Tour of Duty: Stories and Provocations from Michael Z. Williamson

It's a tough universe out there. A hard-hitting collection of the best fiction of Michael Z. Williamson, creator of the popular Freehold military SF saga, along with a helping of truth-telling nonfiction by a guy who has been there and done that, both at home and abroad. Duty in the face of danger on a planetary scale. Pride and competence in the face of idiotic clients who hate that that they need your services, and an enemy who wants to make your bad day even worse. These are stories of the warriors and civilians who get things done in extreme situations, whether it's rescue from a ship broken in space and leaking air and radiation, hard choices by a brigade of mercenary swords in a world of blood and magic, or scramble and response by troops in the Sandbox doing what it takes to make it through another scorching, rocket-filled day. A hard-hitting collection of the best fiction of Michael Z. Williamson, creator of the popular Freehold military SF saga, along with a helping of truth-telling nonfiction by a guy who has been there and done that, both at home and abroad. Duty in the face of danger on a planetary scale. Pride and competence in the face of idiotic clients who hate that that they need your services, and an enemy who wants to make your bad day even worse. These are stories of the warriors and civilians who get things done in extreme situations, whether its rescue from a ship broken in space and leaking air and radiation, hard choices by a brigade of mercenary swords in a world of blood and magic, or scramble and response by troops in the Sandbox doing what it takes to make it through another scorching, rocket-filled day. About Tour of Duty : . . .strong . . . subtly haunting . . .Williamson cheerfully and sometimes grimly bounces among military expertise, humor, controlled anger, and the gruesome and sublime extremes of a soldiers world. . . . Williamsons forte [is] military speculative fiction. Publishers Weekly About Michael Z. Williamson: A fast-paced, compulsive readwill appeal to fans of John Ringo, David Drake, Lois McMaster Bujold, and David Weber. Kliatt Williamson's military expertise is impressive. SF Reviews Tour of duty: Stories. The humans call it duty Time in the freehold universe The brute force approach The price Desert blues One night in Baghdad Port Call Naught but duty The sword dancer Wounded bird The groom's price (with Gail Sanders) The bride's task (with Gail Sanders) Heads you lose A hard day at the office Misfits (with Gail Sanders). Tour of duty: Provocations. April Fool Crazy Einar So you are going to be raided by ViKings Random maunderings about the Celtic peoples The manly way to cook meat The ten manliest firearms Ten more manly firearms The Mosin Nagant On reparations generally, for the descendants of the long departed My true encounters with the Indianapolis Police Department Inappropriate cocktails. A collection of stories about soldiers and civilians doing their duty, some in a futuristic context, is accompanied by essays proclaiming the author's political and social views.