INN
  • Articles
    • EVE Online
    • Interviews
    • Gaming
  • Podcasts
    • The Meta Show
    • Cartridge 2 Cloud
    • Push To Talk
  • Calendar
  • Staff
    • Contact Us
    • Join Us
    • Legal
  • Submissions
Friday, May 9, 2025 05:37:56
INN
  • Articles
    • EVE Online
    • Interviews
    • Gaming
  • Podcasts
    • The Meta Show
    • Cartridge 2 Cloud
    • Push To Talk
  • Calendar
  • Staff
    • Contact Us
    • Join Us
    • Legal
  • Submissions
  • Login/Register
INN
INN
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Calendar
  • Staff
  • Contact Us
  • Sov Map
Copyright 2021 - All Right Reserved
BooksReview

Imperium Book Club: The Light Brigade

by Quendan May 9, 2019
by Quendan May 9, 2019 0 comment
278

Dietz is a ghoul, a social outcast. In the hyper-capitalist Future that Hurley is painting, corporations have eclipsed nation states and a system of citizens and residents stratifies society. When suddenly most inhabitants of one of Earths largest cities vanish, a war breaks out against communist Mars, settled decades earlier and gone dark. Dietz, the sole point of view character of The Light Brigade, decides to join up with his corporation’s military. In order to surpass logistical limitations, soldiers are turned into light and are thrown across the solar system to fight in battles that wake memories of Starship Troopers. But where the alien bugs of Starship Troopers were stark descriptions of the alien, determining the nature of the enemy is key to the undertones of mystery that Hurley weaves into the story. This is not helped by the scarcity of information doled out to the grunts of this war, like Dietz, and further complicated by a few of those soldiers experiencing the war differently, ending up in battles they have no memory going into.

The self-contained novel weighs in at three-hundred-odd pages and felt much shorter. This is a result of Hurley telling it through the (sometimes coarse) voice of Dietz. Under the grimy patina, however, is a well-crafted book that seemingly effortlessly weaves together a multitude of themes and strands of world building and gradually reveals its recursive mystery, culminating in a satisfying conclusion. My experience with The Light Brigade was surprisingly good, for I normally tend to enjoy mostly space opera that is rich in exposition and slower paced. This book has none of that. Exposition is kept to a minimum, and the world is firmly built to support the themes of the story.

What superficially appears to be yet another military science fiction novel turns out to be old-school science fiction to the core: The exploration of an idea, a possible future, and the use of technology firmly in service of that goal. The story of Dietz is fundamentally one about control, a sometimes scathing critique of unconstrained capitalism and the subjugation of humans to those feudalistic  corporation vying for supremacy.

Kameron Hurley is an award-winning American science fiction and fantasy writer of The Stars are Legion, The God’s War Trilogy and The Worldbreaker Saga, as well as the essay collection The Geek Feminist Revolution. She has won the Hugo Award, Locus Award, Kitschy Away and more. The Light Brigade released March 19.

book reviewKameron HurleyLight Brigade
Share 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Quendan

previous post
Fit Kitchen: Vengeance
next post
Match Breakdown – SSI 2: Brave Nubbies vs House Goondor

You may also like

Movie Review: Dune

October 31, 2021

AT17: The Feeder Round Results Roundup!

September 10, 2021

Stitcher Reviews: Dreamscaper

August 15, 2021

New World Beta – First Impressions

August 8, 2021

Book Review: Andrew Groen’s Empires of EVE, Volume...

June 26, 2021

Warhammer: End Times—Vermintide II, The Chaos Wastes Review

May 15, 2021

Outriders Review

April 18, 2021

Catherine Classic review

May 16, 2020

The Outer Worlds Review – Not Quite As...

February 2, 2020

The most wonderful time of the year…oh god...

December 14, 2019

Let your voice be heard! Submit your own article to Imperium News here!

Would you like to join the Imperium News staff? Find out how!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Twitch
  • Discord

©2023 - All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by Imperium News

INN
  • Articles
    • EVE Online
    • Interviews
    • Gaming
  • Podcasts
    • The Meta Show
    • Cartridge 2 Cloud
    • Push To Talk
  • Calendar
  • Staff
    • Contact Us
    • Join Us
    • Legal
  • Submissions
Sign In
Connect with:
Google Twitter Disqus Twitch.tv

Keep me signed in until I sign out

Forgot your password?

Do not have an account ? Register here

Password Recovery

A new password will be emailed to you.

Have received a new password? Login here

Register New Account
Connect with:
Google Twitter Disqus Twitch.tv

Have an account? Login here