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gimpyknee's review against another edition
5.0
A brilliant and compelling novel of a war without end.
john25's review against another edition
2.0
I got this book free in exchange for a honest review. As a Veteran I had several issues with this book. He tried to cram every stereotype into one squad and even the most green soldier would see the holes in this. The concept was solid just execution lacking.
brimgagnon's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I need to read Fobbit now. Honestly think I’ve found my next instant buy author.
whatsheread's review against another edition
I am going to apologize to Mr. Abrams right now because there is no way I will ever be able to do Brave Deeds justice in this review. This “day in the life” story reminds me of The Things They Carried. It has a similar feel to it in the short, vignette-like chapters that bounce from soldier to soldier, past, and present. One of the reasons it is so powerful is that the U.S. still has soldiers in the Middle East; these six soldiers could be your brother, son, husband, father right now. It is a sobering thought while reading.
What Brave Deeds does more than anything is to show how young our soldiers are and how they are not heroes. They are simply six men who are doing their job in an unbearable situation. The death of their leader is the proverbial straw on the camel’s back. They are not attempting any sort of heroism. They are not hoping to make a statement or inspire policy changes through their temporary desertion. They just want to say good-bye to the one person in the military they felt cared about them as individuals.
How they get into the dangerous predicament of having to hump it all over Baghdad is rather comical if it were not also so frightening. Their gaffes show their humanity and confirm that they are not professional soldiers. Mr. Abrams does a great job showing how ingrained their training is, which serves them well as they cross the city on foot, but they are young and each distracted by his own thoughts and desires. The mistakes they do make end because of their youth and because of the natural distractions that come about because of their youth are understandable even as they end up having lasting repercussions not just them on them but for the Iraqi citizens as well.
The six soldiers harbor no doubts as to the dangers they face with every step further into the city. Nor do they harbor doubts as to their own lack of heroism. True, there is an innate machismo they exude due to their training and their weapons and their camaraderie, but as we see into the minds of each of them and get to know them, we understand that they are nothing more than frightened young men trying to find comfort among the danger. These men encompass the gamut of society and are a great example of the melting pot that is the military.
Mr. Abrams’ writing is superb. Sparse and powerful, it establishes the tone of the novel so well that readers feel the same sense of danger, fear, and urgency as the soldiers do. You can feel the intense heat rise from the pages as you march behind them on their way to the funeral. Every shadow mentioned, every figure they pass on the street, every blind corner they must turn fills you with a sense of dread. It is an intense experience, made all the more so because you find yourself caring about the men. They may not be perfect, in fact one or two are downright nasty, but you get behind their cause and cheer them on their journey. The overwhelming concern as to the eventual success of their mission fuels your reading experience with suspense and dread, and you come away feeling a greater appreciation for and sympathy with all soldiers everywhere. Brave Deeds is an impressive tour de force that gives a proper voice to modern soldiers all over the world just trying to do their job and survive.
What Brave Deeds does more than anything is to show how young our soldiers are and how they are not heroes. They are simply six men who are doing their job in an unbearable situation. The death of their leader is the proverbial straw on the camel’s back. They are not attempting any sort of heroism. They are not hoping to make a statement or inspire policy changes through their temporary desertion. They just want to say good-bye to the one person in the military they felt cared about them as individuals.
How they get into the dangerous predicament of having to hump it all over Baghdad is rather comical if it were not also so frightening. Their gaffes show their humanity and confirm that they are not professional soldiers. Mr. Abrams does a great job showing how ingrained their training is, which serves them well as they cross the city on foot, but they are young and each distracted by his own thoughts and desires. The mistakes they do make end because of their youth and because of the natural distractions that come about because of their youth are understandable even as they end up having lasting repercussions not just them on them but for the Iraqi citizens as well.
The six soldiers harbor no doubts as to the dangers they face with every step further into the city. Nor do they harbor doubts as to their own lack of heroism. True, there is an innate machismo they exude due to their training and their weapons and their camaraderie, but as we see into the minds of each of them and get to know them, we understand that they are nothing more than frightened young men trying to find comfort among the danger. These men encompass the gamut of society and are a great example of the melting pot that is the military.
Mr. Abrams’ writing is superb. Sparse and powerful, it establishes the tone of the novel so well that readers feel the same sense of danger, fear, and urgency as the soldiers do. You can feel the intense heat rise from the pages as you march behind them on their way to the funeral. Every shadow mentioned, every figure they pass on the street, every blind corner they must turn fills you with a sense of dread. It is an intense experience, made all the more so because you find yourself caring about the men. They may not be perfect, in fact one or two are downright nasty, but you get behind their cause and cheer them on their journey. The overwhelming concern as to the eventual success of their mission fuels your reading experience with suspense and dread, and you come away feeling a greater appreciation for and sympathy with all soldiers everywhere. Brave Deeds is an impressive tour de force that gives a proper voice to modern soldiers all over the world just trying to do their job and survive.
rosseroo's review
5.0
I absolutely loved Abrams' first novel (Fobbit), about an army public affairs drone working a desk job in a hermetically sealed Forward Operating Base in Iraq. This page-turning followup takes the reader beyond the base with six infantry soldiers who've gone AWAOL to attend a memorial service for their beloved Sergeant at a base across Baghdad. Unfortunately, their Humvee breaks down and in the confusion they leave behind both radio and maps, and so they are adrift in the streets of a huge hostile city, and if they try and call for help, they won't get to the memorial service.
The telling of their attempt to cross the city to pay their respects plays out in short chapters written in the unusual first person plural form, and is intercut with flashbacks and background stories of each of the soldiers. This gives you a taste of each, but they are more sketches than fully-developed characters, which almost gives the whole book the feel of a fable. The details of the setting and specificity of speech and thought are what bring spark and color to the story -- it's a must read for anyone interested in war fiction or the modern American soldier.
The telling of their attempt to cross the city to pay their respects plays out in short chapters written in the unusual first person plural form, and is intercut with flashbacks and background stories of each of the soldiers. This gives you a taste of each, but they are more sketches than fully-developed characters, which almost gives the whole book the feel of a fable. The details of the setting and specificity of speech and thought are what bring spark and color to the story -- it's a must read for anyone interested in war fiction or the modern American soldier.
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