Looking for a good read? Here is a recommendation. I have an unusual approach to reviewing books. I review books I feel merit a review. Each review is an opportunity to recommend a book. If I do not think a book is worth reading, I find another book to review. You do not have to agree with everything every author has written (I do not), but the fiction I review is entertaining (and often thought-provoking) and the non-fiction contain ideas worth reading.
Book Review
Against the Odds
Reviewed by Mark Lardas
August 3, 2025
“Dancing with Destruction,” edited by Jason Cordova, Baen Books, July 2025, 320 pages, $18.00 (Paperback), $8.99 (E-book)
Give a bunch of science fiction and fantasy authors a cover image. Ask them to write a military story about it. See what happens.
“Dancing with Destruction,” an SF&F anthology edited by Jason Cordova is the result. It contains nine tales ranging from short stories to novellas with a combat theme.
The anthology assumes an omniscient alien species, the Elderwatch, observing humanity. They watch across parallel universes and various timelines. The Elderwatch have no presence beyond a mention in the preface.
All nine stories are original, written for this anthology. The authors range from old and established like David Weber and Blaine Pardoe to relatively new on the scene, like Shane Gries. They cover the landscape in terms of the type of story presented and the time period in which the story takes place.
David Weber teams up with Marisa Wolf to offer a first contact story. It is told from a split point of view with each side viewing the other side as the monster. Hard science fiction, it is set in the far future. Blain Pardoe offers a fantasy story set in the Korean war, with elder gods on both sides of the conflict.
Joelle Presby’s offering is an odd and entertaining tale involving conspiracy theorists, computer message boards and lizard people. It contains twists throughout and an unexpected ending. Jacob Holo and Edie Skye provide a tale set in the Sol Blazers’s world, with Captain Nathan Kade and crew riding to the rescue of a movie crew in the solar system.
Melissa Olthoff and Nick Steverson team up to write half of a braided pair of stories with Kacey Ezell writing the other half. Both stories describe a battle set in the far future on a planet. Olthoff Nick Steverson describe the battle from the ground-pounders’ view while Ezell tells it through the shuttle pilot’s eyes.
Rick Partlow provides an alien invasion story set during the 1960s. Taking place in California, a National Guard unit on maneuvers finds Vietnam to be a safer environment. Jason Cordova piece goes through the final exam of an explorer. Jason Anspach and Nick Cole have a novella set in the WarGate series.
“Dancing with Destruction” is a book for military SF&F buffs. If that is your genre, this book is for you. It provides a sampler of stories ranging from hard science fiction to urban fantasy pitting small teams of soldiers against formidable odds.
Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City. His website is marklardas.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Destruction-Jason-Cordova/dp/1668072750/