God’s War by Kameron Hurley

There is little simple or sweet about this book. It is a bloody, no holds barred, look at long term, devastating conflict with racial and religious foundations that are largely propaganda or misunderstandings. As if that weren’t enough, the different groups also hold harsh beliefs about gender, sparked by being on a planet where survival is difficult even without an ongoing war.

Before you get the idea that this is a sociological rant, though, know that it is personalized through the lead characters, each of which has a different stake in how this all comes into play. You see the world and the war through the eyes of a character who has been on many different levels of the conflict, and whose rare viewpoint lets her take people on their own grounding despite race and gender. Which is not to say she has no prejudices, nor that she is not a product of her culture. She suffers from as many internal clashes of culture and duty as external, a process that is both fascinating and traumatic to watch.

No, God’s War is not an easy read. It’s neither light entertainment nor fluffy, politically correct, feel good literature. What this novel does is offer a look at flaws that exist in our world through the window of another planet where everything is an extreme. It makes you think about things that are swept under the rug and provides a level of realism that is both horrifying and compelling.

I said it was not light entertainment and I hold to that, but there is no question that God’s War is entertaining, compelling, and illuminating thanks to rich, complicated characters who are feeling their way around as much as we readers are, and who I wanted to get to know better and hoped for a happy ending. Oh and there are even ‘aliens’–off-world splinter races–and something along the lines of magic, and the setting is more Middle Eastern than Western European, for those of you seeking to expand your reading cultures.

P.S. I got this book through NetGalley but the opinions are all my own.

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