Front Lines [Paperback]

Denise Little (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008

War—what is it good for?

It’s good for 19 all-new tales from the battlefield...

Nineteen all-new tales that look at war from the perspective of everyone from human to alien, pixie to toy. From epic intergalactic struggles for the future of humankind to the microcosm of a single abandoned toy soldier in a boy’s backyard; from a chemical experiment gone horribly wrong to a young recruit who may hold the key to “understanding” the enemy; from a half-mortal knight trying to avert a war with the Elfin Host to a Battle of Trenton fought against seven-foot tall Saurians, Front Lines brings together a diverse array of imaginative explorations of the phenomenon of war.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: DAW (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756404789
• ISBN-13: 978-0756404789
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,522,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of Net Impact, a spy thriller which incorporates real-world conspiracy theories, GREENSWORD, a dark comedy about global warming, and Forced Conversion, a military science fiction novel set in the near future. Also author of a variety of short fiction in the science fiction, fantasy, thriller, horror, steampunk, romance, and comedy genres, including stories in the Dragonlance and Transformers universes and in a variety of DAW themed anthologies. World's top-ranked player of RPGA Classic roleplaying game tournaments from 1985-2000. See my writing and gaming resumes at www.donaldjbingle.com., including a listing of the more than thirty anthologies in which I have stories. Some of my previously published stories have been collected by theme in my Writer on Demand TM series and published on Kindle, including Tales of Gamers and Gaming, Tales of Humorous Horror, and Tales Out of Time. My award-winning short memoir, Father's Day, is also available on Kindle, as is Gentlemanly Horrors of Mine Alone, the ninth story in Mike Stackpole's Chain Story Project.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Pick for Fans of Speculative Fiction, December 21, 2008

By 

Wantz Upon A Time Reviews (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Front Lines (Paperback)

Reviewed by Vicky Burkholder
on 12/21/2008

I said in an earlier review of a different anthology that reviewing an anthology of short stories has to be one of the hardest things a reviewer can do, especially if the stories are all written by different authors. My previous statement still holds true. Some of the authors in this anthology include Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Laura Resnick, Jody Lynn Nye, Jim Fiscus, J. Steven York.

In this book, we are given twenty-one different stories by different authors but with one theme uniting them all - in this case, being on the front lines in a war, whether against human, pixie, or "thing" and settings are all over the universe, from the intergalactic to a little boy's backyard. According to the introduction, "this book isn't about...what it means as a society to fight a war....it's all about the life of the people on the front lines of battle." What I find interesting about the book, is that more than half the writers are women. Surely a unique perspective in a hard science fiction book. The stories are thought provoking, funny, poignant, and sad. Everything an anthology should be.

Like all anthologies, there were some stories I liked, some I didn't care much for, but not because of the writing. Each story is well crafted and well-written. Overall, the tales were very good.

If you don't have a lot of time to invest in reading, anthologies are a good place to go. Each story is complete and is good for a quick read when you don't have time for a novel. I recommend this one for anyone interested in speculative fiction from the perspective of someone on the "Front Lines".



4-Books

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mix of Good and "Eh", September 17, 2008

By 

Steven Woodcock "Ferretman" (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Front Lines (Paperback)

I spotted this one as the latest in the line of "themed" short story collections and thought it looked interesting, but unfortunately I wasn't all that impressed. It has a slapdash feel to it, with some of the stories being VERY good ("The Battle for Trehinnick's Garden" kept me up WAY past my bedtime) to mediocre (I'm looking at you, "Thirty-Two Bullets"). Not a bad collection but not a mondo one either.

Recommended if you really love the subject matter or collect this type of thing. Otherwise just be aware that you'll probably be about 60% happy with your purchase.

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss this one!, June 16, 2011

By 

Barnabas - See all my reviews

This review is from: Front Lines (Paperback)

"Front Lines" is a 5 star anthology! I love the concept for this collection, and the authors chosen to create are the perfect fit... talented and gifted with incredible imaginations! While the stories in this book belong together, they are also quite different from each other... which I enjoyed. I was given this book as a gift; I just wish I had begun the read sooner. I was definitely caught up, and in true escape from the mundane. There are stories in this book that I am truly glad I didn't miss. It was hard to put down, and I intend to pay it forward by buying copies of this book as gifts for other friends. Don't miss this one!!