First Light

The Red: First Light

Linda Nagata 2013

This was a very good hard sf novel. At first one would be tempted to call it military sf, but that is not accurate in my opinion. What's the difference? Everything that separates good writing from formula and meaningful provocative sf from old tropes rehashed.

Told in the present tense, the narrative is compelling from the beginning. It is filled with action scenes that have meaning rather than existing just for excitement. Part of the way Nagata accomplishes this is through character development. Each actor is unique and the action scenes develop this uniqueness and make us care about the players. We are fascinated by the technology, excited by the action and interested in what motivates each character.

In short order we are introduced to the main themes of the book: the mysterious voice that Lt. Shelley hears and which saves him and his squad numerous times; the cultural crisis of wars fought for economic stimulus and promoted by large defense contractors; the political corruption that this culture creates.

It is these themes and these characters that drive the narrative and that narrative ties unexpected directions. This is the greatest aspect of the novel–we cannot predict the events, but when they occur, we realize their importance to both the characters and the themes. There are big ideas and concepts here, not in the sense of Niven's Ringworld, but in the sense of where is our world headed and do we want to passively go along for the ride.

Lt. Shelley does not, and neither do the members of his squad, Sgt. Vasquez and private Ransom, who refers to Shelley as King David because he thinks Shelley listens to the voice of god. Neither does Lissa, Shelley's girlfriend, although she is a very reluctant participant.

This is an exemplary novel that succeeds on three levels: enough action for anyone; an important sf theme that engages a cautionary sense of wonder; and characters who breathe with emotional life and death.