A Military Times Best Book of 2017

"The satirical verve of Mr. Abrams's first novel, Fobbit (2012), has been compared with Joseph Heller's Catch 22. Like Fobbit . . . Brave Deeds . . . draws on the author's twenty years as an Army journalist."-Wall Street Journal (5 Soldiers-Turned-Authors to Know)

"Earnest and affecting . . . The soldiers are foulmouthed, sex-obsessed and fiercely loyal for reasons they can't quite articulate-in other words, packed with young American male authenticity. Abrams's prose is relaxed and conversational, with a few scattered literary nuggets that add heft, like chunks of beef in a vegetable soup . . . The mash-up works, and Abrams's voice is clear and strong."-Brian Castner, Washington Post

"Outstanding . . . With a little bit of humor and bumbling grace, these six soldiers magnify what is both beautiful and despairing about the American military . . . An honest encounter with the realities of what it means to serve in a war as a part of a collective that is not, essentially, collected."-Missoulian

"Brave Deeds is a serious rendering of one of our more recent forays into military action . . . 254 pages of tension-filled drama about a group of American soldiers showing loyalty, bravery, and their own forms of human frailty as they persevere in what appears to be a doomed mission across hostile territory."-Montana Standard

"When David Abrams . . . focuses his shrewd hawk eyes on six AWOL soldiers, you can bet on a mish-mash of comic sarcasm and parody marching in step with a story that will have you cringing and nearly crying out of laughter or sadness till the end."-Raleigh News & Observer

"A stirring, sardonic war story . . . Mordantly funny and harrowing . . . Reminiscent of such classic war novels as Catch-22 . . . Among the war's dangers, which he renders with hold-your-breath vividness, Abrams finds deeply human moments . . . Brave Deeds does what the most memorable books about war always do: honor the valor and sacrifice of soldiers while facing unflinchingly how little the rest of the world may value them."-Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times

"One might draw a straighter line of comparison to Vonnegut rather than Heller in [Abrams's] scathing treatment of war and its inhabitants . . . His use of satire-much as it was in his debut novel, Fobbit-is that warm bath into which the reader sinks, only to find herself in boiling water a few minutes later. The events of Brave Deeds escalate as the book progresses, as all good journey novels should . . . Abrams never drops a thread."-Rachel Kambury, Consequence Magazine

"I'm much reminded of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, in which a funeral dominates the narrative . . . As I Lay Dying is dark comedy classic, which Brave Deeds seems likely to become . . . Read this book."-David Wilson, The Veteran

"Describing the soldiers' perilous journey while filling in details of their backgrounds and the military situation in Iraq, this excellent novel is believable, dramatic, and also quite funny."-Library Journal (starred review)

"[Brave Deeds] builds to an emotionally wrenching and tension-filled climax . . . Filled with vivid characterizations and memorable moments, this novel-as with classic modern war literature from John Hersey's Into the Valley to David Halberstam's One Very Hot Day-turns a single military action into a microcosm of an entire war."-Publishers Weekly

"Abrams follows his award-winning debut with a more empathetic but no less bitter take on the Iraq War . . . The M4 action explodes in short, spare declarative sentences, every