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First edition (publ. St. Martin's Press)
Cover design by Irene Friedman

The Cold Cash War is a 1977 science fiction novel by Robert Asprin, an expansion of his novelette "Cold Cash War" from the August 1977 issue of Analog magazine.

Plot

The story takes places in a semi-dystopian near-future in which enormous corporate cartels dominate the world economy, and are beginning to compete in the military sphere, as well. Intercorporate conflicts are usually fought under nonlethal rules of engagement, using "killsuits" - a reverse version of powered armor which immobilizes the wearer if the on-board computer detects a disabling hit. Major Steve Tidwell, a veteran mercenary who has been blacklisted by his American employer over an inexplicable lapse in the field, is offered a lucrative contract by the Zaibatsu - a conglomerate of major Japanese corporations - who wish to raise a strike force that has been trained to Western standards.

The novel has been noted as an example of proto-cyberpunk: nation-states are less relevant in world affairs than corporations, communications technology is of prime importance, and the West is coming to terms with the rising economic power of Japan.

Sequel

Asprin revisited the setting in 1989 with Cold Cash Warrior, an interactive fiction coauthored with Bill Fawcett and using the Combat Command TRPG system. Mainly a tabletop RPG rulebook and scenario, it also included roughly a novelette's worth of prose, a detailed description of a tactical encounter in one of the inter-corporate conflicts of the setting.

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 [[File:TheColdCashWarHardback.jpg|thumb|First edition (publ. [[St. Martin's Press]])<br>Cover design by Irene Friedman]]
-'''''The Cold Cash War''''' is a 1977 [[science fiction]] novel by American writer [[Robert Asprin]]. It is an expansion of a short story of the same title published in the August 1977 issue of [[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Analog]] magazine.
+'''''The Cold Cash War''''' is a 1977 [[science fiction]] novel by [[Robert Asprin]], an expansion of his novelette "'''Cold Cash War''"''''' from the August 1977 issue of [[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Analog]] magazine.
 ==Plot==
-The story takes places in a [[dystopian]] near-future in which enormous corporate cartels compete in the military as well as economic spheres. The protagonist is major Steve Tidwell, a veteran mercenary who is hired by a new entrant to the conflict, a conglomerate of major Japanese businesses known as the [[Zaibatsu]], who wish to train their own strike force to Western standards.
+The story takes places in a [[dystopian|semi-dystopian]] near-future in which enormous corporate cartels dominate the world economy, and are beginning to compete in the military sphere, as well. Intercorporate conflicts are usually fought under nonlethal [[rules of engagement]], using "killsuits" - a reverse version of [[powered armor]] which immobilizes the wearer if the on-board computer detects a disabling hit. Major Steve Tidwell, a veteran mercenary who has been blacklisted by his American employer over an inexplicable lapse in the field, is offered a lucrative contract by the [[Zaibatsu]] - a conglomerate of major Japanese corporations - who wish to raise a strike force that has been trained to Western standards.
-The setting has been noted as an early example of [[cyberpunk]]: nation-states are no longer as relevant in world affairs as corporations, communications technology is of prime importance, and Japan is a rising economic power. Intercorporate conflicts are usually fought under nonlethal [[rules of engagement]], using "killsuits" - a reverse version of [[powered armor]], which immobilize the wearer if an on-board computer decides that a disabling hit has been sustained.
+The novel has been noted as an example of proto-[[cyberpunk]]: nation-states are less relevant in world affairs than corporations, communications technology is of prime importance, and the West is coming to terms with the [[Japanese economic miracle|rising economic power of Japan]].
 ==Sequel==
-Asprin revisited the setting in 1989 with '''Cold Cash Warrior''', an [[interactive fiction]] coauthored with Bill Fawcett and using the Combat Command TRPG system. Mainly a [[tabletop RPG]] rulebook and scenario, it also included roughly a novelette's worth of prose, describing a tactical encounter in the inter-corporate wars of the setting.
+Asprin revisited the setting in 1989 with '''Cold Cash Warrior''', an [[interactive fiction]] coauthored with Bill Fawcett and using the Combat Command TRPG system. Mainly a [[tabletop RPG]] rulebook and scenario, it also included roughly a novelette's worth of prose, a detailed description of a tactical encounter in one of the inter-corporate conflicts of the setting.
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cold Cash War, The}}