The underdog is never expected to win, and therein lies its power.
In Emily Hayse’s THE DOGS OF WAR, readers enter a world of highly trained teams competing for The Wreath while under the Empire’s constant watch. Here, the small, impoverished Iron City Wolves was never expected to win. But when their Lieutenant, Luke Shepperd, sacrificed everything on the field, he found his team glory that caused a ripple effect throughout the system that no one anticipated.
While Shepperd deservedly finds himself promoted to a glorified team, others fall from grace and find themselves sent or even exiled to the Iron City—expected to live the rest of their lives in squalor and on a team that will never win again. But bringing together three talented misfits with a unique motivation to prove themselves might have been the biggest mistake that the Council ever made.
Written from multiple points of view with short, biting chapters, this YA novel creates a fast-paced, emotionally gritty, and physically brutal setting: the ruthless Capture the Flag game, the dystopian-esque sorting system, the cold and unfeeling Council within an overlooking Empire, fans who clearly believe that the more dramatic and the bloodier, the better. With its strict divides into different cities and teams, readers will easily recognize the similarities to their most beloved Divergent faction and The Hunger Games district systems—constantly curious and a little apprehensive about how violent this could get. Hayse wisely writes from different teams' perspectives, varying positions on the team, and even higher-ranking positions—allowing the reader to catch glimpses of this incredible environment that would have otherwise been missed if only written from one playing position or team’s point of view.
The one conflicting point about this novel is where exactly to place it in time. A sports fiction enthusiast could read this and enjoy it for its underdog story and extreme rendition of Capture the Flag. However, with the characters’ use of weaponry and risk of serious injury, and with the characters’ potential to be banned, jailed, or even killed for any move that might be deemed as working against the Empire, THE DOGS OF WAR can just as easily be placed in a Roman gladiator setting as that of a dystopian future.
Nevertheless, Hayse has delivered on a silver platter an incredible first book in The War Games series. With the Iron City Wolves’ persistent determination to rise to the top, compelling characters across the board, and who-wouldn’t-root-for-them underdogs, THE DOGS OF WAR is a wonderful book on its own. But it also triumphs as a sturdy, unwavering foundation for a series that won’t back down.
Emily Hayse’s THE DOGS OF WAR is perfect for lovers of sports fiction, the underdog-turned-hero trope, gladiator storylines, and dystopian world-building.
~ McKenzie Lynn Tozan for IndieReader