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The Light Brigade

Kameron Hurley

2019 · Science fiction

tense moodfast pacedheavy and literary tonebittersweet ending

How it reads

The Light Brigade is science fiction (military science fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is tense. The suspense is the kind you feel in your shoulders. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in several locations, in the future, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are war, identity and survival. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.

Pick it up if…

  • you're in the mood for something tense
  • you want a book that pulls you through
  • you want something to chew on

Maybe not if…

  • you need something cosy or heartwarming

All 15 dimensions

Author gender
female
Author experience
prolific veteran
Setting: place
multiple locations
Setting: time
future
Mood / feeling
tense
Tone / weight
heavy and literary
Length
medium
Narrative style
first person, one narrator
Publication era
modern classic
Popularity
moderately known
Series vs standalone
standalone
Themes
war, identity, survival
Ending style
bittersweet

What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.

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