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After political upheaval, economic collapse, and environmental disaster, the world has become a hotspot, boiling over into chaos of near apocalyptic proportions. In this perpetual state of emergency, all that separates order from anarchy is the military might of a United States determined to keep peace among nations waging a free-for-all battle for survival and supremacy.
But a conflict unlike any before demands an equally unprecedented fighting force on its front lines. Enter the Remote Infantry Corps: robot soldiers deployed in war zones around the world, controlled by human operators thousands of miles from the action. PFC Danny Kelso is one of these "Tin Men," stationed with his fellow platoon members at a subterranean base in Germany, steering their cybernetic avatars through combat in the civil-war-ravaged streets of Syria. Immune to injury and death, this brave new breed of American warrior has a battlefield edge that's all but unstoppable--until a flesh-and-blood enemy targets the Tin Men's high-tech advantage in a dangerously game-changing counter strike.
When anarchists unleash a massive electromagnetic pulse, short-circuiting the world's technology, Kelso and his comrades-in-arms find themselves trapped--their minds tethered within their robot bodies and, for the first time, their lives at risk.
Now, with rocket-wielding "Bot Killers" gunning for them, and desperate members of the unit threatening to go rogue, it's the worst possible time for the Tin Men to face their most crucial mission. But an economic summit is under terrorist attack, the U.S. president is running for his life, and the men and women of the 1st Remote Infantry Division must take the fight to the next level--if they want to be the last combatants standing, not the first of their kind to fall forever.
Advance praise for Tin Men
"Tin Men is the literary equivalent of a muscle car: stylish and fast-paced, with a hopped-up engine of a plot. Christopher Golden starts things off at tire-burning speed and never lets up. It's a great ride--definitely as much fun as we can ever hope to have while the world falls to ruin around us."--Scott Smith, author of A Simple Plan and The Ruins
"A chilling tale of a world that could be, Tin Men is a vicious beast--Starship Troopers meets Generation Kill--that left my nerves fried and my brain craving another fix."--Pierce Brown, author of Golden Son
"When the human soul thrums inside machines of war, the ultimate weapon is born. Golden crafts a unique combination of Terminator and Saving Private Ryan."--Scott Sigler, author of Alive
"As military robots proliferate, we have all wondered whether the wealthy will use them to dominate those with fewer resources. Fascinating and thrilling, Tin Men imagines a future in which the playing field is suddenly and violently leveled. When the stakes are life or death, will the soldiers behind the robots still have what it takes to survive?"--Daniel H. Wilson, author of Robopocalypse
"This evocative tale of the possible and the probable takes a wild walk on the perilous side. Along the way, we get a top-of-the-line lesson in what may actually be in store for us one day. You're going to love this thrilling, taut drama."--Steve Berry, author of The Lincoln Myth
From the Hardcover edition.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 23, 2015 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780345548863
- File size: 618 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780345548863
- File size: 766 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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February 9, 2015
Golden (Snowblind) spikes this superior near-future shoot-’em-up with hints of deeper concerns. The U.S. uses the “Tin Men” of its Remote Infantry Corps—virtually indestructible robots controlled at long distance by American soldiers—to enforce its will on the rest of the world. One platoon patrolling Damascus, however, is attacked by anarchists who have new bot-killing weapons, just as a worldwide electromagnetic pulse fries all electrical circuits and seals the soldiers’ minds inside the metal bodies. The isolated Tin Men must get to Athens, where a global anarchist group is targeting a conference of world leaders. Meanwhile, a saboteur is at work back in the robot operators’ underground headquarters in Germany. The characters sometimes note that bullying by world powers inevitably produces hostility among the people who are being pushed around; immediately, however, this is drowned out by the clamor of dying anarchists and exploding robots. Within its chosen limits, this is a wonderfully effective SF thriller. Agent: Howard Morhaim, Howard Morhaim Literary Agency. -
April 15, 2015
A futuristic thriller that mixes science fiction, world politics, and gobs of action. In an unspecified future, America polices the world, deploying robots-Tin Men-to quell civil wars, "defuse the world's hot spots," make the globe safe for democracy, and get resented for it. The U.S. Army Remote Infantry Corps operates out of an underground base known as The Hump in Wiesbaden, Germany, where military personnel climb into "metal coffins" for eight-hour shifts to mind-meld with armed robots that operate in remote trouble spots such as Syria, where much of the novel takes place. The robots are tough but not invulnerable, as mercenary Bot Killers sometimes demonstrate. Bad guy Hanif Khan decides he must not only destroy the Tin Men, but kill specific talented operators such as Pvt. Danny Kelso. Then a worldwide electromagnetic pulse from an unknown source devastates most of the Earth's technology, although the Tin Men continue to function. "The world isn't ending," one character claims. "It's already over." Human society is in mortal danger, but the Tin Men have a chance to save it. Readers will never be far from the nearly nonstop mayhem that pervades the story, yet the rage against the machines often feels unaffecting. Arms get blown off, faces charred, eyes put out, yet the Tin Men soldier on unless they are reduced to shrapnel. Meanwhile, the lives of real humans-good guys, the people readers are expected to care about-are at stake: presidents Matheson of the U.S. and Rostov of Russia, along with American enlistees. Don't look too closely at the logic behind the technology or the logistics, and imagine that you're reading an extended comic book without the pictures. In fact, the author writes comic books, and his style shows it. An enjoyable and almost plausible peek into a future world under American protection.COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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April 15, 2015
Imagine a contemporary black-ops SEAL-team novel set in the futuristic world of Avatar and Pacific Rim, and you wind up with something like this intriguing sf thriller. The U.S. no longer sends human troops directly into dangerous situations, but instead deploys robots. Inside an underground facility, far away from harm, neurologically connected soldiers remotely control the machines. When an electromagnetic device activates, however, the soldiers are unable to break their connection and become essentially trapped inside the mechanical men, and the mission turns from routine to survival, with the life of the U.S. president in danger as well. The action and intrigue never relent in this all-too-real scenario of our future. Military-fiction fans will not find the technical aspects too complicated or jargony since the focus is not on the tech but rather on the characters who inhabit the steel skeletons.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.) -
January 1, 2015
Sometime in the future, the United States deploys the Remote Infantry Corps: robots remote-piloted by soldiers in underground bases. Then anarchists disrupt electrical connections. Optioned by Warner Bros.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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