Germline

The Subterrene War #1

by T.C. McCarthy

Germline (n): the genetic material contained in a cellular lineage that can be passed to the next generation. Also (slang): secret military program to develop genetically engineered super soldiers.

One hundred years from now, Russia and the United States are at odds again. This time the war has gone hot. Heavily armored soldiers battle genetically engineered troops hundreds of meters below the icy, mineral-rich mountains of Kazakhstan.

War is Oscar Wendell’s ticket to greatness. A reporter for the Stars and Stripes, he has the only one-way ticket to the front lines. The front smells of blood and fire and death—it smells like a Pulitzer.

But Kaz changes people, and the chaos of war feels a bit too much like home. Hooked on a dangerous cocktail of drugs and adrenaline, Oscar starts down a dark road he won’t be able to turn back from.

©2011 T. C. McCarthy (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction, War, Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy

173 pages, Unknown Binding

First published July 26, 2011

About the author

Dr. Theodore C. McCarthy (“T.C.”) is an award winning and critically acclaimed southern author and technology development strategist. A former CIA weapons expert, T.C. is a recognized authority on the impact of technology on military strategy and is a regular speaker at USSOCOM (US Special Operations Command) and other commands on future warfare topics. Before embarking on a national security career, he earned a PhD in geology and bachelor’s degrees in environmental science and computer science – in addition to being a Fulbright Fellow and Howard Hughes Biomedical Research Fellow – and worked as a patent examiner in complex biotechnology and combinatorial chemistry.

T.C.’s short fiction, both literary and genre, has appeared in Per Contra: The International Journal of the Arts, Literature and Ideas, Story Quarterly, Nature, and multiple anthologies. His debut novels, Germline (the winner of the Compton Crook Award in 2012), and its sequels, Exogene and Chimera, explored current trends in weapons and biotechnology research, applying his insights to construct a near-future, peer-to-peer conflict where infantry combat is forced underground.

Reviews

[Mark Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the debut SFF books I've read recently this one comes closest to literary fiction and has the best prose (bar Half-Sick of Shadows). The book's been described as very dark and depressing. I just found it interesting and at times exciting. The protagonist is messed up with a drug habit and post traumatic stress (is it 'post' if it's happening during the stress?). He's a journalist and so the ideal observation point to have on this futuristic war for Earth's diminishing resources.

A lot of weapons are discharged in this book, lots of people die. Plasma burns, fletchets, thermal gel, oh my. It's good SF. It's also good observation on a man over the edge in the worst of places. We see friendships formed, broken, bravery and cowardice ... all good stuff.

The most important element is probably the genetic soldiers bred for war and with a limited shelf life. This raises various philosophical and practical questions and of course our man gets right in the middle of this, having 'relations' with a female genetic solider. Given that all the US genetics are identical he now gets to see 'the love of his life' blown up apart repeatedly in a wide variety of circumstances.

In any event, the war and the story are an ungentle and untidy mess that keeps rolling on toward an uncertain future. It's a fine piece of work. It won't uplift you, or seek to instruct you, or treat you like an idiot. It will (if you let it) make you think.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but this particular one's shot of raw alcohol.


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[Anete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oscar Wendell ir žurnālsts, kas strādā avīzē The Stars and Stripes. Viņu nomāc depresija un narkotiku atkarība, tāpēc, kas gan varētu būt labākā vieta, kur atrast ceļu uz slavu un iepazītu sevi, kā Kazahstāna, kur par bagātīgiem minerālu resursiem karo futuristiski Krievijas un ASV karavīri pazemes tuneļos.
Grāmatā kara reālijas atspoguļotas ļoti asiņaini, lasītājs jūtas tā, it kā būtu kopā ar Oskaru pazemes ierakumos, nospiedošajā un smacīgajā, bet aizsargājošajā kara bruņu tērpā, kuru praktiski nekad nedrīskti novilkt. Naves briesmas ir nemitīgas. Taču es teiktu, ka varoni vajā pārdabiska veiksme, lai arī apkārt cilvēki mirst pa labi un pa kreisi. Jūtams autora komentārs, par resurusu kariem, kas norisinās mūsdienās. Šeit arī iztirzāta cita tēma - ģenētiski pārveidoti, mākslīgi radīti superkareivji - pusaugu meitenes, kuras ražo steriem, bet viņu derīguma termiņš, līdz tās sāk jukt prātā un burtiski pūst, ir aptuveni 2 gadi. Autors arī pieskarās tēmai par kara veterānu integrācijas problēmām ārpus militārās dzīves. Kas notiek, ja tu esi ārā no kara, bet karš joprojām dzīvo tavā galvā? Tāda diezgan tumša grāmatiņa

[Timothy Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't give a book five stars for having a flawless story, you give a book five stars because at the end you want to scream, "This book is awesome!" The book should change you through living in the main character's skin. You pick the book up each time with the same familiarity as if you were sitting down for coffee with your best friend and they are going to tell you a story. You finish the book feeling like you are saying goodbye to a dear friend. I've done this before, having lived in Australia and South Korea for six months each, and I remember the emotional turmoil of being plucked from a place I could have called home, and did, but for the rest of my life. Reading this book was like experiencing one of those times in your life you know you'll never forget, and putting it down finished is like saying goodbye. I'm in the airport back home now, glad to see my family, but still reliving the adventure of this book, and looking forward to finding another adventure to affect me like this one has. T.C. McCarthy has a new fan, and I can't wait to read more of his work.

In short, Germline is a masterpiece and I feel blessed to have had the chance to read it.

I won't give you anything about plot or character arcs because I don't want to reveal a single aspect of this journey. The main character, Oscar Wendell, is a reporter who goes to the front line to become famous. His journey, likely similar to what it would be like in this atmosphere, is unpredictable and intense. That is exactly how I'd describe the journey of reading this book, because you feel as if you're experiencing it with Oscar.

T.C. and I chatted about this series (spoiler-free) for a guest spot on the SF Signal podcast: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2012...

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...

Wow. Before I go any further into this review I want to be up front that I don't really feel qualified to review or judge this novel until I read it a second time. Nevertheless, I'm going to give it my best go. Please consider this more of a "first impressions" review that some kind of detailed analysis.

(Edit: After finishing the review, this has got be the longest "first impressions" post ever. Oh well, my blog, my run on incoherent thoughts.)

I finished Germline over the Fourth of July weekend. More accurately, I sat down with it Saturday morning and didn't even get up to eat until I finished it. It stunned me. The novel's blurb doesn't begin to encompass everything it has to offer. I don't think Orbit Books is trying to mislead anyone, but a few words can't capture everything T.C. McCarthy is trying to do. This is not, I repeat not, a military science fiction novel in the tradition of Honor Harrington (Weber) or even the more recent Old Man's War (Scalzi). Instead, over the course of 300 pages Germline is an incredibly dark coming of age story about a broken man who can only justify his existence by going to war.

Oscar Wendall is a reporter and not a particularly good one to ask his editor. Lucky for him, he's made a few well placed friends over the years that help him pull the "plum" assignment of being the first civilian allowed on the Line. He quickly finds himself in Kazakstan joining a battalion of Marines fighting the Pops (Russians) to secure rare minerals "vital" to the U.S. economy. Already an addict, Oscar begins to rely on drugs more and more to survive the terrifying world he now inhabits.

Told entirely in first person, Germline reads almost like stream of conscience at times replete with run on sentences and incomplete thoughts. What at first feels a bit like self indulgent writing quickly starts to feel more like an authentic look inside the mind of a drug addled narcissus. Having never done any serious narcotics, I'm not sure how close McCarthy hits the mark on the paranoia and dependence but he describes it as I've always imagined it to be - super shitty.

Germline's narrative style seems to give McCarthy carte blanche to toy with his reader's emotions. The inherent bias in a first person narrative makes the reader privy to all of Oscar's affectations. It allows the reader access to all of his fantasies of the mind as well as the truth of his motivations. Early on Oscar is the star of his own story, but then later describes himself as a coward who only stays because he can no longer rationalize life without the war. It wouldn't surprise me if some readers find it all a bit overwhelming. Oscar is a dark figure without many redeeming qualities (especially in his own mind). He starts off annoyingly naive full of unwarranted confidence and willing to put his life on the line for a Pulitzer because he has no idea what that life is worth. He's unemotional at times when he loses friends, and cripplingly emotional at other times.

That said, one of the things I kept ask myself time and again throughout the novel was how others perceived Oscar. Telling the story solely through Oscar's very flawed eyes, McCarthy leaves the answers to questions like that open to interpretation.Thankfully, McCarthy's ending is incredibly cathartic. If I'd read the ending by itself it may have come off a bit contrived and convenient. After the roller coaster of emotion that Germline sent me on for the first 250 pages though, I couldn't have handled anything except what McCarthy gave me. I found myself choked up on at least three occasions at the novel's conclusion - an extremely rare occurrence.

Like any good science fiction novel Germline includes gads of social commentary. The most prevalent is the theme on which McCarthy is building his trilogy - Some technologies can't be put back in the box. For the most part this debate plays out through a squad of soldiers known as genetics. Women raised for no other purpose than to die in combat (and kick serious Russian ass), the genetics are McCarthy's opening statement into a larger debate of how the concept of shared humanity survives when a man's (in the larger sense) first and last line of defense is dehumanizing everything around him. I believe he extends the metaphor throughout the entire novel using Oscar's journey to redeem the notion that while things can never be put back in the box (Oscar's own humanity or sense of community), they can be made right. I think it'll be interesting to see how this discussion continues to take place in future novels.

Additionally, those who have a political leaning one way or another will quickly make a connection between McCarthy's description of Kazakstan's minerals and oil in the Middle East. There's a scene in the book that really focuses in on this discussion and it's so thinly veiled as to make me wonder if the commentary is merely coincidental. Given the author's background in international conflict analysis, I find that hard to believe. I didn't find it heavy handed by any means, but it's there. Readers with a feminist bent (I mean that in the nicest possible way) might also struggle a little bit as the only two female characters are an overbearing socialite mother and clones bread to kill.

Brief aside: I would be totally remiss if I didn't at least comment on Germline's cover. Where the blurb fails to convey the heart of the novel, the cover nails it. Reminiscent of the Blackhawk Down movie poster, I think the art absolutely captures a man totally beaten down, but still willing to shoulder his burden and move forward. I'm usually not a fan of the "photo realism" covers, but I think artist Steve Stone nailed it. I guess McCarthy agrees.

Germline is a tremendous debut novel. To be honest, I'm a little nervous that I've butchered the author's true intent in trying to communicate how it made me feel. I'd love a chance to talk with McCarthy at some point because I don't know how a character like Oscar Wendell gets written without leaving an author hollowed out when it's all over. Hell, I felt hollowed out just reading it. This novel isn't for everybody - and I wouldn't touch it as a so called "summer read" - but it's immediately going into my personal pantheon of war novels next to Gates of Fire and All Quiet on the Western Front. Hell of a debut, T.C.

P.S. - McCarthy's second novel Exogen is due out next year as the second installment in his Subterrene Trilogy. Germline stands so well on its own that I hope future novels set in the same world steer clear of Oscar Wendell.

[Ranting Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Germline, T. C. McCarthy’s ambitious debut novel, is the first installment in his Subterrene War trilogy. While it is ostensibly labeled as work of near-future military science fiction, that description barely scratches the surface of the true scope of the novel: Germline is, in essence, a gritty and confronting coming-of-age story featuring a deeply flawed protagonist. The result is intense, uncomfortable, and more than just a little bit brilliant.

A grim, believable future, and a protagonist to match
Germline is set in a decidedly bleak near future where US and Russian troops battle for the Earth’s few remaining mineral deposits. Foremost in the American arsenal are deadly squads of all-female, genetically engineered super-soldiers. These women, known as Genetics, are indoctrinated into a cult-like religion of Faith and Death and exist for the sole purpose of killing as many enemy soldiers as possible before they themselves are killed or are “honorably discharged” (via a bullet to the head) at the age of eighteen. However, the US advantage is short-lived, as the Russians soon begin to engineer Genetics of their own. As the supply of healthy human troops dwindles, women are “encouraged” to stay at home breeding future war fodder while the US military recruits old men and boys.

Enter Oscar Wendell, a sub-par, drug-addicted reporter with a few friends in high places and ambitions for a Pulitzer Prize. When Wendell manages to secure an assignment with US troops on the front lines in Kazakhstan, he believes he has finally scored the story that will make him famous. However, he soon realizes that nothing could have prepared him for the realities of war. Already an addict, Wendell begins to rely increasingly upon narcotics while his former life as a reporter and the civilian world gradually fade from his tormented mind.

Daring and confronting
I say Germline is an ambitious debut because it is in no way the kind of “safe” first novel we sometimes see from new authors. McCarthy refuses to limit his fiction by sticking to familiar or uncontroversial concepts, or those we can view from a comfortable distance. Nor does he feature characters and scenarios calculated for the broadest possible appeal or least likelihood of causing offence. Instead, McCarthy chooses a nihilistic and disturbed protagonist, places the reader inside that character’s broken mind through first person narration and then proceeds to pack his novel with biting social commentary.

So many things could go wrong with this kind of setup that one has to admire McCarthy’s daring, if nothing else. Yet he manages to pull the novel off in spectacular fashion, creating a grueling experience sure to impress the reader.

A harrowing first person perspective
Oscar Wendell’s first person narrative is undoubtedly one of the key factors making Germline such an intense novel. Reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson, Wendell is not necessarily a likeable protagonist, and the reader is privy to his every flaw. He is a selfish, self-indulgent, broken wreck of a human being whose emotions jump between extremes with alarming regularity. Furthermore, he is not even particularly competent compared to the novel’s other characters, and his continued survival in a war-zone is just as often due to the efforts of friends in high places, genetics, fellow soldiers, and dumb luck than the result of any actions of his own.

Despite all this, Wendell is somehow the perfect protagonist to carry the reader on an eye-opening journey through McCarthy’s desolate future. In addition, although I am no expert on psychology and addiction, McCarthy’s depiction of this aspect of Wendell’s character seems very true to life. Wendell is, in essence, a deeply flawed and believable human being who—seemingly beyond hope—must learn to take responsibility for himself the hard way. “The hard way” doesn’t get much harder than this.

The prose itself is direct and unadorned in a way that perfectly complements the setting and protagonist. After all, there is little time for poeticism when the world is falling apart around you.

No shortage of social commentary here, sir
Germline gives the reader their first glimpse of a world where basic human rights have been all but stripped away and provides countless hints of more to come. Although we are limited to Oscar Wendell’s personal experience in this world, much more may be read into the novel once one looks below the surface. The horrors that Wendell witnesses cannot be viewed in isolation; they are, after all, the product of the society that allowed them.

For instance, the gender of the Genetics serves a dual purpose. The accepted explanation to the Genetics’ gender holds that the initial male prototypes, unlike their female counterparts, are too prone to uncontrollable, testosterone-fueled violence; but the female models provide yet another benefit. Their presence on the battlefields can be used by those in power to counter any allegations of sexism in excluding women from the front lines. While this idea may make some readers uncomfortable, it is deliberately calculated to be troubling and one would be hard pressed to say that this kind of set-up is in any way acceptable.

And now for the really uncomfortable part…
All in all, although Germline is a work of science fiction, in many ways it is not all that far-fetched or unfamiliar. The technology depicted throughout the novel is futuristic yet disturbingly plausible. McCarthy merely takes already existing and swiftly developing technologies such as genetic modification and cloning to the next level. As someone who has some familiarity with genetics and related science, there was nothing depicted in the novel that I found particularly implausible.

Likewise, the novel’s premise, despite being unpleasant, is also quite believable and finds its basis in real world issues. Most would agree that humanity is just beginning to realize, somewhat reticently, that natural resources are not infinite. Furthermore, it is not hard to believe that if we continue to rely upon such finite materials too much longer we could well end up with the kind of resource war scenario McCarthy depicts. Some may be so bold as to suggest that, to some extent at least, we already have.

So why should you read this book?
Germline is without doubt one of the most intense and affecting books I have read in long time. The fact that the details of the novel remain clear in my mind a month after finishing it should be a good indication of the extent to which it engaged me as a reader. Nevertheless, it won’t suit everyone: Germline is not a light read, nor is it an easy one. What it is, however, is a well-executed and relevant novel that will haunt you long after you finish reading. It is gritty, unsettling, confronting, and at times quite harrowing—yet I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find more and more that rating books (for me anyway) is getting to be a very tricky thing, at least sometimes. This book is probably better at least in some sense than the 3 star rating will indicate. Still there's a reason I decided I had to go with 3. So, let's again say this is the much lamented "3.5" star book.

This is a story of a future war. The world has ground down to the point that metals are apparently in perennial short supply. Some is being mined in space we're told but it's still very expensive to bring it down so when a deposit is found "here on Earth" it is...greatly desired. What we have here amounts to a world war that is centered in the middle east and fought over and in deep mines. Above ground and below futuristic weapons leave hordes of people dead...mutilated...crippled...and completely destroyed. The war is fought by men in battle armor and also genetically engineered troops thought of as products.

See, there's a problem with the production of the "Gs", they deteriorate mentally. It's called "the rot". So, they have to be "discharged" at 18. Discharged, that means killed.

The world we see here is in many ways a sort of mixed bag of a possible result of the ideas we are seeing so prevalent today (the growing disrespect for life or loss of reverence for life as an example) and problems we've seen in the past (the poor military planning and lack of actual goals and leadership seen during Vietnam). There is an overriding feeling of futility about the book and so maybe inevitably at times about the book. There is a part of the second half of the book that did feel totally futile to me and lost me a bit. This is why I decided that the book, as good as it is seemed to me to call for the 3 star rating rather than the 4 stars. It lost my interest for just a while.

The story here is told in first person/through the eyes of a chronic looser who's addicted to drugs and managed to smash every chance, every job and every relationship he's ever had. Sent to the war for Stars and Stripes...to get a story. He screws that up to.

He becomes part of the military. We follow him through the war through the experiences and the changes of his new, "life".

I suspect that people who've read a lot of military science fiction will see "things", ideas, "parts" they've seen elsewhere.

I also believe that military personal will see things familiar here. The book is another in the "war is futile" vein. This time however I didn't get the feeling that the writer had an axe to grind. The simple fact of war's reality is what's dealt with. If you've been there I think you'll see things you recognize.

I don't think it's a spoiler to note that when the civilian girl asks him, "was it scary?" You'll kind of get his reaction.

Anyway despite the 3 star rating which is mostly a..."yeah I like it but it didn't blow me away"...rating, I do recommend this one with the caveat that's it's very graphic and not simply a "story".

[Jason Pettus · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

It's not often that a sci-fi military-thriller mass paperback with a cheesy front cover will remind you of a Pulitzer nominee, but that's certainly the case with T.C. McCarthy's absolutely astounding literary debut Germline; because as a military veteran with a dark past himself, McCarthy brings the same kind of poetic yet intense sensibility to his tale of a near-future fictional war as, say, Denis Johnson applies to his award-winning Vietnam novel Tree of Smoke (one of my favorite novels of all time), a kind of delicate rhythm yet rawness to his prose that works so well when it comes to stories concerning politically conservative subjects (state-approved violence, moral codes, man's essential monstrous nature, etc). And in fact, the comparisons to literary classics don't end there: astute readers will also see a lot of Graham Greene and Ernest Hemingway in this book too, in the way that it glides effortlessly between the front lines of this war and the surreal, often darkly comical events happening back among the bored administrators and jaded local population; a bit of Joseph Heller in the absurdist reasons this war is even taking place (it's a territorial war in central Asia over the mining rights to the world's last big supply of trace metals, the kinds of rare materials that are worthless except in the case of manufacturing cellphones, which because of futuristic military inventions has turned into the bloodiest conflict in human history, with tens of millions on both sides now dead); and even a bit of Orson Scott Card, in the pure brutality of this war's child soldiers and merciless genetic clones (themselves the subject of the next novel in this new series), as well as a healthy dollop of Hunter S. Thompson, as our main protagonist's runaway drug addiction turns many of his battle descriptions into some of the most bizarre gonzo reporting this side of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. And for all you Tom Clancy tech-heads, there's plenty for you to enjoy too, as McCarthy spins fantastical tales of spacesuit-type armor with self-contained atmospheres, in a world where all troop movement is conducted underground in massive tunnels bored specifically for that purpose, because of pervasive drones and armed satellites from both sides turning all of outdoors into one massive genocidal killing field.

Ultimately the best compliment I can pay this unforgettable novel is this -- that it was one of the very rare books anymore that I literally was not able to put down, continuing to read in little snatches both day and night when I was supposed to be doing other things; and I'm not usually a fan of war novels, which makes my obsession with this one even more profound. The one sci-fi military novel to read if you only read one sci-fi military novel a year, it comes strongly recommended no matter what your opinion on war in general, and it's a shame that Orbit put this out in such a cheesy supermarket edition that will scare off so many of the people bound to love it the most.

Out of 10: 9.3, or 10 for fans of sci-fi military tales

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this after reading Justin's great review. This was a very different kind coming of age story, to say the least. A very bleak, a dark story about the very unlikeable war reporter who is drugged out most of the story and who is a quite big asshole. I got feeling at somewhere around the halfway mark, that 'why i'm reading about this pulitzer-hound-asshole', but by the end it was really worth of it, because it's was surprisingly emotional and it made me want to read more from this McCarthy guy, but no more stories of Oscar Wendell, please :)

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.vilutheril.com/?p=1198

Germline, T.C. McCarthy’s ambitious debut novel, is the first installment in his Subterrene War trilogy. While it is ostensibly labeled as work of near-future military science fiction, that description barely scratches the surface of the true scope of the novel: Germline is, in essence, a gritty and confronting coming-of-age story featuring a deeply flawed protagonist. The result is intense, uncomfortable, and more than just a little bit brilliant.

A grim, believable future, and a protagonist to match

Germline is set in a decidedly bleak near future where U.S. and Russian troops battle for the Earth’s few remaining mineral deposits. Foremost in the Americans’ arsenal are deadly squads of all-female, genetically engineered super-soldiers. These women, known as Genetics, are indoctrinated into a cult-like religion of Faith and Death and exist for the sole purpose of killing as many enemy soldiers as possible before they themselves die or are “honorably discharged” (via a bullet to the head) at the age of eighteen. However, the U.S. advantage is short-lived, as the Russians soon begin to engineer Genetics of their own. As the supply of healthy human troops dwindles, women are “encouraged” to stay at home breeding future war fodder while the U.S. military recruits old men and boys.

Enter Oscar Wendell, a sub-par, drug-addicted reporter with a few friends in high places and ambitions for a Pulitzer Prize. When Wendell manages to secure an assignment with U.S. troops on the front lines in Kazakhstan, he believes he has finally scored the story that will make him famous. However, he soon realizes that nothing could have prepared him for the realities of war. Already an addict, Wendell begins to rely increasingly upon narcotics while both his former life as a reporter and the civilian world gradually cease to exist to his tormented mind.

Daring and confronting

I say Germline is an ambitious debut because it is in no way the kind of “safe” first novel we sometimes see from new authors. McCarthy refuses to limit his fiction by sticking to familiar or uncontroversial concepts, or those we can view from a comfortable distance. Nor does he feature characters and scenarios calculated for the broadest possible appeal and least likelihood of causing offence. Instead, McCarthy chooses a nihilistic and disturbed protagonist, places the reader inside that character’s broken mind through first person narration and then proceeds to pack his novel with biting social commentary.

So many things could go wrong with this kind of setup that one has to admire McCarthy’s daring, if nothing else. Yet he manages to pull the novel off in spectacular fashion, creating a grueling experience sure to impress the reader.

A harrowing first person perspective

Oscar Wendell’s first person narrative is undoubtedly one of the key factors that make Germline such an intense novel. Reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson, Wendell is not necessarily a likeable protagonist and the reader is privy to his every flaw. He is a selfish, self-indulgent, broken wreck of a human being whose emotions jump between extremes with alarming regularity. Furthermore, he is not even particularly capable compared to the novel’s other characters and his continued survival in a war-zone is just as often due to the efforts of a progression of friends in high places, genetics, fellow soldiers, and dumb luck than the result of any actions of his own.

Despite all this, Wendell is somehow the perfect protagonist to carry the reader on an eye-opening journey through McCarthy’s desolate future. In addition, although I am no expert on psychology and addiction, McCarthy’s depiction of this aspect of Wendell’s character seems very true to life. Wendell is, in essence, a deeply flawed and believable human being who—seemingly beyond hope—must learn to take responsibility for himself the hard way. “The hard way” doesn’t get much harder than this.

The prose itself is direct and unadorned in a way that perfectly complements the setting and protagonist. After all, there is little time for poeticism when the world is falling apart around you.

No shortage of social commentary here, sir

Germline gives the reader their first glimpse of a world where basic human rights have been all but stripped away and provides countless hints at more to come. Although we are limited to Oscar Wendell’s personal experience in this world, once one looks below the surface much more may be read into the novel. The horrors that Wendell witnesses cannot be viewed in isolation: they are, after all, the product of the society that allowed them.

For instance, the gender of the Genetics serves a dual purpose. The accepted explanation to the Genetics’ gender holds that the initial male prototypes, unlike their female counterparts, are too prone to uncontrollable, testosterone-fueled violence; but the female models provide yet another benefit. Their presence on the battlefields can be used by those in power to counter any allegations of sexism in excluding women from the front lines. While this idea may make some readers uncomfortable, it is deliberately calculated to be troubling and one would be hard pressed to say that this kind of set-up is in any way endorsed.

And now for the really uncomfortable part…

All in all, although Germline is a work of science fiction it is, in many ways, not all that far-fetched or unfamiliar. The technology depicted throughout the novel is futuristic yet disturbingly plausible. McCarthy merely takes already existing and fast developing technologies such as genetic modification and cloning to the next level. As someone who has some familiarity with genetics and related science, there was nothing depicted in the novel that I found particularly implausible.

Likewise, the novel’s premise, despite being unpleasant, is also quite believable and finds its basis in real world issues. Most would agree that humanity is just beginning to realize, somewhat reticently, that natural resources are not infinite. Furthermore, it is not hard to believe that if we continue to rely upon such finite materials too much longer we could well end up with the kind of resource war scenario McCarthy depicts. Some may be so bold as to suggest that, to some extent at least, we already have.

So why should you read this book?

Germline is without doubt one of the most intense and affecting books I have read in long time. The fact that the details of the novel remain clear in my mind a month after finishing it should be a good indication of the extent to which it engaged me as a reader. Nevertheless, it won’t suit everyone: Germline is not a light read, nor is it an easy one. What it is however, is a well-executed and relevant novel that will haunt you long after you finish reading. It is gritty, unsettling, confronting, and at times quite harrowing yet I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[Ove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty and Painfully Realistic

There is something I like with war correspondents. This is the second book about one this year that I have been impressed by.

Oscar Wendell is down on his luck addicted to drugs but assigned to be the first reporter allowed to the frontline when the story starts. I have seldom read a story so gritty and painfully realistic about war as this one given of course it is military science fiction.

In the near future wars are fought over metals in the earth crust. The soldiers fight deep underground to protect miners and no one fight more fiercely than the genetics or the Gs as they are called here.

We follow Oscar on a personal journey through different battlefields as he is changed by battle and strife. It is so intense and emotional at times that I can believe myself being there feeling what he feels.

The Gs on the US side are all female so there is the obvious and welcome love connection for Oscar but not without its problems as these soldiers have been created with a best before date and feed a belief system making themselves want to die on their 18th birthday. At first only the US forces have Gs but that soon changes as does the success in the war.

Not all the action takes place underground. We get to experience war from many different sides before the satisfying conclusion. Even though it is mostly about the characters Germline has some interesting technologies and gadgets. Like the battle armor and plasma grenades.

Germline is the first in a trilogy of standalone books that view the Subterrene war from different points of views. The next one Exogene is about one of the Gs and it will be out in March next year.

T. C. McCarthy impresses the hell out of me with this hard-hitting debut. Germline is a gritty and painfully realistic military science fiction that can stand on its own against the best in the genre. It is dark but also very personal up close. If you have the slightest interest in war stories you should read this.

[Paul Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely intense, gritty ride through a futuristic war with the Russians over metals underground.
Our chief protagonist battles through drug addiction and an over whelming need to find love in war struck Kazakhstan. A fairly short book at 350 pages but a quick read as you cannot put this book down.
Told in first person, you really get into the head of the reporter Oscar Wendall as he goes through emotional and physical hell in positions where people seem to get blown away around him - yet he miraculously survives the many encounters he finds himself in and makes it back home.
A highly recommended military sci-fi novel that is set not to far in the future and I will definitely be on the look out for the second novel of the proposed trilogy.

[Grete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally published on BookThing!

I started reading Germline about 12.30 this afternoon, intending to read for a little and have a nap. Now it’s just gone 5pm and I may be a little bleary eyed after no sleep but I just finished the book and then had to take a little time to reflect on it before I wrote the review.

Germline is not an easy read, it has all too realistic scenes of death, insanity and desperation in war, the main character is about the most self-indulgent mess of an anti-hero you could find and even though it’s set in the future, the war is ultimately about who has the most strength to claim what dwindling mineral resources are left, something I can envision all too clearly in our reality.

Having said all that, the book was absolutely amazing. The clarity of writing and scene descriptions were brilliant and I was able to clearly envision what was going on, even if I didn’t want to. I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened next, no matter the outcome and there were more than a few times when I had to take a brief break, just to absorb or pull back from what I’d just read.

I thought the technology T. C. McCarthy created was superb, fit the setting well and it impressed me how easy it was to understand without being led into lengthy jargon on how and why. From the weaponry, to the armour, even the genetic soldiers all provided everything I needed for a well rounded science fiction novel.

As the book was written in first person perspective, I think it provided a unique look at what was going on in Oscar Wendell’s head. Starting as a drug-addicted and failing journalist, he had one last chance of redeeming himself with his employers by securing the chance to write an article from the frontlines of the subterrene war in Kazakhstan. Seeing the war happen from his civilian perspective gave greater impact to what it was really like, the conditions they endure and the edge of sanity they have to dance to get through another night. The choices he made throughout were both insane yet believable.

I really wanted to hate him. At first it felt like there was nothing redeeming about him whatsoever, but McCarthy wrote him so cleverly that as he woke up to the reality around him and grew up without wanting to, he sneaked into my mind and a little into my heart.

There was quite a large cast of supporting characters, and a few of the individuals that Oscar meets had quite a major impact on me. The sheer amount of emotion that the author managed to convey along with these characters, some of them only for a short time was astounding and a testament to a brilliant and empathic writing style. I have to mention the Brit and the Kid. I loved both their characters and the fact you never learned their names.

The ending was actually a real surprise for me, I honestly didn’t expect it and I can only give huge props to T. C. McCarthy for making me believe there could be only one outcome for Oscar.

My only negative is that the title of the book and the consequent definition on the back cover aren’t actually used in the book that I recall, and perhaps it wasn’t needed as you now knew what it meant. Due to the definition though, I was expecting something a little different but I was in no way disappointed with what I got.

The pace of the book was fast and unrelenting, leading to me not being able to put it down unless I had to. The plot was both original and interesting and actually very hard to describe so all I can say is read Germline. Then get back to me ;)

A gripping close up of a futuristic war in all it’s gritty, brutal, dark and horrific glory.

[Ross Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dislike trying to sum up a novel in a single word but on this occasion it is not hard to do so: brutal.

Initially I was expecting something along the lines of space opera or military sci fi but I was a long way from right.

This is a future where the USA is the aggressor in a war for mineral resources. In a short time, losses on both sides are horrific, despite the introduction of the genetically engineered super-soldiers. On the US-side, these are all identical teenage females, which if they survive to age 18, are killed due to increasing mental stability. Yet these female genetics were more successful and stable than attempts with males.

After Oscar has a brief relationship with one of the genetics, he finds himself being interviewed by two men from the Department of Defence who explain they are trying to increase the mental stability of the germline soldiers.

“To make it so they don’t get attached to men like you. If we can do that, we have a product that’s useful over a greater period of time and, consequently, worth more to the Defence Department. It’s all about lowering production and maintenance costs and making a larger profit. Commerce.”

That is about the coldest attitude towards human life and war as you are going to get.

Oscar goes through Hell – both on earth and his own mental torment. We see an already flawed individual fall even further.

In reading, I found myself thinking of two particular influences: the filth and horror of the World War I trenches and the drug-fuelled desperation of some of the US draftees in Vietnam.

Desperation is a repeating theme through the novel, desperation in the battle lines among the soldiers, leading to a variety of responses. I am left with the impression that McCarthy researched his subject well.

This is not a ‘nice’ read. But it is a compelling story all the same. In places I was reminded of Sebastian Junger’s powerful narrative about the current fighting in Afghanistan, ‘War’.

I definitely want to see where McCarthy takes this story in future instalments.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is military sci-fi and it is raw. It's raw and desperate and beautiful and wonderful. This ain't a bang bang pull the trigger novel. It's about a man who is in a war he shouldn't have any part of, and he's a civilian working for Stars and Stripes to begin with. Our warfare, science and technology as enabled the U.S. to create super soldiers to go where we cant, fight the battles we will lose. The staggering and original twist to this is that the genetics we use are all cloned females. Strong, and sure and religiously brainwashed to know their purpose and die happily in service. If they dont, then their shelf life trigger kicks in and they just rot away after so much time. Very short lifespan and they burn bright while they draw breath.
That is a very short and not very good synopsis of this book. I bought the trilogy on Amazon and took awhile to start the first one. This book is so good that I am having trouble not diving right into the second book of the trilogy. So much to read, so little time....
One of the things I find so interesting about this book is that Mr. McCarthy was employed by the C.I.A. and studied world military weapons and force organizations. Effectively he studied the enemy and possible enemy. He has a very unique view on war and was working for the Agency during the 9-11 attacks. I am not sure if I've read an author who has been this unique in his job, as per the fiction he crafts. Very good writer and an amazing plot and story.

Danny

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

Read by Donald Corren
Duration: Approximately 9 hours.
Published by Blackstone Audio, 2011.

T.C. McCarthy’s Germline is a non-stop military techno-adventure set in the middle of a war in Central Asia in the 22nd century. Russia and the United States are fighting over the resources of Kazakhstan. It turns out that Kazakhstan is rich in rare metals that are needed for the 22nd century’s technological devices. They have to be mined deep in the mountains of Kazakhstan and the mines, countryside, little villages and cities of Central Asia become battlefields.

Oscar Wendell is a washed-up, drug-addicted reporter for Stars and Stripes. He is the only reporter in the entire theater of war and he is not quite sure how he was picked over better-known reporters. But, he is determined to make the best of his opportunity, already envisioning the Pulitzer Prize as the world’s biggest story unfolds in his lap...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...

[Mary Ellingson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hold onto your seat, intense read. A well crafted world of our possible future with countries waring over natural resources. An addict reporter embedded with the troops that include genetic FEMALE soldiers. It's not just about the war but also the reporter Oscar's internal war with addiction, love, friendship and life. He adapts throughout the story in an unwilling manner at times so that he can survive.

[Brandon Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the grimmest books I've ever read but I can't remember the last time I was so captivated by a story.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up Germline thinking it would be an enjoyable science fiction tale playing around with the idea that technological advances can go awry, a not uncommon theme in science fiction. But I was wrong. BOY, WAS I WRONG. Germline blew my mind while sending stabbing pains to my heart -- not once, not twice, but countless times. T.C. McCarthy is unapologetically brutal and unrestrained in the telling of this tale and the pursuit of its conclusion.

The U.S. is embroiled in a protracted battle for natural resources in a war fought underground in the trenches, mines and tunnels of Kazakhstan. Oscar Wendell is a washed out, strung out reporter given the rare opportunity to be embedded with the troops. It is perhaps his last chance at redemption and his eyes are blinking 'Pulitzer'. His plan: get in, get out, write the story of his life. Yet war proved short on glory and more cruel, more consuming, more parasitic, more destructive than he could ever have imagined.

His experience in the battlefield, however brief, left Oscar unable to reconcile himself with the 'real world'. It's become the singlemost pervasive event in his life. War has become home -- not in the cuddly, safe sense but in a kind of perverse comfort of the familiar. The field of dead and dying bodies and minds has indelibly marked Oscar. He may not survive it, but he cannot live outside of it. He wants to live, but he can't get himself to leave.

The conflict is brutal and violent, both sides using a multitude of weapons. The most effective and dangerous weapon is the genetics -- engineered soldiers all constructed as females with an expiration date and the singular purpose of dying in battle. Yet some genetics broke the mold. Man has a long history of imbuing artificial creations with human traits, yet is always surprised when those creations act more human than they intended, a perverse instance of the student surpassing the teacher. Oscar too has learned to look at the genetics in a different light.

While reading this book, I sobbed, held my breath, exhaled deeply, cursed, shook my head, yelled at the book, protested loudly, called on the gods. So will you unless you're an automaton. Maybe even then -- genetics do exhibit some human emotion, after all. Germline is filled with emotion without being sappy or preachy. The style is also at times nonlinear or not entirely cohesive. Some moments feel like they're presented in random flashbacks. I suspect that all this -- the approach and the tone -- are painstakingly deliberate. More importantly, it works-- mirroring an idea of how broken minds process events and thoughts. Oscar's growing refusal to learn people's names emphasizethe fleeting nature of existence in the subterrene.

I don't know much about T.C. McCarthy's background and will not presume to know what message, if any, he wanted to impart. I can only speak to what I sensed and derived from it. Germline reveals an extraordinary capacity for empathy. Pain and doubt were presented in all their gut-wrenching, gutter-scraping monstrosity. The characters juggled indifference, futility and fatalism. To a certain extent, all the soldiers -- human and germline alike -- are destined for death. All that's left uncertain is which will check out first -- the body or the mind. War is draining and continues to drain participants long after there's anything left to be coaxed out. I confess I'm not entirely content with the ending but I'm also not sure I can provide a satisfactory alternative so perhaps it's the appropriate ending after all.

Germline raises ten questions for every one it answers. I'm not implying the tale is open-ended or incomplete. It simply touches on so many issues endlessly debated in philosophy, science and religion, to name but a few. Oftentimes, the lessons of history are ignored. Victory becomes a goal in and of itself, without regard for the price to be paid and the consequences. Inasmuch as genetics lean toward humanization, humans are sometimes treated as no more than tools or weapons in the achievement of the collective's objective. Yet even in the darkest of places and circumstances, there are still stellar moments of virtue. Therein lies the best part of this book: if you let it, you may just arrive at truly finding out where you stand on these issues or at least gain a greater understanding of its complexities. The tale may be speculative and science fiction, but the lessons may be very relevant indeed.

[Jessica Strider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pros: realistic depictions of war, interesting use of genetically engineered soldiers, deals with the aftermath of war as well as the war itself

Cons: character driven, very intense descriptions

War between the Americans and the Russians over minerals in Kazakhstan is big news, and Stars and Stripes reporter Oscar Wendell is the first reporter allowed to visit the front lines. His addiction to drugs, the time he spends at the front and meeting a contingent of genetics irrevocably change him so that when his brief mission is up, he decides to return to the war rather than go home.

I've only read a few military SF books (Starship Troopers and On Basilisk Station are the only ones I can think of), so this was a unique read for me.

Germline is told from a first person perspective that really gets you into the war. And while most SF and fantasy allows you to experience things like violence from a distance, Germline gets you up front and very personal with war. Because though it's set in the future, take away the fancy weapons and genetics and this could be a book about a reporter in Iraq or Afghanistan today.

While the story was fascinating, there were times when I just couldn't handle more descriptions of random deaths and body parts flying through the air and had to put the book down. Not to say that this book is needlessly graphic. It's not like Battle Royale where the point of the story is to shock you with violence. It was just TOO real at times and I needed to put some distance between myself and what Oscar was going through. In fact, some of the more horrifying moments are when people around him die so suddenly that Oscar doesn't have time to react to the deaths, depriving you of the chance to deal with what just happened via his emotional response.

I'm not too keen on character driven stories, and found Oscar difficult to like at times, mainly due to his drug addiction. There are a few jumps in time to speed up the story which was a bit disorienting interposed as they were between the visceral every day experiences. But half way through the book it becomes very linear as the story simply follows the last few months of the war.

I loved how Oscar takes time to appreciate how the war has changed him and the world around him, questioning the cost vs benefit of what they've done. It's the first book I've read in a long time that had me highlighting passages. Like this one:

"Almaty had once been a city like any other, with people who had dreams of doing something other than being invaded and killed, and I doubted that many of them even knew the current market price for rhenium or selenium or lanthanum; they probably didn't even know what the metals were used for. But we did. The Russians did. At the moment word got out that Kaz had something everyone wanted, someone at the Pentagon dusted off the abacus and did the math, a simple equation that estimated the cost of deployment, engagement, and retreat, to be balanced against the estimated reserves of rhenium and someone's wild-ass guess at how much we could get out - a kind of lottery that the locals hadn't even known they'd played until they were notified of winning the grand prize: us. ... Now it was like seeing a trillion one-dollar bills in person versus hearing it described; if you saw the cost of getting our share, it was indescribable, and you'd realize that there had been no words for all this until now. The cost was a hotel in the middle of an empty rubble field, surrounded by the dead."

I also liked that the novel ends by showing how war changes people. Oscar suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, having flashbacks and startling at every loud noise. This is a part of war that most people tend to ignore, how to reintegrate with society after suffering through so many MANY horrors. It reminded me of stories I've heard about what happened to Vietnam veterans when they returned to the US.

This is a well written novel that makes you consider the costs of war in very personal terms.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the future, armies battle in bleak and hazard-filled tunnels over rare metal ores. Every country wants them badly enough to expend lives and blood for them. The germline of the title refers to soldiers, gene-altered and created specifically to fight ferociously in these horrible conditions.

I had to pause for a while before I reviewed this book. This is a well written book, the kind I like best. I gave it four stars because of its ring of authenticity. I have never been in combat, but the battle scenes in the book were hellishly real. The author conveyed the sense of chaos and disconnection that soldier historians describe in vivid and frightening terms. The action moved rapidly and each twist in the story flowed naturally from the prior events. Even the hopping from time period to time period was lucid and fluid. Sooooo, why the hesitation I ask myself? Perhaps I can attribute my qualms to another example of the author's aura of reality. The narrator of the novel was damned difficult to like. He was a classic stoner, sorry for himself,"it isn't my fault",bad attitude, manipulative sponge. Addict personalities are hard on friends and family. They alternately neglect and manipulate their relationships, until their intimates cut the connection. Then the stoner says "What'd I do?" And thus did our viewpoint character. McCarthy either knows addicts well or he's been channeling Robert Downy, Jr.

To be fair to our unlovable antihero, he is making some crude attempts at humanity in the final third of the novel. He shows a loyalty to the Brit and the Kid that seems to come from deep instinct rather than conscious decision. His changing attitude to the gene-altered female troops is used to illustrate both the unthinking and avaricious use of people and the environment in his society and the exploitative mindset of the addict. As his appreciation of the super-soldiers becomes a consciousness of them as people, he begins to seem more tolerable.

Anyone who enjoys military science fiction should enjoy this tale. Despite my distaste with his narrator, McCarthy has me hooked and I'll be looking for his next book.

[Nicole Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this story is about one man’s search for something pure in a deeply flawed world. Germline is told from the perspective of Oscar Wendell, a drug addicted reporter, a “still born son of conflict” who chooses to place himself in the midst of a brutal futuristic war. Though he does everything he can to avoid feeling, his greatest desire is to feel, to find something to live for.

I appreciate the way the author uses syntax to put the reader inside Oscar’s mind. The story begins with very abrupt and jarring inner dialogue. This contrasts sharply with the soft-spoken complete sentences of the genetics- the lab-grown female super soldiers. Later in the book, Oscar’s inner dialogue changes. Sentences become longer and more complete, reflecting, perhaps, a shift in his soul.

This story is dark, the world is in-your-face cruel, but that is the reality of war. If you like your rose colored glasses this may not be the book for you. If you appreciate truth, if you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to try to survive minute to minute, read Germline.

There are also some great extras at the back of the book, an interview with the author, and an excerpt from Exogene, the second book in the series. Exogene is available now and I can’t wait to see the world from the perspective of one of the genetics.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where to begin with this one? Well, bleak might a good word for starters. Few novels I’ve read have depicted the dirtiness, pain, monotony and sheer distress involved in war. Wendell is not a hero, he has serious drug problems, which have led to and compounded his family problems, he isn’t the nicest or bravest guy in the world, and he has a tendency not to turn his writing assignments in on time. One thing at which Oscar excels; however, is endearing himself to the soldiers with which he follows on their tours of duty. Here is where McCarthy shows nice touches, after a minor bit of hazing from the Marines, Wendell fits in with the Marine nicknamed Ox. The camaraderie between them throughout the novel is one of the strengths and something that continually returns as Oscar travels through various points in the war zones.
...
McCarthy is juggling a number of themes in Germline, and what shows his skill to an even greater degree is how these themes integrate into a sum of a novel that is greater than their parts. It should be noted that McCarthy has a governmental background so a good deal of the elements in the plot feel genuine.

Click above to read the full review at SFFWorld.

[deep · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Halo Deathmatch The Booky Wook" would have made more sense as a title.

It would at least explain the chaotic if tenuously connected video game fight scenes in between the need to go somewhere to get something and beat the level in place of an interesting plot.

The protagonist spends most of the book reminding you that war and withdrawal are not a lot of fun. I get that's supposed to be a means of redemption and escape that the character eventually overcomes but it just succeeds at annoying.

A comparison to Hunter S. Thompson might be made if you kept the drugs and occupation but left out the charm and insight. That is perhaps too harsh a criticism as it seems at least the genetically engineered babes with guns in the book find the main character irresistible.

I read Fear and Loathing in a day an was glad for it, can't say the same here.

[Kevin Syers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished Germline last night. This was a great story told well.

A few reviews mentioned the fact that it seemed like a video game. The protagonist goes from point A to point B, then has to do X before he can leave for point C. Before I read any reviews I did notice this pattern but instead of thinking of a video game I thought of it just being Oscar (the main character), not bound by military restrictions, trying to survive and eventually just get home.

I've never been to war but I could imagine that a lot of these thoughts and scenarios go through a solider's mind exactly as it was portrayed. The last 1/3 of the book I couldn't put down. There was a point where even I lost hope and only wanted to finish so I could see how bad it really got.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this was a 'deep' read but it is absolutely a great story.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very immersive story. Oscar is a richly flawed, but still very empathetic character, and the setting is interesting. I did find myself rereading passages in the early parts of the book because I was having trouble figuring out if they were flashbacks or not, but the narration always felt authentic to the character, so this isn't really a complaint.

My only real complaint is that the one conflict that takes place between Oscar and Sophie seemed to resolve itself too quickly and neatly. Truthfully their relationship seemed a little charmed, which occasionally seemed out of place in a story that so frequently was rough on it's characters. It was good though to have one element of the story that wasn't depressing and stress laden.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a futuristic war novel. Most of the time I couldn't put this one down, I was completely drawn in. The lead character is really flawed and spends much of the early story high. Since it is told in the first person, this became tough to read. I am not much for mind-altered states. However, as I was considering putting it down, McCarthy stopped letting that aspect dominate and it became enjoyable again.

This book portrays the anonymous bloodbath of war, had a lot of action, and many deep reflections of the soul.

People who like military fiction will enjoy this.

[Patrick Mcgee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Germline is a futuristic, scifi, military-focused novel masquerading as literary fiction. This one is almost all character driven and focuses on the impacts of war. The plot is paper thin and really didn't become tangible until over 250 pages in. Those last 100 or so pages were riveting, though. Without the pace picking up in the last third I would have stuck with 3 stars on this one instead of four. I think it worth checking out for those interested sci fi and a gritty look into the atrocities of war.

[Richard Pippen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent military sci-fi novel. The main character has the luck of the devil on his side as he makes his drug-addled journey through a horribly war-torn Kazakhstan. He eventually becomes the unwitting and unwilling guide to survival to a new kid in the war, and in a weird symbiotic way, the kid helps guide him back to reality. Great potrayal of the realities of war and one man's journey through it.

[Manoj Srivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gritty, yes. Reminded me of "apocalypse now" and "hamburger hill" and "the deer hunter". With a grown up version of "star ship troopers", and a hint of "blade runner" thrown in. Despite all this, a very compelling read. I bought this yesterday, on our trip to the Olympic Peninsula, in Winslow. This is mid afternoon, and I am done with it already.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

After over a hundred pages I finally gave up on this one. I just couldn't get into it. The premise while interesting was much more of the same...page after page...and I couldn't develop any find of attachment to the main characters. I just couldn't bring myself to care whether he lived or died.