CW: Racist and homophobic slurs

What a messed-up weird war story that was. A Vietnam War recon team discovers something horrible deep in the jungle across the border of Cambodia. A special forces team is assembled to tackle the threat, and discovers that it is far worse than expected. If you want a gruesome soldiers vs monsters story this delivers (ala Predator or Aliens).

The slow reveal of the monsters keeps the tension high, and they are so sufficiently unsettling that the more you discover about them the more delightfully revolting it gets.

The characters are super racist and are imbedded in their toxic masculinity so they regularly throw awful slurs around. As someone that grew up around a Vietnam Vet it felt uncomfortably accurate. If that accuracy is too toxic for you then stay away. That said, the soldiers aren’t portrayed as heroes, as much as they are psychologically damaged tools. The book doesn't expect you to like them, but there is a level of empathy describing how they got that way. There aren’t many characters that you root for, so when they get picked off in gruesome ways, you don’t feel too bad.

The unsettling journey deep into the jungle and the palpable tension are really the big selling points with the book. That and the ookiness of the creatures and what they leave behind.

If you want a shoot 'em up action creature feature, this delivers.