Warchild

Rating:
Summary: Character, structure, emotion are Lowachee's strong points
Review: Let me start off by saying two things: 1 - I'm not a big fan of hard SF or military SF. They've never been my speed, though I have read a few. 2 - Karin Lowachee is a friend of mine. Ordinarily, I would not have picked Warchild off the shelf simply because it just doesn't look like my type of book. But since Karin is a friend of mine (and also since so many of my friends have read it and said it was wonderful) I decided to at least try the book. The result was that I loved it.

I was drawn in by the smooth writing and by the unusual choice of second person in the opening section. What kept me reading was the excellent characterization. Characters and emotional depth are Karin's strong suits. They are what make this book sing.

I was surprised at how well the structure of the book worked. As I said, it starts out in second person. The very last line of the first section is in first person, the voice of Jos Musey, the protagonist. The change in tone and maturity that line encompasses is amazing. It is a solid punch to end the section and prepares us for the person we're going to get to know in the middle of the book. The mid sections are in first person past tense, then in the last section she switches again to first person present tense. But the switch feels entirely natural and matches the shift in mood and action we get with the last section. In some places she slips in and out of second person present, highlighting Jos's state of mind. So many writers use POV and tense incorrectly. To see it not only being used well, but used to enhance more than one aspect of the story, gave me real pleasure as a reader.

As I said, character is Karin's strong point. Caring about Jos wasn't hard at all. Watching him go through life and grow up, I felt a real connection to him and to the characters he encountered. His relationship with Niko inspired some of the most powerful writing in the book.

I didn't particularly enjoy the training and battle aspects of the book. But, again, I'm not into military SF.

The ending also left me feeling incomplete. The relationship between Niko and Jos isn't as resolved as I thought it would be, and I felt as though the book wasn't quite complete. The denouement, perhaps, was too short. Or maybe it's due to the fact that there are two other books in this world, though they may not be strictly sequels.

I recommend this book to all SF fans, even if hard/military SF isn't your thing. The story here is so strong it would pull even the most reluctant reader along. Now I have to go out and buy Burndive.

Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Debut
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing debut!
Review: Similarity has been made between Warchild and Ender's Game as both are about a child forced into battles between humans and aliens. 15 years after I read Ender's Game I still remember it because of its climatic ending. Warchild does not have the same stunning ending but which other scifi has come close anyway. However Warchild's characterization has depth and is emotionally wrought. Jos is a likeable hero. Written in first person, it is easy to feel for Jos as he became an orphan at eight and used by others for their own ends throughout his boyhood. Jos struggles with his loyalties and finally becoming his own man is compellingly written. Niko, Azarcon, Evan are intriguing side characters and one wish the story is longer just to know them better. The only complaint I have is the vagueness of Jos one year captivity under Falcone. We only know what really happened much later in the book. This is an outstanding story and definitely begs for a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: superb alien space wars tale
Review: The Ghengis Khan pirates attack the merchant space ship Mukudori murdering the adults and enslaving the children. During the fracas, eight-year-old Joslyn Musey kills one of the assailants. Impressed by the courage of the obviously frightened youngster, the pirate leader Falcone decides to keep Jos as his personal toy while selling the remaining captives. Falcone begins training Jos on how he expects the lad to behave.

When the Ghengis Khan ship lands on a space station, Falcone takes Jos with him. However, the Striviire-na, known by mankind as the deadly Strit, attacks the station. Jos escapes from Falcone only to be taken prisoner by the Strit. He is taken to their home world, Aaian-na. They begin to brainwash him so that as an adult he will loathe his own kind and become a future pawn when the Strit invade their mortal enemy, humans.

WARCHILD is a strong science fiction tale that easily explains why Karin Lowachee won the Warner Aspect First Novel contest. The thrilling story line cleverly balances plenty of action with full character development. The depth of the tale enables the audience to live Jos' plight and believe that the Strit exist. The story line is used to tell the adventures of the star while furthering the understanding of the key cast especially Jos. Fans of alien space wars will fully relish Ms. Lowachee's debut novel.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Premise, Weak Main Character
Review: The plot line for this book is kind of a cross between Cherryh's Downbelow Station and Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy, with a bit of Christopher Rowley's The Black Ship thrown in. The author tries to follow the life of an orphan (by implication the Warchild) as he passes through various environments. But she seems to keep forgetting that he is (as things progress) eight to fourteen years old. The novel is presented from this characters viewpoint, and his thoughts and observations are usually much to adult if you really think about them.

Not a bad first outing, but not great either.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT read!!!
Review: This book is so great and there is absolutly NO way you can do justice to this book. The book tells the story of young Joslyn Musey, the story starts when his homeship is attacked by brutal pirates and he is taken by the pirate captain Falcon. He manages to run away about a year later at the age of 9 only to be captured by the Hub's enemy, the Strit's. about a third of the book talks about his relationship with Niko,the hub's enemy's captain and the training he undertook with him.

This is the best book I have Ever read. But if you have any questions about the events that happened in it the author has set up an AMAZING site. www.karinlowachee.com

Rating:
Summary: Warchild
Review: This is a book of mixed qualities, very obviously a debut novel.

Jos Musey is kidnapped by pirates who destroy his ship. After several years of vaguely described abuse, he escapes the pirate captain, Falcone, and flees into the hands of aliens and their human sympathizers. Now Jos' mentor, the "symp" Niko, trains him as a warrior and spy. As a spy, Jos signs aboard the human warship Macedon. But he finds that loyalties, rights, and wrongs are far more complex than he bargained for.

I had trouble with Lowachee's aliens. They are painfully derivative and frankly boring -- pseudo-medieval-Asian, fighting with blades. I kept expecting them to start quoting The Karate Kid. While they provide an interesting plot theme and are one of the loyalties compelling Jos, they are not well drawn in my opinion.

Another issue for me was the vagueness of the descriptions of abuse and violence. Often these descriptions were well written, but at a certain point one needed to know more about what actually happened. It is not clear that Jos has been molested until late in the story; there's little in the earlier text to suggest it. And it's a major point, something which heavily influences the character's outlook and actions. I understand the author's desire not to be graphic, but lack of clarity isn't good.

Having said that, the book gets exciting and becomes a fun read about 60% of the way through, when Jos has joined the Macedon (which is well described, interesting, and full of appealing characters) and one of the people from his childhood ship shows up. From then on, the story is intense and complex, deeply emotional, with a conclusion clearly setting things up for a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Real people, real aliens, excellent novel
Review: This is an excellent break-out novel for a first-published author. Karin Lowachee has shown a lot of people how to do it with this book. The people are realistic, the settings are realistic, I believed it all. This book will take you away to another place and time.

Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Can't Wait to Read her Tenth Novel
Review: This is without doubt one of the best first novels I have ever read. In fact...I am almost embarrassed to admit how much I liked it. I took it to work with me, and snuck off to the john so I could keep reading it. I don't remember ever having done that before.

The universe in which the book is set is clearly inspired by C.J. Cherryh--complete with alienated and confused young male protagonist. But if this is imitation, then Cherryh should feel flattered. Warchild is every bit as good as Rimrunners (another novel that really kept me going).

The world really isn't what makes this book so fine, anyway. What makes it good is what happens to the young protagonist, Jos, and how he handles these events. I kept asking myself, "How can he DO that?" I was amazed by how horrendous developments in his young life pulled his loyalties first one way and then the other, but failed to destroy him, and how he kept his integrity despite some really horrendous blows. Also, this book successfully played my paranoia buttons: about two thirds of the way through, I still wasn't sure whether certain people were well-intentioned toward Jos, or whether it had all been One Huge Evil Plot. (I know I'm being vague--I'm trying to avoid spoilers).

Speaking of accusations of vagueness...I can't believe that a reader faulted the narrative for being evasive about whether Jos was actually raped by the pirate or not. Pay attention, ok? The point was, Jos didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to remember--would you?

As for the "touchy-feely" stuff, it was appropriate for the story--the writer didn't give the appearance of having an agenda in that direction. I'd have a problem only if all her books set the same tone.

Rating:
Summary: WARCHILD IS A WORLD BUILDER!
Review: This new book(and author)launch us into a new universe filled with humans, aliens, and something in-between. When joung Jos is taken prisoner and his past destroyed, the reader is then plunged into the machinations of a space pirate's legacy of torturous mind and body games. The head pirate Flacone makes young Jos a pawn of his, forcing his mind and body to become his. Then the alien's and strivs attack, taking young Jos with them. He is then taken to the alien world and trained as an assassin and spy. The young Jos is then tossed back as a spy for the aliens, to the human side. There he becomes a Jet, a soldier on one of the best space cruisers. This is when his loyalties collide and old friendships thought dead, come back to haunt this poor troubled young man.
Karin Lowachee is a great writer and brings a lot of key characters to life, the writing of "feelings" is well done and the strife that this young man is going through is very well written. The shades and overtones of sexuality throughout the novel will keep you guessing, it is quite unnerving to wonder what is going on behind all that pain and anguish.
My only drawback to a five star was this area. I found the touchy-feely thing went on a little too much. I really wanted more action and adventure, and Lowachee does give us that, but at a cost of pages of weeping and confused mind matters.
But overall the novel is large in scope and different in its range. A fine 1st novel and good enough for this reader to want to try this author again.