Book Review: Early This Morning

Reviewed by Peggy Kurkowski | Content Warnings: homophobia

A diabolical plot sends an all-gay Army unit into harm’s way in this speedy thriller. 

Lieutenant Colonel Trent Barnes is puzzled by his new orders to report to Fort Bend, North Carolina. He is to take command of a newly formed unit that will train for two months before deploying to a small town in the Balkans. When he arrives, however, the 105-person unit reveals a common theme among its members: every person in the company is gay, including them.

Happening while the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was still on the books, Barnes and his trusted First Sergeant Emma Leadman must assess the readiness of the unit and train to deal with biological agents before they are deployed to a village called Tiva in the Balkans. 

Their mission: enter Tiva posing as a group called Humanity for All Nations to spy on the government and acquire evidence of their building a biological weapons program. It’s then that Leadman tells Barnes that one of their company is not gay: a man known only in the story as “the mechanic.”

Meanwhile, two powerful officials back in Washington, D.C.—Senator Payne and Major General Andy Wells—eagerly await the evidence that will catapult their careers at the expense of the clueless company. 

It’s true. The entire mission is to kill two birds with one stone: confirm the existence of a biological weapons program and decimate the gay people in the ranks. To ensure mission success, Wells has placed a mole in the company that is revealed in the early pages. The nature of the mission is highly dangerous, no matter how skilled the company is, but the gay servicemembers are expendable in his eyes.

“The selected officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers were top-notch in their fields. The mortality rate was expected to be ninety percent, unacceptable for a routine or even a special mission.”

As Barnes, Leadman, and their company infiltrate Tiva and begin collecting evidence, the straight and homophobic mechanic gets into a literal scrape with a toxin known as Agent Z, but fellow soldiers step in with paramedic lifesaving skills. Thanks to the intervention of a lifelong friend and fellow officer, Barnes then begins to understand the true scandalous nature of the mission.

Early This Morning is an affecting read that captures what life felt like for soldiers during the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell period. Barnes is worried his dear friend will not accept his sexuality, and his thoughts and fears are authentic and resonate. 

However, some characters are issued some harmful gay stereotypes, like Karen, a butch lesbian, and Bill, a “flamboyant” gay man. Karen chews tobacco, smokes cigars, and swaggers like a man, while Bill dangles limp wrists and lisps his sentences. Berry’s story is meant to support gay soldiers, but these conventions contradict that. As a content warning, the language used to slur the gay servicemembers is ugly and overused. The hatred of homosexuals is readily apparent, and this can make for some tough moments to read.

Early This Morning is an interesting character study, theorizing to what lengths some bigots will go to execute their hate against others, and a novel that sheds light on a problematic time.

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