Phil Klay's new novel, Missonaries, delves into the meaning of war

A US Marine Corps veteran, who served in Iraq's Anbar Province between 2007 and 2008 as a public affairs officer, Phil Klay won the National Book Award in 2014 for his sensational short-story collection, Redeployment. Missionaries is his long-awaited first novel and, at a sweeping 404 pages, it's a heavy-duty war epic full of authentic and at times unflinching detail.

At its heart, it's a powerful inquiry into the ethics and meaning of war, as exemplified by American counter-terrorist warfare, terrorism and drug wars – the impact and horror of violence, and how even the most positive participant can have their idealism corroded.

Set in Iraq, Afghanistan and rural Colombia, Missionaries commences in 1986 and moves across three decades. Multi-voiced, it follows four compelling characters. Abel is a Colombian ex-paramilitary fighter, Mason is a special forces medic, Juan Pablo is a Colombian conservative right-wing lieutenant colonel, and the most intriguing and engaging character of all is Lisette, a burned-out foreign correspondent, tired of reporting on "failing wars''.

When Lisette asks if there "are any wars right now where we're not losing" she is sent to Colombia. A reporter who loves the thrill of her job, Lisette is addicted to "the part where something awful happens" and she is assigned "to do something about it". She soon realises that no matter how jaded she's become, she'll never be as jaded as "the average American" who is disconnected from harsh events happening far away from home.

Although Klay's background offers a sharp sense of authenticity, one of the strengths of Missionaries is the meticulous and beautiful plotting, and strong characters. After a slow-burning start, where Klay labours over setting up their backstories, things begin to accelerate as the characters eventually cross paths.

Klay is a meticulous writer and the novel is heavy on fine military and sensory detail, which adds a vividness, from the rasp of the Velcro on magazine pouches opening, to graphic descriptions of injuries and medics attending to wounds.

In contrast, Klay delicately shows the human side of war – the dynamics of families left behind, and strained personal relationships. The complexities of corruption and the murky allegiances between guerrillas, narcos and soldiers is navigated, and here, it's clear that nobody is ever merely only good or evil.

- Reviewed by Kiran Dass

Missionaries, by Phil Klay (Canongate, $33)