The Light Brigade

July 31, 2020 8:45 PM - by Hurley, Kameron

The Light Brigade: it’s what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back…different. Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don’t sync up with the platoon’s. And Dietz’s bad drops tell a story of the war that’s not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on. Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness?

this is going up after the awards have been announced because I forgot about time zones, but this is also the last hugo nominee to be posted. Thanks, y'all.

posted by dinty_moore (6 comments total)

A lovely counterpoint to the gloomy nihilism of Dark. I mean, yes, definitely just as grim in many parts, but ultimately much more positive.

Eventually.
posted by Mogur at 5:20 PM on August 1, 2020

I bounced off of God's War back in the day. How does this one compare?
posted by Scattercat at 7:33 PM on August 1, 2020

Depends on what bounced you off. Both books feature Hurley's, well, gritty doesn't really do it justice...more like the way she grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go for a hundred pages because she's serious about safewords and you didn't use one. OTOH, where GW was fantasy in an alternate world, TLB is SF on a very recognizable Earth not far from now, and that extra grounding might be your bridge in.
posted by Mogur at 5:25 AM on August 2, 2020 [1 favorite]

I bounced off Hurley after The Bel Dame Apocrypha trilogy; but I'm glad that my practice of trying all the Hugo shortlist novels (and novellas etc), because this one was pretty good.

I'd have liked a bit more technical detail, but that'd just my foible.
posted by Marticus at 8:49 PM on August 2, 2020

This is the first of Hurley's work I've read. I was concerned when i started that it was going to be a bit by the numbers, bog standard SF trope but I thought she did enough to make it interesting and I've looked to see what else i might pick up from her back catalogue.
posted by biffa at 3:06 PM on August 4, 2020

When I saw the first Amazon reviewer complain that Hurley doesn't properly understand Ayn Rand's philosophy, I couldn't click the "buy" button fast enough. Pretty good so far, and it's obvious from the text that the characters have somewhat incomplete understandings of many things. As did the one reviewer. I appreciate the symmetry.
posted by wintermind at 6:22 PM on August 4, 2020