What do you think?
Rate this book
Cannon Fodder: The Secret Lives of Henchmen
Book by Decker, Kyle
178 pages, Paperback
First published December 13, 2012
2 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 2, 2013
Cannon Fodder is a gritty, compelling story, succeeding at being a heavy read and still very fast at the same time. Even though it’s prose, it’s a highly visual story — the deeper I got into the story, the more strongly I could visualize it in my head as a graphic novel. I’d love to see it realized as a graphic novel some day.
The story follows new recruits Dylan, Karl, and Tyler as they begin their jobs as henchmen for Elkhart Global Dynamics. On the first day at the job, they’re given their numbers, 23, 17, and 12, respectively, and instructed not to use their real names. At orientation, they learn that “henching is a job with a long and rich history” and warned about an occupational hazard known as the “Hero” factor, which tends to shorten the lives of many henchman. The company is run by Damien Elkhart, who is determined to bring his version of Truth to the world.
The chapters are all short and very sharply defined, which adds to the fast pace of the story. I became very involved with Tyler’s storyline in particular as he progressed from a new recruit to a seasoned hencher. Throughout, the story is steeped in a sharp, wry humor.
On the more critical side of things, I would have liked to see Dylan’s individual storyline tied more firmly to the main action and through-line of the story. Though still interesting, his story seemed to diverge along a separate path. Also, I would have liked to see some stronger female characterization — although the main female characters (Sarah and Number 9) were plenty strong as individual people (which I always love to see in this genre), their motives and actions sometimes perplexed me.
Also, I’d be remiss not to mention that I had some grammatical quibbles. I sometimes stumbled over some sentences and punctuation choices, but to be honest, I’m pickier than the average person about such things.
Details and critiques aside, I truly enjoyed this book, and I’m personally recommending it to friends who are interested in this genre. Considering that “would definitely tell a friend” factor, I rounded up for the star system to give it 5 stars.
TL;DR: This book will be a delight for fans of graphic novels, those who enjoy satire, and people who like some hard grit in their stories.
(Full disclosure: I’m related to the author, but I can put my money where my review is — I bought the book from him.)
The story follows new recruits Dylan, Karl, and Tyler as they begin their jobs as henchmen for Elkhart Global Dynamics. On the first day at the job, they’re given their numbers, 23, 17, and 12, respectively, and instructed not to use their real names. At orientation, they learn that “henching is a job with a long and rich history” and warned about an occupational hazard known as the “Hero” factor, which tends to shorten the lives of many henchman. The company is run by Damien Elkhart, who is determined to bring his version of Truth to the world.
The chapters are all short and very sharply defined, which adds to the fast pace of the story. I became very involved with Tyler’s storyline in particular as he progressed from a new recruit to a seasoned hencher. Throughout, the story is steeped in a sharp, wry humor.
On the more critical side of things, I would have liked to see Dylan’s individual storyline tied more firmly to the main action and through-line of the story. Though still interesting, his story seemed to diverge along a separate path. Also, I would have liked to see some stronger female characterization — although the main female characters (Sarah and Number 9) were plenty strong as individual people (which I always love to see in this genre), their motives and actions sometimes perplexed me.
Also, I’d be remiss not to mention that I had some grammatical quibbles. I sometimes stumbled over some sentences and punctuation choices, but to be honest, I’m pickier than the average person about such things.
Details and critiques aside, I truly enjoyed this book, and I’m personally recommending it to friends who are interested in this genre. Considering that “would definitely tell a friend” factor, I rounded up for the star system to give it 5 stars.
TL;DR: This book will be a delight for fans of graphic novels, those who enjoy satire, and people who like some hard grit in their stories.
(Full disclosure: I’m related to the author, but I can put my money where my review is — I bought the book from him.)
September 14, 2024
The book is an interesting premise, and I felt a little invested, but 4 slurs that were not at all “meaningful to the story” by 55% of the book was a bit too much for me. And since I got it from Kindle Unlimited, and the author gets paid per page, I decided to dnf and not support them any further.
November 27, 2013
Did not know what to expect, but once I got into the book it was excellent for a short read. Interesting premise for the plot. Loved the quotes at the beginning of the chapters. Well done Kyle!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews