We All Died at Breakaway Station

by Richard C. Meredith

When race survival teetered in the balance...

Captain Absolom Bracer, with an artificial brainpan and synthetic eyes. Astrogation officer Gene O'Gwynn, a lady with a plastic face. Weapons officer Akin Darby and Communications officer Miss Cyanta, both with assorted prosthetic parts.

These were the officers of the Iwo Jima, one of the two heavy battle-cruiser starships protecting the vast cumbersome Rudolph Cragston, a hospital ship returning to Earth with thousands of wounded in cold sleep.

These brutally injured officers had been restored to temporary, artificial life to do this job because no intact man or woman could be spared from the main conflict.

But then Breakaway Station, a vital link with Earth, was suddenly threatened..

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Aliens, Space Opera

244 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Richard Carlton Meredith was an American writer, illustrator and graphic designer, best known as the author of science fiction short stories and novels including "We All Died at Breakaway Station" and The Timeliner Trilogy.

Meredith's works give unfamiliar twists to many familiar SF themes: A human Galactic empire and its struggle with a non-human rival (We All Died at Breakaway Station) or with independence-seeking human subjects (The Sky Is Filled with Ships); a theocratic dictatorship, nuclear and biological warfare, and the effort to change history by time travel (Run, Come See Jerusalem!); or the "sidewise" travel into alternate histories and the struggle for control over a multitude of divergent timelines (The Timeliner Trilogy).

Meredith's protagonists tend to be highly motivated and devoted people, wholeheartedly taking up Earth- or Universe-shaking causes to which they give their all - and often discovering that they had been duped into serving an evil cause, or that an action taken with the best of intentions actually makes a bad situation worse. A reader opening a Meredith book can by no means count on a happy ending - indeed, some of the books can be classed as dystopias.

In the preface to Breakaway Station, before the reader had yet met the protagonists, Meredith already tells that all of them would eventually die heroic deaths comparable to those of Leonidas and his three hundred at the Battle of Thermopylae — and indeed, the book duly comes to precisely that ending.

Meredith died unexpectedly on 8 March 1979, aged only 41, following a stroke brought on by a brain hemorrhage.He was survived by his wife and four children.

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Prepare all weapons systems.”

We All Died At Breakaway Station was selected for the Venture Science Fiction series (an imprint of Arrow Books, not to be mistaken for the magazine of the same name) that was published in the 1980s. The series also featured books like Cross The Stars and Hammer's Slammers by David Drake, who (apparently) was himself a fan of the novel.

Despite its actual first publication date (the novel is from 1969, but it seems that portions of it were serialized even earlier), I can’t really say that this reads like Vietnam allegory, although some aspects were likely (inevitably?) influenced by the then ongoing war. It has actually aged quite well (with one exception, which I will get to a bit later).

The author manages to create a harrowing sense of inevitability. This is, frankly, one of the tensest books I have read in a good while. It is quite clear from the opening chapter, and the title, that we are dealing with a “last stand” scenario. It’s the way the author sets it up that is fascinating. There are a lot of other things going on all the while, outside of the sphere of influence of the main characters, and yet directly related to their decision to stay and fight. The long build up to the story’s climax never gets bogged down, because of the parallel skirmishes and machinations being described.

at this point I have to give a bit of a synopsis, since the premise of the book is what caught my attention

In this future, technology is such that humans can be rebuilt / regrown if they are rescued and placed in “cold storage” (hibernation) quickly enough after being killed. There is a catch though: this can only happen on Earth, and the military action takes place in a star cluster a good 40 light years away. Somewhere in between is Breakaway Station, a critical communications relay station, that has recently seen off an enemy raid, but taken heavy losses. A hospital ship with a large number of cold stored “dead and dying” being shipped back to Earth, along with its escort (two heavily damaged battle cruisers that are heading back for repairs), make a stop over at Breakaway Station to collect the bodies of the injured (and the “dead”) and take them home. The skeleton crews of these ships are a bunch of people literally cobbled together (cybernetics?) just to be able to survive and perform the basic shipboard functions. It’s not what you think, though. For example: one character is basically a head on top of a life support cylinder that is moved around on treads; it’s a gallery of grotesqueries, if you will. In a gut-wrenching twist of fate, they arrive only to find that the station’s relief ships have been ambushed and that the enemy is returning, in force. Thing is: The Station has to be held at all cost, since there is a vital message that Earth is expecting, that could turn the tide of the war.

That, then, is the premise of the story, in a nutshell. You always know how this is going to end, but the author has you hoping against hope for something, anything…

I thought that We All Died At Breakaway Station was a bit of a gem. It’s one of those forgotten books, that is actually quite enjoyable (if a bit harrowing). I often trawl second hand stores for exactly this kind of thing, and this one was well worth my while.

Now, that exception that I mentioned earlier: it seems that the author was a bit preoccupied with 60’s counter culture. Everybody in this novel is preoccupied with hallucinogens drugs and sex (on duty, off duty, doesn’t matter). It’s (arguably) not so bad that it really detracts from the reading experience, but at times it almost amounts to a bunch of spaced out, stressed out, hippies having sex while the world goes to pot around them.

All in all, though, still recommended for fans of Sci-Fi (especially Military Sci-Fi) who appreciate the old school stuff.

Those stars, all those stars, he thought. God, give me courage.

[Ira (SF Words of Wonder) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my full, spoiler free, video review HERE. Military space opera with great ideas and concepts. The first half of this novel had me hooked with the unique writing style, interesting characters and a desperate tone. Parts in the second half weren’t as good, some of the writing felt dated, especially some of the interpersonal relationships scenes. Overall, a great, fast paced, easy to read novel.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

All power to shields! Cycle the phaser banks and arm the torpedos! Position the redshirts in front of the soon-to-explode bridge consoles!

Who doesn’t love a good space battle? Missiles zinging around, energy weapons bouncing off forcefields, control panels exploding in showers of sparks while redshirts tumble to the floor - there’s a long tradition in SF of pew-pew, she-canna-take-any-more ship combat.

Richard C. Meredith’s We all Died at Breakaway Station fits into this tradition well - a military SF story packed with nail-biting space warfare that ranks among the better stories in the subgenre.

Humanity is engaged in a brutal war with a species known as the Jillies. While once the Jillies seemed happy to co-exist with humanity they have now, for unknown reasons, embarked on a genocidal war against us. They are nuking colonies, ambushing convoys - all the usual stuff - and humanity is pushed to our limit to both fight them back and maintain communications lines with Earth’s far distant colonies.

Which is where Breakaway station comes in. Breakaway is an essential link in a light-years long chain of relay stations that allow for FTL communication between Earth and her threatened colony worlds. Breakaway has already been attacked once, and if it is destroyed it will take years to rebuild the network Earth relies on to protect itself. With the threat of another attack looming two damaged warships and a hospital vessel dock at the damaged station, where they must decide whether they will continue on to Earth or stay and defend the relay at the almost certain cost of their lives.

So far, so unexceptional. From this synopsis you wouldn’t expect anything interesting - another backs-to-the-wall, die-for-the-cause retelling of Leonidas’ last stand with his 300 Spartans, except in space and with lasers.

However, We all Died at Breakaway Station rises above the bog-standard military SF that infests its genre, and takes a unique tack that makes it a rather thoughtful read.

Every single person onboard the three ships arriving at Breakaway already died once at the hands of the Jillies. They are each a sad mess of flesh, metal and plastic, every one of them having been revived after horrific battlefield deaths and cobbled back together with whatever technology was to hand.

The Leader of the three vessels – Captain Absolom Bracer - is a head and shoulders atop a treaded tank, one arm, both his eyes and both his legs gone, his vestigial body wracked with ghost pains, his mind tormented by desires he cannot act on and memories of being killed.
Each of these maimed and mutilated soldiers knows that if they get back to earth they can be healed, given new bodies free from pain and injury.

They have no orders to make a stand at Breakaway, they know they could leave the station to its fate, that no-one could ask them to die a second time for the cause, but they also know that without them the station will fall, and the colonies will be lost.

This is Leonidas and the 300 in space, if Leonidas was missing his legs, and all his men were nursing crippling wounds and horrific PTSD. I found it to be a gripping, breakneck read.

That’s not to say it’s perfect. There are a few odd and hilarious temporal markers in We all Died at Breakaway Station. This book was written in 1969, and the sexual mores of the time have been amusingly extrapolated into a future where everyone seems to be sex and drug obsessed (This was noted by Dirk Grobbelaar in his great review- the review that interested me in this book).

Seriously, give anyone in Meredith’s universe five minutes of spare time and they’re simultaneously stuffing a crack pipe while tearing off their undergarments.

Furthermore, like a lot of old SF, smoking is still a thing, and everyone in this book lights up everywhere. They puff cigars in bed, suck on cigarettes whenever they feel like it and just generally smog the place up – I kept imaging their starships as 1970's commercial airliners, filled with brown-suited, bearded men sitting under a dense cloud of tobacco smoke.

Other than those minor quibbles this is a great read, and it has a different flavor to the usual guts-n-glory military SF out there. Don’t expect any happy resolutions though - as the title suggest, this is not a story with a happy ending. Almost every character we meet is going to die, the only questions left unanswered being the manner of their death and whether their sacrifice was worth it.

Four last-ditch, final-stand stars.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.4⭐ (Rounded down)

Late 60's (1969) military space opera, complete with sex, drugs and a Vietnam era vibe. Humanity is locked in a genocidal war with aliens whose motives are unknowable. Sent on a mission to escort a hospital ship back to Earth, Captain Absolom Bracer must defend Breakaway Station, a vital communications link, just as a crucial message is being transmitted. Thing is though, Bracer's ships are shot up hulks, as are his mostly cyborg crews- on their way back to Earth to be turned into humans again. An interesting idea for it's time, though fairly well worn by todays standards. The story is stylistically reminiscent of Norman Spinarad's work, especially 'Void Captain's Tale', although Meredith's book came first. A mostly entertaining, albeit dated novel (particularly in its portrayal of women); for those appreciative of the genre. Meredith was considered an innovative author in the 60's and 70's, though now largely forgotten. He died at a relatively young age- it would have been interesting to see how his writing might have evolved.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways the title says it all. I found this books recently for 50 cents, and I remember wanting to check it out from the library decades ago, but my older brother wouldn’t let me. Digression-my brother would tell our parents he was taking me to the library, and to do his homework. The reality of it was I his cover for seeing his girlfriend (end of digression).

I am not a huge fan of military science fiction, and what makes this book work, in so many ways is that it is not about endless battles (in space or on the ground). The story is about the toll a war, that humanity did not want, takes on people. The crew of the three ships stopping at Breakaway Station are comprised of men and women who have died, and been revived, or died, been revived and pieced together with various artificial organs. Bracer, the Iwo Jima’s captain, is missing the lower half of his body, his eyes, and one arm. Maxel the first officer has multiple artificial organs, the captain of the medical transport ship is missing most her face, and she has 20K in cryogenic sleep on his ship.

Breakaway Station is the last communications outpost between the colonies and Earth. If it falls, there will be no communication, and the one intelligence mission taking place in enemy territory that could save Earth and the colonies has information that needs to go through Breakaway Station.

Suffice to say the station ends up attacked (and that doesn’t happen until roughly the last 40 pages of the book). Before then we have Bracer musing about the war’s cost to himself and his crew. These three ships held together by spit and bailing wire are supposed to go to Earth for the crews and the cold sleep patients to receive medical attention. Instead Bracer makes the decision to stay, and to ask the crews of all three ships to be willing to sacrifice more of themselves. All of this to insure Breakaway Stations stays operational long enough to transmit the information to Earth when it comes, because the station was already nearly destroyed in one attack. And, like the Alamo and Thermopyale there is no way the ships or the station will survive the next attack.

The book was written in 1969, and perhaps in some ways it is dated. There are passing sections that refer how Earth morals towards marriage, sex and drugs have changed. The discussions between Bracer and Roger, the ship’s organic computer, and Maxel about sacrifice and what has become of their lives worked for me. In addition, the book, which does not break 250 pages, would be 800 pages in 2010. The author takes us to three colony worlds, a captain of small colonial ship, a scout ship commander, and the personnel on Breakaway station. In thinking about Revelation Space while reading this I was reminded of the old saying, less is more. I got more character and story from Meredith than I do from Reynolds.

When Meredith tries to apply science, FTL and how the communications are set and why they necessary, the internal logic is consistent. The science is not perfect, but the consistent internal logic is not always found with some science fiction authors.

As to the Jillies, the aliens who want to kill humans, Meredith does his best to create truly alien aliens. While he might not have completely succeeded on the physical end, he did a better job than most on the psychological end.

A worthwhile expenditure of my reading time.

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways, this could be a knockoff of Joe Haldeman's (deservedly) Hugo-winning fixup novel _The Forever War_: a seemingly endless war with incomprehensible and implacable aliens bent on destroying the human race, draftees who cannot get away for the duration, horrific injuries...

...except, you see, that this book was published a couple of years _before_ Haldeman's, or even the story "Hero" that opens it.

It is also more brutal than _The Forever War_. In Haldeman's book, there is a way out: death. In Meredith's, that won't excuse you from your duty. Robots pack the dead and mortally-injured into cold-sleep pods. Back on Earth, they can be restored to full function by regrowing their bodies, however badly damaged, so long as the brain remains intact and has not deteriorated too much (thus the importance of cold sleep). Furthermore, the Jillies are known to take captives, and vivisect them, for reasons unknown. As I said: Brutal.

Unfortunately for the crews of the three ships at the core of this volume, they died in battle far from Earth, and the restorative technologies thereof. Less-advanced technologies have made of them cyborgs. Absolom Bracer, the Captain of the _Iwo Jima_, for example, has a metallic cylinder on wheels where once his legs and lower torso were; an artifical brainpan; and plastic, prosthetic eyes. He can eat, drink, and smoke (this book is full of smoking), but his artificial intestines won't tolerate alcohol. One of the medics who cyborged him thought it a fine joke to give him two bottles of Napoleon brandy. And the nerves that were connected to the missing parts hurt all the time.

Two broken-down battle-cruisers, the _Iwo Jima_ and the _Pharsalus_, hae been given the task of escorting the hospital ship _Rudolph Cragstone_, with its cargo of tens of thousands of cold-sleeping wounded and dead, back to Earth. All three ships are crewed by cyborged wounded.

(As a side note, the term "cyborg" never appears in the book; I'm using it for convenience.)

Interstellar travel is real, but takes time. Fortunately, there is a means of instantaneous interstellar communication.

Unfortunately, it involves tight lasers beaming between the two worlds involved; some kind of subspace modulation or some such Nyquistic nonsense. Breakaway Station is a vital link in the chain of planets connecting Earth with Adrianopolis, the inhabited world near the battle front, and the command station for the war. Before the hospital convoy, a group of warships was sent to reinforce Breakaway, and when _Iwo Jima_ and the other two ships arrive there, they find that the station has barely fought off an attack by the Jillies (the aliens) and is deeply vulnerable to another attack.

Meanwhile, in Jillie space, Admiral Mothershed has found the home system of the Jillies. A devastating strike is possible, if the message can be gotten back to Earth, where a vast battlefleet is being readied. Mothershed's fleet is attacked by Jillies, and a second major plot involves their desparate attempts to return to Adrianopolis with their desperately important message.

Support ships have been sent from Earth to Breakaway, but will take several days to arrive.

Bracer and his fellow captains decide that they must stay and defend Breakaway until the support ships get there so that Mothershed's message, when it arrives, can get through to Earth.

I don't think much of spoilers for fifty-three year old books, and anyway, the title (and the prologue) give it away: they will all die, most of them permanently, buying Breakaway Station the time it needs to receive Mothershed's message and relay it along Earthward.

The book features a _lot_ of characters, not only in the two major plots, but in vignettes that illustrate life and death around human space. The tension starts high and ratchets up to nearly unbearable, relieved only by the knowledge that we know how it ends.

The writing is fairly typical for 1969: functional but not decorative; the characters surprisingly well developed, considering how many of them are crammed into two hundred forty-four pages (which, come to think of it, is unusually long for a 1960s SF original paperback), and the plotting taut, everything (except some of the vignettes) leading up to the one battle the entire book leads up to.

All in all I am very impressed. I shall look for more by Meredith in the used bookshops.

[Maura Heaphy Dutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A blast from the past, picked up because I was intrigued by the "SPOILER ALERT" title, and the whole central concept: during a war which is going very badly for humankind, against an adversary so very alien that no one is even very sure how they provoked it, three space ships are limping home to Earth, staffed by officers and crew wounded so badly that they technically died and have been reanimated as quasi-cyborgs. And just as these walking wounded are in a position to take themselves off to relative safety, they realize that they are the only thing that stands between those implacable aliens and Breakaway Station, the last surviving link between Earth and its colonies. No surprises, then: this is not going to end well ...

Whew!! Good stuff, eh? Well, yes -- it would have been, perhaps, in the hands of an Iain M. Banks, a Joe Haldeman, an Ann Leckie, a James S.A. Corey -- someone who would have nailed the existential horror of men and women awakened from their own deaths to find that they were little more than robots -- albeit robots who were still suffering agonies from their phantom limbs and hideous burns, but were denied painkillers because it might lessen their alertness. An author who could, perhaps, have managed to convey the desperate fear of living with their memories, and coping with their current plight, without resorting, every third paragraph or so, to repeating S/he was very, very afraid. Someone, dare I say it, with more of a lighter touch, who could have seen the absurdity of a crew of Robbie the Robots, clanking metal contraptions and featureless plastic-egg faces, wheeling around the bridge on juddering caterpillar treads ... I would pay good money to see what China Mieville would have done with this ...

But ... it could have been worse. It was a page-turner, although (short as it is), by the end, I wanted him to forget the parts with random Plucky Individuals facing the alien Jillies on other earth bases, and just get on with it Based on a couple of the other reviews I skimmed, I was bracing myself for seriously Neanderthal attitudes to the female characters and, yes, Meredith did seem to honestly believe that, in the face of the utter genocide of the human race, the only thing a red-blooded girl (note: NOT "woman," never woman) would be interested in would be getting her guy's ring on her finger, and offering him a last chance to bump uglies, as hoardes of Jillies were boarding through the airlocks, or the neutron bombs were falling around them. Sheesh.

Yes, the humans call the aliens "Jillies." Just ponder THAT for a moment. Alien creatures, with a completely different anatomy, who seem to be able to communicate among themselves telepathically, but unintelligibly to normal, red-blooded Humans. Whose intentions and motivations are a complete mystery ... Sheesh.

But I enjoyed it, and I would definitely recommend it as a historical oddity. An interesting stop on the SF road that would eventually lead to Iain M. Banks, Joe Haldeman, Ann Leckie, James S.A. Corey and even China Mieville -- to his credit, Meredith clearly understood that space opera could tell an important, moving story about human resilience and sacrifice, and if he was still stuck in the attitudes of his time, that doesn't entirely diminish it as a worthy effort.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t remember when I first heard about this book, as it was years ago, but the title was what made me want to read it. The title is so intriguing. I love interesting titles.

This book is a testament to classic sci-fi, in that it shows what the genre was capable of in terms of evocative descriptions, resonance, and concept, with only a bit of problematic stuff (enough that you can ignore it as “time period cringe”). I loved this book.

This book has a fantastic prologue, that, while being an info dump, sets the tone wonderfully and ends with this line: “Don’t ask me who I am, how I know. We all died at breakaway station.” The last line of the book was also very strong and impactful. It’s a well-written novel.

If you like galactic war last stand against the enemy type space opera, this one is fantastic. It’s like Armada, but if Armada had aliens that were actually fleshed out (sorry, Armada) and characters that were less Top Gun and more The Road. The characters in this novel aren’t particularly deep, as the cast is quite large, but they are distinctive and interesting for the most part. Some are likable, such as Bracer and Sheila, and others, like Hybeck, are not. While most of the characters are white, there is an attempt to include people of color in non-stereotypical or sacrificial roles, which was great to see in a book from the 60s. We also have women in active military roles, and whose actions drive the plot, which was awesome.

The fascinating thing about the novel is that the main crew, of the three ships (the thematically named!) Iwo Jima, Pharsalus, and Rudolph Cragstone, are all reanimated humans who had died in previous battles. The novel dips a bit into abelism, though to be fair to Bracer, he’s literally half a head, some arms, and a torso stuck on a weird cylindrical cart, so I think he can gripe a bit about what he’s lost. He does mope about it a lot, which I could have done with less of (but it did help cement the tone).

There are some other interesting minor characters, one of which was just plain bonkers the Jillieman! Did not see that whole sub-plot coming! though the novel does suffer from too many characters at times. They all tie in to climax but I think we could have cut Hybeck and there is a part at the end with what is essentially rape that was unnecessary (though it does cause near-destruction, so perhaps that was the point?).

The aliens in this are definitely not ones you could see included in a sexy alien romance book. They’re gross, murderous, ugly bastards. They enjoy vivisecting humans and fall under the “evil aliens trying to wipe us out” trope. Yet, this is not a “rah rah humans coming together” story, but a story of sacrifice, of honor, of resilience in the face of death. It’s bursting with an emotional intensity that you rarely see in this genre.

Overall, while it has a few issues (convenience of events, some male gazes scenes, and the author not understanding what "bisexual" is), it was an utterly entrancing, addictive read that I highly recommend if you want a serious classic sci-fi.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

We All Died at Breakaway Station by Richard C. Meredith


Richard C. Meredith is primarily known for his "Timeliners" trilogy, which hit science fiction like a meteorite in the mid-seventies. Unfortunately, Meredith died at the early age of 41 in 1979 with his best writing years ahead of him.

This book was written in the late 1960s and is absolutely first rate Space Opera that goes a step farther.

In the book, mankind has expanded into the universe around Earth. Travel is difficult because Faster than Light (FTL) travel is slow, awkward and inefficient. On the other hand, FTL communication is very efficient and a string to stations keep the further reaches of human space connected.

These stations provide an edge against the alien Jillies who have decided to exterminate humanity. Meredith does a great job with Jilly psychology. Jillies are very different from humans and their psychology is completely alien, and includes a casual attitude to vivisection.

Humanity has also perfected its medical arts and can restore the dead to life in many cases.

Captain Absalom Bracer was dead. He has been revived and has been given the task of conveying a hospital ship filled with dead in "cold sleep" back to Earth where they can be revived and treated. His battlecruiser is accompanied by another cruiser. Both cruisers are the end of their useful lives. The crews are manned by the formerly dead who have had body parts horrifically replaced by ad hoc structures that serve as eyes, stomaches, legs, arms, etc. They need to get to Earth to get repaired.

They arrive at Breakaway Station, one of the stations on the human's FTL communication line. The station has been nearly wiped out. One more Jilly attack and it will be gone, blowing a hole in the FTL chain. Admiral Mothershed is heading home with war-changing information about the location of the Jilly homeworld.

You are the captain of a small flotilla that can't possibly stand up to a Jilly assault. You and your men have already died. They've come back missing significant parts.

What do you do?

I found myself empathizing with Bracer and his crew. This is a story about heroism, which is a nice change from what stories are about today.

Mostly, I found myself regretting Meredith's early death.

[Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Past: I bought this book when I was in junior high some forty odd years ago. I really thought it was a good book and it caught my imagination. I remember loaning the book to my friend and never getting it back....

The Present: Some twenty eight years later I bought the book through Amazon.com. It still read fresh and clear now as it did some thirty years ago. It was in my book collection that I took to Iraq.

To some this book might be cheesy but Meredith does a good job hitting the psychology of command and leadership both in Bracer, his fellow captains and the chain of command who must do what they must do in order to win. His science, though thin, works well and it does represent a theory about how FTL would work. His battles are close, brutal affairs which reflects the thought that with all the technology available both sides resorts to methods that at best are one level above the stone age. No fancy footwork here, very straight forward, very believeable.

Merediths comments on society reflect the age he lived in. Having grown up in those times, his representation is true to the mark on how some thought society, primarily western society was evolving too.

My only disagreement with the above post is that I have read the REVELATION SPACE series. Comparing both books is not a good comparison. Reynolds works in science. For his future must work the science must work in order for the plot to evolve. Meredith is a writer who uses the science to frame the story. That being said I did enjoy reading all of the REVELATION SPACE series.

Again a WE ALL DIED AT BREAKAWAY STATION is a worthwhile book and while I am at it may I recommend THE SKY IS FILLED WITH SHIPS.


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[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard C. Meredith was an American writer, illustrator, and graphic designer, best known as the author of science fiction short stories and novels including We All Died at Breakaway Station and The "Timeliner Trilogy". Tragically he died unexpectedly on March 8, 1979, aged only 41, following a stroke brought on by a brain hemorrhage.
We All Died At Breakaway Station is a very dark Military Science Fiction novel about a war between Mankind and an alien enemy known as the Jillies. The Jillies are bent on the total destruction of Mankind and their motives for this are unknown and all attempts at negotiation are rebuffed. The war has been going badly and two ships captained and crewed by severely injured men and women, some of who actually died and were revived, is escorting a hospital ship full of injured men and women to Earth so they can be restored to health and returned to fight in the war. At Breakaway Station they stop to pick up even more injured personnel when they learn that the Jillies recently attacked there and are likely to return and finish destroying the station. Without Breakaway Station communication between Earth and the war front will be lost and will mean defeat and ultimately the destruction of Mankind. Captain Absolom Bracer decides to take his crippled ships and brutally injured crew and defend Breakaway Station even though it may mean he and his crew will all die for a second time.
This book was written in 1969 but stands the test of time very well. This book is one of the best military Science Fiction books from its time period. It is very dark and clearly imparts the message that war is ugly.
Note: Some readers might be offended by the male characters attude toward their female counterparts which is mostly as sex objects. It would be unacceptable in modern writting but was very common in books from this time period. This book does have some graphic sex scences.

[Shane · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are interesting ideas here but it's mostly ruined by the 1960s worldview that turns all female characters into things for the great men to have sex with as a side-business to being big damn heroes. I don't think it's the book's intended theme, but given how much sex there is in that vein and how pathetic every single female character is, that comes across as one of the main themes. It happens again and again. Painful.

Otherwise, it's a mediocre but enjoyable bit of space opera. The aliens are nicely alien. There's some nice spaceship pewpew, and appropriately high stakes. Far too many different points of view though. Some of them added absolutely nothing. The premise of half-dead soldiers commanding a battleship is a good one, but the characters are basically flat.

[Gregoire · Rating 5 out of 5]

à classer dans la catégorie "classique" écrit en 1969, cette histoire condense les aspects psychologiques sur les conséquences des actes de guerre sur la psyché des soldats et les motivations qui les poussent jusqu'au sacrifice final "it wasn't the fear that made you a coward, it was what you did about it" De beaux portraits de "héros ordinaires"

nota : pourquoi suis-je passé à côté depuis que je lis de la SF ? Ce livre mérite d'être lu et relu Voila bien longtemps qu'une histoire de SF ne m'a pas autant interpellé...

[N. M. D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man with artifical organs inside a fabricated chest. A woman with eyes but no face. A man who's just a head mounted to a gray sphere. And a captain whose lower body is a cylinder, eyes are cameras, upper-head is plastic. This is the crew of the starship Iwo Jima, brought back from the dead to help guide a hospital ship home. But those plans change when the communication link to all colonized planets is threatened.

The words 'military SF' have consistently repeled me. I hate anything having to do with war. So it was a big surprise when the battle stuff and tech jargon ended up being the best parts. What I didn't care for was the very 60s focus on casual sex, hallucinogenic drug use, and a brief scoff at peace&love. The book loses credit for its female characters, most of which are sex objects. The soldiers are sympathetic and the hippies and youths making bad decisions are not. The aliens are thinly-veiled communists and are fully the aggressors. Though it acknowledges the horrors of war, it also glorifies it. It is good and honorable to be brave in the face of fear and to fight and die for the cause.

Another irksome problem was the narrator of the story. For the most part, it's written in multi-POV third person. Perfectly fine. But for some weird reason it starts with a mysterious narrator who occasionally reminds you of their existence, despite it being impossible for one character to be in all these characters' heads. One chapter is from the perspective of someone right before he's nuked. Another features two characters who meet nasty ends. Pretty sure none of them wrote down a journal entry beforehand.

I don't mean to make it sound like this was bad. It wasn't. I haven't read much from the 60s, but it seems very technically knowledgeable for its time. The prose is straightforward but engaging. The basic idea of reassembled cyborg corpses having to fight and die again is pretty great. The characters vary in quality and necessity, but Captain Absolom Bracer (great name), who feels inhuman and is in constant agony, is impossible not to feel for. He is, by far, the most likable character. Most of the (many, many) others simply don't get enough time.

[Alfred Ding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting premise. Something that I cannot say I have encountered before or since. Characters are reasonably well written and the story works as a whole. Not for people who are easily disgusted.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of the Meredith books. He wrote seven novels in is short career from 1969 to 1979 when he passed away. When I first discovered Richard C. Meredith I was only fifteen years old. I was given a copy of the Timeliner Trilogy, by my high school English teacher. Little did I know that more than twenty years later I would be so involved with Meredith’s work. “We All Died At Breakaway Station”, his second published book originally appeared in a much shorter form in AMAZING magazine in 1968. The published in 1969 in the form you are about to read. Breakaway Station stands out among Meredith readers as his best. Joy Meredith has called it his breakout book, and after reading it, I completely share that sentiment. By todays Sci/Fi savvy standards, there are many elements in its pages that are now fairly common in terms of the technology and scientific principles, that the public has grown accustom to. It is the story of Breakaway Station that keeps it topical, entertaining, and continues to show that Richard C. Meredith was on the verge of becoming one of the most influential writers of speculative fiction of our time. Meredith passed away in 1979. Now in 2012, I am proud be a part of a well overdue reprinting of what I am sure you will find to be, a remarkable and moving novel of adventure, strength, hope, selflessness, valor, frailty, and most of all… Humanity.

[Bill Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This OF (Old Fart :-) originally read Beakaway Station MANY years (decades) ago. I keep Breakaway on my Sci-Fi “FAVORITES SHELF” and have, well… forever. About every 5 years, or so, I will have forgotten enough of the details to make a re-read very enjoyable.

This is Military Sci-Fi. Very tense! Somewhat sorrowful. Heroic battle to-the-end to save a vital comm link (Breakaway Station) between Earth and a far-off star system that is in a brutal war. A most important message must get through to Earth that might change the outcome of the war. Breakaway Station MUST repel a second enemy attack to keep the comm link open. NO. MATTER. WHAT.

And there is a whole bunch-a “WHAT” happening.

The medically cobbled-together walking (?) wounded manning the broken battle cruisers protecting Breakaway Station, are tasked to keep Breakaway on-the-air so that must-have message to Earth can get through!

Did I mention this novel is TENSE? Yup. Believe that. It kept my heart thumping throughout. Really well written “old-school” military Sci-Fi, only very slightly dated.

Wish I could find a hard copy of this (if such even exists) to upgrade my library copy.

(Dec 2025 add…) Take a look on eBay at the prices being asked for this paperback!! Yikes!! Must not be just me that thinks this is a thrilling read.

5 stars.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is some bleak - I refer you to the title - no-nonsense, imaginative scifi with a strong undercurrent of body horror.



There are amazing images: the appalling situation of the reanimated, patched-together crew is vivid and memorable. The inevitable space battles are just sciencey enough and evoke the setting with admirable tension.



The writing can be tough going. The sexual politics are a bit retro at times, 'he wondered why she was crying, but then women were like that' or words to that effect. Compensating that, the recognition of sexuality (of all kinds) is realised to good effect. No nerdy sexless tech-masturbation here; though cast into unimaginable scenarios, humans have recognisably earthy drives.



It's no Forever War or Starship Troopers, but I find it impossible to imagine Iain Banks or his peers writing any scifi without the influence of this book.

[Christopher Mocella · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's something about science fiction written during the 50s and 60s... they didn't have any of the scope of modern technology, just a romantic view of it, ideas of computers and space travel and whatnot. So they had all of these far-reaching concepts, but only concepts, and fills in the details with their imaginations.. Modern sci-fi often tries too hard with actual technological science, or just forgoes it altogether.

This could be considered run-of-the-mill science fiction from the golden years: some indeterminate future timeframe, humans have spread out to the starts, there's an enemy we're fighting in a brutal war, etc, etc. I was more curious about how future humans were perceived by a writer in the 60s. The "free love" facets were very interesting, given the time that the author wrote the book. There's evidently LOTS of free love in the future.

Not a hard read, not unlikeable, not overly likeable, just some decent sci-fi from a decent author.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite space adventure/science fiction novels.
Mankind has expanded thru the universe until we hit an almost-unbeatable foe. After hundreds of years, mankind is on the run, back toward earth, fighting a delaying action against the invaders. Losses are so heavy that medical science has learned how to re-kindle even the smallest spark of life. What would ordinarily be fatal injuries are fixed up and the people sent back into the battle...some without legs, some without stomachs or arms or eyes...you get the idea.
The line I'll remember forever, is when one character asks another "What could be worse than dying? The answer is dying twice.

[Mike Futcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic space-opera is a hard sell, often being rather clumsy, outdated and downright uncool, but Richard C. Meredith's We All Died at Breakaway Station has aged better than most. It has one of the best titles (and prologues) I've ever come across, and its story is compelling. A ragtag collection of resurrected battlefield soldiers must defend, Thermopylae-like, a lonely outpost in space which has been threatened by a fleet of alien warships. The story can sometimes be rather slouchy; shallow in its characterisation and less than clear in the finer details of its plot, but like its soldier protagonists it manages to hold it together. Against all odds, this is a respectable showing.

[David Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual short novel, set in the future where mankind is fighting a massive war against an alien species set on annihilating mankind. Death isn't so final, our heroes have been reanimated and are en route to earth to have their bodies properly fixed.
Reanimation has taken its toll on the crew with some being quite understandably distressed at the situation.
The story is set near a midway point station where the enemy are planning to attack.

All in all, a nice we short story. This could have been a nice wee series or even a TV movie.

[Robert Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Falls victim to the early Sci-fi pitfall of great ideas, premise and pseudo science to set the scene andddd them some lackluster writing at times. Somewhat dated in its almost compulsory scenes of free love and drug abuse sprinkled throughout. Interesting to note that a portrait of faster than speed of light travel and bringing the dead back to life is dated by the culture of the 60's the pervades its human interactions.

All that said, a really solid (probably visionary based on the 60's publication) military sci-fi story. Heroes are made.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all a pretty good book. I really enjoyed reading it. Though it has a pretty bleak outlook it's overall a story of sacrifice for the greater good. Some parts were a bit much, there were some sex scenes that weren't needed. Not that I don't like sex scenes, but they didn't always further the plot and felt like they were thrown in just to add sex. Still, overall I'd suggest it if you can find a copy.

[John Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing - great title and a number of good reviews had me searching for this for some time. It's a nice premise: humanity in a war with a completely alien and likely superior enemy, and dead and horribly mutilated soldiers have been reanimated and rebuilt for a last stand at a distant outpost. If it were Silverberg or any number of the better sf writers could have been something special. As it is, it's standard issue writing with way too many exclamation points.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in the late 70's. Still trying to get a copy (again) So I can read it again. My memeory is that I loved it. I could nver figure out why this was never made into a movie. I could have less of an opinion now but I do not think so. Good characters , good story Humans at war in the future againist an alien race . This is good entertainment

[Alan Strickland · Rating 4 out of 5]

The science dates this book but an atmosphere of dread and well realised aliens save this book and make it very readable.

[Jaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and the characters still haunt me now.

[Darren Goossens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review from darrengoossens.wordpress.com.

This is an adventure SF novel from the late 60s.

The book contains some nice ideas, some good characters, and if you can overlook some clunky plotting, it's potentially quite dramatic. What I mean is, the plot hinges on some military tactical decisions that seem unlikely at best. The portrayal of women is ... interesting. The novel includes plenty of women who affect the outcome, plenty in positions of authority, plenty who are strong; and yet there's often a sense of women as objects and still looking to men when it comes to the crunch. It's odd.



The strength of the book is really in the desperation of the central characters. Earth is at war with the incomprehensible Jillies, who are known to have cut up live humans and who seem set on destroying humans despite there being plenty of room in the galaxy. So advanced is technology that people who have died can be reassembled -- as long as they are got into cold sleep soon enough.

So we have 3 starships, crewed by resurrected people who have been temporarily repaired, with mechanical parts replacing faces, legs, guts, whatever it was that killed them. All remember being killed, and want nothing more than to get back to Earth and get fixed up properly and forget. But then Breakaway Station is threatened. The station is a link in a communications chain that can deliver information to Earth -- information about the Jillies' home world -- that might turn the war around. And the Jillies are coming for it, and there's nobody to defend it but the 3 battered ships, crewed by the resurrected, haunted dead.

The stakes are high, the people are desperate, the odds are against them ... despite its flaws, this is an entertaining book, and better-than-average space opera. (And not as dated as some books of its age.) Meredith's career was cut short. He was still evolving as a writer at the time, and this is not a great book (though it is very good), but he might well have had a couple of great books in him. His Timeliner trilogy is worth a read.

He wrote some short fiction, but to my knowledge it has never been collected. There's a good task for some specialist publisher who can get hold of those old SF magazines!

Recommended if adventure SF is your thing

 

Thing

[Kevin Kuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earth has ventured out amongst the stars, establishing colonies connected by a series of relay posts to remain connected to Earth. One of these relay posts is Breakaway Station. Unfortunately, our expansion has also thrust us into conflict with aliens we have nicknamed the Jillies. The story orbits around Captain Absolom Bracer, commander of the Iowa Jima, a battered interstellar warship that is limping home from battles that have left the crew and the commander crippled and mutated. In fact, most of the survivors have been resurrected from death or near death and many live in constant pain and misery.

Richard C. Meredith published this in 1969, first as a two-part novella in Amazing Stories, then as an expanded novel by Ballantine Books. I read the Amazing Stories version. Early in my read, I suspected that this was written by someone who had some sort of military experience. Meredith described well the emotional toll of war. The characters are both physically and mentally shattered. I also feel he did well in imagining an alien species (the Jillies) that was bizarre and somewhat incomprehensible. While the horrors of war are not ignored, it is ultimately a tale of bravery in the face of insurmountable odds and sacrifice for the sake of hope. While I don’t read a great deal of military sci-fi, I did find this readable and intriguing.