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Judge Anderson: Rookie #4-6
Judge Anderson: Year Two
The story behind Mega-City One's most famous telepath and Judge Dredd partner, Judge Anderson, in her second year as a Judge! Follow-up to the cult sensation Judge Anderson Year One!
In years to come, Cassandra Anderson will be a living legend, Psi-Division s most famous Judge. But for now it’s 2101, and a young Judge Anderson is in her second year out of the Academy, the Eagle still gleaming on her shoulder. It’s time to put her training and her judgement to the test.
“My name is Judge Cassandra Anderson. And you will gruddamn call me that.”
A new case takes Anderson into a block overrun by gangs and ruled by a corrupt former celebrity... an assignment hunting down a revived cult partners her up with an old hero of the Division... and a routine call-out to a “futsie” attack puts her on the trail of a team of psychic murderers.
All in a day’s work for the future legend of Psi-Div!
In years to come, Cassandra Anderson will be a living legend, Psi-Division s most famous Judge. But for now it’s 2101, and a young Judge Anderson is in her second year out of the Academy, the Eagle still gleaming on her shoulder. It’s time to put her training and her judgement to the test.
“My name is Judge Cassandra Anderson. And you will gruddamn call me that.”
A new case takes Anderson into a block overrun by gangs and ruled by a corrupt former celebrity... an assignment hunting down a revived cult partners her up with an old hero of the Division... and a routine call-out to a “futsie” attack puts her on the trail of a team of psychic murderers.
All in a day’s work for the future legend of Psi-Div!
- GenresScience Fiction
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 17, 2019
7 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Danie Ware
59 books206 followersAuthor of the Ecko trilogy (CyberPunk/Fantasy mashup) and Children of Artifice (queer science fantasy). Writer of Sisters of Battle (and other things) for WarHammer 40k, Judge Anderson for Rebellion, Twilight Imperium for Aconyte Books, and numerous short stories.
Reader, writer, crusader geek, re-enactor (retired) and role-player. After seventeen years conjuring PR, events and social media for Forbidden Planet (London) Ltd, you can now find me in the Manga/GNs at Waterstones Piccadilly.
Follow me on most Social Media channels as @Danacea
Reader, writer, crusader geek, re-enactor (retired) and role-player. After seventeen years conjuring PR, events and social media for Forbidden Planet (London) Ltd, you can now find me in the Manga/GNs at Waterstones Piccadilly.
Follow me on most Social Media channels as @Danacea
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 12, 2024
3.5 stars
Years ago, Alex Worley’s first collection of Judge Anderson short stories justified that a side character from the fictional dystopian nightmare of Judge Dredd could in fact be compelling enough for her own narratives.
Since Judge Anderson: Year One was so compelling, it makes perfect sense that 2000 AD would commission another trio of short stories to further Anderson’s character and the time she spent growing as a psi-judge on the streets of Megacity 1.
The only issue is that while Worley wrote all 3 stories in the first volume, the 3 shorts penned in Judge Anderson: Year Two are from 3 separate authors which leads to a varying amount of divergence and lack of continuity across them.
Both Daniel Ware’s “Bigger than Biggs” and Laurel Sills’s “Devourer” are fun and fit perfectly amongst what I feel prose Judge Dredd stories should be. Both involve the zany/strange/satirical nature that makes this fictional universe unique and entertaining. “Devourer” is slightly more straightforward and approachable, leading it to edge out “Bigger than Biggs” slightly, however both do deserve a place in this collection.
It’s Zina Hutton’s “Fly Trap” that knocks this book’s ratings down a bit. It’s not necessarily a “bad” story by any means, but somewhere between its faux literary style (it’s first person, present tense), its story of poor downtrodden children of color, the white antagonist, and the very obvious mention of same sex couples, the woke agenda is pretty clear. The good news is that it’s not trying to beat readers over the head with a message but it doesn’t take a very fine toothed comb to see what Hutton is trying to do. And if that doesn’t make you see what her purpose is, her bio states she’s written for The Mary Sue which is a “inclusive, feminist community of people” that “promotes, watchdog, extoll, and celebrate diversity, inclusion, and women’s representation”.
So yeah.,.I think you can see where this is going. I have zero issues with a story trying to get a point across. I have zero issues with badass female characters. I do, however, take issue when the author’s political or social agenda takes center stage, rather than the plot of the story itself.
Years ago, Alex Worley’s first collection of Judge Anderson short stories justified that a side character from the fictional dystopian nightmare of Judge Dredd could in fact be compelling enough for her own narratives.
Since Judge Anderson: Year One was so compelling, it makes perfect sense that 2000 AD would commission another trio of short stories to further Anderson’s character and the time she spent growing as a psi-judge on the streets of Megacity 1.
The only issue is that while Worley wrote all 3 stories in the first volume, the 3 shorts penned in Judge Anderson: Year Two are from 3 separate authors which leads to a varying amount of divergence and lack of continuity across them.
Both Daniel Ware’s “Bigger than Biggs” and Laurel Sills’s “Devourer” are fun and fit perfectly amongst what I feel prose Judge Dredd stories should be. Both involve the zany/strange/satirical nature that makes this fictional universe unique and entertaining. “Devourer” is slightly more straightforward and approachable, leading it to edge out “Bigger than Biggs” slightly, however both do deserve a place in this collection.
It’s Zina Hutton’s “Fly Trap” that knocks this book’s ratings down a bit. It’s not necessarily a “bad” story by any means, but somewhere between its faux literary style (it’s first person, present tense), its story of poor downtrodden children of color, the white antagonist, and the very obvious mention of same sex couples, the woke agenda is pretty clear. The good news is that it’s not trying to beat readers over the head with a message but it doesn’t take a very fine toothed comb to see what Hutton is trying to do. And if that doesn’t make you see what her purpose is, her bio states she’s written for The Mary Sue which is a “inclusive, feminist community of people” that “promotes, watchdog, extoll, and celebrate diversity, inclusion, and women’s representation”.
So yeah.,.I think you can see where this is going. I have zero issues with a story trying to get a point across. I have zero issues with badass female characters. I do, however, take issue when the author’s political or social agenda takes center stage, rather than the plot of the story itself.
December 12, 2021
Disappointing
The first story was fine. Well written, pacey very much up to the standards expected of the Big Meg. The second story was where the for really set in. Typical of modern entertainment, especially where the main character is female, the bad guy was just that. A man. Very few of the male characters were sympathetic, or even more than slightly useful to the plot.
HOWEVER. This came to full flower in the third story, which frankly I struggled to finish. This was an intersectional delight. Every character ticked a box. Be it LGBTQ+, Black, Brown and so on. Even down to the Male characters being either unsympathetic or downright evil.
This is VERY disappointing. I'm afraid I won't be reading any more of Zuma Huttons' writing. I may give Laurel Stills another look, although it's a bit "woke" she did write a good story. Danie Ware, on the other hand, I will keep an eye open for because of the three, that was by far the best story.
The first story was fine. Well written, pacey very much up to the standards expected of the Big Meg. The second story was where the for really set in. Typical of modern entertainment, especially where the main character is female, the bad guy was just that. A man. Very few of the male characters were sympathetic, or even more than slightly useful to the plot.
HOWEVER. This came to full flower in the third story, which frankly I struggled to finish. This was an intersectional delight. Every character ticked a box. Be it LGBTQ+, Black, Brown and so on. Even down to the Male characters being either unsympathetic or downright evil.
This is VERY disappointing. I'm afraid I won't be reading any more of Zuma Huttons' writing. I may give Laurel Stills another look, although it's a bit "woke" she did write a good story. Danie Ware, on the other hand, I will keep an eye open for because of the three, that was by far the best story.
September 29, 2019
All three stories were pretty good. I read this book from the perspective of a Judge Dredd / Judge Anderson fan, but I'm sure anyone interested in sci fi / paranormal crime solving can enjoy this.
Bigger than Biggs: Good story. I had to re-read a few sentences, it didn't seem to flow real easily. Granted, I had to Google "lorries."
Devourer: I loved this story. I read through it in one sitting.
Fly Trap: Very good story. It was smaller in scale than the last two stories, which isn't a complaint. My favorite Dredd / Anderson stories are simpler every day style Mega City One policing.
(Spoiler)The end of Flytrap looks like it is right where Anderson shows up in the Dredd comics. I'm hoping we get these authors back for the next set of Judge Anderson novels. At least whenever she gets out of that Boing
Bigger than Biggs: Good story. I had to re-read a few sentences, it didn't seem to flow real easily. Granted, I had to Google "lorries."
Devourer: I loved this story. I read through it in one sitting.
Fly Trap: Very good story. It was smaller in scale than the last two stories, which isn't a complaint. My favorite Dredd / Anderson stories are simpler every day style Mega City One policing.
(Spoiler)The end of Flytrap looks like it is right where Anderson shows up in the Dredd comics. I'm hoping we get these authors back for the next set of Judge Anderson novels. At least whenever she gets out of that Boing
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2021
The first story was superb, fully capturing the characters and atmosphere of Anderson and Mega-City One, complete with that sly, pervading 2000AD humour.
I enjoyed the third as well, if not as much.
As for the second, it was a good read but small details irritated me: Anderson firing a 'blaster' instead of a Lawgiver; a 'sky-copter' when I would have expected an H-Wagon; Anderson drinking a stimulant she knows contains sugar (which I thought was against MC law) - that sort of thing.
It's possible I'm wrong and that all the details that bothered me can be shown to be technically accurate, but they felt wrong as I was reading and I couldn't help thinking they should have been fixed before publication because they were spoiling what should have been a much more enjoyable romp.
So, a mixed bag but for me it was worth the money just for that first story.
I enjoyed the third as well, if not as much.
As for the second, it was a good read but small details irritated me: Anderson firing a 'blaster' instead of a Lawgiver; a 'sky-copter' when I would have expected an H-Wagon; Anderson drinking a stimulant she knows contains sugar (which I thought was against MC law) - that sort of thing.
It's possible I'm wrong and that all the details that bothered me can be shown to be technically accurate, but they felt wrong as I was reading and I couldn't help thinking they should have been fixed before publication because they were spoiling what should have been a much more enjoyable romp.
So, a mixed bag but for me it was worth the money just for that first story.
September 28, 2020
This sequel to Year One contains three stories, each by a different female author. I found the Anderson presented here to be more convincing and rounded than in the first volume, though the writers' ability to convey the madness of Mega-City One was not quite as strong.
Solid enough for existing fans of the 2000AD character; not going to make many new fans though, I think.
Solid enough for existing fans of the 2000AD character; not going to make many new fans though, I think.
August 4, 2023
Three enjoyable Anderson stories.
The third felt like it should have been earlier in the book as she felt less competent than in the other two. The first didn't grab me as much as the others but overall exactly what you'd expect from it.
The third felt like it should have been earlier in the book as she felt less competent than in the other two. The first didn't grab me as much as the others but overall exactly what you'd expect from it.
April 5, 2020
Not as good as Year One. The last two stories in this feel exactly the same just with different names, and that was a huge shame.
September 25, 2020
I have to say the three stories are quite different. The first one is absolute great fun. The second is good as well. The third... couldn't finish it. Uninspired, bad pace, boring as hell... thus the 3 stars. But the the first story deserves a solid 4 stars IMO.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews