Perilous Ping

by William J. Jackson

In the early years of the Twentieth Century, the Sky War is the end of civilization. The Second Reich destroys armies both human and paranormal. Millions die, while millions more toil under the Machine.
One lone man, a fighter, is bent to their will. What will happen when he breaks? What will happen when Lan Ping must become the hero he never wanted to be?

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2015

About the author

Wanderer and writer, daydreamer and birdwatcher. William J. Jackson grew up poor, remained poor, but imagined richly and lavishly. He became fascinated with the past, and with nature, and these things inform his writing. An introvert,he finds people intriguing and odd, like himself.

Reviews

[Clay Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting male version of a X-Man Storm character.

[Norma · Rating 3 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"Am I now an abomination?."

I have very much enjoyed previous stories by William J Jackson in his Railroad City series so was thrilled to be freely gifted with a complimentary copy of the new audiobook, Perilous Ping, at my request, by the rights holder. Sadly, the narration was so poorly presented, a slightly echoing background, near monosyllabic individually offered words, dreary on the ear and of depressive timbre, that although I was able to understand the words, even sentences, I was unable to hold them together to make sense. So I now have obtained an ebook copy.
The rating is given on the expectation of the story being far superior to the overall impression.

A second review will follow.

[David Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of Perilous Ping is based on the audiobook version. This is a short story centered around Lan Ping and his experiences as a Nazi prisoner, and while it is a short story it is action packed and provides an excellent origin story of Ping’s background and evolution. The story itself is very solid and very enjoyable, the narration however left me wishing I had opted to simply read it as I felt Jessica Ruiz’s narration was not up to the level of the story. Her hesitance at the pronunciation of many of the words/terms really broke the flow of the story.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Exciting Retropunk Adventure

The army of the Second Reich fighting in Southeast Asia captures a man named Ping. His hands are ruined and they graft on new, mechanical hands. Little do the Germans know, but they have given Ping his most powerful weapons.

This is an exciting superhero tale set in an intriguing past that never was. Although short, I thought the story was well told and the pacing suited the storyline.