Cannon Publishing Military Sci-Fi / Fantasy Anthology: Spring 2019 by J.F. HolmesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Uniformed men and women clash with foes both timeless and disturbingly new in this collection of short stories mashing the military with elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Editor/contributor J.F. Holmes has assembled thirteen tales ranging in craftsmanship from "excellent" to "needs work."
You'll find an eclectic mix of settings from alternate history to deep space to contemporary conflicts as front-line fighters encounter the bizarre and alien, sprinkled with yarns featuring rear-area "fobbits" who find themselves thrust into the confusion and chaos of combat. Alas, a few offerings seemed little more than scenes, lacking a clear beginning, middle and end. In addition, there were editing and formatting glitches that detracted from the readings.
Deserving of mention are:
"Dragon Slayer" by Alex Piasecki
"Damage Control" by Lucas Marcum
"The Nothing" by Chris Morton
"The Gunpowder Incident" by James Schardt
I particularly enjoyed "Night Shift" by Yakov Merkin who included a nice dollop of 'science' with his sci-fi story of a bored, space sailor with health problems who finds himself the only one capable of alerting his comrades in the face of an enemy attack.
Some enjoyable reads for aficionados of military and military sci-fi fiction.
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