Synopsis:
She came to make a difference, if only they’d let her…
Sniper Oksy hasn’t found her place in the army yet. She knows she’s good – maybe even the best – but Command won’t even give her a gun.
In fact, they mostly want to blame her for everything that goes wrong.
After the latest disaster behind enemy lines, she’s being reassigned to the harrowing trenches, under the threat of ogres, mages and tentacles. How can she convince them to let her fight? How can she prove she belongs here – and not in the miserable home she left behind?
Review:
*I read this novella as part the judging group The Secret Scribes for the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS). The following review is strictly my personal thoughts as each novella will be reviewed by two judges to be as objective as possible.*
Oksy, Come Home is a prequel novella taking place before Mr. Williams’ main series, However Many Must Die, and this military story is as brutal as it is tense. It’s a short novella, but it hits hard and grabs the readers by their throat and doesn’t let go as Oksy tries to survive a hellscape she signed up for.
Let me preface by saying I haven’t read HMMD yet, but it’s been on my unyielding TBR list for a long time. So when given the chance to check out O,CH for SFINCS, I was stoked. And let me tell you, this world is amazing! Just off the covers alone, we know that this world has a basis in WWI type military warfare, and this novella drills this to a T. But there is also a ton of fantasy excellence within. This is a world I love for so many different reasons.
Starting with the plot, this brief novella (it’s only about 80 pages or so) is a prelude to Oksy (Okselle Price) joining an all-female unit called The Blood Scouts. In an awesome use of epithets (a letter from her mother telling her to come home, title drops!), we learn that Oksy left her cozy life to join the army because of many reasons, even though it is frowned upon for women to join the fight at the front. Trained as a sniper, she spends the vast majority of these pages trying to just fit in and get a chance to fight. But because she’s looked as second fiddle, Oksy has to prove her strengths time and time again. And when an earth mage joins the fray (blamed on her of course), she might finally get her chance when The Blood Scouts finally enter the picture.
Oksy is one heck of a protagonist. I love underdog stories, especially ones rooted in real world prejudice. Her reasons for joining the war effort are personal and that connects us as readers to her. And despite everyone shunning her skills because she’s a woman, Oksy has that innate fight in her. She’s not a quitter. So it was awesome to follow her as she finally got her chance in the end, finding her place amongst The Blood Scouts. Oksy really just kicked major buttocks in this short novella. Trust me, you’ll really enjoy her arc.
But even moreso, this world just rocks. I’m not the biggest military fantasy reader out there, but I am a historian by education, so a WWI-inspired fantasy world is one super cool world I want to roam in. There are mages who throw earth, giant land krakens that protect buildings, trench warfare, orges leading said trench warfare, 1917-style rifles. It’s just such a unique world that was brutal, intense, never shying away from the ugly parts of war. And all of this is in 80ish pages.
Suffice to say, this novella is taut. The pace is steady, the prose is wickedly solid. If I had one complaint, it was not seeing the kraken fight in full, but that’s just me being greedy! And even though this story is part of a larger series, I never felt out of place or lacking worldbuilding. And as mentioned, I really liked the letter from Oksy’s mother as chapter epithets, it really hammered home the feelings of loss, anger, parenting despite defiance, and despair. Really thought this was a great use of style.
Oksy, Come Home is a quick, harsh read through the frontline of war. It sets the stage for a great conflict. Definitely recommend this novella!
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