The Light Brigade

Oh man, this book came really close to perfection, it's as if Hurley added [b:Starship Troopers 17214 Starship Troopers Robert A. Heinlein https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614054412l/17214.SY75.jpg 2534973], [b:1984 61439040 1984 George Orwell https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657781256l/61439040.SX50.jpg 153313], [b:All You Need Is Kill 6255949 All You Need Is Kill Hiroshi Sakurazaka https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568911292l/6255949.SY75.jpg 6439033], 3oz of grain alcohol, and [b:Slaughterhouse-Five 4981 Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut Jr. https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440319389l/4981.SY75.jpg 1683562] into a Nutribullet. Delicious, but you know, for a book not a smoothie. Before I outline the story, I have to shout out some really ambitious and successful world building. This book is set on a far future Earth that we (as in modern day people) have predictably devastated. The states of the modern day have collapsed, and in their place rise the corporations. Much of corporate controlled earth was left an infertile irradiated mess and the people of earth were slowly starving their way to extinction. In come the Martians. I'll try not to elaborate here lest I spoil anything, but the Martians offer to fix the ruined Earth in return for the right to settle. The corporations are in disbelief and agree to those terms; a conflict quickly arises as avarice for the reclaimed territories sparks a war between the Corporations and Mars. At least that's what the war appears to be on the surface.The story follows Dietz, a new recruit to the Corporate forces. Dietz is inspired to join the war after a catastrophe called the Blink hits their birthplace of São Paulo, evaporating millions of people. The Corporations blame the Martians, and unveil a new light based technology that will allow them to prosecute the war in every corner of the solar system. Dietz trains as one of these light soldiers, genetically modified to be able to disassemble their atomic structure and travel along beams of light to “drop” into combat. But the tech isn't all that safe, some soldiers jump and come back with their heads literally up their asses, and others return whole but forever changed. In Dietz' case, their jumps don't just carry them across space but across time.Yep, you guessed it, we've got another non-linear narrative here! The plot is non-linear, and Dietz experiences time in a fragmented and disorienting way, and it works exceptionally well here as that experience is mapped onto the experience of a soldier. I know that I'm a sucker for non-linear anything, but this mechanic adds a level of much-needed complexity to the story in this case. I was really engaged with trying to piece together the puzzle of Dietz's experiences, so hey yet another win for non-linear stories.There is so much more about this book that I want to gush about, but I don't think I can without spoiling it. Hurley skillfully explores profound themes such as the dehumanizing effects of war, the manipulation of truth, and the consequences of conflict. There is an entire psychological aspect to this book that addresses war's toll on individuals, it's a raw and honest portrayal of the harsh realities of war. It's extremely compelling and offers a lot of the same style of commentary as is present in 1984 and Slaughterhouse V. What kept this from perfection for me was just how broad the commentary is. This might be a non-issue for other readers, but I get really put off when authors offer up passage after passage of social commentary on issues that are at best in the periphery of the story. This book takes a really loud and wide stance when it comes to its political philosophy, there's a line for everything. Yes, this book is clear about what it wants to say, but my issue is that it says too much and doesn't let the reader mull the thing over. As a direct comparison to Starship Troopers, this is the one aspect in which this book falls a little flat for me; I felt like this was holding my hand, whereas Starship Troopers just trusted me to get the message and to make up my own mind.This was up for the Hugo in 2020, I think it totally deserves the nod. This was fun and engaging, and you know what? It might be saying a lot, but it's saying some good stuff.