I’m not usually a big reader of military SF, but when a new book by Linda Nagata shows up, I take note. You should, too, and her new novel The Last Good Man has just shown up. It’s a very-near-future novel that takes a close look at warfare as it may soon be fought: in tight, uncomfortable quarters with automated machines taking most of the shots, while humans continue to do the bleeding and dying. You may never look at a drone the same way after you read this book.
The thing is, Linda Nagata is equally proficient at the tech, the action, and the human heart. In this one she takes a gamble, casting as soldier-protagonist a woman past forty, with a yawning hole in her heart where her soldier-son was, before his death under dire circumstances. Not exactly a cheery starting point, but this is a book with passion, one that fights its way toward its own kind of redemption. Linda’s a tough writer, but beneath that toughness lies a powerful compassion.
Don’t miss this one.
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