Allies

Insignia #1.5

by S.J. Kincaid

In S. J. Kincaid’s fast-paced and humorous sci-fi Insignia trilogy, the earth is in the middle of World War III when teen gamer Tom Raines is recruited to train with other young cadets as a pivotal member of the elite combat corps, the Intrasolar Forces. At the Pentagonal Spire’s training academy, he makes the best friends of his life—fellow government weapons-in-training Wyatt Enslow, Vik Ashwan, and Yuri Sysevich.

In this 47-page prequel novella to the series, budding genius Wyatt Enslow—intensely loyal and hyperintelligent if occasionally, hilariously, socially awkward—takes center stage as S. J. Kincaid reveals Wyatt’s life before she found her place, and her own inner strength, among her devoted band of friends at the Spire.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopia, Short Stories, Novella, Fiction, Fantasy

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

This novella is from Wyatt the main character's friend. This was funny just like the normal books, but it was too short. Some cool new scenes. When the neural processor was installed into Wyatt brain it changed her and gave her the desire to be social. So she's dealing with those new emotions of wanting friends when before she was fine with being alone.

I really wanted some bonus content with Tom (the normal main character), but all those scenes were repeated from the first book just told from Wyatt's perspective. That was pretty disappointing.

Tom and Wyatt (They are in a VR battle simulation.)

He said nothing, and her eyes skittered back to his face. He was staring with openmouthed amazement and joy at his avatar’s breasts. To Wyatt’s disbelief, he began to examine them hands-on, right there in front of her. She felt compelled to clear her throat, and remind him she was actually still in the room with him.

“You aren’t just planning to sit there groping yourself in front of me, are you?” she asked him. “It’s kind of rude.”

[Rustic Red Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wyatt is one of my favorite characters in Insignia and it showed the events before and during Insignia in her POV. So before Tom came, the prodigy Wyatt is just new and is trying to fit in. So Wyatt first "friend" is Heather, who only wanted to use her knowledge to add some achievements into her info, like we learned on Insignia. That cause Wyatt not to trust anyone. Until Yuri, Vik and Tom came that change her and become her first friends.

This one of the great novellas, I've ever read. And I enjoyed reading it. Hoping to see more of hacker-Wyatt in Vortex and Catalyst.

[Valeria I. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con este mini-libro terminé de confirmar que amo a Wyatt con el alma, y te hace entender muchas cosas, de porque es así, porque es así con Yuri, porque fue así y es así con Tom, porque Tom/Wyattt NO PUEDE PASAR, DEJENSE DE SHIPPEAR ESO POR FAVOR. Hermoso. Wyatt te amo, y sos una inspiración total.

[Mikala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad we have more insight into Wyatt! Again, I'm also so glad there are more authors writing in characters who have autistic-like struggles. It's so relevant and it's so sweet to see authors write in characters who try and understand the social struggles of people on the spectrum instead of treating them like garbage because they don't understand. I love this, and I love Wyatt and I love the normalcy of the whole thing. We're all just trying to love and be loved in this crazy world, and it's sweet to see that in a book.

[Sarah E B ʚ♡ɞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3/ 5 Stars ⭐💫

A short and enjoyable novella about Wyatt and her life before she meets Tom. I'm happy this novella was made because I really wanted to spend more time with Wyatt from the start. It is good to observe her dealing with her autism and how it affects her. One thing I think this novella could improve is its pacing; it felt rushed. I would have liked to see more of Wyatt's point of view in the story instead of just a small section of the first book. As someone who is on the spectrum, S.J. Kincaid did a wonderful with Wyatt and her struggles as a character with Autism.
👩‍💻🔭

[anna ۶ৎ (science fair + school (send help) vers) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this in under an hour. Personally there wasn't much to the story, because it was just the same plot as the beginning of the first book in the series. I think if I'd read this in between the 1st and second book I wouldn't've liked it as much. I read this novella AFTER finishing the entire series a few months prior, and honestly? I was just happy to return to the characters I love so much! It was very easy to read, and I loved Wyatt's perspective! Also I noticed a more describtions of people's appearances, which was super interesting. Overall I loved it :)

[Uriel Varela · Rating 4 out of 5]

2/3, si te gustó mucho Wyatt por su neurodivergencia muy recomendable. Es un excelente punto de vista y te da contexto de eventos relevantes del pasado con Tom y Wyatt. Muy buena short story, 4 estrellas porque no me interesaba tanto Wyatt, aunque con este mini libro le agarré mas cariño.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super short novella. Gives some additional background information on Tom.

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun novella from Wyatt’s point of view!

[Katy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super short extra bonus story about my favorite character 🤩

[Sofia~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó ver más sobre Wyatt, sobre su vida antes de conocer a Tom, e incluso antes de llegar a formar parte de las Fuerzas Intrasolares. Con esto, concluí y admito por fin, que me parezco mucho a Wyatt en algunos casos, y que, si me pasase lo que a Wyatt, tomaría las mismas decisiones que ella. Me encantó cómo comenzó su amistad con Yuri, their meeting was so bootiful. Sigo odiando a Vik, no entiendo cómo les puede gustar. Todo lo que Wyatt sentía, y Vik llegó y le hizo sentir peor. Heather, me agrada porque es real a su personalidad, se mantiene con sus principios y su forma de ser y no cambia; siempre lo que quiere, lo obtiene, no importa el costo. Con todo esto quiero llegar a que, Heather es una maldita leech manipuladora, pero ella lo sabe y aún así no le importa, no cambia por nadie. Igual, la odio. La detesto como persona, pero me gusta como enemiga.

--------------

EDIT 07/07/14 -- Now review in english!

I really liked seeing more of Wyatt, about her life before meeting Tom, and even before she joined the Intrasolar Forces. With this, I can now admit that I am like Wyatt in certain things. And, if I were in her place, I'd take the same decisions and would make the same choices. I loved how her friendship with Yuri started, their meeting was indeed beautiful and amazing, it couldn't have been any more perfect. I still hate Vik, sorry. I just... I don't understand how can you like the things he does. Wyatt was already feeling down before meeting the boys, and then Vik comes around and makes it worse, makes her feel even worse.
Now, about Heather. I like her and I hate her. I like her because she's true to her personality, she stands by her principles and her character, and she doesn't change. (Fine, she was "nicer" with Tom some times, but it was fake, so...) She always gets what she wants, no matter the cost. With all this, what I want to say is that, Heather is a freaking manipulative biatch, and she knows that and she still doesn't care, she doesn't change for anyone or anything. (well, okay, she changes /just like the Tom subject/ but only when it's good for her//when she can get something from it) Still, I hate her. She's a bad person. (Or well, an unlikable person, in my opinion) But I still like her very much, as an enemy.

[Nancy Limmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Allies almost as much as I loved Insignia! I just wish it were longer because it's so interesting to see the world through Wyatt's eyes!

[Yesenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wyatt is great and I love Yuri. Also, this made me appreciate Blackburn more.

[Sana · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love Wyatt, it wasn't super interesting to read from her point of view. That is, until Tom arrived after which I wanted there to be more to read.

[Ranforingus · Rating 5 out of 5]

2016:
This is a great prequel/background story for Wyatt, one of my favorite characters so far in the Insignia-universe).

I loved reading more about the way she thinks and her difficulties in approaching other people because writing non-neurotypical people is not a subject that is done right often.
It's very refreshing to see an author who takes this seriously and still manages to produce a well-rounded, enjoyable character with a believable backstory.

Kudos to S.J. Kincaid for giving us this funny, at times heartbreaking prequel story that despite it's short length, still managed to make me love Wyatt even more than I already did :D

2017:
No matter how many times I come back to this series, it always makes me smile like an idiot.

[Parker Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all 3 of the other Insignia books before reading this book. I rated this short story 4.5 stars.

Wyatt Enslow was one of my 2 favorite characters in the entire series. This story was gave explanation to who she was, and how she became who she was in the main trilogy. I thought that Kincaid did a great job writing Wyatt in the main trilogy, giving her an interesting personality, and the ability to seem more machine than human at times. This story was just the icing on the cake. It gave explanation on how she came to be who she was in the main series.

This is a fantastic read, and I recommend reading it as well as the other books in the trilogy.

[Crimelpoint · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jest to fajny dodatek do całej trylogii. Mamy tutaj do czynienia z historią Wyatt. Całość zaczyn się przed częścią pierwszą, jednak potem zaplata się z wydarzeniami z pierwszego tomu. Dlatego polecam przeczytać tę historię po zapoznaniu się z pierwszą częścią.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea of an alternate perspective from an interesting character in the series, but this teaser novella reads like a rushed bit of work, forced by a publisher. It does make me wonder how the author decided to focus on the characters she did in the main trilogy though.

[Schuyler]

Felt like this was a novella for the sake of publishing a novella. It was a tiny bit of Wyatt's background plus a repeat of events from the first book from her POV (as she established friends).
Really no value add as no new plotline / interest in this series or even interesting in any way.

[Lei · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book

I really liked to see things from wyatt's view but I didn't like how short it was compared to insignia,vortex, and catalyst

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super short. Not impressed. But okay to get a different point of view from a different character in the series.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice little insight into Wyatt’s character though it doesn’t really offer too much that we didn’t already know from Insignia.

[Matt Reno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice look into Wyatt character

[Izzy Obert · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/4

[Rowan Vosberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

T amo Wyatt, mi nena
3.5⭐️

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read from Wyatt's perspective of some of the early situations with the Insignia main characters.

[Chase Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good companion to Insignia. It should have been longer, since she bothered to write it at all. 🤷

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story gamer boy coming of age, military indoctrination. Read Kindle book using Alexa audio asset. Libby library book.

[Kubenko Koreň · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to see things from Wyatt's POV. Her character is really intriguing and has a great potential .
Story is too short, would like to see more, therefore only 4 stars.