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A review by trike
First Light by Linda Nagata
4.0
As the saying goes, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. The first impression I had from this book was not good. As you can see from the 4-star rating, I changed my mind.
Honestly, I'm not sure why I kept reading after the opening pages. The main character was speaking in polemic infodumps which felt clumsy and out of place, it was about a war in Africa somewhere which is not a topic that interests me, and Nagata killed all the dogs. (That last one is a biggie. Before I go see a movie, I always check the website Does The Dog Die? I've been in animal rescue for 34 years and I've seen things that give me nightmares, so I prefer my dogs unharmed.)
So why I kept reading, I don't know.
Which is sort of what this story is about. US Army Lieutenant James Shelley somehow "knows" things before they happen. One of his squad mates believes it to be the voice of God, keeping them out of harm's way. Shelley himself doesn't know what to make of it, but it turns out the likeliest culprit is an autonomous program existing in the Internet, distributed throughout the cloud.
Soldiers wear skullcaps which monitor and control their emotions, making them more effective in combat. (Nagata first used this idea in a short story in the collection [b:War Stories: New Military Science Fiction|22704234|War Stories New Military Science Fiction|Jaym Gates|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405012553s/22704234.jpg|42136377], and develops more fully here.) Problem is, this rogue program might be manipulating soldiers and equipment for its own mysterious ends.
If I have a primary complaint, it's that we never get a resolution as to what this program might be. Is it an AI? Is it simpler than that? We just get a lot of speculation by different characters. I presume this is something to be answered in sequels.
Turns out that perpetual small wars in the future are good for business, and they're basically managed by defense contractors in order to prop up the bottom line. It doesn't matter what the human cost is, so long as the bank account stays full. In order to popularize these efforts, the skullcaps and Google Glass-type headgear the soldiers wear -- combined with security camera footage -- is being edited into a reality TV show showing actual combat.
I'm not too clear on how this works or why the Army would think it's a good idea, but it does add another layer of both weirdness to the situation and motivation for the various characters. It's entirely possible that the rogue program, dubbed "The Red", is influencing people in charge to let this happen for its own reasons. That would be an interesting wrinkle, and it would certainly fit the facts as presented.
That would also be scary, because it would mean that the program is both more pervasive and insidious than even the most paranoid characters believe it to be. We would essentially all be puppets.
This is a pretty dark story. It's grim and nasty and full of sadness. But to balance it out, it's also intriguing, offering interesting ideas to ponder about the future of war and being plugged in all the time.
Honestly, I'm not sure why I kept reading after the opening pages. The main character was speaking in polemic infodumps which felt clumsy and out of place, it was about a war in Africa somewhere which is not a topic that interests me, and Nagata killed all the dogs. (That last one is a biggie. Before I go see a movie, I always check the website Does The Dog Die? I've been in animal rescue for 34 years and I've seen things that give me nightmares, so I prefer my dogs unharmed.)
So why I kept reading, I don't know.
Which is sort of what this story is about. US Army Lieutenant James Shelley somehow "knows" things before they happen. One of his squad mates believes it to be the voice of God, keeping them out of harm's way. Shelley himself doesn't know what to make of it, but it turns out the likeliest culprit is an autonomous program existing in the Internet, distributed throughout the cloud.
Soldiers wear skullcaps which monitor and control their emotions, making them more effective in combat. (Nagata first used this idea in a short story in the collection [b:War Stories: New Military Science Fiction|22704234|War Stories New Military Science Fiction|Jaym Gates|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405012553s/22704234.jpg|42136377], and develops more fully here.) Problem is, this rogue program might be manipulating soldiers and equipment for its own mysterious ends.
If I have a primary complaint, it's that we never get a resolution as to what this program might be. Is it an AI? Is it simpler than that? We just get a lot of speculation by different characters. I presume this is something to be answered in sequels.
Turns out that perpetual small wars in the future are good for business, and they're basically managed by defense contractors in order to prop up the bottom line. It doesn't matter what the human cost is, so long as the bank account stays full. In order to popularize these efforts, the skullcaps and Google Glass-type headgear the soldiers wear -- combined with security camera footage -- is being edited into a reality TV show showing actual combat.
I'm not too clear on how this works or why the Army would think it's a good idea, but it does add another layer of both weirdness to the situation and motivation for the various characters. It's entirely possible that the rogue program, dubbed "The Red", is influencing people in charge to let this happen for its own reasons. That would be an interesting wrinkle, and it would certainly fit the facts as presented.
That would also be scary, because it would mean that the program is both more pervasive and insidious than even the most paranoid characters believe it to be. We would essentially all be puppets.
This is a pretty dark story. It's grim and nasty and full of sadness. But to balance it out, it's also intriguing, offering interesting ideas to ponder about the future of war and being plugged in all the time.