Anyone here ever read The Salvation War? I got it recommended to me, but I couldn't read it after I realized that it was basically FUCK YEAH MURICA KICKS ASS WIHT TEKNOLOGEE.
It's more Humanity Fuck Yeah than America Fuck Yeah. Russia and China are heavily involved in the war. America is prominent, but we have the most powerful military by far. It would be stranger if we weren't at the forefront of a global alliance against an outside threat.
1. Every weapon is described in excessive detail, saying exactly how it dismembers the enemy, yet the demons basically seem to be humans with red skin.
For this you have to know about the author. Stewart Slade is a weapon buff. He loves weapons and has done research on weapons for all of his past works. (The last one, The Big One, was an alternate history concerning the end of World War II)
You didn't read very far if you think that about the demons. The more alien ones get introduced as the story goes on, as well as the other lifeforms of Hell.
2. A messenger demon sent to herald the apocalypse to humans - keep in mind they're 20 feet tall - is killed by Thailand police ...for littering.
Just because they're intimidating and huge doesn't make them bulletproof. Indeed, that is kind of the point.
3. Bill Clinton somehow knows how to tell if a succubus is a real woman or not and casually kills one with a shotgun he pulls out of nowhere. BILL. CLINTON.
Oh, come on, that was awesome. As for a justification, humanity is well aware of Hell and demons by that point in the story. The succubi function by way of hallucinogenic pheromones, but that doesn't make them foolproof. The shotgun belonged to his Secret Service detail.
Overall, teh oomanz win easily and there's no excitement in the book because you know the demons lose because MURICA.
In essence, I didn't like it.
That humanity wins isn't the real focus of the story. Our victory is clear from the moment we find out the demons never left the bronze age. The focus of the story is about our expansion of knowledge and the individual goals of the characters, rather than the war as a whole.
Panteocide is a better story because it involves a lot of intrigue, though.