Title: God’s War

Author: Kameron Hurley

Series: Bel Dam Apocrypha #1

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: Nyx is a bel dame, a bounty hunter paid to collect the heads of deserters – by almost any means necessary. ‘Almost’ proved to be the problem. Cast out and imprisoned for breaking one rule too many, Nyx and her crew of mercenaries are all about the money. But when a dubious government deal with an alien emissary goes awry, her name is at the top of the list for a covert recovery. While the centuries-long war rages on only one thing is certain: the world’s best chance for peace rests in the hands of its most ruthless killers. . . -Goodreads

The Review:

I’m glad I went into God’s War knowing what to expect from this author.

When I read Mirror Empire, the first book in the Worldbreaker Saga (which I still need to get back to), I was introduced to a very edgy writer who has incredibly creative ideas, infuses gender-bender alternative viewpoints into her stories, and isn’t afraid to “go there” for a good bit of shock-value. Needless to say, I ventured into God’s War a little more braced than I might have otherwise…

…and was hit over the head with an unconventional story and wildly unique world-building. This society derives magic from the life energy of bugs. And that’s not even the focus of the story! It’s such an afterthought inclusion that speaks to the immersiveness of this story. Right away you’re thrown into the thick of things and abandoned to figure out what type of place this is on your own. There’s practically no time spent easing you into the story, which is par for the course of what I’ve seen from her so far. It’s also why I think her books are a lot more demanding than most.

I liked the initial profile for the main character, Nyx, but found myself getting slightly more dissatisfied with her as the story progressed. It seemed like random quirks kept being added to her personality, perhaps in an attempt to add depth, but it came across a tad contrived. And I think that’s part of the reason the plot felt a little disjointed. Like the author had a ton of ideas on the types of internal conflicts the character should face in order to give her a good arc, but didn’t integrate it through experience shown in the text. It was more like we kept jumping to the point of growth without getting to see the context through which it happened. It was interesting, but it felt clumsy.

I’m really fascinated by a lot of the periphery of this book. Like the bug-based magic system. And an entire societal conflict happening on the outskirts of the story that seem pivotal to the plot but not a lot of details were provided on it. I’m hoping the vagueness so far means she’s building up to a lot of cool moments later, but mark this as me suspending my final evaluation of this book until I see those promises are delivered on later. Fingers crossed.

So overall, this is unlike anything I’ve ever read, which in itself has merit. But between a disjointed and convoluted plot, clunky characterization, and unexplored opportunities, I’m still on the fence for this one. I plan to read the second one eventually, but find myself not super antsy to pick it up soon.

Recommendations: if you like weird scifi/fantasy novels with a lot of unconventional characters and plots, Kameron Hurley is the author for you.

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