The Poor Man’s Fight is a series of military science fiction written by Elliott Kay, with a strong focus on low-level action.
See also the Poor Man’s Fight timeline for a more detailed breakdown of the plot and stories, or the Poor Man’s Fight reading order.
Novels[]
| Title | Published | Chronology | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poor Man’s Fight | 2013[1] | 2274–2275 | Tanner’s introduction to the military and the military life. |
| Rich Man’s War | 2014[2] | 2276 | A war can burn in the shadows before it erupts. |
| Dead Man’s Debt | 2016 | 2279 | A different battlefield is required. |
| No Medals for Secrets | 2017 | 2277[3] | The most important battles might be fought in secret. |
| Last Man Out | 2018 | 2280 | An archeological survey digs up a lot more than expected. |
| No Man’s Land | 2023 | 2281 | Tanner Malone and Alicia Wong are recruited for a top-secret recon mission. |
Short fiction[]
The short fiction has been published in four different places:
- Small Victories, a collection (2020)
- Habitual Heroes, a collection (2021)
- Low-Key Calamities, a collection (2023)
- Patreon
The stories are ordered chronologically within each collection, but the individual stories can fall anywhere within the continuity. They can however be read in any order.
Small Victories[]
| Title | Published | Chronology | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Grunt Work” | 2020 | 2275 | Even Search & Rescue can involve cleaning. |
| “Prisoners” | 2020 | 2276 | The aftermath of a battle involves prisoners and friends with injuries. |
| “Stress Management” | 2020 | 2277 | An investigation into littering turns TMI. |
| “Priorities” | 2020 | 2277 | A raid leads to big ambitions. |
| “Odd Jobs” | 2020 | 2280 | A tall tale about bodyguarding. |
| “Room and Board” | 2020 | 2280 | Tanner gets the best job he has ever had. |
Habitual Heroes[]
| Title | Published | Chronology | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Field Testing” | 2021 | 2277 | Tanner faces new challenges, from both friends and enemies. |
| “Perspective” | 2021 | 2281 | Tanner viewed from another perspective. |
| “An Honest Business” | 2021 | 2280 | The crew of the Phoenix has to handle a tricky delivery. |
| “Soft Targets” | 2021 | 2280 | A corporation has its sights set on some Minoan artifacts. Tanner does not want his cataloguing efforts to be interrupted. |
Low-Key Calamities[]
| Title | Published | Chronology | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Vigilance” | 2023 | 2277 | Being vigilant is no good if you’re vigilant about the wrong thing. |
| “Losses” | 2023 | 2278 | St. Catherine is crippled after an attempt to intercept a NorthStar convoy. |
| “Mostly Hype” | 2023 | 2278 | NorthStar invades Augustine. Tanner is cut off from evacuation. |
| “Better Days” | 2023 | 2277 and 2281 | A demonstration on how to break up bar fights. |
| “Friends” | 2023 | 2281 | A bat hunt in the dorms turns up a stranger. |
Online only[]
| Title | Published | Where to read | Chronology | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “Janeka Finds Out” | 2023 | Patreon | 2279 | Janeka learns about Tanner bringing Casey to the Hashemite consulate. |
| “Conduct Unbecoming” | 2023 | Patreon | 2277 | Tanner Malone takes on the challenges of military discipline. |