Customer Reviews

Warchild

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Good in the sense that it's very well written, the character development is engaging.

Weird in that you're basically inside the head of a young boy from age eight to seventeen, as he goes through various sorts of interstellar war-torn hell and is brutalized, emotionally disturbed, and deals (not too well) with all of these issues. All in all, not a pretty book, but definitely worth reading. In that sense, it reminds me quite a bit of some of William Barton's works.

Besides the heavy subject matter, the book spends a lot of time and probably the great majority of the text dealing with the boy's internal mental state - albeit always through his thoughts and reactions to what's going on around him. This, again, gives the book a more contemplative feeling than I normally prefer (and is why it reminds me of Barton's work).

However, it was gripping enough that I had trouble putting it down and finished it fairly rapidly.

The basic backdrop of the book is a sort of just-barely-hot war between an alien race and humanity. In theory the two races had a brief war and came up with a treaty, including a DMZ. However, the treaty is falling apart as the humans raid the alien's colony worlds and the aliens raid the human stations and fight the occasional deep space skirmish with human warcraft.

The alien race is definitely at a disadvantage but is managing to stay in the game and even kick ass, largely because of the corruption and disorganization of the human race's bureacratic galactic empire. The aliens also have the help of "sympathizers", humans who are taking the aliens side. The earth politicians are barely in control of the farther reaches of their empire and the star-faring warships that keep the war going. They're definitely not in control of the pirates that
raid and devastate merchant ships, killing the adults and enslaving the survivors.

The book starts when the merchant ship Mukudori, home of the main character, eight-year-old Jos Musey, is pretty much sacked by a pirate ship. The boy ends up in the hands of the pirates, but it doesn't end there. He later ends up in the hands of the aliens, who train him to be a spy and assassin, then put him to work. Along the way he has a lot of problems figuring out who to trust and when, including himself.

One tip: the first chapter is all told in second person; i.e. "You do this. You remember that. etc". Normally this bugs the hell out of me, and would be enough for me to instantly relegate the book to the trash pile, but I flipped ahead a bit and saw that it was just a literary device for the opening chapter. I pretty much read through it and did my best to ignore it. After reading the entire book and looking back, I can even see the real reasoning behind it (and it's not just fun with literary devices). Trust me, this book is well worth the time.

However, I recommend having some more optimistic reading material queued up behind it.

Come to think of it, I just figured out the best way I can concisely sum up my feelings about this book. I felt, after finishing the last page of this book, a great deal like I felt as I walked out of the movie theater after seeing _Schindler's List_.
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SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

A couple of comments from other reviewers were sufficiently off the mark that they deserve some comment. Doing so involves some spoilers, but since the other reviewers already spoiled them...

One reviewer complained that we don't find out that Jos was actually sexually abused until near the end of the book. I think the reviewer sort of misses the point. This book is in part a mystery - the mystery is what happened to make Jos the sort of person he is. We don't find out easily because this book is told from Jos' point of view, and Jos doesn't admit to himself because he's having trouble dealing with the topic (big surprise there).

Recognizing this also illuminates the reasoning for the second-person introduction. Jos' use of the second person in describing his early history to Nikolas (and later presumably) Azarcon) is a way of displacing himself from the events, of protecting his ignorance. I still think second-person sucks, and I really think using it for the first portion of the book was a tactical mistake, but I understand Lowachee's reasons for using it. I can't really say it would be the same book without it.

One reviewer complained about "all the touchy-feely stuff". I can't say I was really happy about that myself, but I also can't say that Jos's issues with personal space and physical affection could have been conveyed any other way. I think the reviewer is missing the forest for the trees in the way. The space opera backdrop is mainly a context for the exploration of the forces that shape the main character.

I don't know about you, but I get tired of getting my hopes up that a book will be great, only to be disappointed time and time again. This book finally broke that cycle of despair. It starts out with approx. 40 pages written in the second person perspective. And here's the shocker - it's not just a gimmick; it actually works. You are seeing the world through the eyes of an 8 year child whose ship (yes, a space ship) is attacked and destroyed by pirates. The adults are killed and the children are enslaved. The use of the second person is a powerful device that pulled me straight into the story - not an easy task with this jaded reader.

But it's what happens next, and what continues happening that keeps you turning pages. Characters acting like real people. They don't always make the right decisions, and you don't always agree with them. Heck, you don't even always *like* all of them! But all of them, even the pirates, are understandable and seem real. The characters grow and develop. They get hurt and develop emotional scars. They hurt each other, and they heal. When I finished the book, I put it down, said "wow" and immediately re-read it again. I haven't done that since I finished Lord of the Rings almost 20 years ago.

Don't be deceived: this is no sweeping space opera, for all that it has its share of action. It's much better: a thoughtful story about the effects of war on a young boy, Jos, an early casualty when pirates attack his ship. The book opens on this scene, breathing you into the fright of a child who is trying to stay hidden: "You didn't see their faces from where you hid behind the maintenance grate. Smoke worked its fingers through the tiny holes and stroked under your nose and over your eyes, forcing you to stifle breaths, to blink, and to cry."

(For those who cannot bear the second person, bear it. Lowachee soon switches to the less immediate--though no less poignant--first person.)

He is inevitably torn away from his homeship and has his childhood ripped apart so brutally that even when the chance comes for him to rediscover trust, he does not believe it.

Lowachee paints no pretty pictures about humanity. It is war and the lives of soldiers that she depicts. Although she offers no cosmetics for the grimmer parts of her story--the way Jos and others he encounters are treated--she uses a delicacy that left me all the more horrified and at the same time drew me toward the characters through its lack of crude detail. Much of Jos' life is a tragedy, where each thing he comes to value only becomes another loss. And all throughout he searches for a home, the place where he can belong.

The writing is beautifully taut, whether during battle or during introspection, reflecting how Jos is always on guard. At one point I came up from between the pages for a gasp of air and had to orient myself in the real world--I'd been that firmly rooted within Jos' mind. This is an emotional story with its characters vividly rendered, and it deserves a look by anyone searching for a powerful read.

I'm a novice when it comes to science fiction. I know plenty of students who walk around with those fat paperbacks, and when I used to work at the bookstore I certainly sold plenty of them--both in hard and softcover. Therefore, I sort of know what science fiction looks like, but I couldn't even give you a definition of the genre.

Furthermore, I'm not really keen on books (or movies for that matter) with lots of violent battle scenes.

So, why then did I find WARCHILD--a work of science fiction (actually published for adults) which was well-stocked with violent battle scenes--impossible to put down? And why do I think it's a great book for young adults?

I was captivated by the vividly drawn young main character Joslyn Aaron Musey as well as the four complex adults who are his most influential teachers: the pirate, Falcone; the alien sympathizer, Nikolas-dan (a.k.a. Warchild); the deep space ship captain, Cairo Azarcon; and Corporal Erret Dorr. I guess it all comes down to the fact that no matter how many aliens and high tech weapons you jam into a well-written, politically savvy, coming of age story, it's still a well-written, politically savvy, coming of age story. Or, perhaps, I'm much more of a science fiction fan than I ever knew I was. The brilliance of WARCHILD has certainly opened me up to that possibility.

The book has an unusual and powerful opening: Part I is told in the second person as the author plunks us down into the body of eight-year-old Jos just as Falcone's pirate ship, the Genghis Khan, attacks and destroys Jos' home--the merchant ship on which Jos' parents are stationed. Taken by Falcone, Jos spends a year in virtual isolation as the pirate trains, teaches, and intimidates the young boy. Falcone is then audacious enough to dock at the EarthHub station, Chaos, where several government spacecarriers are also docked, in order to treat the boy to a birthday celebration. As fate would have it, an alien ship chooses the occasion to attack. In the initial commotion Jos jams his dessert fork into Falcone's hand and runs for the nearest exit. Falcone, who has promised to shoot Jos if he attempts any such thing, tries to carry through on his threat in the midst of the battle going on:

"Way down the dockring, almost out of sight from the curve of the walls, a small explosion went off at one of the locks. You hauled yourself up, moving slow in the rush. Your head pounded and smoke stung your eyes. You held your arm and tried to veer toward one of the carrier ramps.
"Then new faces poured out of that blown lock.
"They weren't human. They were tattooed, with skin in colors you'd never seen before on a face except as a mask. They shot at the soljets, sharp bright pulses. The soljets stopped boarding, knelt behind cargo bins, loaders, and ramps, shooting back in stiff streamers of bright red. It was a noisy station festival, full of light and color, except people were dying. Merchants and Chaos citizens caught in the cross fire fell.
"You froze. You had never before seen an alien. They came closer around the dockring, moving with the precision of skill and focused aim. They wore long outer robes that fluttered behind them, as if they were flying. None of the soljets paid attention to you now. "Someone grabbed you over the face. You recognized the smell of the hand.
"You bit. He released you and you ran straight into the platoon of soljets ahead of you.
" 'Drop the gun!' one of the jets yelled.
"Falcone might've been chasing you. You didn't look. You ran as fast as you could. People screamed at you to stop and get out of the way. An alien face looked at you from across the decreasing distance of jet-occupied dock. The eyes were completely black.
"A fist slammed into your back and threw you to the deck. The last word you heard wasn't one you understood.

"That was all I remembered about Falcone. It was enough."

The choices and challenges Jos faces through the following years periodically threaten to rip him in half. The politics of the prolonged interstellar war are reminiscent of many of today's international conflicts--fighting over resources with accompanying deceit and doubletalk on both sides. Falcone, who had once been a spacecarrier captain, but had acted so autonomously in deep space as to be discredited and jailed before political allies broke him out, makes me think of the great British explorers such as Drake who were so far from the homeland that they acted on their own and were considered pirates by most of the world.

Smart and with a lot of heart, WARCHILD is great science fiction for young adults--whatever science fiction is. I know Jos is a kid who is out there, just waiting to be born two hundred years from now.

Lowachee begins Warchild in an interesting way - through the use of second-person. I found this part to be pretty difficult to read. I couldn't help but think of one of those "Choose Your Own Adventure"-type books as I read it. I also had to continuously remind myself that when Lowachee says, "you", she is not referring to me, but rather to the story's protagonist, Jos Musey. The only reason I can think of for her use of second-person is to make her novel resonate with the contest judges or just to be different and make her novel stand out. I found this rather unnecessary, as the quality of her novel speaks for itself. If you're like me, though, and dislike the second-person storytelling, then you need not worry; Lowachee switches to first-person after about forty pages.

Other than the use of second-person, I found this book to be a pretty good read. One of the best things about this book is its portrayal of war. There is no clear-cut "good" and no hideous "evil"; there is only a grey area. Jos begins the story despising the "strits", Earth's alien enemies. However, he soon discovers that the stiviirc-na (the strits' real name) are not so evil and that Earth is at fault for beginning the war and are the ones continuing it - or are they? Lowachee does a great job of creating both alien and human characters that you can simultaneously love and hate. She shows that war is an ugly thing that can bring out the worst in otherwise good people.

Lowachee also had brilliant characterization, which is important, as this is essentially a character novel. You view every event through the eyes of Jos, beginning as a frightened child and ending as a confused adolescent torn between loyalties in an intergalactic war. Nearly every character is very clear and very deep. I felt an amazing kinship with characters like Nikolas-dan and Captain Azarcon and could almost predict what they would do in different situations (the keyword is "almost"; there are still plenty of surprises in the story). Other characters, like Ash-dan, Falcone, and Evan, show what a gruesome war can do to people. However, those three characters mentioned above (Ash-dan in particular) can be a bit shallow and flat.

Warchild is a truly outstanding debut novel. Other than my one major qualm and some minor characterization problems, there wasn't much wrong with this book. Lowachee includes not only great characterizations, but also heart-pounding action. It's easy to see why this novel was selected as the winner.

I was impressed with this novel! Lowachee's debut novel was one of the most powerful novel of interstellar warfare I've ever read! She tells the tragic and heroic story of a young boy comes of age during terrible interstellar war and the divided loyalities he has in this conflict. Young Joslyn Musey sees his life torn from him as the merchant ship he calls home is attacked by space pirates and he is taken prisoner. Jos's capitivity is under the sadistic pirate called Falcone. Jos escapes only to be captured by earth's enemies the alien race called the Strits and their human allies. He is befriended by Human turncoat general called Warboy and he is taught to become a spy for the strits in their war against EarthHub.He is sent to
space battleship, Macedon under the command of charismatic captain Azarcon.Lowarchee's novel is gripping tale of one young man who is torn between the loyalities of his shipmates on the battleship and his alien benefactors. Lowarchee's future is the most impressive I've seen since Cherryh's Union-Alliance novels and the atmosphere of on the ship is so realistic you could almost taste it! The battle scenes were brutally realistic in tone.Characters in Warchild were unforgettable such as our hero Jos who immediately gets our sympathy as he tries to remain loyal
to crew of the Macedon and strits. Falcone-the ruthless pirate who uses manipulation and brutality. Dorrs-Jos's commanding officer who has a taste for battle and bloodshed but who will stand by his men if the need arises. Niko-human sympathize general who befriends Jos and who teaches him to become a spy.Lowarchee's chilling vision of warfare in space where children are used as soldiers and spies has eeries resemblance to the conflicts we have in our time. I look forward to the other next novel!

Warchild was a book that really got under my skin. I found myself thinking about it often and reading it several times. There is a sequel out now, which I've ordered, and I hope this is the beginning of a great new series. If you haven't read Warchild, then by all means, treat yourself to a great book, and I don't use the word great lightly.

The first few chapters of the book are written in second person. On first reading, I didn't care for that at all, and almost ended up not finishing it. However, something about it kept me going, and was I glad it did. Subsequent readings, understanding the reason for the second person viewpoint--the need for the victim to distance himself from the history he's recalling, made it enrich the story.

In that beginning section, Jos tells of being a child on board a merchant starship when the ship is raided by pirates. The adults on the ship are all killed, and most of the children are taken captive, to be sold into slavery. Falcone, the captain of the pirate vessel, keeps Jos as his own personal toy, teaching him proper manners as well as how to play poker and serve as a bedmate.

Jos escapes from Falcone only to be taken by the human leader of the "strits", an alien race currently at war with humans. The enigmatic leader, Nicolas, has a hard time earning the trust of his young captive, but eventually he does, and trains him to be an "assassin-priest" (sort of like a ninja). He also has Ash, his brother, teach Jos how to "burndive", which is a hazardous form of interactive computer hacking using special contact lenses.

Then Nicolas sends Jos to be his spy on board one of the human warships. We later learn that the captain of the ship was also held as one of Falcone's toys when he was a child. Jos has a hard time fitting into the crew of the ship and maintaining his trust in Nicolas, while slowly maturing into a young man in his own right. His divided loyalties and his struggles with relationships and truth are enough to tear a lesser person apart, but slowly Jos grows and learns his own strength.

Lowachee does an utterly phenomenal job of getting inside the mind and body of this damaged soul. She has either been a victim of rape/abuse herself or has known someone well who was, because I'm positive she couldn't possibly understand and portray this wounded child so very well without that experience. His avoidance of mirrors and touch, his distrust of people, his self-doubts, his need for approval--so many things make him leap off the page and into full-blown multi-dimensional human being.

This is not a book you can put aside and say, "Well, that was interesting." This is a book that will haunt you for days after reading it. It's a book that will enrich your own soul, as so few do nowadays.

Karin's done a spectacular job here of writing a SF war novel that isn't so much about the war going on between humans and strits as it is about the toll war takes on its combatants.

In Warchild those combantants -- military, civilian, alien and sympathizer -- are children. Youths whose idealism is fuel for death and destruction. She tells the story of Jos Musey, a newly orphaned 8-year-old, and follows him into captivity aboard a pirate ship, a brief respite on an alien planet, and back again amidst humanity. Throughout the book resonates with a tone that makes you want to sob with sympathy for Jos. The abuses he suffered with the pirates aren't shown in gory detail. Jos speaks in second person, distancing himself from them in the novel's first section. This didn't happen to him, it happened to "you" instead.

I bought the book as soon as it came out and I'm already looking forward to reading it again.

If you enjoy the novels of C.J. Cherryh, this book is for you. While nobody can do the intricacies of interstellar politics quite as well as Cherryh does, Lowachee's protagonist, Jos Musey, comes across as more realistic and, despite his reticence, oddly more likeable than Cherryh's creations.

I read this book through in one weekend, neglecting my family and my work, and ended up reading it under a streetlight at ten o'clock at night, just because I couldn't wait to get home before getting through those last few pages.

This is Lowachee's debut novel and I, for one, hope it's the first of many.

Warchild is an awesome read for those who like sci-fi tales with aliens and space travel. If you have read the Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson, it is like that, but better! It is compared to Ender's Game, but they are only alike in 2 aspects. 1. They revolve around alien war with children involved.
2. They are awesome books to read.

The first 100 pages or so are done in 2nd person. At first it is hard to get through and some may not want to read it because of that. After the first section, she changes to first person. Those who read on are rewarded greatly with an excellent story based around a child caught in a war between humans, space pirates and aliens. (it sounds corny, but it isn't :) This book will be a classic.