The Regiments of Night

by Brian N. Ball

Beneath the Earth's shattered crust...does the Black Army still wait? After a thousand years of defeat...is the Black Army still fit? Inside their lost underground stronghold...is the Black Army drilling? Archeologists considered the legend superstition and poked about among the surface ruins. Tourists regarded the tales as tourism ads to glamorize a burned-out world. Robots believed only what they saw and none had ever seen such an army. But when a combination of all three tripped the alarm by accident, they found reality turned suddenly into nightmare...as the Black Army awoke to march against the universe!

Genres: Science Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Also writes as Brian Ball.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

DAW Collectors #19

Cover Artist: Kelly Freas

Birthdate: 19 June 1932

Ball, Brian Neville Alternate Names: B. N. Ball, Brian Ball, Brian L. Ball

Beneath the Earth's shattered crust...does the Black Army still wait? After a thousand years of defeat...is the Black Army still fit? Inside their lost underground stronghold...is the Black Army drilling? Archeologists considered the legend superstition and poked about among the surface ruins. Tourists regarded the tales as tourism ads to glamorize a burned-out world. Robots believed only what they saw and none had ever seen such an army. But when a combination of all three tripped the alarm by accident, they found reality turned suddenly into nightmare...as the Black Army awoke to march against the universe!

[Villain E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hackneyed writing. And I hate the '70's story structure where the entire book is a build up to what you already know is going to happen.

In the far future, an archeologist and his support team, a group of tourists, and a fugitive and his pursuers find themselves in an ancient military base. Their presence triggers a countdown, but to what. Could the stories of a mythical robot army be real?

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, action packed old school space opera—just loved it.

[Leif Nar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

a neat premise but I don't remember much about it. I'm guessing a 3 for premise and idea and a 2 for the writing itself.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old fashioned SF - interesting premise could have been done better

[Mike S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay story, likeable main characters, the old fashioned style is almost as interesting as the story line.

[Freder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have little memory of this and need to revisit it.

[Douglas Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the far flung future the planet Earth is a wasteland. But, there are rumors of a thousand year old army of robots that have waited for the call to lay waste to all of mankind's enemies. Then a series of accidents reactivate the installation and the countdown has begun to destruction.
This was a lot of fun. It's more of a locked room mystery than a science fiction book. It has the trappings of sci fi and the concept of robots that can become senile through lack of interaction with humans was quite interesting. There was a nice little twist at the end I didn't see coming, but should have. I got this in a huge bag of books from a recent library sale and bought it on cover alone.
Very pulpy fun.