Nyx’ disenchantment with her own religion and Rhys’ dedication to his provide an interesting contrast and social commentary. (This is one book I would have benefited by reading on Kindle with Wikipedia at hand). Although very different culturally, they share a similar religious foundation: all consider themselves “People of the Book” (being ill-versed in world religions, I only thought of Geradline Brooks’ People of the Book, not of the more germane “ monotheistic Abrahamic religions“). For over a century, Nasheen and Chenja have been at war. Their world is at the edge of the space routes and as they’ve elected not to modernize their spaceport, off-world visitors are rare, leaving the colonists isolated. The plotting says ‘heist,’ but the setting says “Middle East in space.” It seems this world began centuries ago when it was settled by colonists from another world. When Nyx is recruiting for her team, Rhys agrees to work with her. Rhys is a magician and immigrant from Chenja, where women wear the veil and men are head of household.
When Nyx is called to the palace by the Queen, she and her team are given a job they can’t refuse: hunting down an alien woman who has disappeared, likely into the enemy territory of Chenja. After serving a prison sentence, she gives up the independent work and recruits a crew. Lately she’s doing a bit of that black market gene transporting as well. She’s fallen on hard times, however, and also works as a bounty hunter bringing in thieves or those dealing in illegal gene trading. Nyxnissa is a bel dame (echoing the “ Belle Dame sans Merci“) who has made her living as an assassin for the government of Nasheen, hunting down the men who have deserted posts at the war front. God’s War has earned a place on my shortlist of fantasy books that are able to successfully breathe fresh air into the fantasy genre. The most satisfying stories have echoed that philosophy, stretching genre conventions, drawing upon a wider range of cultural traditions and bridging genres.
I live in a world that is broader, more complicated, and more importantly, has even more stories to offer that reflect different cultures and perspectives. It wasn’t until much later that I understood most of the fantasy settings I read were based on a highly sanitized Western medieval framework (Do I hear George Costanza in the background saying, “ not that there’s anything wrong with that“?) I’ve found that those familiar types of settings and stories no longer hold my interest to the same degree. I grew up in the 80s, when fantasy fiction largely meant the Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy world or the ‘parallel worlds’ fantasy, the same fantasy setting juxtaposed with the real world. Read July 2015 Recommended for fans of assassins, complicated stories, tough heroines ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
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