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kelseyland's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If "Starship Troopers but make it gayer" is up your alley, look no further than this book. A fast-paced, engaging and extremely entertaining page-turner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Torture
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was confusing in the best way possible. Heavy military sci-fi. Lots of wild time things.
Rep: Latine bisexual trans MC, latine female side character, side character with a prosethetic hand, queer side characters, non-gendered society--no gender roles.
CWs: Abandonment, alcohol consumption, blood, confinement/quaratine, colonization, cursing, death, excrement, fire/fire injury, genocide, gun violence, military brutality, murder, sexual content, torture, violence, war.
Rep: Latine bisexual trans MC, latine female side character, side character with a prosethetic hand, queer side characters, non-gendered society--no gender roles.
CWs: Abandonment, alcohol consumption, blood, confinement/quaratine, colonization, cursing, death, excrement, fire/fire injury, genocide, gun violence, military brutality, murder, sexual content, torture, violence, war.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
alina_leonova's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I can't even tell you how big an impression this book made on me! But let's start with the basics, as always.
Characters
The main character is Dietz, and since I wasn't sure about their gender until the end of the book, and I don't know if that was meant this way or I just missed it (i totally could have missed it), I won't reveal it here either, just in case. Dietz enlists in the army after losing their family to the Martian attack. They are a bitter but caring person who wants to protect the people they love. The character arc is very compelling, as the reader gets to observe the gradual change of Dietz's beliefs and goals as they discover more and more information about the war. There are also quite a lot of people they serve with, and sometimes I got lost as to who was who, but the author did a great job keeping track of them, considering the nature of the story.
Plot
The plot is so original and fascinating! It's non-linear, all of the events happen out of order as time travel is involved. It requires a lot of skill to pull off something like that, and Kameron Hurley did it brilliantly.
World-building
The world-building is done just right to be immersive. The world is ruled by six big corporations, and people are divided into a class system: citizens, who have the most privileges, access to health care and best living conditions, residents, who have only some of the privileges and ghouls, who basically have no rights. It's possible but extremely tough to move into a higher class, and joining the army is the only way for ghouls like Dietz. Citizenship is, in fact, belonging to a certain corp, not a country. The corps control access to information and posses advanced technology, the most impressive of which is probably their ability to turn people into light and send them anywhere in the world at the speed of light.
Impressions
I couldn't put the book down! There is so much in it that I liked: the plot twists, the complexity and ingenuity of its structure, the clever observations about human nature, the intimate first person narration, the flawed protagonist who gets a chance to grow, the criticism of some of the real-world issues, the originality. It's a great and well-written story, but what made it stand out most was the way it was told.
The book explores the meaninglessness and cruelty of war, poses the questions about inequality, class system, capitalism, exploitation, manipulation and brainwashing. It's gory, which I think is suitable for a story about war, and at the same time human connection and taking care of each other are a crucial part of it. I really enjoyed the author's style and her unique voice.
You might enjoy the book if you like military and time travel sci-fi, mind-bending thrillers, non-linear stories and don't mind gore / violence / death.
Check out my website about sci-fi by women and non-binary authors for book reviews, lists, interviews, short stories and more.
Characters
The main character is Dietz, and since I wasn't sure about their gender until the end of the book, and I don't know if that was meant this way or I just missed it (i totally could have missed it), I won't reveal it here either, just in case. Dietz enlists in the army after losing their family to the Martian attack. They are a bitter but caring person who wants to protect the people they love. The character arc is very compelling, as the reader gets to observe the gradual change of Dietz's beliefs and goals as they discover more and more information about the war. There are also quite a lot of people they serve with, and sometimes I got lost as to who was who, but the author did a great job keeping track of them, considering the nature of the story.
Plot
The plot is so original and fascinating! It's non-linear, all of the events happen out of order as time travel is involved. It requires a lot of skill to pull off something like that, and Kameron Hurley did it brilliantly.
World-building
The world-building is done just right to be immersive. The world is ruled by six big corporations, and people are divided into a class system: citizens, who have the most privileges, access to health care and best living conditions, residents, who have only some of the privileges and ghouls, who basically have no rights. It's possible but extremely tough to move into a higher class, and joining the army is the only way for ghouls like Dietz. Citizenship is, in fact, belonging to a certain corp, not a country. The corps control access to information and posses advanced technology, the most impressive of which is probably their ability to turn people into light and send them anywhere in the world at the speed of light.
Impressions
I couldn't put the book down! There is so much in it that I liked: the plot twists, the complexity and ingenuity of its structure, the clever observations about human nature, the intimate first person narration, the flawed protagonist who gets a chance to grow, the criticism of some of the real-world issues, the originality. It's a great and well-written story, but what made it stand out most was the way it was told.
The book explores the meaninglessness and cruelty of war, poses the questions about inequality, class system, capitalism, exploitation, manipulation and brainwashing. It's gory, which I think is suitable for a story about war, and at the same time human connection and taking care of each other are a crucial part of it. I really enjoyed the author's style and her unique voice.
You might enjoy the book if you like military and time travel sci-fi, mind-bending thrillers, non-linear stories and don't mind gore / violence / death.
Check out my website about sci-fi by women and non-binary authors for book reviews, lists, interviews, short stories and more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, and Violence
hello_cori's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Vomit, and Death of parent
deedireads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Light Brigade is an exciting, well-written smart puzzle of a sci-fi military thriller. That’s not my usual genre, but I really liked it!
For you if: Talk of aliens doesn’t turn you off a book.
FULL REVIEW:
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Light Brigade is an exciting, well-written smart puzzle of a sci-fi military thriller. That’s not my usual genre, but I really liked it!
For you if: Talk of aliens doesn’t turn you off a book.
FULL REVIEW:
“They said the war would turn us into light.
I wanted to be counted among the heroes who gave us this better world.”
“Military sci-fi thriller” isn’t my usual genre — in fact, “military” and “thriller” are usually anti-Deedi signals. But this one was nominated for the Hugo and people seem to really love Kameron Hurley, so I decided to give it a shot! I’m glad I did. Once I settled into it, I was totally sucked in — and VERY impressed, given that Hurley (successfully) used one of the most notoriously difficult devices in fiction. (Telling you what it is would be a bit of a spoiler, but trust me.)
The story is about a person named Dietz, whose family was killed in a mass attack and decided to join the corporate military (this world is fully ruled by a handful of powerful corporations). Soldiers are sent to the war on Mars to battle against the people who colonized it years ago and then went dark. They get there via “drops,” in which their mass is transformed to light and then reassembled. But then Dietz’s experience with the “drops” is…not quite what was expected. And, as you can imagine, neither is pretty much anything else, either.
One really cool thing about this book: the treatment of Dietz’s gender. There are only two moments, by my count, in which anyone genders Dietz. Otherwise, it’s left ambiguous. This works because in Hurley’s universe, gender norms are also not really a thing, nor are assumptions about sexuality.
It did take me a bit to sink into this book for two reasons: First, the talk of “aliens” and “martians” felt a little cheesy, but that’s probably because I don’t really read sci-fi as much. Second, the first 25% or so was really, idk, bro-ish? It was military training time. Lots of swearing and showboating and bodily functions. But once the training period ended, I fell RIGHT in and LOVED the rest.
Ultimately, this book was smart and masterfully planned/plotted, exciting and intriguing. A giant, fast-paced puzzle that was a pleasure to journey through. I really enjoyed it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Grief
spoth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Medical content
perditorian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Genocide and Violence
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