End as a Hero

By Keith Laumer

Book Overview

First published in 1963, End as a Hero by Keith Laumer is a sharply constructed work of military science fiction that examines discipline, loyalty, and moral choice within an interstellar conflict.

Laumer, drawing on his own background in the U.S. Air Force and diplomatic service, situates his narrative within a structured military hierarchy confronting both external threat and internal tension. The novel follows its central figure through a campaign shaped as much by command decisions and institutional constraint as by battlefield action. Rather than relying solely on spectacle, Laumer foregrounds the psychology of service: the strain of responsibility, the weight of orders, and the cost of miscalculation in a technologically advanced war.

Representative of mid-century American military science fiction, End as a Hero reflects Laumer's characteristic blend of operational realism and speculative scope. The work stands within the tradition that treats futuristic warfare as a means of exploring honour, competence, and the limits of authority under pressure. Explore other exciting Positronic Books devoted to classic science fiction, fantasy, and mystery.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1515404994
• ISBN13: 9781515404996
• Release Date: February 2016
• Publisher: Positronic Publishing
• Length: 44 Pages
• Weight: 0.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Free SF Reader

A lone man in space is stuck in a very sticky situation: " . . . you Psychodynamics people have been telling me the Gool may have some kind of long-range telehypnotic ability that might make it possible for them to subvert a loyal man without his knowledge. You've told me yourself that you blacked out during the attackand came to on the lifeboat, with no recollection of how you got there. "This is war, Granthan. War against a vicious enemy who strike without warning and without mercy. You were sent out to investigate the possibility ofwhat's that term you use?hypercortical invasion. You know better than most the risk I'd be running if you were allowed to pass the patrol line." However, his encounters and skills have given him power and insight into new technology, so he desperately tries to stay alive to get back home and do it. The question is, who are the aliens controlling and influencing really, if he can manage to do this? A nifty little short novel of the slightly paranoid not sure what is going on action variety. 3.5 out of 5