MixedZYZZYVAWhat stands out in the book is the importance Herbert places on stories themselves. By nesting stories within one another in a Scheherazade-like technique, he tackles the tradition of storytelling as well as its influence on the world. These are stories about storytellers—told by storytellers. Though Herbert’s experimentation is not alway successful...many of the stories here baffle with their ingenuity ... One wonders if Herbert is suggesting that everything is a pastiche now, the only difference being how obvious one’s influences are. Art imitates life in a ceaseless feedback loop, which is perhaps why these stories so closely resemble one another, and why the first sentence of the collection is repeated at the end in a slightly altered form[.]
Phil Klay
RaveZYZZYVAIn an era of globalized conflict and widespread disinformation, all of which help fuel conspiracy theories and increasingly violent online factions, the world stage can appear given over to chaos. It is for precisely these reasons that Phil Klay’s most recent novel...feels so refreshing, as the author draws connections and finds meaning in the disorder ... every side in this power struggle is given its due. Despite the novel’s fast-paced action sequences, it’s the character development and poignant commentary—through the clashing of nationalities, socio-economic backgrounds, and ideologies—that proves most rewarding ... Missionaries speaks to the immutability of shared experiences in a divided world ... Klay never tells his reader what to think ... Instead, Klay offers sympathetic protagonists and their perspectives, broadening our understanding of these events and urging us to decide for ourselves ... the strength of his novel does not come from its combat scenes nor its atmosphere of high tension (though both are done well), but from its humanity ... it is a profoundly sensitive novel as well. It does the job that literature is meant to: it forces its reader to question their understanding while also broadening it. It encourages growth and perspective, and though the violence it portrays can be hard to stomach, Missionaries reminds us of the cost of indifference.
