The Other Side of Fear: A Novella About the XK9s

by Jan S. Gephardt

Does she have what it takes?

Orangeboro police officer Pamela Gómez took her own dare. Now she’s headed planetside, to meet the challenge of her life.

XK9s are the newest, most powerful tool in law enforcement, but these super-dogs need human partners. The Orangeboro Police Department has purchased ten XK9s. Only an elite corps of officers will be chosen as their handlers.

Pam’s never had a dog, never left her home space station, and never thought of herself as an “elite” anything, but she took the courses, passed the tests, and made the cut. Now she’s an XK9 partner-candidate, bound for Planet Chayko, despite all her fears.

Does she have what it takes to handle an XK9? The answer to that will take her places she never dared to dream about.

Genres: Science Fiction

100 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2020

About the author

Jan S. Gephardt (pronouns: she/her) is a science fiction novelist, fantasy artist, and publisher from Kansas City. Her “XK9s Saga” books feature a pack of uplifted police dogs who live far in the future inside a habitat space station in a different star’s planetary system.
She and sister G. S. Norwood co-founded Weird Sisters Publishing LLC in 2019. Jan is the Chief Cat-Herder and Art Director for Weird Sisters, which means she is in charge of book production, illustration commissions, and all marketing.
See more about Jan's writing and artwork on her websites and social media profiles!
https://jansgephardt.com/
https://weirdsisterspublishing.com/
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jan-S.-...
https://www.facebook.com/JanSGephardt...
https://www.instagram.com/jangephardt/
https://bsky.app/profile/artdog.bsky....
https://www.facebook.com/JanSGephardt...
https://www.facebook.com/WeirdSisters...

Reviews

[Barb (Boxermommyreads)]

A lot of you might remember how much I loved the first book in this series, What's Bred in the Bone. I've been not-so-patiently awaiting the next installment. So when the author reached out and offered me a copy of a prequel novella she was releasing in the interim, I jumped at the chance. In fact, I might have even done a little happy dance.

The Other Side of Fear happens prior to the events of the first book. It basically explains how Pam, Shady's handler, came to meet Shady. Pam is living with her boyfriend when the tale begins, who I must admit is a jerk. He doesn't want her to take part in a pilot program with the XK9's and basically is secretly, or not so secretly, hopes she will fail. Pam doesn't have a lot of confidence that after four weeks in the orientation program she will actually be picked by a dog, but she quickly falls in love with Shady.

I love how Gephardt can so easily express the bond between humans and dogs. Because the XK9's can communicate with their handlers, the reader gets to see both sides of the bonding process. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the bonds between the cadets and the dogs form. Now as I have already read the first book, I knew who Shady eventually picked, but this was still a wonderful addition to the series. It was fun getting a look at how the whole program started and being introduced to some of the familiar faces I met in What's Bred in the Bone.

And finally, there's a line in the book where Pam is told by Shady that the other side of fear is freedom. I think we should all take a moment to think of that today. The world is full of grief and trauma and I think a lot of us are living with the fear of something. It definitely doesn't hurt to remember that there will be another side of this one day, and perhaps when it arrives, we'll all feel a bit more free.

Thanks to the author for the ARC of this novella. Now I'm back to not-so-patiently waiting again.

[Amber]

I actually got this eBook for free when signing up for the author’s monthly newsletter. As of writing this, I think that deal is still going on over at jansgephardt.com. I highly recommend checking that out, because this was such a good novella! I was surprised how hard the concept hit me in my lifelong love of animals. I mean, dogs who can talk and choose their owners is legit a childhood fantasy of mine, so Pam’s story hit home in a way I didn’t expect. Pam was also so relatable, and I really wanted her to succeed. Likewise, I liked the conflict of whether or not she should stay with her current boyfriend, as it gave her character more depth and complexity. I also found the science fiction worldbuilding incredibly interesting, and I’m curious to learn more about Rana Station in future books. I particularly liked the station citizens' reactions to being on a planet, which was very thoughtful and intriguing. I have already ordered the first book, and I’m excited to see how the story progresses!

[Barb (Boxermommyreads)]

A lot of you might remember how much I loved the first book in this series, What's Bred in the Bone. I've been not-so-patiently awaiting the next installment. So when the author reached out and offered me a copy of a prequel novella she was releasing in the interim, I jumped at the chance. In fact, I might have even done a little happy dance.

The Other Side of Fear happens prior to the events of the first book. It basically explains how Pam, Shady's handler, came to meet Shady. Pam is living with her boyfriend when the tale begins, who I must admit is a jerk. He doesn't want her to take part in a pilot program with the XK9's and basically is secretly, or not so secretly, hopes she will fail. Pam doesn't have a lot of confidence that after four weeks in the orientation program she will actually be picked by a dog, but she quickly falls in love with Shady.

I love how Gephardt can so easily express the bond between humans and dogs. Because the XK9's can communicate with their handlers, the reader gets to see both sides of the bonding process. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the bonds between the cadets and the dogs form. Now as I have already read the first book, I knew who Shady eventually picked, but this was still a wonderful addition to the series. It was fun getting a look at how the whole program started and being introduced to some of the familiar faces I met in What's Bred in the Bone.

And finally, there's a line in the book where Pam is told by Shady that the other side of fear is freedom. I think we should all take a moment to think of that today. The world is full of grief and trauma and I think a lot of us are living with the fear of something. It definitely doesn't hurt to remember that there will be another side of this one day, and perhaps when it arrives, we'll all feel a bit more free.

Thanks to the author for the ARC of this novella. Now I'm back to not-so-patiently waiting again.

[Karin L.]

The Other Side of Fear makes an excellent addition to the XK9 series. In this prequel, Ms. Gephardt illustrates the choosing of human companions by the XK9s.
Human/ non-human interactions are always tricky. A fine line exists between portraying the non-human as too human if she/he/it can talk and portraying the non-human as so alien as to be impenetrable.
Ms. Gephardt treads this razor edge with such finesse that every encounter between XK9 and potential companion is sheer delight.

[Shana Pare]

Fun series

This is a new author for me, but I am looking forward to the next books. I suspect that the XK9 dogs are going to change a lot of things. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

[Deborah]

Loved this introduction to Rex, Shady, Pam, Charlie and the other characters, both human and XK9 that I read about in "What's Bred in the Bone."

[G.S.]

An interesting read that both tells a good story and gives a lot of insight and background to the author's novel, What's Bred in the Bone.

[Erik Sapp]

I love dogs, so what could be better than super-smart talking dogs? Not a lot if this novella is anything to go by.

The setting could use a little more background, but I suspect everything will be filled in as I read the full-length books. The characters are well developed.

[Kevin Albee]

A good story requires a few things.
1) Characters you can relate to. You don't have to like them but they have to draw you in.
2) a unique idea around which the story flows.
3) a flow of the story that evokes an emotion. Whether anger or tears or joy.

This novella rings every bell. Without spoilers it takes you on a ride. It ends with a combination of joy and sadness.

[Joan Lloyd]

Well written with an amazing heroine (I know I'm not supposed to use that word but I don't care) and a wonderful "dog". I'm going on to the next book about another protagonist and another canine-sort of.

[KatyReads]

I found this novella through an ad if I remember correctly and decided it looked neat. It is a good story and a great introduction to the characters in the series. The next book "Bred in the bone" is also really good. I plan to keep reading :)

[Susan Cook]

I enjoyed this book very much. It was full of humour and drama with great characters and best of all “talking” dogs. A female, Peace Officer Pam, applies for the new K-9 unit on her space station. She is lacking in confidence and self worth as she is the result of a neglectful parent and has just started a live-in relationship with a detective in the Peace Office. She really wants to be accepted by a K9, yes they let the dogs choose their partners, but her boyfriend has started showing a lack of support. His reasoning is their apartment is too small even though he, as her live-in partner signed a contract agreeing to a K9 if she was accepted. Now, although Pam has meshed well with the dogs and one dog in particular, she is uncertain of whether to hope she will be chosen or dread it.

[JoEllen]

What a great story!
I love this series, and I was delighted to read this prequel...now to, hopefully, find the third book...Bone of Contention...I'm really ready for more.

[Steven]

I know the author, but she didn’t ask me to review this book.

This novella serves as the prequel to Gephardt’s science fiction series of novels about the XK9s—genetically engineered sentient dogs, capable of speech. With their agility, keen sense of smell, and deep understanding of humans, the XK9s prove adept at helping to solve crimes.

In this introductory story, Pamela Gómez enjoys being with her boyfriend, despite the inner voice of her mother telling her to dump him. Still, she wants more out of life. Pam tries out to be a participant in the XK9 Project. She barely makes it in, qualifying as a Tier 3, very unlikely to get bonded with an XK9.

At the end of a rigorous, weeks-long training and acclimation program, dogs will choose their human bond-mate. Pam shouldn’t get her hopes up. Not only is she in Tier 3, but her boyfriend back home misses her and dislikes the idea of her joining the XK9 Project. She fears she’ll have to abandon her dream. Will she ever come to learn the other side of fear?

Like Pam, readers will come to understand these remarkable dogs—how they relate to others in their pack and how they pick up on subtle human clues about our feelings.

Gephardt takes the dogs we love in our real world and makes them better in her fictional world. How many of us have wished for deep, two-way conversations with our dogs? What would they say?

If you love dogs and science fiction, put The Other Side of Fear next on your must-read list, along with the rest of the series. If you love either dogs or scifi, or neither one, you’ll find much to enjoy about this novella, and may end up getting your own dog. Let me know if you’re able to teach it to speak English, though.

[Simon Mark]

this short novelette gave a very good taster for the books, and the first chapter of the first novel.
which i have now bought,
a emotional s.f. set on both a space station (vast) and another planet,
it involves a woman, part broken by an unloving and not present mother, a boy friend who wishes to have an unchanged relationship, and some wonderful warm hearted Dogs,
Entertaining read,