A Boy And His Tank

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Summary: A Polish writing, and I am an Polish American citizen...
Review: A KASZUBIAN with Polish ancestry - parents - Ellis Island at a tender age in the very early 1900's; I am the youngest of 10 siblings, 5 girls/5 boys, expanded to continuing generations. I spent two spectacular weeks in Poland, including Warsaw and Cracow hosted by Poland friends met in Manhattan NYC - my first trip 1999 and the first sibling to do so. I am drawn to anything written by those who care enough about Poland and its heritage(s), struggles no matter the classification of media.

Frankowski's books got my attention due to the Kashubian & Poland connection. I read the author's sci-fi series but allow only two stars for the author's vivid imagination; his Polish name even though I am not sure of his ancestry and where his heart lies... and less stars due to the negatives for his presentation of the story(ies) with obvious outlandish chauvinism (resolved bachelor or not), his blatant and insulting unsuitable comedy of the Polish people, and his spite, bigotry, prejudice and discrimination throughout the whole series of his sci-fi pundits... his books do not "Stand Tall" in the science fiction category of reads. Readers look more for James Luceno; Kevin Anderson; Kathy Tyers; Vonda McIntyre; Matthew Woodring Stover; Kathryn Rusch, and so many more who deserve readers attention.

To readers interested in Poland's history - novels, etc. I strongly refer you to fiction and non-fiction translated classics by authors including Henry Sienkiewicz (classic "Quo Vadis"), plus his trilogy including "With Fire and Sword", trilogy made into theater movies in recent years, and don't miss Sienkiewicz's other novels; Nobel winner writer/poet Czeslaw Milosz (whom I had the humbling experience and honor to personally meet in Manhattan); author W.S. Kuniczak ("The Thousand Hour Day"); Norman Davies' "God's Playground - A History of Poland Volume I and II"; "The Way of My Cross" by Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the Polish priest who was brutally murdered for participation in the 1990's revolution led by Lech Walesa, and the shipyard workers; and I cannot fail to mention Nobel Laureate - Poetess Wislawa Szymborska. And don't stop there... and I cannot forget Massachusetts USA author - Polish Suzanne Strempek Shea and her novels such as "Lily of the Valley", and her own biography of her fight with cancer... there are many Polish authors and writings of people to admire for courage and talents, including patriots Kosciuszko (Foundation in Manhattan NYC), and Casimir Pulaski; classic composer Chopin; intellectualist Copernicus; and histories of the Jagellonian influences, with further reference to Poland's nobility.

The aforesaid are deeper in intellectual content vs. the sci-fi of Leo Frankowski. Outstanding are writers who call attention to beautiful country of Poland, its heartwarming people, rich culture, history and amazing architecture, but especially the strength through so many centuries of living through conquering factions. Frankowski is not one those writers; again, his imagination is lively but his "honor" to the people of Poland is more than ill.

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Summary: A Boy and His Tank
Review: Best book in my collection I just hope there will be a sequel coming out soon. the ending leaves you wonting more and then you find out that your not going to get it. Can't ask for a better cover.

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Summary: Suprise ending means I'll never trust Frank again
Review: I loved the paperback but I will never be able to trust the author after I discovered the 'surprise' ending in the hardcover.

I do not support 'practical' jokes of any kind with hard currency.

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Summary: War Ain't Pretty - Neither Is This Book
Review: Leo Frankowski answers the time old question of what happens when a good author goes bad. Into a future feudalistic society in which Serbians and Croatians are still killing each other, Frankowski dumps "hero" Micholai Derdowski on an unsuspecting reader. Forcibly enlisted into the Kashubian military and held prisoner by his Mark XIX AI controlled battletank, Frankowski tells a chauvinistic, rascial stereotyped story where the super-moral Mickolai can do no wrong and is never in any serious danger. With only brief flashes of potentially stunning plot turns that are never realized, Frankowski drops a bigger bomb then anything launched by his Mark XIX. Cardboard characters, uninteresting pontification, weak dialogue and an obvious conclusion....

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Summary: Plot Had Potential, But Frankowski Doesn't Make It Work
Review: New Kashubia is a planet of almost pure wealth. When its star went nova, the lighter elements were blown away leaving a complete planet of molten metal--which then cooled in neat layers. New Kashubia is a miner's delight, an industrialist's best dream, and the worst possible nightmare for any colonists unlucky enough to be sent there. With no oxygen, no hydrogen, no organic chemicals, essentially nothing to support life, the Kashubian population is condemned to slowly starve--while living in their gold-lined caves. When they discover that the industrialists left a vast array of military equipment, the Kashubians see a ray of hope--they can become mercenaries, exchanging their equipment and soldiers for the organics they require. Of course, without enough volunteers, it is tempting to resort to stripping the prisons--hence tank operator Mickolai.

The warring clans of the former Yugoslavia form ideal targets for mercenaries. The Kashubians sell their services to all sides and prepare for a friendly time with plenty of shooting and no casualties. Unfortunately for their plans, the Serbians discover that the divisions they paid for are severely undermanned and take over the largely automated tanks themselves. As a result, the hoped-for cake walk turns into real battle.

Author Leo Frankowski follows the tradition of Robert Heinlein more than that of David Drake with a personal adventure and coming of age story--yet he certainly doesn't neglect the battles. Frankowski's descriptions of the future tanks is a reasonable extrapolation from modern trends, which makes his story more compelling and interesting.

I did think that Mickolai's relationship with Kasia went a little too easily and the romantic conflict between the tank, the boy, and the girl could have been more fully developed, but this is a small quibble. A BOY AND HIS TANK is fun light reading.

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Summary: When you live in hell WAR is paradise!
Review: The planet of New Kashubia is a ball of heavy metals in orbit about a pulsar that bakes the planet's surface with deadly radiation. The people are the poorest in the universe, having to import carbon, oxygen and even dirt. They live in tunnels drilled into the layer of gold because it is the LEAST dangerous metal to their health, giving birth is a crime and they go around naked because they can't afford clothes. You would think being inserted into a smart tank that will feed you, take care of you and allow you to do almost anything you want in virtual reality would be a good thing when compared to being sent to the hydroponic vats.
And it was a good thing...till you and your tank had to face REAL combat.

Rating:
Summary: Good for what it is...pulp, pulp, pulp
Review: This is a 4-star rating for books in this genre, not 4 stars against my other rated books. That said, this is really good pulp sci-fi. It's a fast read (2 hours or less), with a moving story, interesting premise, and good characters. I thought the ending was a bit bizarre, (and I'm DYING to read the hardcover ending that everyone has so-far panned) and could well be the weakest part of the book, but I didn't mind. It was a nice mental diversion, and probably something I'll re-read on some other summer afternood with nothing to do.

If you enjoyed Alan Cole and Chris Bunch's STEN series, you'll probably like this. It's basically military sci-fi, with plenty of sexual imagery thrown in for good measure. High-tech tanks and other weaponry are well described for the enthusiast, and the action is pretty quick in coming (most of it actually occurs in a virtual environment called the Dream World). The protagonist is a wry, worldly fellow with more-than-average mental skills (a common formula for this genre), and is easy to like. The book lulls a bit toward the end, with a short pick-up and a final let-down. You won't care. Read it; it's not supposed to be high art.

Rating:
Summary: Plot Had Potential, But Frankowski Doesn't Make It Work
Review: This is the first book I have read from Leo Frankowski. The only reason I came across it is that due to some genealogical research I recently found out I am 25% Kashubian and so have become somewhat obsessed with finding anything pertaining to that particular region/ethnic group.

My opinion of the book'if you are a high school male interested in military sci-fi, and can fantasize about making love to a tank (literally), you'd probably think it's great.

The part that bothered me the most is that the book's core plot actually had some potential, but was very poorly written. It should have taken place in an entirely different setting. Mr. Frankowski thinks it's important to perpetuate racial stereotypes and conflicts, even hundreds of years into the future. In fact, the whole book is based on the 'Wealthy Nations Group' giving each minority its own planet. Well, after all those people are given their own planet, who the heck is left in the 'Wealthy Nations Group'?? He never does explain. The Japanese, who are one of the wealthiest nations in the world is not part of the group, although they apparently live on Earth. The American Blacks are given a planet by the name of 'Soul City' (puh-lease Mr. Frankowski, this is pitiful!), but he never explains what happens to the African Blacks, or any of the Hispanic or Native Indian cultures. However, we do know that the Chinese, Kashubians, Croats, and Serbs are all given their own planets.

But then the rules get even more confusing. He states that even if a person is one-sixteenth Kashubian that they have to go to New Kashubia, which results in both blacks and Chinese ending up on New Kashubia because someone in their background is Kashubian. So, why couldn't they go to the Black or Chinese planet?? They apparently have a higher percentage of those ethnic groups in their background. And if you are required to move with only one-sixteenth of a 'minority's' bloodline in you, well, as I said before, very few people would be left on Earth.

This is definitely a male fantasy book. The only thing I found to fantasize about, as a female, was the picture of Mickolai on the cover. If all male Kashubians looked that way, I'd speed up my planned trip to Kaszuby. Heck, I'd even spend the time to learn the Kashubian dialect! But, alas, the picture is probably only indicative of how Kashubians look in Frankowski's Dream World.

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Summary: FROM A KASZUBIAN (POLISH-AMERICAN) VIEWPOINT...
Review: This is the first book I read of Leo's, and I enjoyed it for its action and technological bs. The technical advances were, well ... magnetic, shall we say?

True the protagonist is decidedly one-sided to the point of jingoism, yet the enemy is truly despicable.

In future episodes, of course, I expect to see corruption, even within the so-called pristine, elite good forces to occasional erupt. For even a supposedly benign military outfit will occasionally unwittingly harbor within its forces bombers, sadists, pedophiles, and murderers, something that David Drake adroitly pointed out in several of his SF-Military Action novels -- along with the subsequent penalty for the acting out of such warped drives by the perpetrators involved.

Though Leo did mention that, among the so-called honest elite of physicists, he did, on a particular occasion, run into one scumbag, that subtlety should instead have been brought out in the body of his work, and not as a bitching aside when listing credits. I just wished he had added that level of sophistication to his story instead.