This is a war story that is written like nothing I have read before. It's brutal honesty and sacrifice is pronounced. It takes you on a journey of self love.

A Medicine Game is gripping and captivating read from the first to the last page.

I must admit that both my brothers attended Royal Roads Military College so that made it even more gripping for me.

We follow two Canadian service men from training at Royal Roads to war and the aftermath of war.

You can feel their dilemmas, their angst and their loyalty.

It is a wonderful story of friendship, duty, sacrufice and so much more.

Canada itself for me was a proud character as well.

Jason Donville pulls no punches and the writing is so well done.

My review can not do this book justice. It will stay with me a long time and I will be buying my brothers a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Book Whisperer for the absolute privilege of reading and reviewing A Medicine Game.

This is not a war story. It is, but it’s much more the story of friendship. The length of the book hides just how far and deep this will cover. Two men, one indigenous, one not, join the Canadian armed forces for very differing reasons. One is forced to be there, one chooses to be there. One wants to be noticed, one doesn’t. They become friends and open each other to new ideas and more importantly, rescue each other. This book covers their multitudes of training as well as actual fighting. Like rubberbands, they part and come back together again, and they fight to hold onto their humanity, sanity, and lives in every battle. This is NOT an easy book to read. It’s harsh, it’s unflinching, it shows the worst of humans. And their best. Read with caution.

This is an excellent read. Based on the personal journeys of two Canadian servicemen, you follow them through training, into battle in Sarajevo and then the long road to recovery. One character, Moose, was fairly rootless before his time in the army. He gad to question all of his values and whether he was valiant in battle as his regimental motto pronounced. He found a measure of wholeness through family life and a new career after he was demobbed. The other character was outstanding in all ways, wise beyond his years yer had conflicted loyalties. He was pressured into enlisting and found a conflict between his identity as a Mohawk and a Canadian officer. The book explored the attitudes of humans when in conflict with their hated neighbour, giving the reader much food for thought.