Mind if I ask a question? I don't mean to nitpick, and this might just be one of those contradictions you mentioned, but how do you square with the killing of the farmers? I understand being able to jive with the war against absolute evil, but this was a conflict between soldiers and civilians.
This conflicts me no end --- I appreciate this stuff intellectually, but I can't get away from the fact that the hardware I ogle and the battles I read of are ultimately connected with killing other human beings.
That's why I like this story. Savage is the noble warrior --- completely human, yet finely trained and honed to do what he has to do. I like him intensely. The war he fights, though, seems to be completely just. Thus I can revel in the story without the associated guilt that comes from enjoying what I ultimately perceive as evil.
Good question. I don't think I was able to make it all jive that well. As I said, I spent most of the story hoping it wouldn't come to that, and I think that's why I wanted to look away when I did. I knew the murder had to happen, and my squeamishness derives as much from my empathy for Savage as it does my own dislike of murder. I guess I saw it as an invidious decision --- you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, and Savage chose (or had chosen for him) the lesser of two evils. The fact that he knew he was only minutes away from a similar fate helped as well --- he wasn't asking anyone to do what he wasn't willing to do himself.
Of course, the same could be said for your standard, run of the mill suicide bomber too.
The war he fights, though, seems to be completely just. Thus I can revel in the story without the associated guilt that comes from enjoying what I ultimately perceive as evil.
This, in a nutshell, was my problem with the story. A completely just war against a completely evil enemy is simplistic, unrealistic and, in my mind, at least a bit boring.
Yes and no. I guess it depends on what the story is doing. If it's commenting on the human condition and the rightness and wrongness of war, the enemy needs to be more like us. The fact that the enemy might not be human can very useful in getting us to properly question the assumptions underlying our ethical systems.
On the other hand, if the story is meant to be about inter human relationships, the enemy probably isn't as important. (I'm thinking of
Starship Troopers but it's been a long time since I saw it, and I don't plan on reading it!) Or, if the story is about how cool the weapons are, or the wonderful intelligence of our generals we need just enough enemy to justify having the weapons (especially if we want to see if they work).
In this case, the war is simply a plot device to set the action. I think that's where I (originally) put this story. Now, I'm not so sure. I might just have to go and listen to it again!