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Comrades in Arms
The hunters become the hunted! When a damaged cyborg soldier and an enemy alien fighter turn their backs on the war and try to escape, the human and alien governments can't tolerate the two deserters working together, so they join forces to hunt them down.
They have become Comrades in Arms.
They have become Comrades in Arms.
64 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2014
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,093 books3,187 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 29, 2024
This novella was a good time-pass, but it felt flat in comparison to Alistair Reynolds's classic "Holdfast" in terms of pathos, as well as recent Murderbot-ART tales in terms of wit and action.
Still, as a one-time read, it was OK.
Still, as a one-time read, it was OK.
August 6, 2023
After being nearly killed in action, Rader has been remade into a Deathguard, an elite cyborg berserker with minimal organic parts and a very limited lifespan. His Werewolf Trigger demands that he KILL! KILL! KILL! (all caps in the text as well) and so he does, more and more, until he finds someone he doesn't want to kill. Thus begins the unlikely story of finding a Comrade in Arms in the enemy. Friendship and treason bloom on the battlefield.
In terms of word count, this barely crosses the threshold to be a considered a novella. In terms of enjoyment, it straddles the borderline of being mediocre and decent. What I found most notable about it is that it's a great example of a 2.5/5 rounded up to 3 story. It doesn't satisfy at all but doesn't leave me unduly dissatisfied. It tells an adequate story of "They want us all to kill each other, but what if we didn't?" The specifics suffice, but I don't think they matter all that much. That's really all there is to it. I don't recommend for or against it. It's just something short to read if you're in the mood for Humans vs Bugs military SF, though the bugs are on a similar civilizational level, have open dialogues, and both sides are idiotic. It's definitely not pro-war as there are various attacks on the military, patriotism, following orders, and the general concept of warfare.
As per the title, it finds that the grunts and the officers both have more in common with the their counterparts on the other side than with each other. If this were longer and better written it could've potentially been a story about solidarity among the troops on both sides rebelling against their officers and the leadership in general. That could've been amusing. As it is, it's more about how insubordination among one's own ranks is to be despised far more than the enemy. For an officer, the loss of troops is impersonal and expected. The refusal to respect their authority is personal and unforgivable.
This novella went how I expected it to, which is unfortunate, but not disappointing, as that would've required having higher expectations. As a tangential note, the more and more of Anderson's short fiction I read, the less and less interested I am in ever reading the Dune novels he wrote. I'll probably avoid reading anything else from him aside from when I see him in anthologies or magazines. It doesn't feel worthwhile for me to do so, despite it being that not that bad overall.
In terms of word count, this barely crosses the threshold to be a considered a novella. In terms of enjoyment, it straddles the borderline of being mediocre and decent. What I found most notable about it is that it's a great example of a 2.5/5 rounded up to 3 story. It doesn't satisfy at all but doesn't leave me unduly dissatisfied. It tells an adequate story of "They want us all to kill each other, but what if we didn't?" The specifics suffice, but I don't think they matter all that much. That's really all there is to it. I don't recommend for or against it. It's just something short to read if you're in the mood for Humans vs Bugs military SF, though the bugs are on a similar civilizational level, have open dialogues, and both sides are idiotic. It's definitely not pro-war as there are various attacks on the military, patriotism, following orders, and the general concept of warfare.
As per the title, it finds that the grunts and the officers both have more in common with the their counterparts on the other side than with each other. If this were longer and better written it could've potentially been a story about solidarity among the troops on both sides rebelling against their officers and the leadership in general. That could've been amusing. As it is, it's more about how insubordination among one's own ranks is to be despised far more than the enemy. For an officer, the loss of troops is impersonal and expected. The refusal to respect their authority is personal and unforgivable.
This novella went how I expected it to, which is unfortunate, but not disappointing, as that would've required having higher expectations. As a tangential note, the more and more of Anderson's short fiction I read, the less and less interested I am in ever reading the Dune novels he wrote. I'll probably avoid reading anything else from him aside from when I see him in anthologies or magazines. It doesn't feel worthwhile for me to do so, despite it being that not that bad overall.
April 5, 2019
Author Kevin J. Anderson brings us the tale of a man who during an intense battle lost most of his body and the enemy who became his friend. Rader had been a normal infantry officer when he had been shot up to the point where the higher ups saw him as the next in their Deathguard line and one that would make the program shine. But on a mission out after he had been turned into a Deathguard, Rader came across an enemy combatant that didn't want to fight and who had been an artist among his people. But as the two became friends and both decided to desert their armies their commanding officers who knew how to contact each other did so. Sobel and Kiltik sent their commandos after the two while subtly becoming friends themselves. This is a great novella with a good ironic twist and one that I highly recommend
July 26, 2024
Published in 2019 by WordFire Press
My Synopsis:
Veteran (and prolific) author Kevin J. Anderson delivers a compelling short story/novella in the tradition of the golden age of sci-fi with Comrades in Arms .
Humanity is at war with an insectoid race that uses psychic energy to create weapons and even peer into the future. The story is set in an asteroid belt way out in the middle of nowhere. Some of the asteroids have breathable atmospheres, but they're not comfortable for either race to live on for long.
Even though the asteroids have limited value, there is no way either side will give them up so the war has ground itself into a stalemate of sorts.
However, humanity has developed a new weapon that is starting to turn the tide. Mortally wounded humans are brought back to the base and given the Robocop treatment. Their bodies are refitted with armored limbs, organs are replaced, and a "werewolf trigger" is installed deep in the brain. The werewolf trigger sets the cyborg soldier into an out-of-control killing frenzy. These killing machines tear across the battlefield and civilian outposts, leaving behind nothing by death and destruction until the cyborg is destroyed or its system breaks down.
But, what happens if a cyborg learns to control its computerized impulses? What if it starts to question the war itself? What if it refuses?
My Review:
I enjoyed this novella from beginning to end. The story has an ironic twist at the end, but not the way that you would think. In its own way, it makes a strong anti-war statement.
I rate this novella 5 stars out of 5.
See all of my reviews of works by Kevin J. Anderson here:
https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/sear...
My Synopsis:
Veteran (and prolific) author Kevin J. Anderson delivers a compelling short story/novella in the tradition of the golden age of sci-fi with Comrades in Arms .
Humanity is at war with an insectoid race that uses psychic energy to create weapons and even peer into the future. The story is set in an asteroid belt way out in the middle of nowhere. Some of the asteroids have breathable atmospheres, but they're not comfortable for either race to live on for long.
Even though the asteroids have limited value, there is no way either side will give them up so the war has ground itself into a stalemate of sorts.
However, humanity has developed a new weapon that is starting to turn the tide. Mortally wounded humans are brought back to the base and given the Robocop treatment. Their bodies are refitted with armored limbs, organs are replaced, and a "werewolf trigger" is installed deep in the brain. The werewolf trigger sets the cyborg soldier into an out-of-control killing frenzy. These killing machines tear across the battlefield and civilian outposts, leaving behind nothing by death and destruction until the cyborg is destroyed or its system breaks down.
But, what happens if a cyborg learns to control its computerized impulses? What if it starts to question the war itself? What if it refuses?
My Review:
I enjoyed this novella from beginning to end. The story has an ironic twist at the end, but not the way that you would think. In its own way, it makes a strong anti-war statement.
I rate this novella 5 stars out of 5.
See all of my reviews of works by Kevin J. Anderson here:
https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/sear...
December 22, 2022
Anderson has written a novella that promotes a peaceful pledge between two races at war. This read is full of science fiction and military style. At the heart of this read are two soldiers that belong to different camps that have an idea of what they would like the outcome to be. Our main character Rader a damaged cyborg who becomes friends with an enemy alien fighter. The alien and human government aren't happy about this they want them both taken out. This is a great quick read that prepares the reader to enjoy Anderson's many novels. I have voluntarily reviewed this ebook after receiving a complimentary copy from the author. The opinions expressed here are completely my own.
July 30, 2024
Interesting variation on the bug-eyed monster insect alien invasion trope. Also sounded the 'war is hell' / 'war is meaningless' theme. Novella length was plenty long for this scenario. Started out with an intriguing premise but not sure the finale was as strong as it could have been? Still, a fairly entertaining sci-fi romp on the pulpy side (meaning, don't look too closely at what's under the hood). 3 stars.
July 4, 2017
As the title says - a story about two comrades from different sides. Of course this being Kevin J. different sides also means different races :D
A nice story with a semi-open ending that leaves you thinking. Especially about how some conflicts really are pointless and could be avoided if both sides undertook some effort...
A nice story with a semi-open ending that leaves you thinking. Especially about how some conflicts really are pointless and could be avoided if both sides undertook some effort...
September 4, 2017
An enjoyable and cynical one-shot short story that explores war, politics, sacrificing others to save one's face, and comradeship in the least likely of places.
June 28, 2019
During an interstellar war with an insectoid species, a human cyborg regains his humanity after teaming up with one of the enemy "roaches" in a common struggle to survive.
August 2, 2019
This was a quick read but reasonably interesting. I have read some of this authors other work . This is consistent to his other stories
August 18, 2019
An enjoyable military sf romp!
August 20, 2026
Military scifi novella. Was a fun read, fairly well written. Story is a bit silly though.
September 3, 2026
Interesting novella
August 27, 2018
There's nothing especially WOW about this, but it is a solid short with a decent plot and a world and characters that one might like to get know better.
August 15, 2015
Excellent story
I didn't expect such a switch in the plot. Left me smiling. Another example of Kevin's writing skills and innovative thinking.
I didn't expect such a switch in the plot. Left me smiling. Another example of Kevin's writing skills and innovative thinking.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews