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crispinsday's review against another edition
2.0
There are things I liked a lot - this is a military story which has zero sexism and zero racism, and the technological and ethical aspects felt unsettlingly current - but boy did it become a slog to read, so much so that the only feeling I had when the book ended was relief. Everything is long-winded and over explained, except for the romance, which is peculiarly underwritten, dull, and unconvincing. The action scenes and descriptions of technology, on the other hand, are detailed to a fault. This should have felt cinematic, but instead it read like an instruction manual I wasn't especially interested in reading. Overlong and underwhelming.
archergal's review against another edition
4.0
This is an exciting book. It's set in the near future when wars are ginned up by defense contractors and soldiers are networked together and more or less cyborged. But there's something in the network that's working for its own ends-- or is it?
I wish military sf didn't make me quite so uncomfortable. It's not a fault of the book per se. The increasingly technological nature of the armed forces and the power (and vulnerability) that comes with it just makes me queasy. So much potential for misuse there.
This is the first book I've read by Linda Nagata. Now I understand why she's been so praised. :) Good writing & plotting, kept me engrossed in spite of my qualms about the subject matter.
I wish military sf didn't make me quite so uncomfortable. It's not a fault of the book per se. The increasingly technological nature of the armed forces and the power (and vulnerability) that comes with it just makes me queasy. So much potential for misuse there.
This is the first book I've read by Linda Nagata. Now I understand why she's been so praised. :) Good writing & plotting, kept me engrossed in spite of my qualms about the subject matter.
lindzey's review against another edition
3.0
Perfectly entertaining while being deeply cynical, and I'll probably read the sequels. However, it felt a bit too on-the-nose for our current point in history, without really making me see it *differently*. Maybe I should call it competent military SF?
I call it cynical because:
* The main character is an involuntary (and unaware) reality-TV star,
* due to his contract as a military officer (it was that or prison),
* fighting in yet-another-ground-war that is only a thing because defense contractors gotta have wars, somewhere in the world.
The (slightly) more far-off thing was the voice whispering in his ear, which the characters suspect is an emergent AI. This ... also felt like a trope rather than something new.
I call it cynical because:
* The main character is an involuntary (and unaware) reality-TV star,
* due to his contract as a military officer (it was that or prison),
* fighting in yet-another-ground-war that is only a thing because defense contractors gotta have wars, somewhere in the world.
The (slightly) more far-off thing was the voice whispering in his ear, which the characters suspect is an emergent AI. This ... also felt like a trope rather than something new.
kayemnic's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
robynldouglas's review against another edition
4.0
Fast-paced, engaging military sci-fi. The overarching conspiracy is one that I can't wait to untangle and I liked the main character a great deal. Not my usual sort of book but I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
eagereyes's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent! I had no idea what to expect going in, but there's a lot going on. I'm curious about the second book and hope it'll be able to continue the story and stay as interesting.
mburnamfink's review against another edition
5.0
Every major war inspires a science-fiction novel. Starship Troopers is a paean to World War II Marines and Paratroopers, now dropping into an atomic hell against commie bugs. Vietnam inspired The Forever War with its reluctant draftees and purposeless battles. Now, with The Red: First Light, Nagata has given us the milSF novel for the Global War on Terror.
Lt. James Shelley is the commander of a Linked Combat Squad, an American infantry unit with powered exoskeletons, HUD targeting helmets, drones overhead, neural implants that suppress stress, and comlinks to each other and "Guidance" back in the states that give them an uncanny ability to coordinate. The enemy is well... anybody overseas will do, as the cynical Shelley explains to his squad: War is profitable, and defense contractors manipulate the media to ensure that people like Shelley are out there somewhere, on the end of a very long supply chain that can be milked dry.
Along with all the high-tech gear, Shelley has a 6th Sense, or maybe a direct line to God, that warns him about danger. His uncanny alertness saves him multiple times on patrol, only failing when fighter jets that shouldn't have even been in the war blow the hell out his outpost. Shelley loses his legs, and becomes the test subject for an experimental program in neuroprosthetics. Meanwhile, the army and Shelley's ex are coming to terms with the fact that Shelley's 6th Sense is because something is dancing through the best military grade encryption to manipulate Shelley's mind.
The entity, an AI that antagonist and bugfuck-nuts defense contractor CEO Thelma Sheridan identifies as the Devil deems "the red stain that creeps through human affairs" and which is adapted as The Red by Shelley and his friends, seems to be manipulating thousands or millions of people via subtle chains of coincidence. As Shelley recuperates and learns to use his new cyborg legs, Sheridan launches an all out assault against The Red, using tactical nukes against key data centers in an attempt to cut The Red apart in the Cloud. Millions of people die, the country is paralyzed, The Red limps along, and Sheridan retreats to an arctic lair to plot her next step, insulated from the consequences by her immense power (remember, this is a private citizen with a nuclear arsenal). The final third of the book is a sheer rocket, as Shelley attempts to bring Sheridan to justice, with terrible terrible cost.
The Red: First Light is a great story, balancing action and Clancy-esque "tomorrow's weapons" (trust me on that one, I know the subject), with rich characters and some worrying insights about the rise of algorithmic filter bubbles, ubiquitous computing, and the power of super-elite individuals. I'm excited to see how the rest of the series plays out.
Lt. James Shelley is the commander of a Linked Combat Squad, an American infantry unit with powered exoskeletons, HUD targeting helmets, drones overhead, neural implants that suppress stress, and comlinks to each other and "Guidance" back in the states that give them an uncanny ability to coordinate. The enemy is well... anybody overseas will do, as the cynical Shelley explains to his squad: War is profitable, and defense contractors manipulate the media to ensure that people like Shelley are out there somewhere, on the end of a very long supply chain that can be milked dry.
Along with all the high-tech gear, Shelley has a 6th Sense, or maybe a direct line to God, that warns him about danger. His uncanny alertness saves him multiple times on patrol, only failing when fighter jets that shouldn't have even been in the war blow the hell out his outpost. Shelley loses his legs, and becomes the test subject for an experimental program in neuroprosthetics. Meanwhile, the army and Shelley's ex are coming to terms with the fact that Shelley's 6th Sense is because something is dancing through the best military grade encryption to manipulate Shelley's mind.
The entity, an AI that antagonist and bugfuck-nuts defense contractor CEO Thelma Sheridan identifies as the Devil deems "the red stain that creeps through human affairs" and which is adapted as The Red by Shelley and his friends, seems to be manipulating thousands or millions of people via subtle chains of coincidence. As Shelley recuperates and learns to use his new cyborg legs, Sheridan launches an all out assault against The Red, using tactical nukes against key data centers in an attempt to cut The Red apart in the Cloud. Millions of people die, the country is paralyzed, The Red limps along, and Sheridan retreats to an arctic lair to plot her next step, insulated from the consequences by her immense power (remember, this is a private citizen with a nuclear arsenal). The final third of the book is a sheer rocket, as Shelley attempts to bring Sheridan to justice, with terrible terrible cost.
The Red: First Light is a great story, balancing action and Clancy-esque "tomorrow's weapons" (trust me on that one, I know the subject), with rich characters and some worrying insights about the rise of algorithmic filter bubbles, ubiquitous computing, and the power of super-elite individuals. I'm excited to see how the rest of the series plays out.
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
5.0
What a fantastic novel! A story about free will and what is (or isn't) reality, with a delightful helping of mysticism, presented as an exiting military thriller.
So many threads are seamlessly woven here: the pros and cons of technology, political corruption and deception, loyalty and treachery. And all of them are important to the plot and to Shelley's evolution as a character.
The writing is simply exceptional, I simply had to force myself to stop and go to sleep, but I DIDN'T WANT TO! And that ending! Yeah, I had to begin the second story ASAP (and I've already finished it *laughs*) because I couldn't wait.
Simply unmissable.
So many threads are seamlessly woven here: the pros and cons of technology, political corruption and deception, loyalty and treachery. And all of them are important to the plot and to Shelley's evolution as a character.
The writing is simply exceptional, I simply had to force myself to stop and go to sleep, but I DIDN'T WANT TO! And that ending! Yeah, I had to begin the second story ASAP (and I've already finished it *laughs*) because I couldn't wait.
Simply unmissable.
karwolfkill's review against another edition
3.0
This is solid, fast-paced military sci-fi. Nothing very new here--our protagonist is pressured into the army due to social injustice, becomes a super soldier, faces external threats and internal corruption. The politics in this book are overly simplified in my opinion and mysteries are solved without any effort (all the protagonists suspicions are nearly instantly confirmed by people around him). I do think there were a couple of thing in this book that were fairly intriguing, especially the "voice of God" bit and the reality show bit and would have liked to see those parts explored more thoroughly. Would I read the sequels? Probably, but my library doesn't have them and I'm not sure I want to read them enough to go buy them.