I read this books as part of judging the SFINCS novella competition for Team Booked Solid. This review reflects only my own thoughts and does not represent the team’s final score.. I received a free copy of the book for the purpose of judging.
Please note that this book passed two rounds of qualifiers and is one of ten books (out of one hundred) that made it to the competition finals.
Oksy, Come Home
By Phil Williams
I do not believe I’ve ever read a book taking place during a fantasy version of World War I, so this is a first for me. The only thing that comes to mind is the Darkness series, by Harry Turtledove, but that’s World War II, and it’s much wider in scope.
So, this is new and interesting, and I’m a big fan of fantasy elements being applied to more modern worlds – especially if it’s out in the open and not hiding behind a masquerade. Yes, I know that WW1 ended over a hundred years ago, but as far as I’m concerned, that still counts as modern.
On top of that, the plot is of a kind that resonates strongly with me: Capable young woman is held back by mediocre men but eventually gets to show what she’s made of.
Finally, Oksy, our main character, is a sniper, which is just plain cool.
What all this means is that Oksy, Come Home has everything going for it before I’ve even opened the book. It’s just the kind of story I like to read, the setting intrigues me, and it’s a novella so I can finish it one sitting. In every meaningful way, I’m the target audience for this book.
So, the big question remains: Is it any good?
I didn’t actually know any of the above when I started reading the book, which is probably a good thing, or I’d have been overhyped and unable to give the book a fair chance. As it is, you can still consider me positively biased, so keep that in mind when I say, without a doubt, that yes, the book is good, and you should read it. You should read it now – or at least as soon as you finish whatever you’re currently reading, unless it’s boring, in which case you should drop it and read Oksy, Come Home. Life’s too short to read books that bore you.
Not only is it a great story, it’s also well told. As a novella, it’s tight and focused but still manages to show both Oksy’s current situation and a significant portion of her backstory, as well as paint a picture of a fully fleshed out world that stretches far beyond the edges of the page.
What I’ll whine about
It’s hard to think of something, but if I have a complaint, it would be that the story is a little bit on the short side. In many ways, it’s just as long as it needs to be to tell the story it contains, and adding more events or more plot would just have diluted the experience. Even then, a little bit more wouldn’t have gone amiss. Maybe a quiet moment or two somewhere in the middle? A place for a reader to catch their breath before things start going wrong again.
What I’ll gush about
As if the entire first part of this review wasn’t gushing enough?
There’s one thing I’d like to point out that I really enjoyed, and that’s how Oksy’s backstory is told. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from a letter to Oksy written by her mother, urging Oksy to stop with the foolishness of being a soldier and come home. Through these letters, we learn of Oksy’s life before she became a soldier, and little by little, we get to know her better.
It’s a great idea, and it works exceptionally well. We get these little snippets of backstory – just enough to put the pieces together – and the actual chapters can focus fully on the present, without distractions.
Final Words
Oksy, Come Home is one of those rare books that somehow manages to do everything just right, and you should read it.
