The Dogs Of War

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Dogs of War was not the book I was expecting to read - in a good way. I've long been a fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky, his Shadows of the Apt epic fantasy series is great and I really enjoyed his fantasy/adventure novel Spiderlight. In Dogs of War, Tchaikovsky turns his talents towards sci-fi with genetically engineered bioforms - animals enhanced by weaponised technology and given the smarts to communicate with humans on near like-for-like levels. Although Manson has taken steps to silence the few people aware of the Crystal Mountain platinum deposit, the chemist who analysed the samples has inadvertently revealed his findings to a former acquaintance, who (unknown to the chemist) has political connections to the Soviet government. The acquaintance reports the findings to the Soviets, who in turn assign a KGB bodyguard to Kimba while they prepare to send in their own geological survey team. In a conversation with a Foreign Office bureaucrat, Sir James learns that the Soviets have got wind of the deposit. Sir James commissions Shannon to organise and mount the coup, to take place on the eve of Zangaro's independence day, one hundred days hence, but does not tell Shannon of the Soviet involvement. From a distance, I suppose that it what we get here, though I admit that the conscience is less troubled than I’d like. In execution, though – emphasis on execution – this is a procedural. Instead of a police procedural, though, it’s more of a coup procedural. It lets us see what it might take for a determined handful of men (always men, of course) to overthrow a government and turn themselves into billionaires along the way.

The Dogs of War really highlights planning in all of its glory. It sounds boring, but if you want to know how mercenaries actually (spoiler: I don't know at all that this is true) plan an execute missions, then this is the book for you. It doesn't even matter to me that it's accurate, though I've heard it is, so much as it matters to me that it is plausible and tries to be accurate and lives up to its own internal logic.

Aizraujoša zinātniskā fantastika tepat uz mūsu planētas. Čajkovskis, lai arī pamatīga grāmatu pulka autors, man ir atkājums. Gaidu turpinājuma tulkojumu, kā arī palūkošos pēc "Laika bērniem".

I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid.” - George R.R. Martin as Tyrion Lannister. Charles Roux: French ex- Legionnaire, failed mercenary and now small-time crime boss in Paris; self-proclaimed leader of all French mercenaries, passionately hates Shannon

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Barnett, Antony; Bright, Martin (16 January 2005). "Pressure grows to strip Thatcher title". The Guardian. I loved the way these characters evolved from combat team to individuals with their own goals, each with a unique voice to go along with their unique physical attributes and all with a surprising amount of character depth. Manīju joku, ka bibliotēkā mainījusies grāmatu kārtība - ceļojumu grāmatas tagad atrodamas pie fantāzijas, politika ir zinātniskā fantastika un epidemoloģija atrodama pašpalīdzības plauktos.

Rex is a smart dog, but he's bred and programmed to obey his Master who is busy prosecuting an illegal personal war using horrific methods and is using Rex's squad to cover it all up. But while Rex is smart, he's not the smartest person on his team, nor is he without friends even if he doesn't know they exist or why they care. At first, Rex was a dog that worried about not pleasing his master and not making the right decisions but am glad that I got to see him getting over those fears and being himself.I'm quite impressed. This isn't just a war-dog story taken literally. It's a full-blown discussion on what makes humanity, transhumanism rights, and the pitfalls of certain kinds of tech, focusing more or less on those that remove free-will, but it's not always about the tech. He posits a future for war that includes bioengineered human-animal beings, but with advanced tech in their heads and reinforced bodies, all to augment their particular existing mammalian traits, and give them huge advantages in battle as terrifyingly effective weapons. The author doesn’t just give us automata resembling mastiffs and grizzlies and crocodiles and bees (which all happen to be members of main character Rex’s multi-bioform squad), but thinking beings with preferences, developing emotions and thoughts. None of which the original scientists and biomechanical engineers ever intended. But with the growing neural complexity and increasing experiences, the multi-bioforms begin, unbeknownst to their master Murray, exceeding his commands. Murray has been waging his own unsanctioned battles in Mexico, while under contract to deploy the multi-bioform squad to troubled spots.