God's War by Kameron Hurley

#1 in Bel Dame Apocrypha series

Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy

Format: Ebook, 311 pages
Published On: February 16, 2011 by Night Shade Books
Source: Gift from Night Shade Books on a giveaway.

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I've got my eye set on Bel Dame Apocrypha series for some time now. I read a lot of great reviews, so this month when I was in a mood for some science fiction fantasy I started reading God's War...

"Nyx sold her womb somewhere between Punjai and Faleen, on the edge of the desert."

From the first sentence I saw this was going to be dark, bloody and gritty. The atmosphere and style of writing reminded me the most of Dune by Frank Herbert. The imaginary world Kameron Hurley created had an middle-eastern flawor sprinkled with organic tech and interesting magic system. God's War looked like not an easy book to read but intriguing and action-packed nevertheless.

We meet Nyx, our heroine, while she is struggling to survive without money, food even clothes. I mean, she just sold her womb to get some cash. (Obviously human organs are still pricey on black market even in the future.) You could never guess that Nyx was "a bel dame - an honored, respected and deadly government-funded assassin". I liked Nyx from the start - she was realistic, complex and kick-ass.

So why did I give up reading God's War after maybe 10% when it had all the elements I usually like and promised to be one of my favorites? I blame the bugs.

Well hello little bug [image source]

I'm not afraid of bugs, although I think they are gross. I can handle kill them without freaking out. I don't remember reading any other book where bugs were such a prominent part of the plot but I watched a lot of movies with bugs and I was not uncomfortable, in fact I loved them. And no I am not talking about cute cartoons like Bug's Life and Antz (although I liked them too), I am talking about Joe's Apartment, Mimic, Starship Troopers, etc.

But God's War is just... well FULL OF BUGS! They are climbing up pant legs, crawling on the edge of the robes and they are mentioned nonchalantly in descriptions on each book page. As I got engrossed in reading, I felt more and more uncomfortable. I kept imagining that there is a bug climbing up MY pant leg etc. And when magician healed Nyx and then told her: "You'll expell the usual bugs in a few hours." - I just gave up. Obviously their whole magic system is based on bug manipulation and I saw that book is probably going to get even more bug infested as the plot progressed.

Decision time - how badly do I want to read this book? [image source]

So, I discovered my new hard limit - bugs.

I am not saying God's War is bad book. In fact, it promised to be a great read. So if my bug rant above didn't scare you off and you like science fiction fantasy with realistic, complex characters, I encourage you to give God's War a try.

I DO NOT recommend this book to: people who are uncomfortable with bugs and other creepy crawlies.

Let's Talk:

Did you read God's War? Did you like it?

Does large amount of bugs in books make you uncomfortable?

Any other thoughts or comments?