Germline

Intense and brutal, [b:Germline 10432883 Germline T.C. McCarthy https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388708189s/10432883.jpg 15337363] is a totally absorbing military SF novel. It is also difficult to describe. It reminds me a lot of the stories that came out of World Wars 1 and 2 in that it is not about glory and has very little heroism. It is more about the ultimate hopelessness of war and the physical and mental destructiveness, even for those who survive. The term “germline” refers to genetically engineered soldiers who form an important part of the fighting forces. However, to me that isn't what the story is about. It is a grim, grim story of battle and it is also a story about friendship and caring.The main protagonist is Oscar Wendall, a reporter for Stars and Stripes. He has a drug problem and sees his career spiraling downward. He hopes that an assignment to the front will let him redeem himself. That isn't how things work out. Instead, he finds himself trying to survive in the midst of a brutal, all-out, no-holds-barred struggle – a struggle in which his own personal demons come out to haunt him.In the hands of a less skillful writer, this story would be a caricature of war. But, T.C. McCarthy pulls it off very well.