Dancing with Destructionedited by
Jason Cordova
(Baen, July 1, 2025, 320pp, Pb & Kindle)
“All the Little Stars in the Sky” by David Weber & Marisa Wolf
“Old and Broken Gods” by Blaine L. Pardoe
“To Win the Final Lizard War” by Joelle Presby
“The Joy of the Chase” by Jacob Holo & Edie Skye
“Wilder Kingdom” by Rick Partlow
“Bug Hunt” by Melissa Olthoff & Nick Steverson
“Bug Out” by Kacey Ezell
“Concursante” by Jason Cordova
“The Butcher” by Jason Anspach & Nick Cole
Reviewed by Rick Cartwright
According to the editor, he instructed the writers for this anthology to create, “…random, weird stories—based on the anthology’s cover art.” The stories deliver everything from pure horror to hilarity. Well worth your time.
“All the Little Stars” starts out as a really bad day for Interstellar Exploratory Corps member Zivahalla. David Weber & Marisa Wolf quickly ensure that things get worse as the planet that AI reported as uninhabited, isn’t. The story is full of twists and turns that only reinforce the idea that AI can get you in trouble, but it takes biological brains to get you out.
Blaine L. Pardoe has a fresh take on the mythological gods set against a backdrop of the mid-twentieth century Korean conflict in “Old and Broken Gods.” As the title suggests, gods without worshipers aren’t what they used to be. Pardoe skillfully examines whether they have enough left to battle an ancient evil.
Joelle Presby mixes lizard people, internet conspiracy theory, and a character in a dead-end retail job well on his way to madness in “To Win the Final Lizard War.” The author comes out the other side with an ending you never see coming. Reading it is a bit of a rough ride, but if you stay with it, it will pay off.
“The Joy of the Chase” by Jacob Holo & Edie Sky is a hilarious romp in Jacob Holo’s Sol Blazers universe. While you don’t have to have read the first book, Freelances of Neptune, to enjoy the story, be advised that there’re references that will spoil parts of Freelances.
Set after the events of Freelances of Neptune, the ship’s captain and crew take on a rescue mission of a B-movie cast and crew. They succeed in rescuing the two individuals who the studio deemed essential early on. Thanks to a refreshing trope flip, Captain Kade and crew push on to a humorous conclusion. This is my personal favorite in the anthology. Highly recommended.
“Bug Hunt” by Melissa Olthoff & Nick Steverson is the first half of a story about a Marine Raider group on a rescue mission complicated by an insectoid enemy and the maddened monsters that the enemy fears more than the Marines.
Kacey Ezell overlaps the events in “Bug Hunt” in “Bug Out,” and takes over the story, starting from the point of view of a military helo pilot trying to extract the surviving Marines. Things look grim until help arrives from an unlikely source.
“Concursante” (“Contestant” for those whose Spanish is rusty) by Jason Cordova is reminiscent of Robert A. Heinlein‘s Tunnel in the Sky with a dash of The Hunger Games. It’s a story about a young man trying to escape poverty by joining an elite group dedicated to exploring and evaluating new worlds for colonization. The final exam is a killer
Jason Anspach & Nick Cole bring us a prequel from their Forgotten Ruin series, with “The Butcher.” Nick Cole describes Forgotten Ruin as “… US Army Rangers as the world turns all Dungeons and Dragons.”
The main character riffs off John Rambo, right down to the opening being his former commanding officer offering him his freedom from prison in exchange for taking a mission. After that, the action is fast, bloody, and satisfying. The tale has you wanting to jump into the series to see what happens next.
Richard Cartwright learned the fine art of storytelling sitting around kitchen tables, campfires and courtrooms over the years but came to writing later in life after getting out of the legal profession while he could still get his soul back. When he’s not doing reviews for Tangent Online, he writes SF, alternate history, fantasy, and has been accused of creating a PTSD romance.