The Cold Cash War

by Robert Lynn Asprin

Book Overview

International conglomerates plot a complete domination of the free world, facing off against world governments, who want only freedom, in a calculated and vicious battle of wits and blood. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441113826
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.8" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

Blackly comedic take on the corporate reign

The Cold Cash War (1977) was Robert Asprin's first book. Asprin was later to establish a name for himself with humorous fantasy - the Myth Adventures series probably being his most impressive and longest-running contribution to the genre. However, in 1977, Asprin seemed to have a much more grim look at things. In The Cold Cash War, corporations are using military operations as a bizarre way of settling contract negotiations. Armies - all wearing special suits and using non-lethal weaponry - muck around in the wilderness (mostly Brazil). By employing armies of mercenaries to zap one another in this advanced form of lasertag, the corporations resolve their disagreements without having to deal with things like 'courts' or 'laws'. The book starts with a conflict between a communications conglomerate and an oil company, but its focus quickly expands. A negotiating tactic results in non-military personnel (e.g. 'Jan in Corporate') becoming fair targets. Fake warfare immediately becomes real assassination. It doesn't take long for the government to notice the sudden spate of dead executives, and fake warfare soon becomes dangerously real... There are other players involved as well. A Japanese zaibatsu - for no discernible reason - is preparing to get involved. Information brokers and spies flit around the outskirts of the conflict, trying to figure out what's going on. And most ominous of all - the Communist nations (the "C-Block") squat silently in the background, biding their time as the capitalists kill one another off. The story is told through a half-dozen disparate points of view. A corporate negotiator, an information broken, a mercenary commander and even one of the marketing team assigned to 'sell' the war to the public. Although some of these characters are only tangentially related to the story, Asprin does an excellent job of making these (thumbnail sketches of) characters interesting, if rarely empathetic, through the old-fashioned use of cinema-style smack-downs. I'm not sure I ever cared very much about Captain Tidwell, but his ability to punt a knife into a charging samurai is pretty cool, and certainly kept me reading. The book concludes with a bizarrely improbable resolution that neatly ties everything together while still managing to leave the reader slightly dissatisfied. The first half of The Cold Cash War is far superior - mercenaries blundering around in an adult version of Ender's Game is much more interesting than the vaguely Dystopian preachings of the inevitable corporate-government conflict.

Wish there was more

This book is wonderful. The only drawback is there isn't more to it. The entire novel took me less than a day to read. The characters were well developed and believable. The plot, though far-fetched, within this framework was enjoyable.

The Cold Cash War-Corporate takeovers were never so hostile

The Cold Cash War by Robert Asprin is one of the best fantasy books i have read. I found it in a little used book store and started reading it when i got home. i couldn't put it down. the action is amazing and the whole book is....well...fun! The character development is really good. all in all its a really good book

Asprin's War books at their best

I have read Asprin's amazing "Myth" and "Thieves' World" series, and compliment him greatly on these fine works. One day, I was reading a list of Asprin books and saw "Cold Cash War". Normally a fantasy lover, I expanded my horizions and decided to see if this science fiction/war novel was any good.Boy, was I suprised. Asprin amazes me with grim detail and cultural changes in his "corporate world", where the country is run by feuding businesses. With mercenaries and Japaneese samauri, these corporations battle the US government in the ultimate battle for business freedom. Not for every Asprin reader (especially not a lighthearted one), but an intriguing book for any techno or war fan. The only depressing thing about it is that Asprin never wrote a sequel.

Early Asprin - humor in a jugular vein...

Those used to Asprin's more recent works might have difficulty connecting the author of light humor works such as Phule's Company and MYTH-Adventures to this biting, bloodthirsty satire on the corporate culture and warfare. This is not a pleasant world - from corporate subcontractors sabotaging equipment to take over their competitors to wounded soldiers burying themselves alive to deprive their enemies of a body count, nothing is sacred, and everything is for sale to the highest bidder. Many argue that Asprin is at his best when writing screwball comedy, and in depicting vivid characters to interact within this framework. In Cold Cash War, his characters are often too stereotypical to have individual identities, and the humor is much more deeply seated. Skeeve in the author's Myth Adventures books is frequently sympathetic because his actions are unbelievable - the Cold Cash Warriors, however, are entirely too believable, even when their actions are unpredictable. This places an edge on the humor, as if we are uncertain whether to laugh or shudder. This book is a must-read only to the dedicated Asprin fan, along with the author's other fantasy-war book, The Bug Wars. Those who enjoy their humor dark, and with a healthy dose of cynicism, will also enjoy this book. Those who would rather wait and find out who offed Gleep may want to pass this one by.