Brad R. Torgersen

Chaplain’s War showcases excellent story-telling by Brad R. Torgerson that feels overall like good old SF in the style of Heinlein’s Starship troopers.
Despite the title there is little about faith and spiritualism, it certainly does not drive the story. It does, however, give it a bit of extra flavor.
As my prior comparison with starship troopers already hints at, this is about an all out war between humans and a species that - how else could it be - of bug like creatures.
The plot contains two narratives of the protagonist that are frequently shifted in time between past and present. The flow of both narratives feels natural and kept me interested throughout.

One minor complaint I have is with a few anachronisms. I mean in 2150 soldiers are still wearing digital watches? First I thought this must have been written in the 70s or 80s but it was, in fact, written in 2014 - the age of the smartphone. So, there is little excuse for that unless the author equipped future space marines with such obsolete gadgets to mimic Golden Age SF on purpose.
Another letdown I found with the leader of the enemy species hidden plan to instigate a war with the humans; it did not make that much sense. (The part that describes the conference about midpoint of the book - check for yourself)
Other than that Chaplain’s War does it all right and is very worthwhile the read.… (more)

This is a story of mankind's run up against a powerful and overwhelming alien. The story takes place after this conflict has started and details the impact that a couple of individuals can have on such events. Good stuff it is.

As for the religion part, it is there but is nothing overwhelming or even takes up much of the story. Indeed, religion is not a major theme within the story, rather a background concept that has an influence that is not constantly discussed once the story gets going. The refreshing part is that it is not something portrayed as bad or something that had negative influences within the world this story creates. That is much different in that most other stories, when they touch upon religion, make it out as a influence that drives evil or poor behavior and in many cases something that makes those involved backwards. This type of handling of religion is so common that it is a trope in science fiction and easily predictable and thus boring.

While religion as portrayed in the book is pretty much unchanged from today's versions of them I found that this not the point. The book is not a take what the future of religion could be but rather how it can impact individuals, or not impact individuals regardless of the time setting. I have not yet seen a book that attempts that without falling into the predictable trope I previously mentioned.

This is the first book I have read by the author and I am excited to see what things he comes up with next.

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