Heather’s Bookshelf: The Soldiers’ Perspective
Author: Phillip Murrell
Released: 12/18/20
Genre: Dystopian/Military Scifi
“T’az stared at them. He loved these men as much as any he’d ever known, but their reaction was exactly why thousands—if not millions—would die in this war with Gemma. Why couldn’t any of them realize that just because they could fight didn’t mean they had to? Wasn’t there anyone in Pada who understood him?”
“The Soldiers’ Perspective” introduces points of view and voices of two opposing factions. The first is made up of T’azure (T’az), the leader of the Shadow Squad, his ragtag group of soldiers, and members of the Outsystem Alliance. The second includes husband and wife, Sare and Neera, and the Gemmay.
The Gemmay are a race of beautiful people that live within the rules established by their government (like needing a permit to procreate) to enjoy such niceties in life like electricity and food. Their way of life is something desired by others and when the Gemmay don’t “share” the Outsystem Alliance forces the issue.
The Outsystem Alliance is made up of several races including those looking to make a better life for their people and others looking for power or control (or to satiate their hunger for bird hybrids).
While each faction and leader has it’s own motivations, demands and desires, the people on each side don’t always agree with everything on their side or disagree with everything on the opposing side.
Trigger Warning: adult language, violence, murder, sexual situations, reference to rape, war related violence
Overall, I was enthralled by this story. There were some really interesting elements and my favorites included scifi aspects mixed with current traditions. For example, the image of robots floating above a garden while a traditional tea ceremony is underway was intriguing. The Octeeven enhancements were also creative and different. The horrors of the color wheel of torture were also very vivid and disturbing. The book also delves into several social and political themes including racism, prejudice, class injustice, and immigration and examines many of the issues from both points of view. I found the author’s ability to not only acknowledge but write from both sides in such an insightful way to be open and impressive. The story also included stories of brotherly love and love of a husband for his wife. There were also some really excruciating and heart felt losses in this story. However, other elements seemed more out of place in such a complex and emotional novel. The oversexualized Gemmay had several awkward moments or conversations that seemed to take away from the overall themes and purpose. The ending also left me a little torn. In some ways I really loved it, but in others I wanted more resolution. This was a thought provoking read and not a light hearted one, but I was very intrigued by this author overall.
As a side note: I loved that at the end of the story the author’s brother wrote a chapter that tied back into the main brotherly relationship in the novel!
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A heartbreaking dystopian tale about individuals on two different sides of a conflict thrown together in war.
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