At the Altar of War

MWSA Review

A fast paced, suspence filled story about an Navy ensign who is given the task of taking over the activities and operations of a departing young officer. Given limited guidance by a leadership who want the job done but doesn't want to get tainted by what it might include, Ensign Mewling finds himself in over his head in the middle of assassinations and blackmarketing. You can't help but feel for this junior officer as his life and character are warped by th ereality of his world. Great read for anyone interested in wartime fiction.

Reviewed by: Bob Doerr (2014)

Author's Summary

Information provided by the author: In 1971, Ensign Brandon Mewling was sent to Vietnam. With other disciples, he sought to survive by celebrating a faith rooted in a “liturgy of war” that included the following elements: "Cordite, chemical and diesel were the incense lifted up. ‘Patrol’ was the processional, as negotiated towards the place of sacrifice. Booby traps and land mines were invocations. Ambush and engagement the call to worship. Explosion and bullet whine the hymns of praise. Blood was both baptism and offering. Inedible foods seasoned by fear and sweat the communion. Codes were scriptures, and litanies were reports and messages. And the word of the day was: 'death given, and death received.' Evacuation was the recessional, if you survived." During his tour of duty Mewling is slowly drawn into the darkness of war, yet even in the midst of destruction and apostasy, he finds a glimmer of hope. But even that is seemingly extinguished. On the edge of death, Mewling manages to survive, but at what cost and future torment?