Book Review: The Bug Wars

Mamma Bear Book Review

*A bear trundles in with a book under one, fuzzy arm*

I found The Bug Wars by Robert Aspirin in the local second-hand shop, and snatched it up for a couple of reasons. I'd read Aspirin in the past and loved his Myth series, and also there's a giant wasp fighting a lizard on the cover. Win-win. 

The setup for Bug Wars is pretty classic scifi, military group of lizards attacks planet infested with wasp aliens and one unit, our heroes, is shot down and left behind after the battle. Now the lizards must survive on a hostile world until their army returns... if their army returns. 

The leader of our little band of lizard men has to keep his people alive, assess the situation on the planet, keep his status in the face of dissent and mutiny, and contend with hostile alien insects. Bug Wars is not exactly a character driven book, as an action packed military style scifi, but it does a fantastic job of putting the reader inside an alien mind. The L'vrai are highly advanced technologically, but also in some ways very primitive. I greatly enjoyed getting to spend the book inside the lizard mind, and the insects were both terrifying and fascinating as an opponent. 

The Bug Wars is a fast paced, action packed scifi read that should appeal to any furry reader who likes a scaly adventure from time to time, and if reptiles are your cup of tea, then this will be a definite gem to pick up. It's well written and great fun!

Character: 

While there isn't a ton of deep character development in relation to plot, the 'otherness' of the lizard men make the character really interesting and a fun step into a wildly different ideology. 

World Building:

The story reads like its a part of a much larger universe (and it very well may be) The backdrops were sweeping and realistic and it was very easy to get lost in a universe populated by bugs and lizards. 

Pacing:  

The Bug Wars is fast paced and a quick read, but goes into enough depth with the L'vai customs and society that you can linger over it and enjoy. 

 Shiny:

The concept is the big win with this one, at least for me. I'm all in with giant hostile bug aliens, and the lizard society at war with them was lovely icing on that delightful cake.