Super awesome! The best book I read this year.

I think it's best if you go in knowing nothing. It's a sci-fi about soldiers. I used a notebook to track the plot but it's not really necessary. And it's really good. That should be enough.

Anyway, I'll write down why I love it. I won't spoil any twists, but I will necessarily tell more of what the book is about.


It's a time-travel story. It probably says so on the back cover, so this is not much of a spoiler. But still I think it's best if you don't know. The main character doesn't know. She just sees weird stuff and people think she's weird. It takes a while for her to realize what's happening. She's making random jumps in time. This is why I used a notebook to track where we were on the world's timeline. It's weird and it's a fantastic plot device.

What I didn't expect was the excellent critique of capitalism. I've read a lot of cyberpunk that go "oh, those greedy corporations!" and "look at the poor people in the slums eating trash!". I'm okay with that setting, but they never really explained what's wrong with capitalism. You could have pollution and inequality and discrimination and poverty in any other social structure just as well.

The Light Brigade is also set in a capitalist dystopia. But Kameron Hurley does explain what's wrong with capitalism. It's so good. It had a real effect on how I view capitalism.

Cool! So it's a book full of time travel and a take down of capitalism, right? No, actually it's not. All the characters are foot soldiers. The book is full of shooting at an enemy you cannot see, running to cover, carrying your bleeding friends around, and shouting for medics. They are not even your friends because of shared interests, a common understanding, or a moral alignment. They are idiots who you would not agree with on anything. But you've been through bootcamp together. And they are the only ones still alive. So they are your friends and you carry them when they bleed.

Time travel, capitalism is bad, war is bad. I don't think the recipe is that simple. Would you get a fantastic book each time you mix those ingredients? There is surely more to what makes The Light Brigade so good, but I can't say what it is. Read it and tell me!