New Model Army by Adam Roberts is $2.99 on
Amazon.com (dropped today from $6.99)
Here's a
review by author KJ Charles on Goodreads:
Quote:
An intriguing near-future read, where 'new model armies' (mercenaries, basically, connected by tech and run as democracies on an ongoing basis) are 'disrupting' the hell out of the UK. The Scottish Parliament has hired a NMA to do their fighting for independence. It's a terrific concept, with lots to say about the nature of true democracy (the armies are literally making mutual decisions about battle plans based on votes as they fight), based on Hobbes' Leviathan, with more than a dash of Wells in there, as we see the Battles for Staines and Reading and even Dorking.
The book is trying to do a lot--there's a fairly problematic MC whose first person narrative breaks down catastrophically as the book goes on--and I'm not sure there was enough story to balance the thinking bits, but it's an impressive piece of work and I found it a compelling read with some really good ideas and haunting images. File under 'flawed but fascinating', definitely worth reading.
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