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Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Dogs of War (Dogs of War, 1) Paperback – November 1, 2022

by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,062 ratings
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A bio-engineered dog fights for its life and its right to life. From the Arthur C. Clark Award-winning author of CHILDREN OF TIME.

My name is Rex. I am a good dog.

Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he's part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, Mexico. A genetically engineered Bioform, he's a deadly weapon in a dirty war. All he wants to be is a Good Dog. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and Master says he's got to 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?

'Detailed and clever worldbuilding... Tchaikovsky pulls off an impressive feat in making Rex's character evolution genuinely moving. Readers will be wowed' Publishers Weekly

Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 2
    Dogs of War
  2. Print length
    352 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Head of Zeus -- an AdAstra Book
  5. Publication date
    November 1, 2022
  6. Dimensions
    5 x 0.75 x 7.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1800248938
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1800248939
  9. See all details
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Popular Highlights in this book
What are popular highlights?
Previous page
  1. Change hurts, but it hurts most those who shackle themselves to the past.
    Highlighted by 352 Kindle readers
  2. Technology is not Good Tech or Bad Tech. It is the Master who is guilty for what it does.
    Highlighted by 200 Kindle readers
  3. I tell myself I have been a Good Dog. Nobody else can decide that for me.
    Highlighted by 194 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Rex, a 2-metre-tall bioengineered dog, is one of the most achingly human characters I have ever encountered in an SF novel. A gripping dive into bioethics and artificial intelligence” ―New Scientist

“This is superior stuff, tackling big themes – gods, messiahs, artificial intelligence, alienness – with brio” ―Financial Times

“A joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human” ―Patrick Ness

“Detailed and clever worldbuilding... Tchaikovsky pulls off an impressive feat in making Rex's character evolution genuinely moving. Readers will be wowed” ―Publishers Weekly

“A timely warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence and super weapons in the hands of unscrupulous powers” ―Guardian

“The novel [is] thoughtful and emotionally affecting, yet also exciting and unpredictable” ―SFX 5* review

“Tchaikovsky is a phenomenal author, a modern powerhouse of fiction... Speculative fiction at its best'” ―Starburst magazine

“When it comes to science fiction, my primitive brain always craves action and pretty explosions. My higher self is looking for a plot that forces me to engage my brain and think. With Dogs of War, Adrian Tchaikovsky has managed the near impossible and delivered both masterfully” ―The Eloquent Page

“A novel which takes war and broadens the concept to include peacetime ramifications of this new frontier technology through sociopolitical commentary which in turn gives the characters and theme a 360 feel delivered through a multi POV narrative... This book is great, read it'” ―Just a Guy Who Likes to Read

“The nuance of the story could easily have been lost in imagery of massive animals running impossible missions, but Tchaikovsky is a skilled navigator and guides us deftly along to a very satisfying conclusion... The work of an author on the very top of his game'” ―Boney Abroad.

About the Author

Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Lincolnshire before heading off to Reading to study psychology and zoology. He subsequently ended up in law and has worked as a legal executive in both Reading and Leeds, where he now lives. Married, he is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and has trained in stage-fighting. He's the author of Children of Time, the winner of the 30th Anniversary Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Sunday Times bestseller Shards of Earth.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Head of Zeus -- an AdAstra Book; Reissue edition (November 1, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1800248938
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1800248939
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.75 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,062 ratings

About the author

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Adrian Tchaikovsky

Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire before heading off to Reading to study psychology and zoology. For reasons unclear even to himself he subsequently ended up in law and has worked as a legal executive in both Reading and Leeds, where he now lives. Married, he is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor, has trained in stage-fighting, and keeps no exotic or dangerous pets of any kind, possibly excepting his son. Catch up with Adrian at www.shadowsoftheapt.com for further information about both himself and the insect-kinden, together with bonus material including short stories and artwork. Author Website: http://shadowsoftheapt.com/

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
5,062 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Norma Nehren
5.0 out of 5 stars Chapter 40 New Zealand!
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
Poignant and complex, Tchaikovsky’s speculative fiction always keeps me reading past midnight. I made the mistake of reading Bear Head first, but now it all makes more sense.
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DragonCeres
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and quick read.
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
Really interesting premise. Humans have created semi-intelligent animals (Bioforms) to fight in the wars for them. When it was found that the human leader used the bioforms to commit war crime in a war zone, the Bioforms very existence is called into question. Should they be exterminated? Are they property, a thing to be owned, or do they have rights?

We mainly follow Rex, the Bioform dog, caught in this. Rex just wants to be a Good Dog. He likes having a Master that tells him what to do. Things were easier that way. Throughout the book, we see his struggle with being free, with having to make choices for himself and others, all the while just wanting someone to tell him what to do, and ultimately making the right choice.

There're also a few other characters that play into Rex's decisions. Honey, a Bioform Bear that is extremely smart, who wants freedom and want the Bioforms to have rights like another human. There is an artificial intelligence that also sees Bioforms as a way forward for humanity, and for humanity's acceptance of itself.

While the concepts were interesting and Rex's struggle pulled at my heartstrings, something didn't quite click as to the general flow and argument in the story itself. There's a lot of discussion of how public opinion sways whether the Bioforms have the right to live or not, and how public opinion decides the fate of everything. Also the books jumps forward in time several times and that felt a bit jarring. The overall argument about the Bioforms right to live felt very predictable. While the author set up an interesting premise in terms of the Bioforms as another form of intelligence, it's nothing special compared to other sci-fi books describing AIs and their rights.

The book was a quick read and I can't help loving Rex. However, it wasn't anything too spectacular.
7 people found this helpful
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S. Catherine Arne
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating sci fi story for both head and heart
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2023
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This raises so many fascinating issues regarding speculative but not-impossible new technologies and how they could reshape society and even humanity. Rex’s love of Master and the surety that comes of being given orders and relieved of thinking and responsibility actually gave me greater understanding of and compassion for followers of authoritarian leaders than I had ever had before. It was quite poignant. I really loved Rex. He was definitely the Good Dog he always wanted to be!
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HOPPER
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2024
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This author knows how to create and craft a story regardless of the focus! A must read and all his other works!
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Michael Lynn McGuire
4.0 out of 5 stars Book number one of a two book science fiction series
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2023
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Book number one of a two book science fiction series. I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Head Of Zeus in 2022, copyright in 2017. I am ordering the second book in the series.

"My name is Rex. I am a good dog".

Rex is a seven and a half foot (2.25 meter), 1,000 pound (450 kg) dog cyborg built by Redmark Corporation. His bones are synthetic and his skin is synthetic, built to stop bullets and avoid thermal detection. He has built in comms for talking with the other members of his team and Master. Rex can also talk through the air using a voice box. Rex's front paws have been replaced with human like hands and his brain significantly enhanced with full computer systems for field operations. He carries two Parrot guns (small cannons) on his shoulders for battlefield superiority.

Rex's Bioform team consists of Honey, an enhanced bear weighing over a ton, Dragon, a twenty foot long enhanced alligator carrying a long barreled weapon for sharpshooting, and Bees, a collective mind of over a thousand enhanced bees with several types of harming fluid in their stingers. And Master, a human with the goal of bringing Bioform teams to usage all over the world in police actions.

Rex's team is chasing down anarchists in Campeche, Mexico. But it is very difficult to tell between the anarchists and the civilian population. And Master does not care.

Please note that I was really bothered by the descriptions of the civilian atrocities by the Bioform team at the direction of Master using their biofeedback chips.

My rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
One person found this helpful
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The Captain
5.0 out of 5 stars The Captain's Log
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2019
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Ahoy there mateys! I have no idea where or how I first encountered this book but I knew I wanted to read it. The problem was finding a copy as Amazon lists it as a “rare book.” I had never read the author’s works before but then there was an eArc of walking to aldebaran on and I was luckily approved. I loved it and I was thus determined to find dogs of war. I wanted a copy for me kindle but couldn’t get one so I finally broke down and bought a beautiful paperback version.

So what was it about this book got me attention back in day? Well this novel is about a pack of bioform war dogs and the story is told from the perspective of the pack leader, Rex. Now mind ye, Rex is a seven foot tall dog-beast with a scary voice and is bristling with weapons. The rest of his pack is even weirder. They are designed to always obey their Master. But Rex is smart and something isn’t adding up. Should Rex continue to follow his programming and be a “Good Dog ” or should he try and figure out the problem?

Now it be true that the beginning of this book is more of a military war story but that doesn’t last. And that’s a good thing. Partway through, the tone of the book shifts and the book delves into the legal and ethical ramifications of the bioforms and their programming with lots of social commentary. Along the way ye follow Rex and how both he and society are changing.

It was weird and wonderful. I absolutely loved Rex and the other members of the pack. Not only was the book thought-provoking but I very much enjoyed the implications of the technology and the ending. It was worth every bit of trouble to track down a copy of this book. I will be reading more of the author’s works. Arrrr!
10 people found this helpful
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Lisa M
3.0 out of 5 stars 3.0
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2023
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Parts were fours and parts were twos and part were definitely disturbing as heck. All in all for me it was a sad story that I would not want to reread. As for could happen in the future, you never know.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Gale P. Comin
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Canada on July 10, 2021
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I loved this book and its characters.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Top si-fi
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2024
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Great book. Just finished reading it for the 3rd time. Perfect blend of Just about believable tech, great characters and top story telling.
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Byt3Kn1ght
5.0 out of 5 stars Starkes, fesselndes Buch
Reviewed in Germany on July 19, 2023
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Das Buch war super spannend mit unvorhersehbaren Wendungen. Die Ideen des Autors, die zukünftigen Entwicklungen vorauseilen könnten, sind faszinierend und beängstigend zugleich.
Das englische Original war sprachlich nicht immer leicht für mich zu verstehen. Eher nichts für einen Anfänger in englischer Literatur.
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Rodolfo Spindler
4.0 out of 5 stars Divertido e despretensioso
Reviewed in Brazil on April 27, 2019
Verified Purchase
Boa diversão nessa Novella. Poderia ter sido até mais curta. Acho que os primeiros 3/5 são os mais interessantes e cheios de ação, depois perde um pouco do foco.
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Cliente Kindle
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantascienza vera
Reviewed in Italy on August 20, 2019
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Mi piacciono i libri di questo autore, c'è azione ben descritta quando serve, ma principalmente per la storia non banale, da fantascienza vera, ovvero quella che ti faceva riflettere sulla condizione umana, e se devo essere sincero sto libro mi ha lasciato una vaga inquietudine in tal senso... Omologazione, che orrote
One person found this helpful
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