Actually, no. Browsing this book's cover and blurb a prospective reader might think that the contents are all heavy-handed military tech shoot-em-ups; a mech battle fest in word form. But, there are many inclusions which show a more subtle, fresher slant. Every story is, inescapably, centred around uses of powered armour, but not at the expense of ignoring the lives and personalities of those within the metallic shells. Readers who are interested in the people who make the amour move, and their reasons for being armoured or building armoured suits, are in for a series of treats. Among the works on offer are sub-themes featuring hard-edged combat, a love story, steampunk alternate history, survivor guilt, terraforming, and ecological awareness. Stand-out inclusions were Dan Abnet's "Death Reported of Last Surviving Veteran of Great War," the tale of an accidentally iconic old soldier, whose extreme longevity is due to the side effects of his armoured past. Simon R. Green's "Find Heaven and Hell in the Small Things," was a refreshing and touching view on extra-planetary ecological awareness. "Don Quixote" by Carrie Vaughn developed an alternate Spanish Civil War story, in which we discover how two men can make a big difference. My overall favourite was "The Last Days of the Kelly Gang" from David D. Levine, which is one of the more imaginative takes on a famous British inventor, in this world stagnating in self-imposed antipodean exile, and the work he is forced to do under the gun of Australia's most infamous anti-hero.

At close to six-hundred pages Armored is a great value, well written and highly entertaining collection, which I can recommend, albeit with the single and obvious caveat that readers must enjoy the central theme of powered armour.