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Hellfire
Alternate cover edition can be found here.
Military Science Fiction Short Story
Nate is a test pilot for the United States Army. Actually, he is the best damned test pilot period, even with the headaches. The United States is developing a new kind of piloted war machine with the help of Franklin Industries and they have secured some of the most high tech, abrasive equipment on the planet. Does it work? According to the test pilot, it works like a champ. If that's the case, then why is everything shrouded in mystery at the end of Nate's test flight? Furthermore, why does Nate suffer such horrific migraines? Read here to find out!
Military Science Fiction Short Story
Nate is a test pilot for the United States Army. Actually, he is the best damned test pilot period, even with the headaches. The United States is developing a new kind of piloted war machine with the help of Franklin Industries and they have secured some of the most high tech, abrasive equipment on the planet. Does it work? According to the test pilot, it works like a champ. If that's the case, then why is everything shrouded in mystery at the end of Nate's test flight? Furthermore, why does Nate suffer such horrific migraines? Read here to find out!
9 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 7, 2021
79 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Drew Avera
93 books167 followersDrew Avera is a Navy veteran, musician, and the bestselling author of the Dead Planet series and the Alorian Wars.
He was born and raised in rural Mississippi and grew up with a deep affection for comic books and science fiction movies and television shows. At one point he boasted a comic book collection with more than 1,000 issues. His love for comics inspired him to pursue a career as a comic book artist, but an injury to his hand ended that dream permanently.
Still, he was inspired to create in one medium or the other. He picked up a guitar at fifteen years old and began writing songs almost immediately. That “obsession” as his parents called it put him on the path to rock stardom…in his bedroom.
It was when he turned sixteen and bought the novel “What Savage Beast” by Peter David (The Incredible Hulk) that he caught the bug to be a writer. Unfortunately, it would not come to fruition until fourteen years later.
Drew enlisted in the US Navy as an Aviation Electricians Mate at seventeen years old. He served twenty years and deployed on four combat deployments to the Persian Gulf. During those deployments he would spend his free time reading books. He loved reading books in a series and that inspired his journey to becoming a fiction author.
In November 2012, at the age of thirty, Drew began his journey as an author by participating in national Novel Writing Month (NANoWriMo). He published his first book in March of 2013 and the rest, as they say, is history. With more than twenty books published in the space opera, military science fiction, cyberpunk, and dystopian genres, he has built a backlog with something for everyone who enjoys science fiction adventures.
After retiring from the Navy, he began an exciting new career in the simulation field. Drew is now focusing his efforts on building upon what he learned in his first eight years of publishing. He has plans for an all-new space opera and military science fiction series as well as new collaborations with other writers.
The best is yet to come!
To learn more about Drew and his books, visit www.drewavera.com.
Subscribe to Drew’s newsletter for updates on new releases, or follow his Amazon Author Page to receive updates directly from Amazon.
The Alorian Wars (Space Opera/Military Science Fiction Series)
Broken Worlds
Deadly Refuge
Mutiny Rising
Shadow Empire
Regime Change
The Dead Planet Series (Cyberpunk/Dystopian)
Exodus
Verity
Endgame
The Syndicate Series (Cyberpunk)
Rise of the Syndicate
Eye of the Syndicate
Other books
Traitor
Skye Byrn
He was born and raised in rural Mississippi and grew up with a deep affection for comic books and science fiction movies and television shows. At one point he boasted a comic book collection with more than 1,000 issues. His love for comics inspired him to pursue a career as a comic book artist, but an injury to his hand ended that dream permanently.
Still, he was inspired to create in one medium or the other. He picked up a guitar at fifteen years old and began writing songs almost immediately. That “obsession” as his parents called it put him on the path to rock stardom…in his bedroom.
It was when he turned sixteen and bought the novel “What Savage Beast” by Peter David (The Incredible Hulk) that he caught the bug to be a writer. Unfortunately, it would not come to fruition until fourteen years later.
Drew enlisted in the US Navy as an Aviation Electricians Mate at seventeen years old. He served twenty years and deployed on four combat deployments to the Persian Gulf. During those deployments he would spend his free time reading books. He loved reading books in a series and that inspired his journey to becoming a fiction author.
In November 2012, at the age of thirty, Drew began his journey as an author by participating in national Novel Writing Month (NANoWriMo). He published his first book in March of 2013 and the rest, as they say, is history. With more than twenty books published in the space opera, military science fiction, cyberpunk, and dystopian genres, he has built a backlog with something for everyone who enjoys science fiction adventures.
After retiring from the Navy, he began an exciting new career in the simulation field. Drew is now focusing his efforts on building upon what he learned in his first eight years of publishing. He has plans for an all-new space opera and military science fiction series as well as new collaborations with other writers.
The best is yet to come!
To learn more about Drew and his books, visit www.drewavera.com.
Subscribe to Drew’s newsletter for updates on new releases, or follow his Amazon Author Page to receive updates directly from Amazon.
The Alorian Wars (Space Opera/Military Science Fiction Series)
Broken Worlds
Deadly Refuge
Mutiny Rising
Shadow Empire
Regime Change
The Dead Planet Series (Cyberpunk/Dystopian)
Exodus
Verity
Endgame
The Syndicate Series (Cyberpunk)
Rise of the Syndicate
Eye of the Syndicate
Other books
Traitor
Skye Byrn
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 3, 2018
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is a very short story about a military test pilot beginning his day with a series of live fire exercises centered around new equipment. Everything proceeds as planned until the end where the author throws an unexpected curve.
This is a very short story about a military test pilot beginning his day with a series of live fire exercises centered around new equipment. Everything proceeds as planned until the end where the author throws an unexpected curve.
May 13, 2017
Blunt ending. It could have been that it was a very short story, but I found it one dimensional and lacking in character development. Again, it could have been the consequence of the very few pages the author worked with.
November 1, 2021
War and Mechs and Clones, oh my
Waking up with a killer headache with alarms going off, is not a good start to the day. His memory is a little off, but throws on some clothes, but something is definitely not right. Where is everyone? Nate rushes into the hall way from his room and see fires, dead bodies and things are looking bad. No one seems to be left alive. Bodies are all over the place. The mech hanger is torn apart, explosions and fire everywhere. One mech is left standing, the rest in shrapnel. Before the last standing mech, Nate’s friend, Bob is dead at the mech’s foot eternally reaching out for it. He is on his own.
He starts up the process to get the mech to come to life. No time for all the diagnostic checks. As he exits the hanger, he sees man and unmanned mechs outside attacking the base. He shoots one as he surprises them and takes it out. The others turn towards him. It isn’t the Russians, who is it? Mercs? That doesn’t matter now, he needs to survive this and can think about it later. He goes about clearing base or doing what he can. Infantry is coming through the gates. And then the missiles hit him. Fire and pain and then darkness..
Fast forward…a nuke took out parts of the US, the government is gone. He only had the memories deemed useful. One of his team had met Nate ‘Prime’, but the rest aren’t aware.
The author does a great job on world building and throwing you into the action at the beginning of the book. It is a quick book, but definitely worth it.
Waking up with a killer headache with alarms going off, is not a good start to the day. His memory is a little off, but throws on some clothes, but something is definitely not right. Where is everyone? Nate rushes into the hall way from his room and see fires, dead bodies and things are looking bad. No one seems to be left alive. Bodies are all over the place. The mech hanger is torn apart, explosions and fire everywhere. One mech is left standing, the rest in shrapnel. Before the last standing mech, Nate’s friend, Bob is dead at the mech’s foot eternally reaching out for it. He is on his own.
He starts up the process to get the mech to come to life. No time for all the diagnostic checks. As he exits the hanger, he sees man and unmanned mechs outside attacking the base. He shoots one as he surprises them and takes it out. The others turn towards him. It isn’t the Russians, who is it? Mercs? That doesn’t matter now, he needs to survive this and can think about it later. He goes about clearing base or doing what he can. Infantry is coming through the gates. And then the missiles hit him. Fire and pain and then darkness..
Fast forward…a nuke took out parts of the US, the government is gone. He only had the memories deemed useful. One of his team had met Nate ‘Prime’, but the rest aren’t aware.
The author does a great job on world building and throwing you into the action at the beginning of the book. It is a quick book, but definitely worth it.
October 8, 2017
Nicely written. I like you how it immediately throws you into the story with almost no type of background. The combat description (best I could sum it up) was on point and so was the writing. I left off one star because of how short the short story was, as I anticipated about 30 instead of 10, but overall, great book.
August 19, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this sci-fi, military tale, and that ending was unexpected. I could invest in it as a longer story. I would love for the author to expand this further. The writing was good, and the characters felt developed in a short amount of time.
August 23, 2017
This is a short sci-fi story about a test pilot of mechs. Unfortunately for him, all is not as it seems... 3 stars
September 27, 2017
Overall, I thought it was an OK book. To say I'm not into reading anything about military and army etc. I thought that is was an OK book.
July 22, 2018
Worked for me, I am ready for a series!
September 15, 2019
Fun reading
Very good and enjoyable ... ... For a taster ... ... ... . . . . . . . .
Very good and enjoyable ... ... For a taster ... ... ... . . . . . . . .
April 29, 2021
Kicker
That ending was a real kicker, I didn't see it even coming. Piqued my interest to read more of these books.
That ending was a real kicker, I didn't see it even coming. Piqued my interest to read more of these books.
October 15, 2021
Good Short Story
Interesting short story about a test pilot and his daily job. There's an very interesting twist at the end would recommend
Interesting short story about a test pilot and his daily job. There's an very interesting twist at the end would recommend
August 12, 2020
Only 25% is the story
The rest is a sneak peek at a different series. The mech pilot test fight was all right, but over too quickly with an often used trope as a "twist" ending. I wanted more, but feel like this was a bait and switch, so I'll find other stories to read.
The rest is a sneak peek at a different series. The mech pilot test fight was all right, but over too quickly with an often used trope as a "twist" ending. I wanted more, but feel like this was a bait and switch, so I'll find other stories to read.
December 25, 2017
I suppose if you really like I military stories this wasn't a terrible story but I didn't’t like the ending at all. It seemed like the author didn't know how to end the story so he made it seem
March 14, 2015
Being only ten pages the story takes off quickly introducing main character Nate and his headaches. Nate muddles through his headache and reports to work. Nate notices that his longtime friend and co-worker Bob seems a bit different and his behavior off. When Nate questions Bob, he unconvincingly says everything is fine.
As the story progresses Nate pushes his headache and Nate’s odd behavior behind him to focus on his job of demonstrating the new AF-45F Hellfire, an upgraded version of the Piloted Assault Mechanism (Pi-Mech) simply put… a combat suit. Problems arise during testing which lead the military and designer to talk upgrades. It’s at this junction and end of the story a surprising revelation is revealed.
Sometimes sci-fi books can get a bit techie with word usage and descriptions but I didn't feel Hellfire was like that which I appreciated. I'm giving Hellfire 4.5 stars upgraded to 5 for the surprise ending. If you are interested in short sci-fi reads then give Hellfire a whirl.
As the story progresses Nate pushes his headache and Nate’s odd behavior behind him to focus on his job of demonstrating the new AF-45F Hellfire, an upgraded version of the Piloted Assault Mechanism (Pi-Mech) simply put… a combat suit. Problems arise during testing which lead the military and designer to talk upgrades. It’s at this junction and end of the story a surprising revelation is revealed.
Sometimes sci-fi books can get a bit techie with word usage and descriptions but I didn't feel Hellfire was like that which I appreciated. I'm giving Hellfire 4.5 stars upgraded to 5 for the surprise ending. If you are interested in short sci-fi reads then give Hellfire a whirl.
April 15, 2015
Great short story with a bit of a twisted ending. Readers get to meet Nate Stout, Captain and test pilot as he is asked to test a piloted Assault mechanism or Pi-mech. Things don't go quite as well as they should and the short story definitely bends in a strange way before it is over. Although short, this story easily shows that Drew Avera is an amazing story teller with a gift of keeping readers imaginations on high alert.
January 30, 2015
A pilot is testing the latest combat robot suit. Well, it isn't really a robot since he is wearing it. He also seems to have a problem with headaches, but that doesn't stop him from doing the best he can in the test.
This is a straight up fun military sci-fi short story. The ending is a fun little twist. There are only a couple of minor editing glitches, nothing to really cause any worries.
This is a straight up fun military sci-fi short story. The ending is a fun little twist. There are only a couple of minor editing glitches, nothing to really cause any worries.
April 1, 2016
A simple short story that strips everything away and just shows you the cool battle with the advanced weapons suit. Would actually give this 4.5 stars because that twist ending left me wanting to hear the story behind that. Still, you don't pick up a short story expecting anything deep and this kept me entertained.
July 15, 2016
Reasonable
Military snobbery is inevitable. Sad . Writing is good a bit too tight as far as descriptions go expand a bit. why waste an individual without more reader understanding. Is he defective or unstable ? A clone only maintains its own memories not it's hosts memories.
Military snobbery is inevitable. Sad . Writing is good a bit too tight as far as descriptions go expand a bit. why waste an individual without more reader understanding. Is he defective or unstable ? A clone only maintains its own memories not it's hosts memories.
September 14, 2016
The Military-Industrial Complex is Always With Us.
This is a very nicely written mecha combat story. The tension rises to a neat twist ending. This brief saga was a good introduction to the author's work for me, as was the included excerpt of his novel. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes classic sci-fi action.
This is a very nicely written mecha combat story. The tension rises to a neat twist ending. This brief saga was a good introduction to the author's work for me, as was the included excerpt of his novel. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes classic sci-fi action.
February 1, 2015
Yes! Good stuff!
I've been waiting to find a military sci-fi story like this. A great quick read and the perfect kind of ending just as you start to wonder how the author will finish it out!
I've been waiting to find a military sci-fi story like this. A great quick read and the perfect kind of ending just as you start to wonder how the author will finish it out!
October 18, 2015
Great read
This was a great little story although it was short it was nothing but action and had a good little twist at the end that I never saw coming. So I will be checking out some more of Mr Avera's work.
This was a great little story although it was short it was nothing but action and had a good little twist at the end that I never saw coming. So I will be checking out some more of Mr Avera's work.
November 15, 2015
Nice short story in the Mech world. It will be interesting to watch this author develop. Main character is a bit one dimensional, but not deadly. Probably better for YA readers than adult readers due to simplistic story.
May 15, 2016
"Drinking something cold too fast"
A brilliant little vignette of one day in the life of a test pilot, Nathan Stout. Short but very fulsome and with a kick at the end. More memorable and worth the reading than many longer novels
A brilliant little vignette of one day in the life of a test pilot, Nathan Stout. Short but very fulsome and with a kick at the end. More memorable and worth the reading than many longer novels
July 7, 2016
What a bombshell!
This story pulled me right in. I enjoyed the action with the mechs and the descriptiveness, then Mr Avera hit me between the eyes with a massive shock and it was brilliant, perfect timing to drop such a bombshell!
This story pulled me right in. I enjoyed the action with the mechs and the descriptiveness, then Mr Avera hit me between the eyes with a massive shock and it was brilliant, perfect timing to drop such a bombshell!
March 15, 2015
Wow! Didn't see that coming!
If you like Mechs and short stories, this is a good one with a surprise twist at the end. Nice!
If you like Mechs and short stories, this is a good one with a surprise twist at the end. Nice!
March 3, 2015
Quick read....
Interesting premise but was a bit familiar. I was kind of dissatisfied with the ending as I saw it coming.
Interesting premise but was a bit familiar. I was kind of dissatisfied with the ending as I saw it coming.
March 27, 2015
Hellfire
I was expecting something different. I can tell the author knows about flying. Lots of detail there. Just not enough for me to say I loved it.
I was expecting something different. I can tell the author knows about flying. Lots of detail there. Just not enough for me to say I loved it.
June 15, 2015
Stupid
Unoriginal and not worth my time. Even tho it's only 12 pages, it was 12 pages wasted. Good thing it's free.
Unoriginal and not worth my time. Even tho it's only 12 pages, it was 12 pages wasted. Good thing it's free.
January 4, 2016
Good twist
Interesting twist on an old favorite, wish it was a bit more fleshed out at the end. Too many typos for 5 stars.
Interesting twist on an old favorite, wish it was a bit more fleshed out at the end. Too many typos for 5 stars.
October 16, 2016
This story my son liked more than me or sister yes i know a boy thing but people of all ages will love reading this book so to all happy reading from wee me.☺
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews