The Killbug Eulogies is worldbuilding at its best.
The story is hardly a single tale. Instead, the book revolves around a troop of soldiers, stranded on a distant world and fighting off an enemy consisting of various intelligent insect species. With the troop’s chaplain dead, the men are told they will eulogize their fallen brothers. So each chapter then is the eulogy of a different man.
With the story being told about each of the fallen, we learn more about the fate of the Earth, the fate of humanity, and delve into the world of the insects. Each story has its own unique tone, sometimes funny, sometimes melancholy. That is what makes this work so incredibly special, one moment you’re laughing and the next you’re wiping a tear.
Madden took a crazy idea and a difficult and disconnected form of storytelling and knocked out a hit. This story is a must for Sci-Fi fans.
