The novel “The Red: First Light” by Linda Nagata was published for the first time in 2013. It’s the first book of The Red trilogy.

Lieutenant James Shelley is in command of an American army team serving in the African Sahel. There he works as a patrol to protect local civilians from insurgents in a local civil war in which the US intervened. To achieve the objectives, the soldiers are equipped with very sophisticated tools, not only weapons and protections but also systems that keep them connected among them and with their superiors to coordinate at best and always be updated on possible dangers.

No technology, no matter how sophisticated, can make sure that a soldier will not be killed during a fight so James Shelley always keeps his attention to the maximum levels to try to keep himself and his team members alive. To assist him there’s a sixth sense that seems to inform him of the dangers more efficiently than any instrument to the point that his superiors start paying attention to it to figure out if there’s someone behind it.