In Tiger Chair, a Chinese platoon leader writes a very long letter home to his best friend from the front. It is not a cheerful letter.
Ten long years ago, China declared a world war after a squabble in Taiwan. The letter writer has been stationed in Los Angeles for three years. Though the LA battle starts out well for China, soon the local insurgents are beating the AI run Chinese army and its drone Air Force with old school weaponry. Mirrors are used to divert drones. Black paint covers cameras. Dump trucks full of debris block roads. Even old school “dumb” missiles and torpedoes are used to fight back against the Chinese invaders. The letter writer doesn’t see a good end game for China and worries that his toddler son will eventually be drafted into this endless war.
The author is the author of World War Z, which I loved. He is also the son of comedian Mel Brooks. He gets one tiny zinger in the book about his father. It is definitely worth a quick online search to understand the joke. Otherwise, Tiger Chair is unrelenting grim. As is an unending war, I suppose. Not a fun way to spend an hour, for sure.
I couldn’t help but feel there is a not so hidden political message here. However, I’m not exactly sure what it is. Is it about the amazing ingenuity of Americans? Is it anti-Hamas, anti-Iran, anti-Israel, anti-Russia or against any of the many other smaller wars popping up around the world lately? I feel it is against the futility of war in general. However, if you have strong feelings about either side of the current conflicts, this book may be troubling. For me, it was just rather forgettable. Well written but how did it teach, or at least show, me something I didn’t already know? 3 stars.
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.