Germline- TC McCarthy

Germline- TC McCarthy

Provenance: Librarything Early Reviewers Program

Why I read it: I read a fair amount of military space opera but no other military sci-fi

Solid, entertaining and very fast paced exploration of a man at war with a somewhat ill-defined enemy and himself. However, one of the weakest aspects of the book was that there were somewhat wild shifts in tone and even the kind of material presented--apparently the book started out as a series of novellas, and despite the editing, it still shows. Overall, interesting, but despite the attempt at character development, the first half of the book was really quite maddening and the main character very self-centered and only gets his act together after being stunned when everyone is dying around him, but it takes the personal conflict to make a change. It is just hard to sympathize because he wasn't drafted into the war--he chose, as a journalist.

Also, the ending seemed to belong to a different sort of book entirely and had me wondering if I missed something huge. That said, I will probably look in to the sequel. Do I necessarily recommend this book to others? Yes, but with a few caveats. I started this one when I was about 1/3 of the way through the Forever War, which was so affecting and engrossing, I had to put it aside and still have not finished it and have so many thoughts about it. On the other hand, I read this novel in two sittings, and it is both a quick read and not one. The prose is whip smart and electric quick, but the emotional weight piles on you as you become frustrated with the character, and finally the dam bursts and he gets some of it, but something about the overall construction of the novel just does not work. That said, overall it is a very interesting read and I can't think of anything offhand remotely comparable in terms of capturing effective military science fiction.

Recommended, but not necessarily because its fantastic.