The Cold Cash War

The Cold Cash War by Robert Asprin
Published by Dell 1977

Before finding success with his Myth Adventures series Robert Asprin expanded his short science fiction story The Cold Cash War into this novel of the same name. Despite being well-written and intriguing- not to mention short at 187 pages- the book still carries a lot of padding. Furthermore, those coming to this expecting the humorous prose and witty banter of Asprin’s later work will be disappointed. TCCW is a cynical satire devoid of laughs. None of this is to say the book isn’t interesting, merely slight in both theme and impact.

The premise, corporations escalate their metaphorical wars with one another into actual violence and eventually an all too real war with the government, is an interesting one, unfortunately that single idea is all there is. The characters exist only to serve as representatives of the various sides in the conflict, lacking in personality or back story. The closest the book comes to a protagonist is Tidwell, a mercenary for the corporations. He has a bit more depth than the other characters in the book, and has something close to a story arc.

Cynical without ever being dark, amusing without ever being funny, this is an unusual book. It’s a quick read, and even mildly compelling despite the flatness of its characters. I have to wonder though, if the premise seemed more outlandish when it was originally published, because today it barely passes for fiction, let alone science fiction.