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Anderson Versus Death
SUPREME SACRIFICE
In early 2102, Psi-Judge Cassandra Anderson sacrifices herself to trap the spirit of the terrible Judge Death, holding him in her mind as her fellow Judge Joe Dredd encases her in an impenetrable polymer. Her comatose body is laid in a place of honour in the Justice Department’s famed Hall of Heroes, to be remembered forever.
For eighteen months, Anderson lies trapped, sharing her tomb with the monster she defeated. An epic battle rages silently within the Psi-Judge’s skull, as she delves into Death’s secrets and watches her city being destroyed over and over.
This is the story of Anderson versus Death.
In early 2102, Psi-Judge Cassandra Anderson sacrifices herself to trap the spirit of the terrible Judge Death, holding him in her mind as her fellow Judge Joe Dredd encases her in an impenetrable polymer. Her comatose body is laid in a place of honour in the Justice Department’s famed Hall of Heroes, to be remembered forever.
For eighteen months, Anderson lies trapped, sharing her tomb with the monster she defeated. An epic battle rages silently within the Psi-Judge’s skull, as she delves into Death’s secrets and watches her city being destroyed over and over.
This is the story of Anderson versus Death.
384 pages, Paperback
Published September 23, 2025
2 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Anna Smith Spark
29 books930 followers'Game of Literary Thrones ... the next generation hit fantasy fiction' The Sunday Times
Anna Smith Spark lives in London, UK. She loves grimdark and epic fantasy and historical military fiction. Anna has a BA in Classics, an MA in history and a PhD in English Literature. She has previously been published in the Fortean Times and the poetry website www.greatworks.org.uk. Previous jobs include petty bureaucrat, English teacher and fetish model.
Anna's favourite authors and key influences are R. Scott Bakker, Steve Erikson, M. John Harrison, Ursula Le Guin, Mary Stewart and Mary Renault. She spent several years as an obsessive D&D player. She can often be spotted at sff conventions wearing very unusual shoes.
Anna Smith Spark lives in London, UK. She loves grimdark and epic fantasy and historical military fiction. Anna has a BA in Classics, an MA in history and a PhD in English Literature. She has previously been published in the Fortean Times and the poetry website www.greatworks.org.uk. Previous jobs include petty bureaucrat, English teacher and fetish model.
Anna's favourite authors and key influences are R. Scott Bakker, Steve Erikson, M. John Harrison, Ursula Le Guin, Mary Stewart and Mary Renault. She spent several years as an obsessive D&D player. She can often be spotted at sff conventions wearing very unusual shoes.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 31, 2026
Anna Smith Spark is always a must-read for me. Here, she lives out one of her childhood dreams by writing a novel in the 2000 AD universe.
I must confess that I know nothing about Judge Dredd, Judge Death, et al. Hence, I am not well-qualified to write an insightful review of this book.
Despite my complete lack of any background knowledge of the 2000 AD universe, I had a great time with this book. It's psychological combat at its best.
As always, Anna Smith Spark writes with an impeccable sense of style. I especially enjoyed the nods to comic book culture. And the story itself is a fast-paced page-turner.
Definitely pick this up if you are a fan of Anna Smith Spark (like me), a Judge Dredd aficionado, or both!
I must confess that I know nothing about Judge Dredd, Judge Death, et al. Hence, I am not well-qualified to write an insightful review of this book.
Despite my complete lack of any background knowledge of the 2000 AD universe, I had a great time with this book. It's psychological combat at its best.
As always, Anna Smith Spark writes with an impeccable sense of style. I especially enjoyed the nods to comic book culture. And the story itself is a fast-paced page-turner.
Definitely pick this up if you are a fan of Anna Smith Spark (like me), a Judge Dredd aficionado, or both!
November 14, 2025
Very much still processing my thoughts about this. Beautiful, trippy, and suitably dream/nightmare-like, its very much stream-of-consciousness, and can occasionally get a bit much. You kind of have look up, a blink a bit a ground yourself, before you plunge back below the surface once more - though that, too, feels entirely appropriate.
Also fascinating to see someone else's take on a character I've written - very different, but likewise very true to her canon. In the same way that every artist interprets her 'Debbie Harry' origin slightly differently, so every author will do the same thing. And lo, she gains both depth and facet.
Highly recommend, but clear your mind and your decks, and be ready to take on Death at his most gloriously, hideously visceral.
Also fascinating to see someone else's take on a character I've written - very different, but likewise very true to her canon. In the same way that every artist interprets her 'Debbie Harry' origin slightly differently, so every author will do the same thing. And lo, she gains both depth and facet.
Highly recommend, but clear your mind and your decks, and be ready to take on Death at his most gloriously, hideously visceral.
October 31, 2025
Oh, that was so much fun.
I grew up reading 2000AD, and distinctly remember both the original Judge Death stories that immediately precede and follow the story told here respectively, so getting to read about Anderson's time in stasis is a bit of a treat as far as I'm concerned. And Anna Smith Spark captures the mood and style of those early comic strips so well.
Chock-full of the requisite pop culture references, and boiling over with so much oh-so-typically British snark and humour, this is an absolute masterpiece of nostalgia-driven storytelling. Yet it also still carries that deep vein of grimdark poetry that Anna Smith Spark brings to all of her writing, which, given the subject matter, works perfectly here.
In fact, the only criticism I have after reading this is that now I'm going to have to go back and reread the original Dredd vs Death stories. Good job I already have them to hand, I guess.
I grew up reading 2000AD, and distinctly remember both the original Judge Death stories that immediately precede and follow the story told here respectively, so getting to read about Anderson's time in stasis is a bit of a treat as far as I'm concerned. And Anna Smith Spark captures the mood and style of those early comic strips so well.
Chock-full of the requisite pop culture references, and boiling over with so much oh-so-typically British snark and humour, this is an absolute masterpiece of nostalgia-driven storytelling. Yet it also still carries that deep vein of grimdark poetry that Anna Smith Spark brings to all of her writing, which, given the subject matter, works perfectly here.
In fact, the only criticism I have after reading this is that now I'm going to have to go back and reread the original Dredd vs Death stories. Good job I already have them to hand, I guess.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews