"God's War" by Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)

God's War
Kameron Hurley
288 pp. Night Shade. $14.99
Pub. Date: 1/18/2011
ISBN-13: 9781597802147

Bug-tech, Boxing, and Bel Dames. Sounds like a law firm. One with high-priced legal eagles, resplendent in Armani, and not the shysters who monitor police communications, and chase after EMTs, mouths slavering as they slip business cards into clammy hands.

Instead, bug-tech, boxing, and Bel Dames--just think of it as a bounty hunter, though a Bel Dame would play hacky-sack with your tender parts if you called her that--is part of the mash-up behind Kameron Hurley's excellent debut, "God's War".

As the book's title might suggest, another part is the ongoing religious war between the countries of Nasheen and Chenja, which serves as the backdrop for the story. Both cultures aren't thrilled with the others' interpretation of religion, and have taken up arms to correct this--let the righteous win. The decades of war have taken a heavy toll; it is ugly and devastating, particularly for the men fighting. Only the old and very young avoid the fighting. So not surprisingly, Nasheen is matriarchal, women run nearly everything at the highest levels.

Plopped in the middle of this is Nyx and her team of bounty hunters, who take a note that thrust them into the very heart of the confrontation.

To call "God's War" unique may be understating the truth. The bug technology running Hurley's creation is the prime example of this. Calling it technology isn't right, though. I still don't know how bugs are powering things scientifically, but I also don't care. They just do, and it is easy to accept. While there are science-fiction aspects to the story (like spaceships), the novel is, at heart, a fantasy. This is important, because if you expect science fiction, you'll be disappointed in the lack of science in "God's War". If you expect a fantasy, the novel digests much better. And if you don't know what to expect, you might be in the perfect frame of mind for this little gem.

The world building is tremendous, probably the novel's greatest strength. It's deep, and consistently engaging. For those familiar with video games, it had a post-apocalyptic Fallout-type feel to me, which was a big plus. The land is bleak and hard, a wasteland and desert, and the characters match this. Nyx is a hard, hard woman, a survivor, which you would expect considering the Hobbesian nature of her world. The characters feel organic to the world, just what you would expect to evolve out of the ass-backward shithole of the universe.

The only negative for me was story line was fractured at points in the novel, not quite cohesive and smooth in its execution. It struck me as a collection of scenes which lacked something to bind them together, making the plot seem flighty. Huge strengths in all the other areas of the novel made this less of an issue, though.

I can't recommend "God's War" enough. If you are searching for something different, this is an excellent place to start. I can't wait for Kameron Hurley's next book.

Final Grade: 8 out of 10