Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Tor (New York, 2007). 1st mass market edition, 1st printing. 384 pages. $7.99.
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML: The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF's toughest operations. They're young, they're fast and strong, and they're totally without normal human qualms. The universe is a dangerous place for humanity�??and it's about to become far more dangerous. Three races that humans have clashed with before have allied to halt our expansion into space. Their linchpin: the turncoat military scientist Charles Boutin, who knows the CDF's biggest military secrets. To prevail, the CDF must find out why Boutin did what he did. Jared Dirac is the only human who can provide answers �?? a superhuman hybrid, created from Boutin's DNA, Jared's brain should be able to access Boutin's electronic memories. But when the memory transplant appears to fail, Jared is given to the Ghost Brigades. At first, Jared is a perfect soldier, but as Boutin's memories slowly surface, Jared begins to intuit the reason's for Boutin's betrayal. As Jared desperately hunts for his "father," he must also come to grips with his own choices. Time is running out: The alliance is preparing its offensive, and some of them plan worse things than humanity's mere military defeat... Old Man's War Series #1 Old Man's War #2 The Ghost Brigades #3 The Last Colony #4 Zoe's Tale #5 The Human Division #6 The End of All Things Short fiction: "After the Coup" Other Tor Books The Android's Dream Agent to the Stars Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded Fuzzy Nation Redshirts Lock In The Collapsing Empire (forthcoming) At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jchines
The Ghost Brigades returns to the universe of Scalzi's novel Old Man's War. In the first book, Scalzi introduced readers to John Perry and Earth's rejuvenated soldiers, the Colonial Defense Forces. This time around, he takes us into the world of The Ghost Brigades, the special forces of the CDF.
I enjoyed the first book, but I thought this one was even stronger. As with the first book, we follow a new recruit (Jared Dirac, the altered clone of traitor Charles Boutin) through his indoctrination in the Ghost Brigades. Once again, there plenty of shiny "Wow!" moments as we learn about these supersoldiers. The pace never flagged, and the conflicts kept me engaged throughout. The external battles meshed quite well with Jared's internal struggle to discover and maintain his own identity.
Scalzi explores the universe he's created in a bit more depth this time around. We see the next phase of CDF modifications, and we actually meet a member from one of the hostile races -- the captured alien scientist was one of my favorite characters. Scalzi also touches on some of the diplomatic issues, hinting at larger conflicts which will hopefully be explored in book three.
I'll definitely be picking up The Last Colony the next time I place an order.
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Jane Sagan must track down a traitor, and what better way to find a traitor than to copy his consciousness into a freshly-baked Ghost Brigade soldier? But the transfer doesn't work ... at least, not right away. I enjoyed the first book, but I thought this one was even stronger. As with the first book, we follow a new recruit (Jared Dirac, the altered clone of traitor Charles Boutin) through his indoctrination in the Ghost Brigades. Once again, there plenty of shiny "Wow!" moments as we learn about these supersoldiers. The pace never flagged, and the conflicts kept me engaged throughout. The external battles meshed quite well with Jared's internal struggle to discover and maintain his own identity.
Scalzi explores the universe he's created in a bit more depth this time around. We see the next phase of CDF modifications, and we actually meet a member from one of the hostile races -- the captured alien scientist was one of my favorite characters. Scalzi also touches on some of the diplomatic issues, hinting at larger conflicts which will hopefully be explored in book three.
I'll definitely be picking up The Last Colony the next time I place an order.
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LibraryThing member NextRead
If you have the mind of a traitor but not the body and want to know what he, Charles Boutin, knows what do you do? If you’re the Colonial Defence Forces (CDF) you make a body for the job. And the good news is if the mind doesn’t take you have a genetically enhanced new solider. It’s a win/win
The opening description has got to be one of the best and most misleading openings to novel ever. If it’s designed to drag you in then well it did it for me.
It’s misleading as it uses a level of poetic and flowery language that doesn’t appear from then on in, which is actually a good thing. It shows that Scalzi can write but also shows that he’s using it for effect. The rest of the novel is told more functional but no less effective prose.
I tend to think of military sci-fi as grand and sweeping but the battle in The Ghost Brigades is more internal as Jared Dirac, the solider created from the seemingly failed attempt to join mind and body, has memories that aren’t his start to surface, that changes everything.
There are so many good things about this novel. The world building and the alien races. The hidden conspiracy. The evolution of Jared Dirac. The relationships between Jared and everyone around him. The technology. I could go on.
Suffice to say The Ghost Brigades is amongst the best sci-fi novels I’ve read in ages and Scalzi deserves a lot of success.
*This review doesn’t have a rating. I’m putting ratings on hold as I’m going to try to let the review speak for itself and you can decide whether you should read it or not.
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situation or so you’d think.The opening description has got to be one of the best and most misleading openings to novel ever. If it’s designed to drag you in then well it did it for me.
It’s misleading as it uses a level of poetic and flowery language that doesn’t appear from then on in, which is actually a good thing. It shows that Scalzi can write but also shows that he’s using it for effect. The rest of the novel is told more functional but no less effective prose.
I tend to think of military sci-fi as grand and sweeping but the battle in The Ghost Brigades is more internal as Jared Dirac, the solider created from the seemingly failed attempt to join mind and body, has memories that aren’t his start to surface, that changes everything.
There are so many good things about this novel. The world building and the alien races. The hidden conspiracy. The evolution of Jared Dirac. The relationships between Jared and everyone around him. The technology. I could go on.
Suffice to say The Ghost Brigades is amongst the best sci-fi novels I’ve read in ages and Scalzi deserves a lot of success.
*This review doesn’t have a rating. I’m putting ratings on hold as I’m going to try to let the review speak for itself and you can decide whether you should read it or not.
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LibraryThing member kinwolf
Just as good as The old man's war. Brilliant writing, great characters and we get to learn more about the Old man's war universe. A must read!
LibraryThing member ConalO
This was a more thoughtful read than Old Man's War with the story/plot being the central theme instead of the main character. It took me a little longer to be drawn into the story but it got much better the longer I read. The main character in this story is Jane Sagan from Old Man's War (John Perry
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only get's a passing mention in this volume) and a new special forces soldier Jared Dirac who is the clone of a human traitor working for an inimical alien race. So begins another Scalzi epic which is a great read and well written story. Show Less
LibraryThing member ladycato
I read Old Man's War a few months ago and loved it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I was worried about continuing the series--would it live up to the first book?
I was delighted to find out the answer was a resounding YES.
It may not have quite the strength of the first book, but The Ghost
Jared Dirac is a compelling main character. He carries Boutin's consciousness but is a different man, formed by his own unique experiences. This does raise many questions as the book goes on, though, about if Jared will follow in his predecessor's footsteps and turn traitor. It says a lot of Scalzi's writing skills that as a reader, I was ready to follow Jared on whatever decision he made.
I already have the third book in the series and will start it soon.
I was delighted to find out the answer was a resounding YES.
It may not have quite the strength of the first book, but The Ghost
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Brigades is engaging, intelligent, and tense. It's approachable scifi: technology is advanced but not preachy, so it's easy to follow along while still being incredibly cool.Jared Dirac is a compelling main character. He carries Boutin's consciousness but is a different man, formed by his own unique experiences. This does raise many questions as the book goes on, though, about if Jared will follow in his predecessor's footsteps and turn traitor. It says a lot of Scalzi's writing skills that as a reader, I was ready to follow Jared on whatever decision he made.
I already have the third book in the series and will start it soon.
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LibraryThing member agis
Living as a healthy adult from your first moment of consciousness would be difficult enough; what Jared Dirac has to deal with - being templated with the mind of a scientist (Charles Boutin) turned traitor - seems like piling on. The Ghost Brigades is John Scalzi's followup to Old Man's War, but
Which is good, because it's the novels strongest point. While Scalzi doesn't explore it as well as I was hoping after Old Man's War - perhaps because of the absence of John Perry and his complicated relationship with Jane Sagan (who does return, as the commander of Dirac's unit) - Dirac is an interesting character. What's problematic, however, is that Scalzi is frequently more interested in writing a fun ride than fleshing out his ideas, and Dirac's development feels somewhat wasted. It's hard to pinpoint where things specifically go wrong, but Scalzi's prose, while solid and with some nice passages, never manages to grab hold of the ideas and potential before everything sort of slips away. The action is capable but never all that exciting.
The book is still a page-turner, however, and I read fairly quickly to the end. The Ghost Brigades is a good book, and an improvement on the second half of Old Man's War, but only rarely rises above the level of fun distraction.
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rather than follow John Perry (that novel's main character) it follows Dirac, as he is "born", integrates with the Special Forces (adults from birth, like him), and begins to remember things from Boutin's mind. How Dirac deals with all this - how human is he, and how human are the other Special Forces he works with - is the main conceit of the novel.Which is good, because it's the novels strongest point. While Scalzi doesn't explore it as well as I was hoping after Old Man's War - perhaps because of the absence of John Perry and his complicated relationship with Jane Sagan (who does return, as the commander of Dirac's unit) - Dirac is an interesting character. What's problematic, however, is that Scalzi is frequently more interested in writing a fun ride than fleshing out his ideas, and Dirac's development feels somewhat wasted. It's hard to pinpoint where things specifically go wrong, but Scalzi's prose, while solid and with some nice passages, never manages to grab hold of the ideas and potential before everything sort of slips away. The action is capable but never all that exciting.
The book is still a page-turner, however, and I read fairly quickly to the end. The Ghost Brigades is a good book, and an improvement on the second half of Old Man's War, but only rarely rises above the level of fun distraction.
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LibraryThing member Daedalus18
I enjoyed reading The Ghost Brigades - but I have a hard time describing why. The story is pretty convoluted, and felt like three different stories in a season-of-a-choppy-television-series way. While Old Man’s War was very Heinleinian to me, this book felt more like an Asimov Robot mystery -
I was entertained, but did find myself wondering when he would get to the meat of the story a number of times. The comings and goings of key characters is very ‘serial drama’ feeling, somehow different enough from other fiction to be a little confusing at times.
Mr. Scalzi is a wiz at repackaging the ideas of others - and doing them justice (admittedly and with flair). Having fun with other people’s special effects may be wearing a little on me though because I didn’t enjoy this installment as much as OMW.
I think I’d rather see it on screen - on television (as it doesn’t strike me as a strong or long enough story for a feature length film). It feels like a Sci-Fi channel screenplay to me.
Too little detail is given about the aliens though they are a main feature in the book - we aren’t entirely made aware of how they look or behave.
During the course of this book I was annoyed with the author referring to ‘taking a dump’ 4 times. I don’t think ‘taking a dump’ rates a mention every 65 pages or so, at least not using the same niche characterization language each time (from different characters).
Glad to have a lot of Jane Sagen in this book.
All in all - it was a book I was happy to have read, but not one I will probably return to in the future like I will with OMW. Looking forward to reading the progression of the characters of this world in the books that follow.
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lots of classic goodness, fun ways of using some new ideas and repackaging many older ones. I was entertained, but did find myself wondering when he would get to the meat of the story a number of times. The comings and goings of key characters is very ‘serial drama’ feeling, somehow different enough from other fiction to be a little confusing at times.
Mr. Scalzi is a wiz at repackaging the ideas of others - and doing them justice (admittedly and with flair). Having fun with other people’s special effects may be wearing a little on me though because I didn’t enjoy this installment as much as OMW.
I think I’d rather see it on screen - on television (as it doesn’t strike me as a strong or long enough story for a feature length film). It feels like a Sci-Fi channel screenplay to me.
Too little detail is given about the aliens though they are a main feature in the book - we aren’t entirely made aware of how they look or behave.
During the course of this book I was annoyed with the author referring to ‘taking a dump’ 4 times. I don’t think ‘taking a dump’ rates a mention every 65 pages or so, at least not using the same niche characterization language each time (from different characters).
Glad to have a lot of Jane Sagen in this book.
All in all - it was a book I was happy to have read, but not one I will probably return to in the future like I will with OMW. Looking forward to reading the progression of the characters of this world in the books that follow.
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LibraryThing member hailelib
The Ghost Brigades is the sequel to Old Man's War and is, in part, about the Special Forces and Jane Sagan who we met in the first book. It's also about the attempt to recover the knowledge of Charles Boutin, a traitor to the Colonial Defense Forces and therefore all humans, by growing a new body
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from his DNA and implanting his consciousness into the new brain. This new member of the Ghost Brigade is given the name of Jared Dirac and sent to train as a soldier when it appears that the transfer didn't take. I enjoyed returning to the universe that Scalzi created in Old Man's War and can recommend the series to those who like military SF. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jim53
In the follow-up to Old Man's War, Scalzi takes us into the life of the Ghost Brigade, soldiers created from earthlings who have died, rather than aged. He introduced this idea at the end of Old Man's War, and in this sequel he fleshes it out a bit.
I didn't enjoy this novel nearly as much as I did
In Old Man's War, Scalzi introduced the ghost brigades late in the book, providing an obvious topic for a sequel. In The Ghost Brigades, he introduces the Conclave and Counter-Conclave quite late in the book, leading us to expect them to play major roles in the next installment.
None of the characters in The Ghost Brigades really grabbed me or was easy to identify with. I hope Scalzi's next effort will include a stronger focus on characters rather than on all the things one can do with SmartBlood.
I didn't enjoy this novel nearly as much as I did
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Old Man's War. The pace was repeatedly slowed down by extended expositin and explanation, a good bit of it unnecessary for those who have read the previous volume. Scalzi throws in an interesting twist by having a ghost brigade member into whom the consciousness of a traitorous scientist has been introduced. In Old Man's War, Scalzi introduced the ghost brigades late in the book, providing an obvious topic for a sequel. In The Ghost Brigades, he introduces the Conclave and Counter-Conclave quite late in the book, leading us to expect them to play major roles in the next installment.
None of the characters in The Ghost Brigades really grabbed me or was easy to identify with. I hope Scalzi's next effort will include a stronger focus on characters rather than on all the things one can do with SmartBlood.
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LibraryThing member Theodosia
Some really intriguing characters... most of whom die. You really don't want to be a Scalzi character. Can't wait for the next one, we'll see if I weaken and buy it instead of using the library.
LibraryThing member mazirian
A near-interesting introduction, followed closely by over-detailed discussion of ridonculous science embedded in endless pages of masturbatory world-building, which then devolves into an imperialist black-ops wargasm that so barely conceals its political and moral themes that it feels more than a
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little bit like being spoon fed. Old Man's War at least had the excuse that it was an homage to Heinlein; Ghost Brigades misses an opportunity to break the mould more thoroughly. It's not that it's unreadable--indeed it's quite entertaining and easily digested--it's just that's not particularly poignant, challenging or memorable. Show Less
LibraryThing member santhony
The Ghost Brigades is a sequel to Old Man’s War, however it has something of a loose connection and can easily be read as a stand alone novel. Most of the background covered in Old Man’s War is touched upon in The Ghost Brigades.
In the future, an overcrowded and resource stripped Earth begins
As it turns out, some volunteers die between the ages of 65 and 75. Seems a waste to just throw away a perfectly good clone body, thus The Ghost Brigades are born, CDF special forces with no previous life experiences. This novel tracks the experiences of such a brigade and one member in particular, Jared Dirac, who is just a little different than the other brigade members.
If you liked Old Man’s War or any military themed hard science fiction, you’ll certainly like The Ghost Brigades. In fact, I can say that I felt The Ghost Brigades was marginally better than its predecessor. The science is good, the characters are engaging and the action maintains a good pace throughout the work.
In the future, an overcrowded and resource stripped Earth begins
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colonizing the galaxy, thanks to the advent of the skip drive (allowing faster than light travel). As it turns out, the galaxy is filled with many aggressive star traveling species, competing for the choicest planets to colonize. The Earth colonies are protected by the Colonial Defense Force (CDF). The CDF is composed of elderly Earth residents who, facing death, volunteer for military service in exchange for a new lease on life, literally. At the age of 65, volunteers are enrolled and DNA samples taken. A clone is developed and at age 75, the consciousness of the volunteer is transferred to his new, genetically and technologically enhanced (think Six Million Dollar Man) clone body.As it turns out, some volunteers die between the ages of 65 and 75. Seems a waste to just throw away a perfectly good clone body, thus The Ghost Brigades are born, CDF special forces with no previous life experiences. This novel tracks the experiences of such a brigade and one member in particular, Jared Dirac, who is just a little different than the other brigade members.
If you liked Old Man’s War or any military themed hard science fiction, you’ll certainly like The Ghost Brigades. In fact, I can say that I felt The Ghost Brigades was marginally better than its predecessor. The science is good, the characters are engaging and the action maintains a good pace throughout the work.
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LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
A sequel to "Old Man's War", the story continues following Jane Sagan, an important character from the previous book, but it can stand alone very well which gets in an extra 1/2 star. If you've read the previous book, you can guess that this story follows the special forces & a lot of questions
I can't put my finger on it, but I wasn't quite as taken with this book as the previous one. It still receives high marks & was quite well done. The plot was basically a mystery, but done in a neat way that kept me guessing throughout. There was plenty of action, but also some interesting philosophy & exploration of humanity - what makes us people or humans? While asking such heavy questions, the book never bogged down, which is quite a trick.
I'm definitely reading more by this author & getting his books for one of my kids. I highly recommend him to anyone who liked Heinlein's early books, Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" or "All My Sins Remembered" or Steakly's "Armor".
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about them get answered.I can't put my finger on it, but I wasn't quite as taken with this book as the previous one. It still receives high marks & was quite well done. The plot was basically a mystery, but done in a neat way that kept me guessing throughout. There was plenty of action, but also some interesting philosophy & exploration of humanity - what makes us people or humans? While asking such heavy questions, the book never bogged down, which is quite a trick.
I'm definitely reading more by this author & getting his books for one of my kids. I highly recommend him to anyone who liked Heinlein's early books, Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" or "All My Sins Remembered" or Steakly's "Armor".
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LibraryThing member betula.alba
As with Old Man's war, this sequel was a pageturner. Scalzi's greatest strength as a writer is definitely his humor. Even though his characterization of Jared is compelling, I have to admit I do miss old John Perry. As in the prequel, Jane Sagan (Perry's "ghosted" wife) is one of the main
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characters, which allows for further exploration of the Scalzi's universe. Show Less
LibraryThing member Aerrin99
I was a bit wary about tackling a sequel to the fantastic Old Man's War, but I have to say that I think Ghost Brigades did an excellent job!
This book is a ton of action-and-character-packed fun, and because of that, it's easy to miss that it's also something else - an interesting study about
The opening scene is just fantastic, a fast way of reminding you that this world is not like ours, and expectations and assumptions should be set aside.
The main character, Jared Dirac, is truly a member of the Ghost Brigades - more so than any of his other special forces platoonmates. He's a clone created to receive the consciousness of a man who's decided to turn traitor against the human race - but it doesn't quite take properly, and Jared's left to form his own personality. No one really knows whether the imprinted consciousness will ever kick in - or what will happen once it does.
This book is a ton of action-and-character-packed fun, and because of that, it's easy to miss that it's also something else - an interesting study about
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identity, nature vs nuture, culture, consciousness, intelligence, and a host of other things. The opening scene is just fantastic, a fast way of reminding you that this world is not like ours, and expectations and assumptions should be set aside.
The main character, Jared Dirac, is truly a member of the Ghost Brigades - more so than any of his other special forces platoonmates. He's a clone created to receive the consciousness of a man who's decided to turn traitor against the human race - but it doesn't quite take properly, and Jared's left to form his own personality. No one really knows whether the imprinted consciousness will ever kick in - or what will happen once it does.
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LibraryThing member wfzimmerman
Scalzi's very best so far. Special forces all the way.
LibraryThing member kkugler
While a bit slower than "Old Mans War" this book is still way above most SciFi books out there. The romanc that John finds with the DNA of his first wife is, again, a twist that takes you to a different place. What you see is an unusual romance that will blossom.
LibraryThing member jnicholson
Jared Dirac is a clone of a traitor, possibly implanted with that traitor's memories so that the Colonial Union can discover his plot. Jared needs to determine whether he is more than the sum of his memories - and save the human race in the process. Although not as smooth a plot as Scalzi's
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previous novel, this does come to grips with what it means to be human. Show Less
LibraryThing member BruderBane
“The Ghost Brigades” by John Scalzi is an excellent follow-up to “Old Man’s War.” And although it wasn’t quite as good as OMW in regards to characterization, pacing and action it was damn close. Mr. Scalzi switches proverbial Brainpals in focusing on Jane Sagan –from OMW- and the
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Ghost Brigades. One is detracted in this novel because you don’t feel the same affinity for the characters one felt in the previous novel but this is truly a minor point. Three-dimensional characterization and ebullient action runs rivulets in a story full of tragedy, angst and bitter revenge coupled with a nail biter ending that was tad cinematic but nevertheless poignant. Waiting to pick up Mr. Scalzi’s next novel will definitely be difficult. Show Less
LibraryThing member felius
The second in a series, and the second book I've read by this author.
These are just a rollicking good read - great multi-dimensional characters, action, intrigue, humour and pathos. They also examine issues of identity, mortality, and the boundaries around what it means to be human.
I'll be picking
These are just a rollicking good read - great multi-dimensional characters, action, intrigue, humour and pathos. They also examine issues of identity, mortality, and the boundaries around what it means to be human.
I'll be picking
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up the next one, for sure. Show Less
LibraryThing member klh
This is an excellent sequel to "Old Man's War" (as sequels go). Scalzi takes a topic mentioned in the first book and goes off in another direction with it instead of simply writing a "further adventures of..." story. There's some exploration of the finer points of 'self' and still plenty of
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tactical action, with just the right amount of humor sprinkled here and there. A good fast-paced read that's true to the traditions Scalzi is paying homage to. Show Less
LibraryThing member goldenboat
Not quite as strong as Old Man's War. I thought it came off the rails a bit in the third act. I do enjoy Scalzi's style, though, and he posed some though-provoking questions about identity.
LibraryThing member wfzimmerman
This is the best of the three books in this Scalzi series (rather surprising for a "middle book", but it is more independent than the usual middle book). This is the book that convinced me to take Scalzi seriously. he has a tendency to be too glib for my taking, but in this story he plays it
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straight all the way. Good stuff. Show Less
LibraryThing member eclecticlibrarian
The Ghost Brigades approaches storytelling more conventionally than the first book, Old Man's War, giving it a narrative, third person view with frequent drops into the head of the protagonist, Jared Dirac. In fact, the main character of the first book is only mentioned by name, but a few minor
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characters from the first book make appearances, some more significantly than others, and the over-arching plot line has a few more pieces revealed. All in all, I am now ever more eager to read the next book, and immensely grateful that I have two books to go before catching up with the author. I like this universe he's created, and I want to know more about it. Show Less
LibraryThing member matthew.beckler
A fun read, not too deep. A quick and easy read.
Subjects
Awards
SF Site Reader's Choice (2006)
Prometheus Award (Nominee — Novel — 2007)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006-02
Physical description
384 p.; 4.45 inches
ISBN
9780765354068