Five by Five: Volume 1

B. V. Larson · Aaron Allston · Kevin J Anderson · Loren Coleman · Michael A Stackpole

Oct 2012 · WordFire +ORM

About this ebook

Face aliens, monsters, and more in these five short novels by five masters of military science fiction.

It’s a war out there . . .

In these pulse-pounding tales, the best (or worst) soldiers in the galaxy are pitted against powerful aliens on distant battlefields. Never before published stories about monsters, deadly combat tech, treachery, and honor:

Big Plush by Aaron Allston (a novella from the Action Figures series)—The Dollgangers, artificial people made in mankind’s image, take up arms in a desperate bid to win their freedom.

Comrades in Arms by Kevin J. Anderson—A damaged cyborg soldier and an enemy alien fighter turn their backs on the war and try to escape. But the human and alien governments can’t tolerate the two deserters working together, so they join forces to hunt them down.

Shores of the Infinite by Loren L. Coleman (a novella from the ICAS File series)—Separated from command & control, Combat Assault Suit troopers force a beachhead to liberate a new planet from the cyborg threat.

The Black Ship by B.V. Larson (a mech novella from the Imperium Series)—A human settlement on the deadliest planet ever colonized clings to life . . . but today new invaders are coming down from the stars.

Out There by Michael A. Stackpole—The Qian have discovered humanity and welcomed them into their star-spanning empire. The benefits they offer humanity are many, and they don’t want much in return: just the best human pilots available to take apart a most diabolical enemy./

About the author

Aaron Allston was born in Corsicana, Texas on December 8, 1960. He attended the University of Texas, at Austin, briefly, intending to study journalism, but after a semester at the university and a year working for The Austin American Statesman newspaper, he found he did not particularly like either college or journalism. At that point, he went to work for Space Gamer magazine and quickly moved up to the position of editor. He also began designing supplements to role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, on a freelance basis. By 1983, he was working full-time as a freelance game designer and editor. His first novel, Web of Danger, was based on the Top Secret/S.I. game line. His other works include the Wraith Squadron series for the Star Wars Expanded Universe line, Galatea in 2-D, and Doc Sidhe. He died from heart failure on February 27, 2014. Kevin J. Anderson was born on March 27, 1962. Before becoming a full-time author, he worked in California for twelve years as a technical writer and editor at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. His science fiction books include Resurrection, Inc., the Star Wars Jedi Academy Trilogy, the Young Jedi Knights series, Ground Zero, Ruins, Climbing Olympus, Blindfold, and The Dark Between the Stars. He has also written several books with Doug Beason including Ignition, Virtual Destruction, Fallout, and Ill Wind. Science fiction and fantasy author Michael Stackpole was born in Wausau, Wisconsin in 1957. In 1977, he sold his first gaming project to Flying Buffalo Inc. He received a BA in history from the University of Vermont in 1979. Before becoming an author, he was a role-playing and computer game designer. In 1987, FASA Corporation hired him to write the Warrior trilogy of Battletech novels. Besides the Battletech novels, he is best known for his Star Wars and Dragoncrown War Cycle novels.