The book introduces us to several characters, and to some degree, they are morons. The character that is the most competent is Capt. Young, who provides his inside thoughts on his teammates and Superiors in the most hilarious way.
Soldier Young is part of the Sixty-Seventh Reconnaissance Squadron, who are soldiers that pilot the MQ-9 Reaper drones killing terrorists and continuing to help win the War.
The Capt of the Sixty-Seventh Reconnaissance Squadron, Capt. Clutterbuck is the most moronic of the Air Force, and as the story progresses, the odd behavior increases, culminating in catastrophic proportions. Together with Capt. Clutterbuck, there are other characters, whose odd behavior, actions inside the Air Force, random ideas, nonsensical thoughts, make the story at times incredibly funny.

There were many times I laughed out loud. It was entertaining, light, and easy to submerge in the absurdity of the story while appreciating the writing.

Keep your friends close and your morons closer! What a treat! Felt like watching a season of a TV show, Reno 911 or The Office esque. I had so much fun reading this and am excited to order this book! Thanks so much for letting me check it out in advance. An awesome debut :)

Thanks to author Sloan Green and NetGalley for the ARC of "Morons of War."

"Catch 22" is one of the classics of 20th century literature, and its themes and plotlines involving the absurdity of warfare are timeless. However, the tools and tactics and the military itself have changed in countless ways since World War II; heck, when we fought the war that Heller wrote about our country did not even have a US Air Force. Today with our senseless war against Iran and the fraying edges of the Global War on Terrorism continuing to continue, this is an opportune time for Sloan Green's hilarious, silly, all-too-truthful "Morons of War," which can best be considered "Catch 22 v2.0." In "Morons of War," we meet the members of the Sixty-Seventh Reconnaissance Squadron at Cathcart Air Force Base in Nevada in 2014.

Author Green pays indirect (and direct) homage to Joseph Heller in several ways here, including (re)using the term (is it a noun, an adjective or an adverb?) 'Feather in the Cap.' Other, more modern Helleresque absurdities fit seamlessly into Green's descriptions of the modern day USAF:

The Squadron Commander LT COL Clutterbuck terrorizes his subordinates with terrible Vectoring! advice and the USAF-is-Great! life lessons; he shows the USAF that he is a brilliant leader by traversing beyond the "Open Door" policy of most military leaders to a "No Door" policy, in which all of the office and closet and cockpit and bathroom-stall and heavy, vault-like security doors are removed across the squadron. Clutterbuck spends much of his time here in silent monologue writing his (future) best-selling biography, "The Clutterbuck Vector!: Outrageous Optimism, Extreme Excellence and (a Word that Starts with L) Leadership: The Distinguished Legacy of an Air Force Officer and Pilot: Part One."

There is an undercover AFOSI agent named MAJ Ace Mancuso - in reality a young Sgt who is disguised as an astronaut - and who is instantly recognized by the actual squadron pilots as an undercover AFOSI agent who then spends most of his time hiding in the men's room hoping to overhear a drug transaction. Because of Ace's incompetence and lack of arrests, later there is an undercover AFOSIII agent named only as "The New Lieutenant Who Says Howdy Instead of Hi" who arrives to investigate the AFOSI agent.

There is fat Capt Larry Harding who is determined to become the Deadliest Mq-9 Reaper Pilot in the History of the United States Air Force, and Capt Bender the Pacifist, and one-eyed Capt William Augustus Barrington IV who is never around because he is too busy writing himself achievement awards including a Possibly Posthumous Medal of Honor, and there is the ever-present Telemachus Corporation technical team responsible for the excellent IT gear and computer software used in the Ground Control Stations for the drones and causes a lot of fires in computer racks at a bargain cost of $38M per day. There is normal-ish Capt Charlie Young, who acts as sort of a stand-in for the reader and is largely indifferent to the squadron mission but generally likes the people he works and drinks with. And there is Capt Theodore Exley, who arrives at work each evening unshaven and rheumy-eyed, wearing sheepskin slippers, button-up flannel pajamas, and a blue, cooling-gel sleep mask.

Author Sloan Green is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, so - like Joseph Heller - intimately understands the culture, traditions, and absurdities about which he writes. As a graduate of the United States Naval Academy myself - forty-one years ago ... sheesh! - I say "This novel is a Feather in Your Cap, Brother!"

Morons of War is a fast-paced and funny story in the vein of Dr. Strangelove; I frequently laughed out loud. So it's an enjoyable read, but as the insanity ramps up to implausible heights, the human beings get lost in the mix, and a number of plotlines alluded to earlier in the story are dropped without resolution.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sloan Green for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I am, admittedly, a modern classics slacker; so I have not read Catch-22. However, I HAVE watched Super Troopers, Space Force, Veep, and Spaceballs and this carries the same vibe as all of those but in the US Air Force. Everyone is at least semi-incompetent and mostly deeply unlikeable but in a way that makes it entertaining.

This book is absolutely hilarious. As a veteran myself, the absolute absurdity of everything going on is not lost on me.

This reminds me of Office Space and Super Troopers but in the Air Force. Everybody is just a step above being able to tie their shoes. Leadership is batcrap crazy about the “most important thing you can do for your country”, especially if it’s absolutely stupid but somehow makes them look good. Every unit must have that embellishing super soldier. This book was a riot.

Hilarious and amazing read. Will definitely be picking up any other Sloan Green books. This is such a wild ride into the morons of war and slackers.


Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity

This book was HILARIOUS! There were times where I caught myself just smiling while I was reading it. Very Monty Python, Airplane, Get Smart type humor. Also gave very similar vibes to The Office & Parks and Rec. So many laugh out loud moments! There is one part where one of the Captains is fighting with the vending machine for it to take his money. Something with that scene unlocked core memories for me which I loved! I am not a vet but I did recommend it to my veteran friends because I think they would absolutely love this book.

This felt so much like a RENO 911 or Brookline Nine-Nine type show. It gives you that same fun, irreverent satirical humor for something that isn't really a "funny" profession.

Where this misses the plot is when it veers a bit too into the absurd. Like, to have a few insane tv episodes that are just weird is excusable, but it doesn't translate as well into a novel. it just broke the story and made the entire thing then a bit more unbelievable (not like Fiction vs. Nonfiction, but the plot itself opens itself up to more criticism when these moments come through that are just really too far in terms of wanting to be funny.) This novel thrives at being funny so these moments are doubly frustrating because they just don't need to be there. It feels very forced.

That being said, as a whole, I enjoyed this novel. It found the prose really easy to read and I enjoyed the nods to Catch-22 while disagreeing that this is this generations version of the iconic novel. I think whenever a new novel is compared to one of the best regarded works of fiction in history, it sets the novel up for failure. This novel stands on its own. It's worthy of being read but Catch-22 was something that shaped literature and while this is lovely homage, I can't see it having as wide reaching implications. I could be wrong, but let this book be what it is and I think that it would shine more.

I think if you enjoy satire, you would enjoy this book. It is a war novel without being overly dramatic and heavy, which I appreciated. This was definitely something that broke me out of my comfort zone as far as what I normally read (fantasy, romantasy, a ton of horror and thrillers) so I might not be the BEST critic but I would still recommend it. In fact, I've recommended it to several people in my life because I thought they would be even larger fans than me.


Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was incredibly intrigued by the premise-- it sounded like this book would be incredibly funny and entertaining. I ended up DNF-ing fairly quickly because I just could not tolerate the narrative style.

The first chapter begins with a long-winded explanation of how likely someone is to die based on how many drones are trying to kill them, then morphs into providing a full inventory for several pages of what a room contains/ looks like. Only then do we get introduced to some of the characters, and that is only for like 2 pages before the chapter ends. And then chapter 2 starts with several pages of description about what another new character looks like.

I could sense that the plot was likely move at a glacial pace, so I sadly could not bear to continue.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to read it but this just wasn't for me.

Didn’t finish this was very descriptive in the military specific jet types, the different regiments. a lot of talk that I feel a man would’ve been amused by the bantering the squadron has ping ponging back and forth. It was absolutely full of a lot of humor. It was a great many different kinds as well. There was a squadron guy who loved blowing up his targets and they all think he’s a big goofy uncoordinated lunatic. Their main squads leader who handles all the men in the squadron and their schedules etc- he too is equally as obsessive with Jesus as he is with his kills as well. Then there’s this younger kid who’s been promoted when they first arrived bc the cap was having morning church and and prayers at 430 he told the entire squad they’d no mandate to be there and he’d not hold judgement or a grudge and since this kid showed soon rhe cap promotes him and what he’s asking for now is a transfer to the squadron who do the surveillance strictly surveillance not ever do they blow up America’s enemies. The thing is it is all done via computer yet soy watch the site drop be completely dug out a 6 fit deep and circumference hole with body parts scattered all over the place from the two men who had digging a hole and had never seen it coming . He doesn’t have the stomach for it. But the cap allows him to transfer if he kills tonight knowing that it is precisely what the young kid doesn’t want to do. He’s killed enough people know these fckg wars he doesn’t have the same conviction that these drones who surveilled and the missives that are launched from our soil and obliterate whoever and whatever is in its way. He’s lost his drive to be the pilot he’d decided he wanted to enlist after 9/11 and was sent on several and continuous tours and he was just ready to get out of the act of war and get the death away form him. And this is when I stop reading it

It wound up being a delight to read "Morons of War" by Sloan Green. The book is satirical to its core. Set at an air force base in the US where it is responsible for drone warfare hunting terrorists all the way across the world. But that is mere background. The story is about the idiosyncrasies of the pilots and their leadership. It is a military office comedy with an absurdist style of prose that is very reminiscent of Catch-22. I found it be be highly entertaining with a couple subtle reveals at the end that were worth the payoff. There is almost a Waiting for Godot-esque sense that nothing ever changes in the book, even as things gradually change. At the risk of repeating myself, I enjoyed this book a lot and recommend it to others!

I encountered this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.