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Dancing with Destruction
A relentless alien pursues a beleaguered squad of soldiers through time and reality, while the Elderwatch monitors their fates, unraveling the intertwining stories of survival and annihilation.
When does the hunter become the hunted? How does a single image change the story to something . . . else?
In Dancing with Destruction, we get to find out. Nine stories from some of the top authors in military science fiction will tell the tale of the poor, hapless soldiers and an apex predator in hot pursuit.
Featuring stories from David Weber & Marisa Wolf, Nick Cole & Jason Anspach, Kacey Ezell, Jacob Holo & Edie Skye, Rick Partlow, Joelle Presby, Blaine Pardoe, Nick Steverson & Melissa Olthoff, and Jason Cordova.
In the end, it’s not about who is the hunted or the hunter, but who is willing to dance . . .
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
Jason Cordova is both a John W. Campbell Award and Dragon Award finalist. Besides editing his first anthology in Chicks in Tank Tops, he is also coauthoring Monster Hunter Fever with Larry Correia, coming soon from Baen Books. He has 15 novels currently in print and has been featured in numerous anthologies. A Navy veteran, he is also a former middle school teacher. Though Californian by birth, he has since relocated to the South, where he swears at the humidity on a thrice-daily basis. He can be found at www.jasoncordova.com.
When does the hunter become the hunted? How does a single image change the story to something . . . else?
In Dancing with Destruction, we get to find out. Nine stories from some of the top authors in military science fiction will tell the tale of the poor, hapless soldiers and an apex predator in hot pursuit.
Featuring stories from David Weber & Marisa Wolf, Nick Cole & Jason Anspach, Kacey Ezell, Jacob Holo & Edie Skye, Rick Partlow, Joelle Presby, Blaine Pardoe, Nick Steverson & Melissa Olthoff, and Jason Cordova.
In the end, it’s not about who is the hunted or the hunter, but who is willing to dance . . .
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
Jason Cordova is both a John W. Campbell Award and Dragon Award finalist. Besides editing his first anthology in Chicks in Tank Tops, he is also coauthoring Monster Hunter Fever with Larry Correia, coming soon from Baen Books. He has 15 novels currently in print and has been featured in numerous anthologies. A Navy veteran, he is also a former middle school teacher. Though Californian by birth, he has since relocated to the South, where he swears at the humidity on a thrice-daily basis. He can be found at www.jasoncordova.com.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2025
15 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Jason Córdova
72 books55 followersBestselling author Jason Cordova is both a John W. Campbell Award and Dragon Award finalist (though not in the same year). He is the author of Mountain of Fire and Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever (w/ Larry Correia), and editor of Chicks in Tank Tops and Dancing with Destruction.
Along the way, he has had novels published in multiple languages around the world, been featured in over 40 anthologies, and has penned over two dozen novels across many genres, including YA, horror, science fiction, and urban fantasy.
A history nerd, he is a Navy veteran, former teacher, and is currently an Associate Editor at Baen Books.
Along the way, he has had novels published in multiple languages around the world, been featured in over 40 anthologies, and has penned over two dozen novels across many genres, including YA, horror, science fiction, and urban fantasy.
A history nerd, he is a Navy veteran, former teacher, and is currently an Associate Editor at Baen Books.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 26, 2025
Dancing with Destruction, edited by Jason Cordova, and published by Baen Books is a collection of nine, loosely connected, new military SF stories. The authors were given the cover art of an apex predator pursuing a squad of soldiers, and told to go….
As a fan of military sf, I believe that I have read previous works by each author (except maybe Blaine Pardoe), sometimes novels, sometimes other stories in other anthologies. I rate the anthology as whole a 5, with maybe one story that did not resonate with me a 4. 8 out of 9 five star stories is pretty impressive. It was exciting to find stories by so many of my favorite writers in one place.
In All the Little Stars in the Sky by David Weber and Marisa Wolf, an explorer crash lands on a planet, and must rely on a glitchy AI. [Wolf has previously tackled human AI interface] The explorer must deal with first contact while trying to rescue a group of scientists embedded in the planet. There is also an apex predator.
Old and Broken Gods by Blaine L. Pardoe. A fun story that takes place in 1950 and is reminiscent of Ben Aaronvitch’s Rivers of London series. An ancient god serves as a CIA agent to deal with supernatural events, and calls upon his friends to stop an incursion of a demon during the Korean War.
To Win the Final Lizard War by Joelle Presby. Paranoia and Conspiracy theories go together in this story of a dystopian future.
The Joy of the Chase [A Sol Blazers Story] by Jacob Holo and Edie Skye is one of two stories that I believe are part of the authors’ previous work. Captain Nathan Kade and his crew are hired to find a missing movie crew from a remote space habitat. Kade uses the good looks of the lead actor, and the need of a monster to trophy hunt to end up making a successful space opera. Go read Freelancers of Neptune [Sol Blazers #1] if you enjoyed this.
Wilder Kingdom by Rick Partlow. The author writes exciting military sf series; this story takes place during the Vietnam war era, and a national guard unit unknowingly is hunting an alien, with the help of a second alien. Everything is not as it seems.
Bug Hunt by Melissa Olthoff and Nick Steverson is an off world story with a military team investigating why a backwater research center had gone dark. There are bugs, there are apex predators, and there is plenty of exciting action. This story had the feel of an old twilight zone episode.
Bug Out by Kacey Ezell is linked to Bug Hunt. It tells the same military action, from the viewpoint of the VTOL pilot. The author is a former helicopter pilot, and again the action is realistic and exciting!
Concursante by Jason Cordova. In another dystopian future, Explorers are one of the few ways to keep off the dole and to get off of earth. But VERY few make it through the rigorous screening and open fatal final test.
The Butcher [A WarGate Story] by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole. A lethal Ranger, too honest for his own good, has been disappeared into a black site in South America. But he must be brought back to deal with the after effects of a global engineered pandemic which is turning humanity into a series of subhuman monsters. His nickname is the Butcher.
If you are a fan of military SF, this series will not disappoint. I would like to thank Baen Books for this eARC in return for an honest review.
As a fan of military sf, I believe that I have read previous works by each author (except maybe Blaine Pardoe), sometimes novels, sometimes other stories in other anthologies. I rate the anthology as whole a 5, with maybe one story that did not resonate with me a 4. 8 out of 9 five star stories is pretty impressive. It was exciting to find stories by so many of my favorite writers in one place.
In All the Little Stars in the Sky by David Weber and Marisa Wolf, an explorer crash lands on a planet, and must rely on a glitchy AI. [Wolf has previously tackled human AI interface] The explorer must deal with first contact while trying to rescue a group of scientists embedded in the planet. There is also an apex predator.
Old and Broken Gods by Blaine L. Pardoe. A fun story that takes place in 1950 and is reminiscent of Ben Aaronvitch’s Rivers of London series. An ancient god serves as a CIA agent to deal with supernatural events, and calls upon his friends to stop an incursion of a demon during the Korean War.
To Win the Final Lizard War by Joelle Presby. Paranoia and Conspiracy theories go together in this story of a dystopian future.
The Joy of the Chase [A Sol Blazers Story] by Jacob Holo and Edie Skye is one of two stories that I believe are part of the authors’ previous work. Captain Nathan Kade and his crew are hired to find a missing movie crew from a remote space habitat. Kade uses the good looks of the lead actor, and the need of a monster to trophy hunt to end up making a successful space opera. Go read Freelancers of Neptune [Sol Blazers #1] if you enjoyed this.
Wilder Kingdom by Rick Partlow. The author writes exciting military sf series; this story takes place during the Vietnam war era, and a national guard unit unknowingly is hunting an alien, with the help of a second alien. Everything is not as it seems.
Bug Hunt by Melissa Olthoff and Nick Steverson is an off world story with a military team investigating why a backwater research center had gone dark. There are bugs, there are apex predators, and there is plenty of exciting action. This story had the feel of an old twilight zone episode.
Bug Out by Kacey Ezell is linked to Bug Hunt. It tells the same military action, from the viewpoint of the VTOL pilot. The author is a former helicopter pilot, and again the action is realistic and exciting!
Concursante by Jason Cordova. In another dystopian future, Explorers are one of the few ways to keep off the dole and to get off of earth. But VERY few make it through the rigorous screening and open fatal final test.
The Butcher [A WarGate Story] by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole. A lethal Ranger, too honest for his own good, has been disappeared into a black site in South America. But he must be brought back to deal with the after effects of a global engineered pandemic which is turning humanity into a series of subhuman monsters. His nickname is the Butcher.
If you are a fan of military SF, this series will not disappoint. I would like to thank Baen Books for this eARC in return for an honest review.
August 2, 2025
Exceeded my expectations!
I don't often read anthologies, but this one is outstanding. Some of the authors are new to me, others are always on my TBR. I never knew what to expect from this wide range of scenarios. Horror, conflict, exploration, apocalypse - but always action.. I received a free copy, but my review is honest and voluntary.
I don't often read anthologies, but this one is outstanding. Some of the authors are new to me, others are always on my TBR. I never knew what to expect from this wide range of scenarios. Horror, conflict, exploration, apocalypse - but always action.. I received a free copy, but my review is honest and voluntary.
September 16, 2025
Lots of 5's. My favorites were All the Little Stars in the Sky (Weber and Wolf), Wilder Kingdom (Partlow), Bug Hunt (Olthoff and Steverson), Bug Out (Ezell), and The Butcher (Anspach and Cole).
December 4, 2025
Quite fun overall, but obviously a mixed bag. Especially the last story, and the longest, dragged on. I didn't like the redundant style, everything kept repeating - phrases, bits of story. Yuck.
September 9, 2025
Pretty good
Has one she expect from the list of rising stars who wrote these stories they're all pretty darn good- but the two sister stories called Bug Hunt or cut above the rest. This book is worth the price of admission just for them!
Has one she expect from the list of rising stars who wrote these stories they're all pretty darn good- but the two sister stories called Bug Hunt or cut above the rest. This book is worth the price of admission just for them!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews