington Post, Mar 27, 1983. p. BW11)
His Bolo creations were popular enough that other authors have written standalone science-fiction novels about them.
Laumer was also a model airplane enthusiast, and published two dozen designs between 1956 and 1962 in the U.S. magazines Air Trails, Model Airplane News and Flying Models, as well as the British magazine Aero Modeler. He published one book on the subject, How to Design and Build Flying Models in 1960. His later designs were mostly gas-powered free flight planes, and had a whimsical charm with names to match, like the "Twin Lizzie" and the "Lulla-Bi". His designs are still being revisited, reinvented and built today.
Keith Laumer (aka J.K Laumer, J. Keith Laumer) is best known for his Bolo stories and his satirical Retief series. The former chronicles the evolution of juggernaut-sized 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 United States Foreign Service. In an interview with Paul Walker of Luna Monthly, Laumer states "I had no shortage of iniquitous memories of the Foreign Service."
Four of his shorter works received Hugo or Nebula Award nominations (one of them, "In the Queue", received nominations for both) and his novel A Plague of Demons was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966.
During the peak years of 1959–1971, Laumer was a prolific science fiction writer, with his novels tending to follow one of two patterns: fast-paced, straight adventures in time and space, with an emphasis on lone-wolf, latent superman protagonists, self-sacrifice and transcendence or, broad comedies, sometimes of the over-the-top variety.
In 1971, Laumer suffered a stroke while working on the novel The Ultimax Man. As a result, he was unable to write for a few years. As he explained in an interview with Charles Platt published in The Dream Makers (1987), he refused to accept the doctors' diagnosis. He came up with an alternative explanation and developed an alternative (and very painful) treatment program. Although he was unable to write in the early 1970s, he had a number of books which were in the pipeline at the time of the stroke published during that time.
In the mid-1970s, Laumer partially recovered from the stroke and resumed writing. However, the quality of his work suffered and his career declined (Piers Anthony, How Precious Was That While, 2002). In later years Laumer also reused scenarios and characters from his earlier works to create "new" books, which some critics felt was to their detriment:
Alas, Retief to the Rescue doesn't seem so much like a new Retief novel, but a kind of Cuisnart mélange of past books.
-- Somtow Sucharitkul (Washington Post, Mar 27, 1983. p. BW11)
His Bolo creations were popular enough that other authors have written standalone science-fiction novels about them.
Laumer was also a model airplane enthusiast, and published two dozen designs between 1956 and 1962 in the U.S. magazines Air Trails, Model Airplane News and Flying Models, as well as the British magazine Aero Modeler. He published one book on the subject, How to Design and Build Flying Models in 1960. His later designs were mostly gas-powered free flight planes, and had a whimsical charm with names to match, like the "Twin Lizzie" and the "Lulla-Bi". His designs are still being revisited, reinvented and built today.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 8, 2020
Bolos are future supersize tanks run by an Artificial Intelligence. This story collection was designed to keep alive the late Keith Laumer's concept of the bolo and in general succeeds. Some of the stories, of course, were better than the others.
1) "Lost Legion" by S.M. Stirling - This read like a story fragment, long on explaining the geopolitical situation piece by piece, but short on story or plot arc. (3 stars)
2) "Camelot" by S.N. Lewitt - How to fight an extortionist. (4 stars)
3) "The Legacy of Leonidas" by J. Andrew Keith - Second longest story of the collection. This is a wonderful take on the heroism of a bolo, which doesn't require appreciation to fulfill the parameters of its mission. (5 stars)
4) "Ploughshare" by Todd Johnson - Some senator's kid spilled some goop in a bolo while on a tour causing endless problems. Pretty silly stuff. (2 stars)
5) "Ghosts" by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg - Captured bolo. (3 stars)
6) "The Ghost of Resartus" by Christopher Stasheff - Bolo bean farmers. (4 stars)
7) "Operation Desert Fox" by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon - My favorite story in the book. It started out slowly with a lot of unnecessary background explanation. Once that was past, the story began with the line, "Bachman's World had little to recommend it. That was the problem." From that point forward was the Mercedes Lackey magic in full mode. A boy and a bolo had to figure out how to do their jobs on a world that didn't want them. Masterful solutions! (5 stars)
8) "As Our Strength Lessens" by David Drake - Don't underestimate the aliens cautionary tale, told with more style than substance. (3 stars)
1) "Lost Legion" by S.M. Stirling - This read like a story fragment, long on explaining the geopolitical situation piece by piece, but short on story or plot arc. (3 stars)
2) "Camelot" by S.N. Lewitt - How to fight an extortionist. (4 stars)
3) "The Legacy of Leonidas" by J. Andrew Keith - Second longest story of the collection. This is a wonderful take on the heroism of a bolo, which doesn't require appreciation to fulfill the parameters of its mission. (5 stars)
4) "Ploughshare" by Todd Johnson - Some senator's kid spilled some goop in a bolo while on a tour causing endless problems. Pretty silly stuff. (2 stars)
5) "Ghosts" by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg - Captured bolo. (3 stars)
6) "The Ghost of Resartus" by Christopher Stasheff - Bolo bean farmers. (4 stars)
7) "Operation Desert Fox" by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon - My favorite story in the book. It started out slowly with a lot of unnecessary background explanation. Once that was past, the story began with the line, "Bachman's World had little to recommend it. That was the problem." From that point forward was the Mercedes Lackey magic in full mode. A boy and a bolo had to figure out how to do their jobs on a world that didn't want them. Masterful solutions! (5 stars)
8) "As Our Strength Lessens" by David Drake - Don't underestimate the aliens cautionary tale, told with more style than substance. (3 stars)
October 23, 2014
Bolos were his greatest creation. He anthropomorphizes the machines, artificially intelligent tanks, rather than sticks to a truer AI form & winds up saying a lot about their creators. Lots of action, too. Excellent.
July 5, 2021
Were all of the stories in this collection 5-star worthy? No, rarely (never in my history) do anthologies manage that.
But this is one of my favorite science-fiction concepts. I love AI. I especially love when we don't try to make the AI's housing look like a person.
I read this as a sort of proof of concept. I was pretty well certain I would be really into the Bolo series but I wanted to test it out before I mass bought the whole collection. And I was right, I absolutely adore these intelligent tanks.
If you like non-humanoid robots, if you like military fiction and strategy, if you like short sci-fi stories, if you like harrowing tales of individuals fighting the odds and protecting their comrades I would absolutely recommend.
But this is one of my favorite science-fiction concepts. I love AI. I especially love when we don't try to make the AI's housing look like a person.
I read this as a sort of proof of concept. I was pretty well certain I would be really into the Bolo series but I wanted to test it out before I mass bought the whole collection. And I was right, I absolutely adore these intelligent tanks.
If you like non-humanoid robots, if you like military fiction and strategy, if you like short sci-fi stories, if you like harrowing tales of individuals fighting the odds and protecting their comrades I would absolutely recommend.
April 24, 2023
Have generally liked the Bolo series as written by Keith Laumer. However, despite Keith Laumer's name being on this book, many of the vignettes are not really up to his standards. The S.M. Stirling, the Resnick and Malzberg, the Stasheff pieces were disappointing. Was only able to read just one page of the blatantly racist Lackey piece. Although that is about on par with most of her work. The Johnson vignette was the best of the lot. This last is the only reason I have given this the "high" rating of two stars.
March 25, 2023
I always like this universe but at the same time I have a hard time reading it.
July 1, 2025
It’s a Bolo book. Some stories are better than others but all are solid.
March 3, 2014
Honor of the Regiment edited by Bill Fawcett is a set of short stories set in the Bolos Universe. Bolos are enormous autonomous tanks which were first created in the writing of Keith Laumer. This book includes many stories from some of the biggest names in science fiction. Lost Legion by S. M. Stirling tells the story of one of the first Bolos which exists during the time of the fall of the United States. The troops the tank is assigned to are assigned to preserve order in a third world nation but as the world falls apart the terrorists over in that region are winning. The story shows how sometimes a machine can be more useful than a green soldier. Camelot by S. N. Lewitt tells the tale of a planet where men have adopted to medieval traditions in order to leave the war torn region behind. However when pirates come a calling the citizens who include some refugees from the Dinochrome Brigade manage to get a new Bolo to work as their knight. The Legacy of Leonidas by J. Andrew Keith tells the tale of a Bolo who is sent to a planet where the natives don't trust autonomous machines. However the bolo manages to change the feelings after almost single handedly pushing back a mountain assault by an enemy group of religious cultists. Ploughshare by Todd Johnson tells the story of a planet where the bolos have long been deactivated. When one side of a regional conflict manages to reactivate a bolo which is very damaged it realizes that the real enemy is not who they think it is. Ghosts by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg deals with the dilemma facing all bolos which is the desire for life while knowing once they finish they will be shut down. In many ways it tells the tale of the ghost in the machine. The Ghost of Resartus by Christopher Stasheff tells of an agrarian lifestyle on a military colonist planet. The bolo's are tractors which makes a new colonist nervous as his seems to be having a mental breakdown. He discovers much more appreciation once the enemies actually invade. As Our Strength Lessens by David Drake tells about a bolo's need to discover what to do when an alien race discovers a super weapon. It easily explains that military superiors don't know everything but that heroes can still do what is needed even after everything goes wrong. I responded to the last tale in this book Operation Desert Fox in my review of Werehunter by Mercedes Lackey. I just wish man was as honorable as these creations appear to be.
July 6, 2011
Bolos are huge self-aware robotic battle tanks/mobile fortresses. Throughout a very long history of wars and conflicts, they have served humanity selflessly.
After Laumer’s death, Baen thought to resurrect the Bolos with a series of anthologies featureing a variety of authors. There is some excellent, some good, and some less good, but the overall quality is surprisingly high. It is military SciFi in a very pure form, and many will probably be put off by this. I have read the first four books:
Bolos Book 1 – Honor of the Regiment
Bolos Book 2 – The Unconquerable
Bolos Book 3 – The Triumphant
Bolos Book 4 – Last Stand
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=911
After Laumer’s death, Baen thought to resurrect the Bolos with a series of anthologies featureing a variety of authors. There is some excellent, some good, and some less good, but the overall quality is surprisingly high. It is military SciFi in a very pure form, and many will probably be put off by this. I have read the first four books:
Bolos Book 1 – Honor of the Regiment
Bolos Book 2 – The Unconquerable
Bolos Book 3 – The Triumphant
Bolos Book 4 – Last Stand
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=911
June 22, 2014
Great military based s-f.
From the weapons point of view, a sentient uber-tank.
I don't really look too deep into the stories I read, I just escape into another place and time from the here and now.
Though these stories aren't by the original author they are still good.
Keith Laumer is another "new" storyteller to me as I had not heard of him till recently, am glad I have.
Have now collected a few more books about Bolos and will read them at my leisure.
From the weapons point of view, a sentient uber-tank.
I don't really look too deep into the stories I read, I just escape into another place and time from the here and now.
Though these stories aren't by the original author they are still good.
Keith Laumer is another "new" storyteller to me as I had not heard of him till recently, am glad I have.
Have now collected a few more books about Bolos and will read them at my leisure.
March 4, 2009
Like most Bolo books, it's a collection of short stories.
Lost Legion: 2 stars. Pretty dry
Camelot: 5 stars. One of the best.
Legacy of Leonidas: 4 stars. Quite good
Ploughshare: 4 stars
Ghosts: 2 stars
Ghost of Restartus: 4 stars. Interesting ideas
Operation Desert Fox: 5 stars and a LOT of smiles
As Our Strength Lessens: 3 stars. Interesting, but dry.
Lost Legion: 2 stars. Pretty dry
Camelot: 5 stars. One of the best.
Legacy of Leonidas: 4 stars. Quite good
Ploughshare: 4 stars
Ghosts: 2 stars
Ghost of Restartus: 4 stars. Interesting ideas
Operation Desert Fox: 5 stars and a LOT of smiles
As Our Strength Lessens: 3 stars. Interesting, but dry.
January 23, 2011
The first of the Bolos books, it's an interesting read as it shows the future of humanity through the eyes of the AIs that are humanity's greatest war machines. Through various short stories by different authors it displays the honor and dedication of these enormous tanks, from a Mark III all the way to a Mark LX, each with its own quirks.
January 10, 2013
I enjoyed this book as a good example of science fiction exploring the nature of what it means to be a person, experience life, and have purpose through the interaction between humans and machines (the Bolos). It's a great collection of short stories about duty, honor, and sacrifice. As far as short story collections go, this is a good one.
December 22, 2021
Collection of short stories featuring Keith Laumer's Bolos - AI controlled tanks of the future.
Covers from Mk III up to Mk LX and a few 20's and 30's.
There's no real stand out stories in this collection. They've got a decent selection of authors to put their spin on things in a fairly workmanlike fashion.
Covers from Mk III up to Mk LX and a few 20's and 30's.
There's no real stand out stories in this collection. They've got a decent selection of authors to put their spin on things in a fairly workmanlike fashion.
August 22, 2007
Not actually by Keith Laumer, just set in the universe he created. A collection of tales about artificially intelligent tanks, many of which have more honor and soul than the humans they are protecting.
March 20, 2008
The Bolo stories are Keith Laumer to me. Read in my youth, I was intrigued by the characterizations of the big war machines. Laumer was able to evoke emotion from me for inanimate objects-but were they really inanimate? Anyway, theses stories are another of my mainstays of Sci-Fi.
February 25, 2008
I know computers have hearts because of this science fiction series. My heart feels like it is going to explode with sympathy whenever I read it.
February 17, 2009
Huge fun for young-adult reading. I loved these.
May 29, 2011
I adore anything with well-defined technology. This book is fantastic!
September 9, 2016
Nice shorts about Bolos from differing authors.
March 24, 2014
I love everything Bolo. I know I read this, but it was a while ago, so I can't recall anything specific. But it's Bolo. So, giant, thinking tanks with huge battles. I'm in.
September 12, 2014
Short stories about super tanks. I read this years ago. Loved it. Still love it.
I wish I had a Bolo
I wish I had a Bolo
August 4, 2017
The Bolos stories are always fun to read. Very entertaining. This one is no different.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews