From the back cover:

Jon Moore: A nanotech-enhanced warrior who wants nothing more than a quiet life and a way back to his home world.  Lobo: An AI-enhanced Predator-Class Assault Vehicle, a mobile fortress equipped for any environment from the seabed to interstellar space.

Jon Moore wanted on to relax on the pristine planet of Macken — but Macken was the secret battleground of two megacorporations, both determined to control the local jump gates and the riches of an undeveloped world.  Jon was too valuable a tool not to be used, willing or not.  What the corporations didn’t realize was that Moore had a mind of his own and a conscience that wouldn’t let him quit until he righted the wrong they’d tricked him into making.  And Moore has Lobo on his side…

An excellent story, fast-paced, with strong characters and a good plot.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and can’t wait until Van Name’s next book, Slanted Jack, comes out in paperback (the hardback is due in July 2008).

John Ringo, David Drake, Orson Scott Card and Eric Flint, all writers I enjoy, all had praise for this book.  If I had any complaints about it, it would mostly be getting to the end and wanting more.

One thing I found somewhat amusing, and perhaps it’s just chance, but ‘Lobo’ is an anagram for ‘Bolo’. A Bolo is the fictional type of artificially intelligent super-heavy tank, created by Keith Laumer. The Bolo stories are some truly superb writing.

If you like fast-paced high-tech science fiction, One Jump Ahead should definitely be on your reading list.

Publisher: Baen, Year: 2007, ISBN: 1-4165-5557-9, Price: $7.99