Rating: 
Summary: Great book; let me try to keep the review simple...
Review: A human colony is invaded and mankind, on taking the advice of another race of aliens, tries to use world-war one-like tactics, which fail totally. The human forces are full of soldiers made up from humans grown in vats (who are treated like second-class subjects), uplifted rats who act more like drunk soldiers out of Shakespeare's plays and bats with Irish accents who like to use bombs while singing songs. Lots of humor and combat. DON'T take it too seriously, just ENJOY.
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Summary: Combines tongue-in-cheek space opera and revolution
Review: Alien maggots have invaded the human-inhabited planet of Harmony and Reason (HAR), gradually overrunning the planet despite the efforts of the military--aided by cybernetically enhanced 'rats' and 'bats.' Another alien race sells humans military technology and advice, but that advice too-often seems either wrong or incomplete. At any rate, the humans are losing and the maggots have just snatched another significant chunk of territory, leaving a small group of soliders (one human along with small groups of rats and bats) behind the new expanded force field that prevents human counter-attack.
Together with his heavy-drinking rats and his revolutionary bats, human Chip Connolly must stay alive in the face of literally millions of maggot soldiers and workers. Worse, the hive's 'group mind' means that even if they kill everyone who sees them, the bugs always know where they are hiding.
Things only seem to get worse when Chip and the others have to rescue aristocratic Ginny Shaw, the heiress to the human colony's greatest fortune and her Korozhet tutor. The young woman at least has the virtue of being attractive (although Chip knows perfectly well what happens to vat-born clones who aspire above their stations and develop interests in shareholders) but the Korozhet is nothing but trouble--and only Chip seems bothered by this. Against the wishes of its generals, part of the human army watches the heroes as they attempt to survive but, as long as the force field remains intact, they are helpless to intervein. Even if they could, the humans have lost every battle they've fought.
Authors Eric Flint and Dave Freer combine in a light-hearted look at the military, space-opera, and revolution. The story maintains a perfect balance between tongue-in-cheek and solid adventure, involving the reader in the characters at the same time as it keeps us smiling. The plight of the cybernetic rats and bats, as well as that of the slave-like clone humans (vats) adds a very mild political message to the light-hearted novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: Don't like the cover, as it gives the wrong feel to the contents. This is not a ha-ha, funny book. This is a "life [stinks], don't it" book. I really enjoyed it and have read it twice. I suppose this falls under the heading of a guilty pleasure, but it was a lot of fun. Readers of military SF will like it, I think. Lots of action. *Not* for kids. Lots of sex-related content - mostly jokes - but I did not find it offensive as I do some such. This felt pretty real to me - like a grunt would really think in a similar situation.
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Summary: Great book, goofy title
Review: Excerpts from a note I wrote to Dave Freer:--I just finished reading Rats, Bats and Vats, and I wanted to tell you some things.
First, thank you.
Second, thank you.
Third...well, you get the idea.
I haven't enjoyed a story so much since Neal Barret Jr.'s Stress
Pattern. For some reason, it seems to be very difficult for folks to write books that are both engaging and humorous, but you pulled it off marvelously. And I very nearly didn't read it at all as I was somewhat put off by the title. It sounded as though it would be Macbeth's witches on acid, or something equally bizarre.-- Do you like good SF? Do you like a good chuckle with your story?
Then read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Just an all around 'Good Read'!
Review: I can't tell you how great it is to once again get a hold on the kind of solid, fast moving, witty, and well-plotted science fiction that got me sold on the genre to begin with. Freer and Flint are an exceptional combination. I hope they continue to collaborate for a long time to come!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Original, fast paced, hilarious at points, fascinating... this is the best science fiction adventure novel I have ever read. Period. The original space colonists of a distant planet and their descendents live like kings with a subordinate social class composed of "Vats", cloned humans used for menial labor. Small but deadly insect-like alien invaders arrive and begin waging trench warfare against the unprepared settlers. The vats are drafted and sent into battle, along with hurriedly genetically engineered talking rat and bat helpers. The story picks up when one hapless vat, 6 bats, and 7 rats are separated from the main force by a cave-in and forced to look for another way back to friendly territory. The seize-the-day attitudes of the little soldiers, facing a naturally short life span compounded by a high risk of death in combat, is the icing on the cake of one hell of an entertaining story. I couldn't put it down.
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Summary: This is fun!
Review: This book manages to combine military SF, comedy (both slapstick and wordplay), satire, class wars, cloning, and genetic engineering with a little romance and still come out swinging. These collaborators can really, well, collaborate. The hero is the sole human survivor of his platoon. Chip is trapped behind enemy lines ("way behind enemy lines" as one chapter title puts it). His compatriots are genetically engineered "rats" and bats. Imagine if Shakespeare's comical secondary characters were forced to spend time in close quarters with rebellious Irish poets, and you get the general idea of the chaos. Mix with the daughter of a wealthy shareholder, her alien tutor, and her fluffy companion. Add the clashes between a military commander who knows what he's doing and lots and lots of "authority" figures who don't. Shake and stir. I read this in the e-book edition (which you can purchase through Baen's Webscription program), but I enjoyed it enough that I'd like to buy the paperback when it comes out. It will be worth it for the cover alone. My only real problem is that I kinda sorta figured out a major surprise a little too early. But I didn't figure out all the implications of that right away. Anne M. Marble Reviewer, All About Romance
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Summary: Read this book!
Review: This is a prime example of what great fun sci-fi can be in the hands of a good author. Genetically engineered bats, rats, and "vats" (human clones serving as indentured servants) combine with the sci-fi staple of vicious bugs who imperil a small human colony in a fast read. There's a recipe for explosives and how to make a brandy flamethrower! Flint is an imaginative writer, there are few others who would make genetically engineered bats Irish anarchists at heart, and a cloned sous chef a hero.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: This is a prime example of what great fun sci-fi can be in the hands of a good author. Genetically engineered bats, rats, and "vats" (human clones serving as indentured servants) combine with the sci-fi staple of vicious bugs who imperil a small human colony in a fast read. There's a recipe for explosives and how to make a brandy flamethrower! Flint is an imaginative writer, there are few others who would make genetically engineered bats Irish anarchists at heart, and a cloned sous chef a hero.
Rating:
Summary: Rats, Bats and Vats
Review: This is the best science fiction book I've read in a decade. By combining futuristic DNA manipulation with a rollicking good time, Dave Freer has produced a truly great book. The layers of complexity in this story are exceeded only by the unexpected twists and turns. The setting, a colony planet, is beautifully drawn and so realistic it's almost scary. A cloned slave-grunt soldier, the lone human survivor of his platoon, takes on giant maggot aliens in a series of battles that swing between terrifying and hysterically funny. The grunt's companions are genetically engineered bats and rats, which were designed to help fight the human war and seem to be a cross between Mafia rejects and members of a biker gang. A high-ranking, disgruntled officer takes on the whole inept army beaurocracy. The romance between a naïve rich girl and the cynical army grunt adds extra color and hilarity. Even the bad guys turn out to be even badder than the reader expects, forcing the other characters to deal with betrayal and misinformation. The happy ending is satisfactory without being sugary-sweet or predictable. There are just enough ends left loose that the authors could conceivably write a sequal (hopeful hint!). Very highly recommended.
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