The Light Brigade Paperback – January 7, 2020

This book was honestly so good I'm struggling to describe how much I liked it without spoiling it. When I read this, I'd only skimmed the summary and hadn't read any reviews, so I didn't really know what to expect. That's probably the best approach to this book, but since you're reading this, it's already too late for you. Bummer! What I will say, is this was a phenomenally written story in every sense of the word. The writing is gorgeous- the sentences short and brutal, but filled with so much detail and world-building. The characters are fascinating, even as some of them remain mysteries to the reader- but you grow to know enough of them through the protagonist, Dietz. I didn't really love the protagonist at first, but they grow on you and their journey and evolution over the course of the story is really incredible.The plot itself- and the time skip element within it, was possibly my favorite element of the novel. Essentially Dietz is being thrown around in time, within a fixed loop of the war. It's disorienting both for Dietz and the reader, but the author demonstrates a tight control over the narrative, which is crucial when the book jumps back and forth over time, and is interspersed with interludes between a subject (S) and their interrogator (I). In lesser hands, this book could've easily descended into a sloppy, muddled mess. But instead it was clear, fascinating, and the slow reveals of what was actually happening were so satisfying. You definitely had to work a bit to figure out what was going on, and a debatable weakness of the story was that it never really gave you the full answers to everything, but the journey was worth it.I can't recommend this book highly enough. It had shades of "Old Man's War" and "Red Rising" mixed with something extremely unique. Off I go to stalk the rest of the author's publications! And if you're still debating - get this book. It'll reel you in to it's wild, violent, bombastic world within a few pages, and if you're like me, you won't be able to put it down.

This book is an absolute visceral and unrelenting take on war, time-travel, trauma, and is unapologetic with its anger. This is a book full of righteous fury; full of disdain and contempt for government and corporate systems, for the failings of modern capitalist and socioeconomic ideas and the promises they give us. It is a book that loathes why people enact war, yet recognizes the beauty and suffering of those endure it, especially of those who fight it.This book doesn't have a traditional arc, and it feels like a perpetual climax. It starts off at 100% and rarely, if ever, slows down. This is fast, it won't hold your hand and it won't lay things out for you, but the beauty of this is that your protagonist rarely sees the whole picture, yet you, like them, slowly begin to grasp how things form. This feels like a journey you embark on with the protagonist, rather than one you witness. (On my second read, I appreciated this aspect even more).The action is heavy, brutal, slick with gore and comes often times without warning. Did that sudden burst of fire and exploding torso feel jarring to you? Yeah, that's the point. Yet, I feel compelled to point out I was rarely overwhelmed by the gore, it was never there for the sake of it, but there to make a very blunt point. War is ugly, contemptuous and vile. The descriptions use eloquent wording, so it is easy to mentally filter out the level of carnage if you wish, though indulging in Hurley's prose is never anything but rewarding.This is a unique book, and despite its unflinching look at the universal hell of war in any timeline, there is hope here. This is not a book that is pummeling you with grimness to be grim. In fact, this books full of hope, full of beauty in a sick sort of way, but there nonetheless. This book is filled full of love and passion, one that shines brilliantly. Hurley did not write this absentmindedly, but rather with pen in hand and piercing each page with scathing words. Yet, like I said, this book IS full of hope.Full of light, even.

This was a difficult book for me to review. It basically comes down to two separate reviews.Science fiction has, at it’s best, always had challenging sociopolitical messages. Obviously, it also challenged what was considered scientific dogma of the time.On the later, I really enjoyed the book. Her sci-fi concepts of traveling as light were really interesting. The consequences of early practice in that mode of travel were suitably horrifying. Her description of battlefields were to me very realistic. That for me would have merited a 4/5 rating. Not a 5/5 because I though character development was lacking.Her sociopolitical commentary for me was very problematic. It was very simplistic warmed over pseudomarxism. The big bad corporations take over and control everyone’s lives as a proxy for governmental control. She makes a comment about Ayn Rand that tells me she has no real idea of Rand’s philosophy. Somehow, if we can just escape big corporations all will be better. It’s extremely simplistic and denies historical advances made on the half of the individual by real freedom. This part gets a 1/5 or at best a 2/5 in my grading system.So, overall, this is a mixed bag. It was good at times, sometimes riveting and often annoying. I don’t mind sociopolitical commentary challenging my belief system, however, this didn’t come close to measuring up to that mark.

This is a very clever story (and was well recommended by my SF Book Club) but I found it confusing to read and, in the end, a confused story and climax. The author was clearly aiming for this with the structure of the book but I don't think she quite pulled it off (well for this reader at least). I'm glad I've read it as I can now join the conversation about it but it's not one I would re-read.

A very timely book, but timeless too. A well-crafted book that is easy to read despite there being lots of ambiguity in its early moments.I want to read more of her writing!

didn't start well, couldn't finish

A premissa é cientificamente ridícula. Mas resolvi ler mesmo assim por se tratar de sci-fi militar e ser uma leitura leve. Mas a história não tem nada de muito bom. O protagonista é burro e ainda "salva o mundo" no final do dia (NO SPOILER). Foi uma clara tentativa de ser como Tropas Estelares no estilo Guerra do Velho. Falhou.

This book messed with my mind.I loved it. You never see where things are going. You keep gasping and wondering what is going on. The character is a mystery. Their gender never revealed which is a truly wonderful and different way to narrate a story. But that isn't important with everything that's going on. Time traveling, mysteries, blood deaths. This book is beautiful and it should be read!