Dogs of War (2017 novel)

Last updated

Dogs of War is a dystopian sci-fi, cyberpunk novel by UK author Adrian Tchaikovsky, published in 2017 by Head of Zeus. It forms the first part of the Dogs of War duology, and is followed by Bear Head (2021). [1]

Contents

Background

The title, Dogs of War, refers to a phrase spoken by Mark Antony in Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar , "Cry 'Havoc!' , and let slip the dogs of war." [2]

Tchaikovsky acknowledges that Dogs of War came directly from his reading of H.G. Wells’ novel, The Island of Dr Moreau. He also mentions the influence of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in relation to Rex, his main protagonist. Although Tchaikovsky says in interview that he had a childhood phobia of dogs, he goes on to say that his research into the science of domestication and the study of how dogs' brains work led him to "like dogs in the abstract." [3]

Plot

The novel is set in the near future, in a world in which warfare has evolved to include bio-engineered, non-human soldiers.

The main protagonist and first-person narrator, Rex, is a human/canine Bioform, heavily armed and genetically engineered to be a weapon of war. Along with his companions, Honey (a hyperintelligent bear), Dragon (a camouflaging sniper) and a swarm of sentient, electronic Bees, he exists to serve his master as part of a Multiform Assault Pack in war-torn Campeche, in southeastern Mexico. His responses controlled by biofeedback implants, all Rex wants is to be a Good Dog for his master. But when his master, a mercenary, is put on trial for the massacre of civilians, Rex and his companions find themselves directionless, and are forced to reassess their understanding of morality and their role within the world.

Further complications arise when it becomes clear that in the context of their master's war crimes, the Assault Pack are perceived by humans as weapons of war, rather than individuals with the capacity to learn. Faced with calls for their destruction, the team must not only survive, but persuade their human masters that they are sentient, autonomous beings who deserve to exist, rather than a dangerous experiment that needs to be erased. [4]

The novel is followed by Bear Head, which continues Honey's story as she re-emerges as part of a data download in the mind of a human. [5]

Themes

The main themes in Dogs of War are those of free will, personal agency and what it means to be an individual. [6] The novel also explores the concept of modern slavery, the moral implications of creating artificial intelligence, [7] the ethics of warfare and the right to life. [8] [9] In an interview, Tchaikovsky says that one of the book's main themes is: "a sort of extreme iteration of societal control, the idea of ‘collaring’ someone so that they cannot say no." [10]

Reception

The book was well-received, and was nominated for the BSFA Best Novel Award. [11] [12] A starred review from Publishers Weekly praised the worldbuilding and Rex's character development. [13] Grimdark Magazine praised the author's characterization and skill in creating relatable non-human protagonists, while criticizing the somewhat "heavy-handed" handling of the main themes. [6] The Guardian praised it as "A timely warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence and super weapons in the hands of unscrupulous powers." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Bear</span> American writer and illustrator (1951–2022)

Gregory Dale Bear was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict, parallel universes, consciousness and cultural practices, and accelerated evolution. His last work was the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear wrote over 50 books in total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military science fiction</span> Military subgenre of science fiction

Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization, usually during a war; occurring sometimes in outer space or on a different planet or planets. It exists in a range of media, including literature, comics, film, television and video games.

A bioship is a type of spacecraft or starship described in science fiction as either predominantly or totally composed of biological components, rather than being constructed from manufactured materials. Because of this, they nearly always have a distinctively organic look.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. Scott Bakker</span> Canadian writer

Richard Scott Bakker is a Canadian fantasy author. He grew up on a tobacco farm in the Simcoe area.

Flood (<i>Halo</i>) Fictional parasitic alien lifeform in the Halo video game series

The Flood is a fictional parasitic alien lifeform and one of the primary antagonists in the Halo multimedia franchise. First introduced in the 2001 video game Halo: Combat Evolved, it returns in later entries in the series such as Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo Wars. The Flood is driven by a desire to infect any sentient life of sufficient size; Flood-infected creatures, also called Flood, in turn can infect other hosts. The parasite is depicted as such a threat that the ancient Forerunners constructed artificial ringworld superweapons known as Halos to contain it and, as a last resort, to kill all sentient life in the galaxy in an effort to stop the Flood's spread by starving it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deathlands</span> Novel series

Deathlands is a series of novels written by Christopher Lowder under the pseudonym Jack Adrian and published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel, Pilgrimage to Hell, was published in 1986. This series of novels was written by Lowder until he became ill following his development of the plot and writing most of the book. Laurence James, under the pseudonym James Axler, then completed the series.

The use of nanotechnology in fiction has attracted scholarly attention. The first use of the distinguishing concepts of nanotechnology was "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", a talk given by physicist Richard Feynman in 1959. K. Eric Drexler's 1986 book Engines of Creation introduced the general public to the concept of nanotechnology. Since then, nanotechnology has been used frequently in a diverse range of fiction, often as a justification for unusual or far-fetched occurrences featured in speculative fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death ray</span> Theoretical weapon

The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon first theorized around the 1920s and 1930s. Around that time, notable inventors such as Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, Harry Grindell Matthews, Edwin R. Scott, Erich Graichen and others claimed to have invented it independently. In 1957, the National Inventors Council was still issuing lists of needed military inventions that included a death ray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Tchaikovsky</span> British fantasy and science fiction author

Adrian Czajkowski is a British fantasy and science fiction author. He is best known for his series Shadows of the Apt, and for his Hugo Award-winning Children of Time series.

Taylor Anderson is an author, historical artillery and firearm expert, re-enactor, and former history professor. He is the author of the Destroyermen series, about USS Walker, USS Mahan, and USS S-19, and their fight against the Grik. Anderson has also written several short stories in the same fictional universe.

<i>The Quantum Thief</i> 2010 novel by Hannu Rajeniemi

The Quantum Thief is the debut science fiction novel by Finnish writer Hannu Rajaniemi and the first novel in a trilogy featuring the character of Jean le Flambeur; the sequels are The Fractal Prince (2012) and The Causal Angel (2014). The novel was published in Britain by Gollancz in 2010, and by Tor in 2011 in the US. It is a heist story, set in a futuristic Solar System, that features a protagonist modeled on Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AI takeover in popular culture</span>

AI takeover—the idea that some kind of artificial intelligence may supplant humankind as the dominant intelligent species on the planet—is a common theme in science fiction. Famous cultural touchstones include Terminator and The Matrix.

<i>Children of Time</i> (novel) 2015 science fiction novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Children of Time is a 2015 science fiction novel by author Adrian Tchaikovsky. The novel follows the evolution of a civilization of genetically modified Portia labiata (arachnoid) on a terraformed exoplanet, guided by an artificial intelligence based on the personality of one of the human terraformers of the planet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grimdark</span> Subgenre of speculative fiction

Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction with a tone, style, or setting that is particularly dystopian, amoral, and violent. The term is inspired by the tagline of the tabletop strategy game Warhammer 40,000: "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war."

<i>The Poppy War</i> 2018 fantasy novel by R. F. Kuang

The Poppy War is a 2018 novel by R. F. Kuang, published by Harper Voyager. The Poppy War, a grimdark fantasy, draws its plot and politics from mid-20th-century China, with the conflict in the novel based on the Second Sino-Japanese War, and an atmosphere inspired by the Song dynasty. A sequel, The Dragon Republic, was released in August 2019, and a third book, The Burning God was released November 2020.

<i>Forerunner Saga</i> Trilogy of science fiction books

The Forerunner Saga is a trilogy of science fiction novels by Greg Bear, based on the Halo series of video games. The books in the series are Halo: Cryptum (2011), Primordium (2012), and Silentium (2013). The books were released in hardcover, e-book, paperback, and audiobook. Bear was given little restriction on the story of the novel; the Halo universe had not yet been explored in that time period.

<i>Peace Talks (The Dresden Files)</i> 2020 novel by Jim Butcher

Peace Talks is a novel in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It is the 16th novel in the series. It follows the protagonist, Harry Dresden as he attempts to navigate a convoluted peace negotiation between various supernatural powers.

<i>The Final Architecture</i> Series of science fiction novels by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Final Architecture is a series of science fiction novels by British writer Adrian Tchaikovsky. It contains the books Shards of Earth, Eyes of the Void, and Lords of Uncreation. The series focuses on a group of humans fighting against the mysterious Architects, who destroy inhabited planets. The series has been well-received critically, with Shards of Earth winning the 2021 BSFA Award for Best Novel.

Anna Smith Spark is a British fantasy fiction writer and civil servant from Bishop's Stortford. She wrote a trilogy titled Empires of Dust as well as several other standalone works, and has been styled the "Queen of Grimdark".

Bear Head is a dystopian sci-fi, cyberpunk political thriller by Adrian Tchaikovsky, published in 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing. Although the novel stands alone, it is the second in the author's Bioforms duology, and follows on from Dogs of War.

References

  1. ↑ locusmag (2022-05-09). "Adrian Tchaikovsky: From Star to Star". Locus Online. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  2. ↑ "'Cry 'Havoc!' And Let Slip The Dogs Of War': Speech & Analysis". No Sweat Shakespeare. 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  3. ↑ Nield, Lucy (2022-01-25). "Talking Dogs: Interview with ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY". Fantasy-Hive. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  4. ↑ Ryder, Mike (2023-04-10). "How governments are using science fiction to predict potential threats". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  5. ↑ Tuttle, Lisa (2021-02-12). "The best recent science fiction and fantasy – review roundup". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  6. 1 2 Napier, Chris (2020-08-13). "REVIEW: Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky". Grimdark Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  7. ↑ October 26, russell1200; Pm, 2017 at 5:02 (26 October 2017). "Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky – The Eloquent Page" . Retrieved 2024-05-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. 1 2 Brown, Eric (2017-12-29). "The best recent science fiction – reviews roundup". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  9. ↑ Aron, Jacob (2018). "The best fiction and sci-fi of 2018 to wrap or read this Xmas". New Scientist. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  10. ↑ "Bear Head: An Interview With Author Adrian Tchaikovsky". SciFiNow. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  11. ↑ "Award Bibliography: Adrian Tchaikovsky". isfdb.org. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  12. ↑ Rocket, Stubby the (2020-06-16). "Tade Thompson and Adrian Tchaikovsky Nominated for the 2020 Prix Utopiales". Reactor. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  13. ↑ "Dogs of War". Publishers Weekly. 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.