{"id":1812,"date":"2025-01-31T14:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=1812"},"modified":"2025-01-31T14:15:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T14:15:00","slug":"book-review-my-fathers-name-is-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=1812","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: My Father\u2019s Name Is War"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

My Father\u2019s Name Is War<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Bauder<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Science Fiction \/ Short Stories<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798991841504<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 240 pages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Amazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Bookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Nikolas Mavreas<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>An urgent collection of short fiction dealing with the U.S.\u2019s military culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bauder\u2019s My Father\u2019s Name Is War: Collected Transmissions <\/em>is a powerful collection of short fiction criticizing the United States\u2019 military system and the consequences, both actual and imagined, of the so-called Global War on Terrorism.<\/p>\n

Each of the nine pieces collected here is prefaced by a two or three pages long essay presenting the idea about to be explored. These pointed nonfiction sections are unflinching and scathing and perfectly situate the stories that follow them.<\/p>\n

Most of the stories are grounded science fiction set in some near future where now-infant technologies, like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and brain-computer interfacing, are fully materialized realities. The author duly exploits but does not indulge in the dystopic potential of these nascent dark materials.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The futuristic premises include the use of socially marginalized groups as vehicles in computerized warfare and a vague apocalypse with a twist ending. In one story, Bauder projects the current lack of care for war veterans into a plausible future where they receive therapy through virtual reality, which allows them to revisit the source of their trauma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In others, big data and artificial intelligence corporations realize their unrestrained ambitions with unforeseen consequences. In the last story, we catch glimpses of the author\u2019s family history but without the autobiography distracting from what is a piece of gripping and thought-provoking science fiction commenting on current American family dynamics, which are more than ever affected by ideological differences.<\/p>\n

Bauder does not shy away from experimentation with form and style. Despite a couple of sentences drowned in excessive alliteration, this serves the work well, giving it character and a sense of ambition. One of the book\u2019s chapters takes the form of a play, while another comes in the shape of a poem. The latter partially employs the stressed half line meter of Beowulf and Old English, thus indirectly creating echoes of other, long-dead military cultures.<\/p>\n

The author\u2019s prologue warns that the book is not an easy read and that it doesn\u2019t intend to entertain per-se. The first is quite true. If this collection doesn\u2019t entertain, it does provoke the reader to think and feel. It is a serious book with its anger constant and at times white hot. The anger, however, doesn\u2019t obstruct the thinking, as the two are found in productive balance throughout.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My Father\u2019s Name Is War<\/em> grapples with an individual\u2019s own experience inside and adjacent to the United States war machine, but not without objectivity, resulting in a relentless critique of a manifestly destructive system. Bauder effectively urges the reader to stand by the country\u2019s veterans and to help share their message. This compelling book is a powerful example of deep thought and anguish externalized through fiction.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Amazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Bookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thank you for reading Nikolas Mavreas\u2019s book review of My Father\u2019s Name Is War <\/em>by Bauder! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Book Reviews<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>IBR Blog<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Resources for Writers<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The post Book Review: My Father\u2019s Name Is War<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My Father\u2019s Name Is War by Bauder Genre: Science Fiction \/ Short Stories ISBN: 9798991841504 Print Length: 240 pages Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Nikolas Mavreas An urgent collection of short fiction dealing with the U.S.\u2019s military culture Bauder\u2019s My Father\u2019s Name Is War: Collected Transmissions is a powerful collection of short fiction criticizing the United […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}