The Good Soldier by Nir Yaniv, a rollicking, madcap military sci-fisatire that’s been described as “M*A*S*H in outer space” and “Catch-22 meetsStarship Troopers,” is the latest adult science fiction novel published byRegina, Saskatchewan’s Shadowpaw Press.

As U.K author and critic Adam Roberts (Jack Glass) puts it, TheGood Soldier is “a rattling, SFnal updating of The Good Soldier Švejkvia StarshipTroopers (asit might be: Švejkship Troopers): funny, pointed, readable, a subversivedepiction of the futility of war and a satire on the perennial logic of themilitary mind and the structures of the army.” It is also, he adds, “highlyrecommended.”

AsThe Good Soldier begins, The Imperial Navy has long been at war. It is awell-oiled machine, a mighty galactic power in which nothing can go wrong.

EnterPre-Private Joseph Fux, self-proclaimed Idiot, Second Class.

WhenFux arrives on board the light frigate UPS Spitz,things immediately begin to go wrong. It’s not Fux’s fault. It never is. Accidentsjust happen when he’s around, despite the best intentions.

Andas the always-cheerful Fux bungles his way through one job after another, hethrows the whole ship and its orderly crew into chaos. No one is leftunscathed: not the responsible and lonely Lt. Lipton, grieving for his lostlove; not the mercilessly logical Doctor Nightingale, who may or may not beLipton’s current romantic interest; not the overzealous Ensign Berseker, or thepompous political officer, Commander Kapust. Not even the hidden, monstrousCaptain.

Knowinglyor not, Fux is an agent of resistance, his blind stupidity the only saneresponse to the insanity of war. Something’s gotta give, and the tinyspanner-in-the-works that is Fux threatens at last to destroy the entiremachinery of the Galactic Empire . . .

More praise for The Good Soldier

“In this amiable satire of the gung-ho heroics of military sci-fi,Yaniv (coauthor of The Tel Aviv Dossier) sets a seeming simpleton against animmense empire, and the contest is hardly fair . . . (A)n amusing alternativeto the usual run of martial marvels and battle-tested warriors. Military SFfans will enjoy this gentle roasting.” – Publishers Weekly

“Drawing on a tradition of anti-war fiction and his own militaryexperience, Nir Yaniv meshes together classical American gung-ho SF with thedelightful absurdism of European literature to create an unforgettablefar-future fable for our times. Think M.A.S.H. in space, and you’llcome closest to capturing the spirit of TheGood Soldier, but you’ll have to enmesh yourself in the(mis)adventures of Idiot-Second-Class Fux and company of the good ship Spitz to find out foryourself. This is one explosive novel you do not want to miss!” – Lavie Tidhar,award-winning author of CentralStation and Neom

“A madcap dystopian satire that shoulders its way into the ranksof Billthe Galactic Hero and Catch-22,then stands sloppily at attention as it smirks in the face of an apoplecticpolitical officer.” –Alex Shvartsman, Award-Winning Author of The MiddlingAffliction and Eridani’s Crown

NIR YANIV (niryaniv.com) is an Israeli-born multidisciplinaryartist living in Los Angeles. He’s an author, a musician, an illustrator, and afilmmaker. He founded Israel’s first online science fiction magazine and servedas its chief editor for ten years, after which he moved on to editing a printedgenre magazine. He collaborated with World Fantasy Award-winningauthor Lavie Tidhar on two novels, including the “deranged sci-fiextravaganza” (per The Jewish Quarterly) The Tel Aviv Dossier,and his English- language collection The Love Machine & OtherContraptions was published by Infinity Plus in 2012.His most recent Hebrewnovel, King of Jerusalem, was published in Israel in 2019. His shortstories have appeared in Weird Tales, Apex, and ChiZine,among others. 

Nir’s musical career includes soundtracks for film, dance shows,and theatre. His most recent work is the voice-and-drums animated album TheVoice Remains (LifeArt Music, 2021). Nir has also directed several shortfilms and music videos, both live-action and animated. 

About Shadowpaw Press  

Shadowpaw Press was founded in 2018 by Edward Willett. A member ofLiterary Press Group (Canada) and the Association of Canadian Publishers,Shadowpaw Press publishes an eclectic selection of books by both new andestablished authors, including adult fiction, young adult fiction, children’sbooks, non-fiction, and anthologies. In addition, Shadowpaw Press publishes neweditions of notable, previously published books in any genre under theShadowpaw Press Reprise imprint.

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For more information:

Edward Willett

ewillett@sasktel.net

306-536-5421

www.edwardwillett.com

www.shadowpawpress.com