Dietz is new recruit in the Tene-Sylvia corporate forces, having enlisted to fight the Martians after everyone they know has been killed in the Blink, presumed to have been committed by the Martians, which wiped out much of São Paolo.
Military forces have a new way of deploying their forces now. The soldiers are transformed into light, and rematerialize at their destination. Which is fine, until Dietz starts experiencing drops that are very different from the rest of the squad, and witnessing and participating in a very different war.
Is Dietz crazy? Is Dietz traveling in time? Is Dietz crossing timelines?
Dietz isn't the only soldier having "bad drops," and the others are experiencing different wars not only from their squadmates, but also from Dietz and from each other. They gradually learn the brass know about them, and that their fellow soldiers call them "The Light Brigade." They're each trying to understand what's going on, what the war is really about, and whether there's any way to survive it.
Every generation of sf readers has had its Starship Troopers, my favorites being the first (1959), The Forever War (1974), and Old Man's War (2005). (There are others, but they had less impact--on me, and, I think, overall.) This is another memorable one, and like the other memorable ones, it's very different from each of the others in its view of war, the military, the world, and small-p politics. They're all about a young soldier getting educated about all of the above, and making decisions about what this means to them, and what to do about it.
I think this might become my favorite example of the type. Highly recommended.
I received this book as part of the Hugo Voters packet,and am reviewing it voluntarily.
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