Review: War Cry

War Cry by Brian McClellan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, MacMillan-Tor/Forge and Brian McClellan for an ARC. My opinions are my own and independent of receiving an advanced reading copy.

Rating 3.5 stars
First, I am a big fan of Brian McClellan. I’m just not a big fan of novellas, unless they are connected to a series that I’m familiar with. I mean they are just a morsel, sometimes tasty and sometimes not enough of a bite. War Cry is a standalone for now, hopefully setting up a new world where McClellan can take his usual 600 pages to thrill us with a new adventure. Because you are not yet familiar with this world, and because there is no time to explain in this short work, you are a bit off kilter until you start to understand what is going on.

Meet Teado who is a changer. A changer is a human who changes into some kind of big, animalistic, leathery skinned, spindly ridged creature with talons and horns that is almost indestructible. So cool!! I want to be a changer. They change at will and guns, grenades, even falling off of an airplane will not kill you. Also, if you are injured, and you do get injured, you can stay in this state until your human state can withstand the injuries and heal. There are other wizards, Smiling Toms, that can perform illusions making you see things that aren’t there. Teado’s platoon has a Smiling Tom, Bellara. Bellara wants to perform magic for pleasure, to bring joy to the world. But that doesn’t happen anymore. Anyone’s special talents are for the war effort only. It reminded me of World War I or II when the war effort propaganda took over every day life.

This told from Teado’s perspective. There is no background so it takes a minute before you connect or feel invested in the story. The action is exciting and grounded in the real world, no futuristic bombs or cool gadgets. The military strategies, the troops, the food rations all seem like any war novel, but has a retro feel, like from a previous World War. But you have these interesting elements, like the wizards, that lend an air of excitement and mystery.

I want to know more. I need to know more. Why are they fighting? What is at stake? What is life like in the regular world. There is no time to tell these stories in a novella. So, I will wait for book one of the series. It was a good morsel. But I’m ready for dinner.

View all my reviews