God's War: Bel Dame Apocrypha Volume 1

by Kameron Hurley

Overview

Hugo Award-winning author Kameron Hurley’s blood-soaked, inventive sci-fi/fantasy mash-up. “If you like rough, battle-scarred women who know how to regulate, you're going to love Nyx... makes Han Solo look like a boy scout.” —io9

Nyx had already been to hell. One prayer more or less wouldn't make any difference...

On a ravaged, contaminated world, a centuries-old holy war rages, fought by a bloody mix of mercenaries, magicians, and conscripted soldiers. Though the origins of the war are shady and complex, there's one thing everybody agrees on:

There's not a chance in hell of ending it.

Nyx is a former government assassin who makes a living cutting off heads for cash. But when a dubious deal between her government and an alien gene pirate goes bad, Nyx's ugly past makes her the top pick for a covert recovery. The head they want her to bring home could end the war—but at what price?

The world is about to find out.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597809504
Publisher:	Night Shade
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Series:	Bel Dame Apocrypha , #1
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	459,959
Product dimensions:	4.30(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Kameron Hurley is the acclaimed author of the novels God’s War and The Mirror Empire. She has been awarded two Hugo Awards, the Kitschky Award for Best Debut Novel, and has also been a finalist for the Nebula Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the British Science Fiction and Fantasy Award, and the Locus Award. Visit her online at KameronHurley.Blogspot.com or on Twitter at @KameronHurley.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Kameron Hurley:

God’s War
“Inventive, challenging, tough as nails—just like its hard-hitting heroine. Recommended.”—Joe Abercrombie

“Kameron Hurley’s a brave, unflinching, truly original writer with a unique vision . . . burns right through your brain and your heart.”—Jeff VanderMeer, author of Finch

“Hurley’s world-building is phenomenal . . .(she) smoothly handles tricky themes such as race, class, religion, and gender without sacrificing action.”—Publishers Weekly

“One of the most thought-provoking debuts I’ve read so far this year.”—Locus

“If you like rough, battle-scarred women who know how to regulate, you're going to love Nyx... She makes Han Solo look like a boy scout.” —io9

Infidel
“Especially enjoyable for its ethnically diverse cast and freewheeling remixes of traditional gender roles.”—Tor.com

“A fast-paced book with a lot of action and smart character moments, mixed with cynical battlefield philosophy. I highly recommend it.”—Strange Horizons

Rapture
“Ferociously imaginative—with an emphasis on ferocious. . . . smart, dark, visceral and wonderfully, hectically entertaining.”—Lauren Beukes, author of Zoo City

“Edge-of-the-seat action set within a strange and alien world that’s the mutant child of Frank Herbert and Roger Zelazny.”—David J. Williams, author of The Mirrored Heavens

Praise for Kameron Hurley:

God’s War
“Inventive, challenging, tough as nails—just like its hard-hitting heroine. Recommended.”—Joe Abercrombie

“Kameron Hurley’s a brave, unflinching, truly original writer with a unique vision . . . burns right through your brain and your heart.”—Jeff VanderMeer, author of Finch

“Hurley’s world-building is phenomenal . . .(she) smoothly handles tricky themes such as race, class, religion, and gender without sacrificing action.”—Publishers Weekly

“One of the most thought-provoking debuts I’ve read so far this year.”—Locus

“If you like rough, battle-scarred women who know how to regulate, you're going to love Nyx... She makes Han Solo look like a boy scout.” —io9

Infidel
“Especially enjoyable for its ethnically diverse cast and freewheeling remixes of traditional gender roles.”—Tor.com

“A fast-paced book with a lot of action and smart character moments, mixed with cynical battlefield philosophy. I highly recommend it.”—Strange Horizons

Rapture
“Ferociously imaginative—with an emphasis on ferocious. . . . smart, dark, visceral and wonderfully, hectically entertaining.”—Lauren Beukes, author of Zoo City

“Edge-of-the-seat action set within a strange and alien world that’s the mutant child of Frank Herbert and Roger Zelazny.”—David J. Williams, author of The Mirrored Heavens

From the Publisher

Readers will be fascinated by the setting of this slow-starting but compelling far-future debut. On a planet settled by Muslims and ravaged by constant war and pollution, Nyx, a former government-sponsored assassin or "bel dame," gets by as a bounty hunter. Her assistant is the foreign magician Rhys, who can control the ubiquitous insects that drive the planet's technology. When the government asks them to hunt down an off-worlder who possesses technology that could end the war, they find themselves facing off against foreign agents and their fellow bel dames. Hurley's world-building is phenomenal, with casual references to insectile technology and the world's history that provide atmosphere without info dumps. Far too many pages are spent introducing the characters, but the story is highly engaging once it starts, and Hurley smoothly handles tricky themes such as race, class, religion, and gender without sacrificing action. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly