“a bean stood on his two legs and wiped sugary liquid away from his face with tiny little hands. The bean drew breath and roared into the darkness of the container, his voice lost amidst the whooshing sounds of millions of other beans sloshing out of their tins and into the world”
This anti-war book contains two short stories about war and politics. One story is about a personal experience of war, and how patriotism and pacifism collide for one soldier. The second story is about war and politics at a national level, where the struggle for dominance sees untold numbers go to their grave.
Sergeant Cuddlington is about a special operations team leader (Cuddlington) who is gravely wounded and then saved by the medics back at base. Cuddlington’s glittering service record might be of great use as a propaganda tool, if only he has the right attitude. His surgeon, Doc, is determined to find out if he has.
The War At Sea surrounds the power struggles between great populations of mutated beans in a cargo ship, which is filled with radiation. The story studies the changing faces of the bean governments as the different societies react to the war to end all wars.