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Friendly Fire
Hoping to find greater meaning in his life and escape his fate as a small-town coal miner, Axel Ridenhour enlists as a solider following the promise of adventure and glory.
Luck launches him into an extremely successful military career.
But as he experiences war firsthand, Axel soon finds out that the world isn’t as black and white as he’s been led to believe. He struggles to reconcile his part in what he comes to know as an incredibly corrupt government.
Eventually, Axel will have to make a choice between staying his course, or being the hero he’d always dreamed of.
Friendly Fire explores gray morality, forbidden romance, found family, and how one person could change not only their own life, but the world around them by taking a stand for what’s right.
Luck launches him into an extremely successful military career.
But as he experiences war firsthand, Axel soon finds out that the world isn’t as black and white as he’s been led to believe. He struggles to reconcile his part in what he comes to know as an incredibly corrupt government.
Eventually, Axel will have to make a choice between staying his course, or being the hero he’d always dreamed of.
Friendly Fire explores gray morality, forbidden romance, found family, and how one person could change not only their own life, but the world around them by taking a stand for what’s right.
192 pages, Paperback
Published June 9, 2025
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 19, 2025
I have a personal wariness of self-published books. Not that I don't think they're good and without merit, but it can be such a gamble of the level of quality, I find.
However, this was not the case here. I wasn't seeing major errors or choices or dialogue that made me think it needed serious editing.
But this was the kind of WWII pastiche that I love. I've always been pulled towards stories in that era and Zack does a great job of capturing the idea of that pastiche and era of Americana in a fictionalized way.
I think what struck me, is that, this book does some things I normally hate in books.The end feels almost a bit too clean, there's too much of a happily ever after to it, but it somehow didn't bother me. Maybe the prose was good enough that I could appreciate and just be happy for the characters. Maybe it was just enough realism sprinkled in (despot dying of old age rather than any justice) that I could accept it. but I just liked this book.
The fast-tracking through basic and the ranks was a bit much and I feel like we could have had him be in service a bit before getting pulled aside like he was.
But I honestly loved this book.
However, this was not the case here. I wasn't seeing major errors or choices or dialogue that made me think it needed serious editing.
But this was the kind of WWII pastiche that I love. I've always been pulled towards stories in that era and Zack does a great job of capturing the idea of that pastiche and era of Americana in a fictionalized way.
I think what struck me, is that, this book does some things I normally hate in books.The end feels almost a bit too clean, there's too much of a happily ever after to it, but it somehow didn't bother me. Maybe the prose was good enough that I could appreciate and just be happy for the characters. Maybe it was just enough realism sprinkled in (despot dying of old age rather than any justice) that I could accept it. but I just liked this book.
The fast-tracking through basic and the ranks was a bit much and I feel like we could have had him be in service a bit before getting pulled aside like he was.
But I honestly loved this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2025
This story is a slow build/burn slice of life that follows Axel Ridenhour from his start of life in the military to the end. While not one of my typical reads, it was still relatable, and Axel’s character development was well handled. I think the internal conflict is one of the driving forces of this story, with occasional external conflicts ramping up as the novel goes on. Overall I really enjoyed it! The characters felt different and unique from each other. The world definitely had a lot of relatable parallels to our own, with a hopeful ending. Hope is something I find myself craving these days.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews