So apparently I need to read more Brandon Sanderson, because so far everything I've read by him has gotten five stars from me. That's a pretty impressive record, honestly.

 

The story has echoes of Ender's Game, but I felt it was different enough not to feel derivative (confession: I love Ender's Game). I found Dennison easy to root for, especially given he is certainly not a Gary Stu; in fact, his primary characteristic is probably his complete lack of ability at the profession that has been chosen for him. Watching him attempt to handle what is expected of him, with all the twists that end up coming from these expectations, is fascinating and makes it easy to feel for him. He is not in a good position throughout the story, and he is fully aware of it, but he grows quite a bit in such a short period of time. 

 

It's hard to say much about this story without giving too much away (it is a rather short story, after all), and I always find my five star ratings to be much harder to write reviews for than any other rating, so I'm just going to end with a high recommendation if you like Brandon Sanderson or Ender's Game-type sci-fi. It's also a very short read, so definitely worth trying.