Science Fiction

Bear Head

Bear Head

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  • Create Date：2021-07-29 00:16:45
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • ISBN：1800241569
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Summary

Mars。 The red planet。 A new frontier for humanity， a civilization where humans can live in peace， lord and master of all they survey。

But this isn't Space City from those old science-fiction books。 We live in Hell City， built into and from a huge subcontinent-sized crater。 There's a big silk canopy over it， feeding out atmosphere as we generate it， little by little， until we can breathe the air。

It's a perfect place to live， if you actually want to live on Mars。 I guess at some point I had actually wanted to live on Mars， because here I am。 The money was supposed to be good， and how else was a working Joe like me supposed to get off-planet exactly？ But I remember the videos they showed us – guys， not even in suits， watching robots and bees and Bioforms doing all the work – and they didn't quite get it right。。。

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Reviews

Isaac Kokkinidis ，

The sequel to Dogs of War is even better！ Highly recommended！

Jackson Sambora ，

We are discussing Bear Head for bookclub tomorrow！ I can't wait！ Rtc We are discussing Bear Head for bookclub tomorrow！ I can't wait！ Rtc 。。。more

Nuno ，

The previous book in the series was， in my opinion， better （although this could be because the themes are not new anymore， just being expanded upon here）。 The narrator in "Dogs of War" was a big part of the appeal of that book， but here it's a more conventional style。 It's still a fine book， and I was especially engaged towards the final third。 The inspiration for the archvillain is totally obvious， as is most of its characterisation （slight exaggeration， but only slight。。。）。 The influence of th The previous book in the series was， in my opinion， better （although this could be because the themes are not new anymore， just being expanded upon here）。 The narrator in "Dogs of War" was a big part of the appeal of that book， but here it's a more conventional style。 It's still a fine book， and I was especially engaged towards the final third。 The inspiration for the archvillain is totally obvious， as is most of its characterisation （slight exaggeration， but only slight。。。）。 The influence of the conman of the century has reached far indeed。 If you've read previous works by the author and liked them， I'd definitely recommend。 。。。more

Fred Riley ，

Bear Head is the follow-up to the excellent Dogs of War， set on a Mars being slowly terraformed by low-paid low-rights grunts， Bioforms （basically animals with AI and serious body mods） and humans， who are so modified for Martian life as to be bioforms themselves。 The initial dog work （sic！） on Mars was carried out by the bioform Bees， a distributed intelligence of， well， robotic bees， who suddenly has become Bioform non grata to the powers that be and has been demonised as a buzzing Bin Laden。 Bear Head is the follow-up to the excellent Dogs of War， set on a Mars being slowly terraformed by low-paid low-rights grunts， Bioforms （basically animals with AI and serious body mods） and humans， who are so modified for Martian life as to be bioforms themselves。 The initial dog work （sic！） on Mars was carried out by the bioform Bees， a distributed intelligence of， well， robotic bees， who suddenly has become Bioform non grata to the powers that be and has been demonised as a buzzing Bin Laden。 That's not a spoiler as this becomes evident in the first chapter， and in the second we're introduced to the monstrous Thompson， president on Earth， who is all Id and is served by enslaved humans。 This is an unsubtle， but righteous IMO， caricature of Trump， and this monster becomes more monstrous as the novel continues。 This is definitely not a book for Trump fans！ My concern is that as the tiny-handed orange one recedes （I hope！） into the dustbin of history， the reference may be lost on future readers。Bear bioforms have a major role， and allow yer man to crack some chuckleworthy bear puns - one chapter is entitled "Smarter than the average"， for instance， and the bear minions of the Mars police chief are known as Bad News Bears。 The main Bear Bioform， continuing from Dogs of War， is named Honey， as any Winnie the Pooh fan knows that bears love hunny :o）The first novel was so cerebral and original and intense and complex that I re-read it immediately。 （I wrote a review on here IIRC。） Bear Head is less cerebral and more low-life Mars thriller， quite the page-turner but played for action rather than concepts。 Which is no bad thing， right enough， but is why I rated it 4 stars rather than the 5 of Dogs of War。For all that this is a follow-up， it can IMO be read as a standalone novel by just taking the existence of bioforms for granted。 I'll read any follow-up to Bear Head， which I'd expect to take place on a terraformed Mars in a few centuries time。 I'd never read Tchaikovsky before Dogs of War as I'm not into gaming or fantasy， but after reading a good review of DoW I'm really glad that I become familiar with his work， as he is a real breath of fresh air in the SF world， which has been getting a bit old and grey of late IMO， with fresh ideas and a real zip about his writing。 He's got a wicked sense of humour too。 。。。more

Jonathan ，

Great funSlightly slow start but give it time。 It's a well written and inventive sci Fi novel which pulls no punches Great funSlightly slow start but give it time。 It's a well written and inventive sci Fi novel which pulls no punches 。。。more

Nick Ray ，

Enjoyed it， just not as much as 'Dogs of War'。 Bear Head is more complex and losses a bit of the narrative drive of the original。 Enjoyed it， just not as much as 'Dogs of War'。 Bear Head is more complex and losses a bit of the narrative drive of the original。 。。。more

Raj ，

Jimmy Martin is a construction worker on Mars。 He's used to doing a bit of data smuggling in his head to feed his drugs habit， but he's not used to the data talking back。 Jimmy has a fully fledged bear in his mind， and one that wants to talk to the other colonisation effort on Mars。 The one nobody wants to admit is there。 And Jimmy's got to along for the ride， whether he likes it or not。I enjoyed Dogs of War a lot， but I struggled with its sequel。 The themes of sanctity of thought and slavery a Jimmy Martin is a construction worker on Mars。 He's used to doing a bit of data smuggling in his head to feed his drugs habit， but he's not used to the data talking back。 Jimmy has a fully fledged bear in his mind， and one that wants to talk to the other colonisation effort on Mars。 The one nobody wants to admit is there。 And Jimmy's got to along for the ride， whether he likes it or not。I enjoyed Dogs of War a lot， but I struggled with its sequel。 The themes of sanctity of thought and slavery are fully front and centre in this one even more so than its predecessor， this time with added rape。 I really hated Jonas Murry， from the first book， but Warner Thomson leaves Murry in his dust。 I mean， Tchaikovsky isn't exactly being subtle here about Thomson's model here: the empathy-less， narcissistic businessman turned politician， who jumps on whatever right-wing bandwagon is rolling。 Every time he turned up， I felt my stress level go up in anticipation of what horror was going to happen to Carole， his PA （and whose PoV we see through in chapters featuring Thomson） and I just wanted to scrub my skin。This book certainly doesn't feel as fun as its predecessor。 Partly it's that we don't get as many bioforms， most of the PoV characters are human （or， at least， humaniform， since the people sent to Mars have been heavily modded to help them survive）。 Honey， the bear from Dogs of War， is the only Bioform PoV that we get， and she's older and more worn down than the young， idealistic bear of yesteryear。 Jimmy， whose head Honey ends up living in， isn't exactly a bundle of laughs either。 He's a washed-out， drug-addicted construction worker， mostly there to let other people spout exposition at him。It's a depressing， dystopian future that Tchaikovsky has created here， where hard-won freedoms are being eroded， and the Bioforms are finding themselves new targets of old racisms。 But it's the casual way that "Collaring" （basically slavery that makes you permanently loyal to a person or company） is being being promoted by the corporates of this world that depresses me the most。 Sure， I can very much believe that rich and powerful people and corporations would jump at a return to slavery， but seeing such an imagined future spelled out is difficult to stomach。I appreciate the writing and the plot， and the very clever use of the Prisoners' Dilemma， but despite all that， I felt that this was a slog to read， and didn't really enjoy the experience。 。。。more

Liutauras ，

This one was as good as first book。 A lot of new ideas and parallels with current political situation。 Very interesting read

Cheryl Sonnier ，

The first Adrian Tchaikovsky novel I read was Dogs of War， and I loved it。 It led me to read Children of Time， then Ironclads and before I knew it I was a fan。 So， when I saw there was a sequel to Dogs of War， I grabbed it and devoured it over a weekend。 The novel's antagonist is a disturbingly familiar narcissist politician， and the whole premise makes me glad that certain people do not have access to the kind of brilliant tech available to those in this novel。 I'm not going to say more - no sp The first Adrian Tchaikovsky novel I read was Dogs of War， and I loved it。 It led me to read Children of Time， then Ironclads and before I knew it I was a fan。 So， when I saw there was a sequel to Dogs of War， I grabbed it and devoured it over a weekend。 The novel's antagonist is a disturbingly familiar narcissist politician， and the whole premise makes me glad that certain people do not have access to the kind of brilliant tech available to those in this novel。 I'm not going to say more - no spoilers - but if you thought Dogs of War was great， this sequel will blow you away。 。。。more

The Man from DelMonte ，

Although not as good as Dogs of War and with a slightly too neat ending， this is still a very good book with lots of great ideas。 The villain of the piece is very Trumpy and the author had some insights into what might allow such an unpleasant individual like that succeed。 Tchaikovsky is a visionary but a bit variable。 When he’s good he’s one of the best。 When he’s not he’s still very readable。

Daria ，

I don't know what to add to info from other reviews。。。 I loved it。 I love this universe。 But I really miss Rex。。。。。 I don't know what to add to info from other reviews。。。 I loved it。 I love this universe。 But I really miss Rex。。。。。 。。。more

Gemma ✨ a bookish blether ，

I loved the first book in this series so much that it was going to be difficult to stand up against it。 But reading Bear Head made me realise that my love for the first was bolstered by my love for Rex and that the sequel could be just as good in very different ways。 Instead of loving a character and enjoying the plot as a secondary element， the sequel takes the concept I was enjoying and brought it to the forefront of the story。 The new point of view character was less lovable （while still bei I loved the first book in this series so much that it was going to be difficult to stand up against it。 But reading Bear Head made me realise that my love for the first was bolstered by my love for Rex and that the sequel could be just as good in very different ways。 Instead of loving a character and enjoying the plot as a secondary element， the sequel takes the concept I was enjoying and brought it to the forefront of the story。 The new point of view character was less lovable （while still being enjoyable to read）， so the plot and the wider concepts had more room to shine。 On Mars， our POV character is a low class worker who resents his life。 He doesn’t have much， doesn’t get paid much at all and there’s barely anything to do between shifts。 He even rents out storage space in his memory for cash。 And then he stumbles into a fight for power that he absolutely doesn’t want any part in。 This felt fun， like an action packed science fiction comedy， but also managed to discuss deeper topics and make me think all without taking a break from the enjoyment。 This was my first books by Tchaikovsky， but I’m absolutely intending on reading everything else he has released。 A stand out series。 。。。more

Jourdan ，

In terms of his earlier book， this felt slightly rushed， but I loved the narrative nonetheless。 The next characters to the story felt fresh and alive considering the surreal environment they were placed in。

Leijten ，

Great as one can expect from Tchaikovsky。

Doomscribe ，

Summary: Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a mostly standalone sequel to Dogs of War， and suffers a little for that comparison。 It’s an enjoyable read that looks at personal autonomy and corporate overreach through the lens of invasive technology and multiple intelligence beings。Bear Head is set about thirty years after after Dogs of War， and after significant progress in rights for non-human intelligence， the pendulum is starting to swing backwards。 HumOS is on the backdoor， Bees has exiled he Summary: Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a mostly standalone sequel to Dogs of War， and suffers a little for that comparison。 It’s an enjoyable read that looks at personal autonomy and corporate overreach through the lens of invasive technology and multiple intelligence beings。Bear Head is set about thirty years after after Dogs of War， and after significant progress in rights for non-human intelligence， the pendulum is starting to swing backwards。 HumOS is on the backdoor， Bees has exiled herself to Mars， and Hierarchy technology continues to be developed in secret。We follow three main POVs in the book: Jimmy， the drug addicted genetically modified Mars worker; Honey， former soldier， current scientist and bear （or， well a sort of copy of Honey sent into the head of Jimmy）; and Springer， timid assistant to a divisive， sociopathic， populist politician （if that sounds familiar， just you wait）。At this point， I don’t think I could read a Tchaikovsky book I don’t like – and it’s a testament to how engaging his writing is on a base level， because I found neither the plot， not the characters to be much to my liking。Firstly the antagonist， Warner S。 Thompson， is a clear facsimile of Donald Trump – perhaps a more effective version， and frankly， after the last several years， I’d prefer not to have to see more of the same， especially in a situation where he will inevitably get the upper hand for large swaths of the story。 Seeing Thompson’s actions and perversions first hand from the perspective of Springer was chilling and uncomfortable。The Mars element of the storyline took up a lot of pagetime， and Tchaikovsky impresses again with his attention to detail and speculation on how Mars colonisation might be possible。 Jimmy I thought was fine as a protagonist， but didn’t often much in terms of personality other than wanting his next fix it wanting to get the copy of a sentient bear out of his head。 A lot of his story involved him running from the authorities and arguing with Honey。From the Honey side of things， we get a lot of flashbacks and she tries to figure out why she sent a copy of herself to Mars。 This was probably the most interesting part of the plot for me， as Honey， unlike Jimmy， has drives beyond the immediate， and a lot of the greater implications of the setting are explored and considered。 That said I didn’t love Honey as much as I did in Dogs of War， which was a little bit of a letdown。There was plenty to like about Bear Head， and Tchaikovsky nailed the ending， as usual。 Tchaikovsky’s settings are always fascinating， he prose always compelling。 That said， the book won’t be making it to my favourites， and I’d recommend it mostly to fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky， or those looking for a story with a Donald Trump esq villain。Rating: 7。5/10For reviews like this and more， visit my blog 。。。more

Matt ，

I enjoyed this book though I found it a bit strange。 There is this idea that you can upload your personality to a computer。 Then it continues as you， but your original body also continues。 How would you know that it isn't just a robot trying to impersonate you。 Your new copy would know it was you， it might feel like you close your eyes and open them but your body is weird/changed。I feel like the guy Springer works for is Donald Trump。 I couldn't really get that picture out of my head。 I enjoyed this book though I found it a bit strange。 There is this idea that you can upload your personality to a computer。 Then it continues as you， but your original body also continues。 How would you know that it isn't just a robot trying to impersonate you。 Your new copy would know it was you， it might feel like you close your eyes and open them but your body is weird/changed。I feel like the guy Springer works for is Donald Trump。 I couldn't really get that picture out of my head。 。。。more

Kea Zhang ，

3。5

Michal Elefant ，

Mr。 Tchaikovsky is now one of my all-time favorite authors。 He has such a way with words that I basically see his books as movies in my head in real time as I'm reading。 This book made me realize this and I'm about to delve into more of his works。 Would recommend。 Mr。 Tchaikovsky is now one of my all-time favorite authors。 He has such a way with words that I basically see his books as movies in my head in real time as I'm reading。 This book made me realize this and I'm about to delve into more of his works。 Would recommend。 。。。more

Steve ，

Techno thriller， with a sentiment bear invading the consciousness of a mars based worker。 Pretty good

Devdas ，

The sequel to Dogs of War， and a brilliant followup。 The book follows Honey the bear on an adventure to Mars， with a dash of moral philosophy。

Ellen ，

This is an interesting sequel to Dogs of War， and has some very disturbing elements。 It has you cheering on the Good Dogs （yes this needs capitals）， but also wanting to find out more about Murder and Marmalade （characters）， as well as many others we meeting in passing。It is tense， twisting and troubled。 This is an interesting sequel to Dogs of War， and has some very disturbing elements。 It has you cheering on the Good Dogs （yes this needs capitals）， but also wanting to find out more about Murder and Marmalade （characters）， as well as many others we meeting in passing。It is tense， twisting and troubled。 。。。more

Joe ，

Not so good as the first one， but still interesting。Oh and it contains a complete nightmare scenario for anyone who lived through 2016->2020！

John Derek ，

Brilliant follow up to Dogs of War。

Hannah Chivers ，

Makes Dogs of War worthwhile

Will Jacks ，

Didn’t enjoy this one as much as Dogs of War。But I have to say， it was a mish mash of everything you would never expect in SF。 I said something similar about Dogs of War， but the style and approach are so original and fresh。 Cyborg bears on Mars， but with non-disclosure agreements and quasi-fascism。 I just found that there wasn’t a lot of imagination when it came to the surroundings on Mars， just the description of Hell city in the first chapter。Easily his best comedy， but felt distressingly rea Didn’t enjoy this one as much as Dogs of War。But I have to say， it was a mish mash of everything you would never expect in SF。 I said something similar about Dogs of War， but the style and approach are so original and fresh。 Cyborg bears on Mars， but with non-disclosure agreements and quasi-fascism。 I just found that there wasn’t a lot of imagination when it came to the surroundings on Mars， just the description of Hell city in the first chapter。Easily his best comedy， but felt distressingly realistic。 。。。more

Aaron Anderson ，

This was ok。 The politics were a bit depressing， which is why I think I feel like giving it only 3 stars。

Caroline ，

Boom！ And he’s done it again。 I was sceptical he could do better than Dogs of War， but my expectations were promptly exceeded。

Kindle ，

A Brilliant thought provoking ，fast paced novel using contemporary themes in the refreshingly original way that you come to expect from Adrian Tchaikovsky 。It is a wild west adventure set on Mars involving genetic engineering， cyber attacks and AI which also highlights animal  and  human right issues 。  The trouble begins on Earth where a megalomaniac  presidential candidate ， believing that all truth is what he says it is， becomes obsessed with destroying all opposition to his plans 。。。。which u A Brilliant thought provoking ，fast paced novel using contemporary themes in the refreshingly original way that you come to expect from Adrian Tchaikovsky 。It is a wild west adventure set on Mars involving genetic engineering， cyber attacks and AI which also highlights animal  and  human right issues 。  The trouble begins on Earth where a megalomaniac  presidential candidate ， believing that all truth is what he says it is， becomes obsessed with destroying all opposition to his plans 。。。。which unfortunately includes our heroine。  A Genetically Engineered Bear called Honey is our heroine。 She is campaigning to prevent  the subjugation of her kind through the process of collaring which eradicates。 all free will。The author reintroduces some established characters from his previous Dogs of War novel but also brings in new blood who have no choice in becoming reluctant heroes to。preserve their very existence 。Overall， an engrossing read of ambition， egotistical manipulation， heroic sacrifice and ultimate redemption。 The book’s observations wryly reflects our own world and is hilarious in parts and heartbreaking in others。 A great read  。。。more

Dave ，

I picked this up in a book shop last week and had no idea that it’s part two of a series until I was half way through it。 And you know， it doesn’t matter at all。 Excellent book。 Great characters。 Really nicely written。 Clearly a book written during the disastrous Trump regime in the USA as the main villain is clearly a Trumpian kind of guy。 Im going to have to go get the first one now and read it like it’s a prequel。

Lee Prescott ，

The sequel to Dogs of War sees most of the same ensemble 30 years later battling a future villian so obviously based on Donald Trump that I was surprised my fingers didn't glow fake-tan orange after each page turn。 The plot is even more preposterous than the 1st book but for this one there were too many inconsistencies to fully disengage the brain and freewheel with it。 Not bad - 2。5 stars for this one。 The sequel to Dogs of War sees most of the same ensemble 30 years later battling a future villian so obviously based on Donald Trump that I was surprised my fingers didn't glow fake-tan orange after each page turn。 The plot is even more preposterous than the 1st book but for this one there were too many inconsistencies to fully disengage the brain and freewheel with it。 Not bad - 2。5 stars for this one。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Bear Head

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Bear Head&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Bear Head&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0