The Siege of Burning Grass | 
pickAlefret, a pacifist, has been imprisoned and tortured for his refusal to participate in his country's long, grueling war. Always an outcast due to his size and appearance, Alefret agrees to travel to the floating fortress of the enemy to infiltrate the resistance and enable his minder, a zealous soldier, to carry out a secret mission to end the war. A gripping, harrowing story of the horrors of war, hard to put down and impossible to forget.
pickPremee Mohamed‘s literary SF novel is a sophisticated examination of what it means to be antiwar and the impact of conflict on those who fight. Alefret is an interesting character and I enjoyed the way Mohamed teases out his backstory and motivations while there are moments of real suspense and tension within the story. However the final quarter is rushed and Qhudur an under-developed foil whose unshakeable fanaticism doesn‘t ring quite true.
