Good or bad? Test out The Quiet War

Publisher Pyr Books has released the first three chapters in science fiction writer Paul McAuley‘s new space opera The Quiet War for free on its site.

The book has received mixed reviews since it was first published internationally in late 2008; it appears to be in the throes of being published in the US this month with a new and significantly more interesting cover.

Its blurb states that it is set in the twenty-third century, where Earth has been ravaged by climate change and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn are inhabited by the Outers, descendants of refugees who have escaped from Earth and genertically modified themselves. And of course, the two branches of the human race are edging towards war.

Strange Horizons writes:

“… between the flatness of its narrative and the predictability of its characters, there’s not much to feel passionate about in The Quiet War, and for the first part in a series this may be a fatal flaw … ince the story itself is not much more than enjoyable, I for one don’t feel any compulsion to read the next chapter. I’m not sorry to have read The Quiet War — in fact, on the whole, I’m quite pleased to have done so—but neither will I make an extra effort to seek out its conclusion.”

However, The SF Site praised the book, stating it breaks much of the rules of war novels and is a “vivid” read. UK newspaper The Guardian wrote: “After a slow start, the novel picks up pace to present a future that is wondrous yet marred by human frailty.”

54-year-old McAuley has written quite a few books since his debut, Four Hundred Billion Stars, won the Phillip K. Dick Award in 1988. Since that time, he has picked up several other major science fiction and fantasy awards. Science fiction and futurist site io9 has also picked The Quiet War as the first book in its sci-fi book club.

Commentary
I read the first three chapters of The Quiet War on Pyr’s site and I can’t say I was that impressed.

The first thing that I thought about the book’s opening sections was how much they reminded me of Joe Haldeman‘s military work, found in such books as The Forever War and Forever Peace. You get much of the same attention to detail, strung through with a slightly satirical commentary from the author about the military structures and training he is describing.

But perhaps two things struck me as different.

Firstly, it didn’t seem to me as though McAuley understood the youthful naivity and enthusiasm for war; and it’s associated demons, sex and money, as much as Haldeman does. There’s an honesty and naivity to Haldeman’s characters; thus far it seems as though McAuley’s characters are just pawns in his hands.

Secondly I think Haldeman’s underlying commentary is much more subtle. Anyone could pick up the between-the-lines points that McAuley made in these first three chapters, and in many ways they were just the obvious points to be made about the military.

Can I judge the book after only reading three chapters? Of course not, and you should go and read them for yourselves, as well as the complete reviews, before you make a decision about The Quiet War. But personally I suspect there is a reason the book is being issued in the US with a new, much sexier cover a year after it first came out.

Its reception may have been a little too … quiet.