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Brian Van Reet
19 ratings | 29 reviews | avg rating:5.00

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Brian Van Reet

Goodreads Author


Born
Houston, The United States
Website

Genre
Literary, Fiction

Member Since
May 2013


Brian Van Reet is the author of Spoils, a novel named one of the best books of 2017 by the Guardian, Military Times, the Wall Street Journal, and others. A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers, he has twice won the Texas Institute of Letters short story award. He lives in Austin with his family.

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Popular Answered Questions

Your review of Cherry was one of the best things I've read this year. Not really a question, just a thank you. ?
Brian Van Reet That is kind of you, thanks.
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Great review of Cherry. There must be so many stories and yet, they are all kind of like one story: war sucks for the losers and many of the so-called winners. My cousin was a gunner on a hummer (as a National Guard) and saw action in Mosul. He came back with PTSD and open sores that he thinks were caused by the burn pits. How many books could you write about this war?
Brian Van Reet I am sorry to hear about your cousin's health problems. If you speak to him, I hope you will encourage him to look into the Veterans Affairs Burn Pit …moreI am sorry to hear about your cousin's health problems. If you speak to him, I hope you will encourage him to look into the Veterans Affairs Burn Pit Registry and add his name to the list. He may have already done so, but if not, he has earned the right to receive the best treatment this country can give. I don't know how many books I could write about the war (one, for sure) but there are certainly an infinite number that could be written. Best wishes to you both. (less)
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Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.88 · 1,278 ratings · 238 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors
Spoils
3.85 avg rating — 789 ratings — published 2017 — 28 editions
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Fire and Forget: Short Stor...
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3.93 avg rating — 548 ratings — published 2013 — 7 editions
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New Border Voices: An Antho...
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4.28 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions
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More books by Brian Van Reet…

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The Cannibal Owl
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Oct 30, 2025 09:19AM
UFOs and the Nati...
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Oct 23, 2025 10:21AM
Quotes by Brian Van Reet  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“There comes a time for each of us when we realize the truth about the enemy. Which is that he is not an idea, or some faceless demon. He is a man. And every man is much like ourselves.”
― Brian Van Reet, Spoils
tags: war
5 likes
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“There was the sense of the existing order overturned, a feeling of wild possibility.”
― Brian Van Reet, Spoils
3 likes
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“There comes a time for each of us when we realize the truth about the enemy. Which is that he is not an idea, or some faceless demon. He is a man. And every man is much like ourselves.” There”
― Brian Van Reet, Spoils
3 likes
Like

Topics Mentioning This Author

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A Million More Pages: February Cover Hunt 115 147 Mar 03, 2018 05:15AM  
You'll love this ...: Claire between the stars 46 28 Mar 07, 2018 09:43PM  

Brian’s Quotes

“Literature takes its revenge on reality by making it the slave of fiction.”
― Simone de Beauvoir, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter
13 likes
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“Of those who reckon lives against lives, who permit themselves to take life in the name of justice, only the fool believes he always decides rightly. I'm no fool. I'm more like the blind man who claims it's impossible for anyone to see.”
― Brian Van Reet, Spoils
1 likes
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“but the truth about war is, some people are good at it, and people tend to enjoy showing off their talents. Me,”
― Brian Van Reet, Spoils
2 likes
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“There was the sense of the existing order overturned, a feeling of wild possibility.”
― Brian Van Reet, Spoils
3 likes
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“There comes a time for each of us when we realize the truth about the enemy. Which is that he is not an idea, or some faceless demon. He is a man. And every man is much like ourselves.” There”
― Brian Van Reet, Spoils
3 likes
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