
The Red: First Light by Linda Nagata
James Shelley, the main character of Linda Nagata’s Nebula-nominated novel The Red: First Light, is the high-drama leader of a Linked Combat Squad or LCS. It is Shelley’s opinion, shared at length with his squad, that “there has to be a war somewhere,” and that these wars are consciously orchestrated by the cabal of defense contractors who grow mega-rich off military contracts.
Shelley and his squad are linked to each other via communication implants; linked to remote handlers who have access to satellite data; and linked to the visual data from surveillance drones. Shelley was a spoiled rich boy who got into trouble and took the army route rather than go to prison. He has the loyalty of his squad because he is good at his job and because they know he cares about them. This squad might be a little extra loyal, though, because Shelley has something one of his soldiers calls “t... Read More