Monday, August 07, 2006

Assembly

By Sherard Jackson
Published by Antarctic Press



Slugline: Gritty mecha story set in a war-torn future, where a teenage girl tries to do the right thing.

A brief review, because this is a short story complete unto itself. On the one hand, it's a hard-hitting war story with mecha, pilots, and plenty of explosions. On the other hand, it illustrates how quickly the past can be forgotten in the face of immediate problems.

That's two downers with no up... well, it's on the dark side, yes, and it left me thinking about Starship Troopers (the book, not the movie) and how people try to do the right thing even when their choices are limited.

This seems to be a one-shot story, but it is well crafted and paced and definitely recommended. I'd like to see more of this world and Sherard Jackson's work, if anyone's listening...



- Miranda

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