Dogs of War

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

352 pages

English language

Published Dec. 28, 2017 by Head of Zeus.

ISBN:: 978-1-78669-389-1

(11 reviews)

Rex is seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. He's part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, Mexico. As a genetically engineered Bioform, Rex is a dealy weapon in a dirty war. But all he wants to be is a Good Dog. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and kill a lot of enemies. But who, exactly, are the enemies? What happens when Master is tried as a war criminal? What rights does the Geneva Convention grant weapons? Do Rex and his fellow Bioforms even have a right to exist? And what happens when Rex slips his leash?

3 editions

Paul reviewed Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Dogs of War, #1)

A very readable novel with a lot to say

5 stars

As an exploration of what it means to be a person, from the point of view of a 7ft bioengineered dog, this novel is absolutely brilliant. The main character, Rex, is a good dog, and in this novel Adrian Tchaikovsky really does manage to effectively portray this dogs-eye view of the world.

Dogs of War is a very readable novel and one with much to say about sentience, slavery, artificial intelligence, and what happens when all these threads come together.

It really is superb.

Frank Burns reviewed Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Dogs of War, #1)

Review of 'Dogs of War' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Well, this was a surprise. I only downloaded it because it was free with Amazon Prime and started reading not expecting much. What seemed to be a familiar fable, covering old ground quickly grew into a study of many, many things. This book was largely about 'should', told through the prism of a dog who had been made to be a human and then forced again to become more and more by circumstance. When all he wanted to be was a 'Good Dog'. In particular, the ending twist about slavery was very on point. Highly recommended if not quite five stars.