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Forgotten Sidekicks
We all know what happens when the hero saves the day, but what about their sidekicks?
Too often the hero is held high and celebrated whilst their sidekicks and comrades are brushed to the side; their own battles forgotten, and their actions airbrushed to nothingness from the tales of victory.
These are the stories of the ones who aren’t remembered; the ones who helped save the day, and got cast aside; the ones who don’t want the applause, and the ones who deserved the applause and never received it.
These stories didn't make the headlines - but they happened, and they're glorious.
Too often the hero is held high and celebrated whilst their sidekicks and comrades are brushed to the side; their own battles forgotten, and their actions airbrushed to nothingness from the tales of victory.
These are the stories of the ones who aren’t remembered; the ones who helped save the day, and got cast aside; the ones who don’t want the applause, and the ones who deserved the applause and never received it.
These stories didn't make the headlines - but they happened, and they're glorious.
182 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2020
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Peter Sutton
39 books10 followersInternational Educator, Speaker, Author
Walk straight. Talk straight. Sleep soundly. There’s a lot of hype, pseudo---science and plain pork pies in the world of social media — Peter combines his down-to-earth approach and his background as an international educator to cut through it all and deliver; to schools, small businesses and large corporations.
As a speaker, author and hands-on consultant, Peter pulls no punches when it comes to getting the most out of an organisation’s investment in social media. Peter’s approach has helped many schools and organisations develop a social media presence that would be the envy of any multinational.
Walk straight. Talk straight. Sleep soundly. There’s a lot of hype, pseudo---science and plain pork pies in the world of social media — Peter combines his down-to-earth approach and his background as an international educator to cut through it all and deliver; to schools, small businesses and large corporations.
As a speaker, author and hands-on consultant, Peter pulls no punches when it comes to getting the most out of an organisation’s investment in social media. Peter’s approach has helped many schools and organisations develop a social media presence that would be the envy of any multinational.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 2, 2020
The stories in Forgotten Sidekicks span the fantasy genre to modern settings, to the far flung future. There's a story for every one here. It opens with The Bardic Guide to Disobedience, a story of a Hero and his Bard on the tail end of a mission that’s maybe a little more than they can chew. It’s an amazing opening for a top notch set of short stories, which made me devour this book in just a short weekend. The following story, The Dilettante and Leonard, is a emotional recount of the origins and the last mission of a modern super-hero — that flies, is super-strong, and al., through his sidekick. And all the stories share the same theme: too often the hero is held high and celebrated whilst their sidekicks and comrades are brushed aside; their own battles forgotten, and their actions airbrushed to nothingness from the tales of glory and victory. So the stories in Forgotten Sidekicks aim to shed light onto those unsung men and women and the moments when they save the day, even if they themselves cast aside their prowess.
It’s a compelling collection of short stories (my favourite), full of great narratives that will surely warm your heart and will give you a new understanding of the sidekicks — after all, without them, most heroes wouldn’t have achieved such heights of glory and reputation.
Each one of the stories in the book are exciting, compelling, utterly amazing. And I'll never look at sidekicks the same way again!
It’s a compelling collection of short stories (my favourite), full of great narratives that will surely warm your heart and will give you a new understanding of the sidekicks — after all, without them, most heroes wouldn’t have achieved such heights of glory and reputation.
Each one of the stories in the book are exciting, compelling, utterly amazing. And I'll never look at sidekicks the same way again!
October 19, 2020
This themed anthology is a lot of fun, and I think you’ll enjoy it.
The first story, “The Bardic Guide to Disobedience” is about a Hero and his sidekick, a Bard. Their callings have rules, and they occasionally break them. Okay, more than occasionally. The creative ways in which they deal with the Bardic and Heroic bureaucracies is marvelous. Quite an adventure.
Next is “The Dilettante & Leonard” by Desmond Warzel. This author never disappoints, and this story was no exception. It’s about an exclusive Playboy interview with the surviving sidekick of a superhero, and Warzel’s humor, as well as his deep and instinctive understanding of humanity comes through. It’s absolutely marvelous – don’t miss it.
Then we have “The Hour of the Rat” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt. It was a good story, of malice and revenge, but it was quite a stretch to have it as part of an anthology about sidekicks. The junior of the two intruders was more of an innocent bystander.
In “Saving Simon” by Allen Stroud we have the tale of an ex-sidekick pressed back into service to reluctantly save her former employer. Except that’s not what’s going on at all, and what a twisted tale this one is!
Next is Su Haddrell’s “A Harlequin in the Shadows,” which is all about a pair of daring twins: half-fae, half-human highwaymen who get into a bit of a quandary when their antics get them turned in to the humans as criminals, only to find the humans are raiding the fae anyhow. The sidekick sister of The Harlequin defeated the raiders – the name her flashy brother had taken came from that diamond-patterned jacket and while her brother got the credit for her protection of the realm she was happy to take a back seat. Just like a good sidekick should.
“Henchman” by Chrissey Harrison is the story of a security guard who was a recent hire at a mysterious firm – a guy who lost a leg in the Army in Afghanistan. It turned out that his new employer was about to tangle with a superhero and a loyal member of the press – whom our amputee had met before. No one was who they seemed to be except the female journalist, who saves the day. Great story.
At first I thought I could see what was coming a mile away in “Charioteer” by John Houlihan. In this case the sidekick was a charioteer to a champion in a place where contests were not decided by armies, but by armed chariot clashes. It was written in a lush style full of braggadocio, orgies, and feasts. Yet when the champion’s sister, who was the brains of the pair, had it up to here with her brother treating her like crap… awesomeness ensued.
In “Just Like Goldfinger, Right?” by Ian Hunter there are sidekick tryouts, and Rory – our POV character – has made the finals. But things get very dangerous and he and the other applicants have to deal with the extremely unexpected…
“Well-Suited” by Steve Dillon is all about a retired superhero being interviewed for a magazine, reminiscing about the old days with his sidekick. Except one of them was hiding their gender with that suit because the public and the press could be cruel. And then the unthinkable tore them apart.
The anthology ends with a 12-step meeting of “Sidekicks Anonymous” by Jim Horlock. It’s a fitting bit of closure for the poor forgotten sidekicks, who manage to shine on their own and save the world despite being all-to-human. “Forgotten does not mean unimportant” indeed.
Fun anthology. Give it a shot.
The first story, “The Bardic Guide to Disobedience” is about a Hero and his sidekick, a Bard. Their callings have rules, and they occasionally break them. Okay, more than occasionally. The creative ways in which they deal with the Bardic and Heroic bureaucracies is marvelous. Quite an adventure.
Next is “The Dilettante & Leonard” by Desmond Warzel. This author never disappoints, and this story was no exception. It’s about an exclusive Playboy interview with the surviving sidekick of a superhero, and Warzel’s humor, as well as his deep and instinctive understanding of humanity comes through. It’s absolutely marvelous – don’t miss it.
Then we have “The Hour of the Rat” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt. It was a good story, of malice and revenge, but it was quite a stretch to have it as part of an anthology about sidekicks. The junior of the two intruders was more of an innocent bystander.
In “Saving Simon” by Allen Stroud we have the tale of an ex-sidekick pressed back into service to reluctantly save her former employer. Except that’s not what’s going on at all, and what a twisted tale this one is!
Next is Su Haddrell’s “A Harlequin in the Shadows,” which is all about a pair of daring twins: half-fae, half-human highwaymen who get into a bit of a quandary when their antics get them turned in to the humans as criminals, only to find the humans are raiding the fae anyhow. The sidekick sister of The Harlequin defeated the raiders – the name her flashy brother had taken came from that diamond-patterned jacket and while her brother got the credit for her protection of the realm she was happy to take a back seat. Just like a good sidekick should.
“Henchman” by Chrissey Harrison is the story of a security guard who was a recent hire at a mysterious firm – a guy who lost a leg in the Army in Afghanistan. It turned out that his new employer was about to tangle with a superhero and a loyal member of the press – whom our amputee had met before. No one was who they seemed to be except the female journalist, who saves the day. Great story.
At first I thought I could see what was coming a mile away in “Charioteer” by John Houlihan. In this case the sidekick was a charioteer to a champion in a place where contests were not decided by armies, but by armed chariot clashes. It was written in a lush style full of braggadocio, orgies, and feasts. Yet when the champion’s sister, who was the brains of the pair, had it up to here with her brother treating her like crap… awesomeness ensued.
In “Just Like Goldfinger, Right?” by Ian Hunter there are sidekick tryouts, and Rory – our POV character – has made the finals. But things get very dangerous and he and the other applicants have to deal with the extremely unexpected…
“Well-Suited” by Steve Dillon is all about a retired superhero being interviewed for a magazine, reminiscing about the old days with his sidekick. Except one of them was hiding their gender with that suit because the public and the press could be cruel. And then the unthinkable tore them apart.
The anthology ends with a 12-step meeting of “Sidekicks Anonymous” by Jim Horlock. It’s a fitting bit of closure for the poor forgotten sidekicks, who manage to shine on their own and save the world despite being all-to-human. “Forgotten does not mean unimportant” indeed.
Fun anthology. Give it a shot.
April 11, 2020
Really fun and smart collection of stories based around the theme of the sidekick to the hero. This looks at what it mean to be the sidekick taking us from fantasy to superheroes - the future, the past and the alternate worlds of the multiverse!
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
May 9, 2025
One absolute worldie in Jim Horlock's Sidekicks Anonymous
A handful of good tales
Some middling ones
And a right stinker
All in all, not a bad haul for a multi-author short collection, and well worth checking out for anyone who wants a few quick reads.
A handful of good tales
Some middling ones
And a right stinker
All in all, not a bad haul for a multi-author short collection, and well worth checking out for anyone who wants a few quick reads.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews