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Publication
Tor Science Fiction (2007), Edition: Reprint, 318 pages
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML: Perfect for an entry-level sci-fi reader and the ideal addition to a veteran fan's collection, John Scalzi's Old Man's War will take audiences on a heart-stopping adventure into the far corners of the universe. John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place. So: we fight. To defend Earth (a target for our new enemies, should we let them get close enough) and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force, which shields the home planet from too much knowledge of the situation. What's known to everybody is that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve your time at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine-and what he will become is far stranger. 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 At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member whjensen
A wonderful successor to the tradition of Heinlein.
In Old Man's War, John Scalzi has asked the question, "What if you could become young again but the cost is giving up everything? What if you get your youth with an uncertain future, where 3 of 4 die within 10 years?" The universe of Old Man's War
The protagonist, John Perry, signs up after seeing his beloved wife die. He turns his back on everything and goes away to fight the wars. The plot of the book is crisp with few moments that jar you out of your suspension of disbelief. He combines humor with grit quite well to make his points. What are his points?
1. The wisdom of years is as important as any special physical abilities.
2. You can leave everything behind, but our humanity is tied up in relationships.
3. People don't fight for ideas or civilizations, they fight for each other.
How he raises and expands on his points is what makes the book so compelling. For those of you who have read any Heinlein (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers, and Stranger in a Strange Land come to mind instantly - especially Starship Troopers for the martial motif), you'll realize that Heinlein uses a dialogue-based didactic approach to getting across his message. In essence, he hits you across the head with a 2 by 4. Scalzi's trick is that he emulates Heinlein, but dials it down a notch. He uses expository conversation to bring up themes, but works them directly into the plot. For example, the characters talk about aging and losing friends, but what you see is John's friends dying in the randomness of combat rather than the randomness of age.
Even with his well-hidden themes, Old Man's War works at a shallower level as well. He has crafted an easy-to-pick-up, hard-to-set-down sci-fi page turner.
In Old Man's War, John Scalzi has asked the question, "What if you could become young again but the cost is giving up everything? What if you get your youth with an uncertain future, where 3 of 4 die within 10 years?" The universe of Old Man's War
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is one of planetary exploration, one where humans compete with alien races for scarce planets that will sustain life. To defend their turf, the colonial authorities have come up with a novel idea - give people who have turned 75 on Earth the chance to gain young bodies. In exchange, these people will bring their years of wisdom to fight for the colonies against aliens who seek the same planets.The protagonist, John Perry, signs up after seeing his beloved wife die. He turns his back on everything and goes away to fight the wars. The plot of the book is crisp with few moments that jar you out of your suspension of disbelief. He combines humor with grit quite well to make his points. What are his points?
1. The wisdom of years is as important as any special physical abilities.
2. You can leave everything behind, but our humanity is tied up in relationships.
3. People don't fight for ideas or civilizations, they fight for each other.
How he raises and expands on his points is what makes the book so compelling. For those of you who have read any Heinlein (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers, and Stranger in a Strange Land come to mind instantly - especially Starship Troopers for the martial motif), you'll realize that Heinlein uses a dialogue-based didactic approach to getting across his message. In essence, he hits you across the head with a 2 by 4. Scalzi's trick is that he emulates Heinlein, but dials it down a notch. He uses expository conversation to bring up themes, but works them directly into the plot. For example, the characters talk about aging and losing friends, but what you see is John's friends dying in the randomness of combat rather than the randomness of age.
Even with his well-hidden themes, Old Man's War works at a shallower level as well. He has crafted an easy-to-pick-up, hard-to-set-down sci-fi page turner.
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LibraryThing member jchines
Old Man's War tells the story of John Perry, a 75-year-old man who enlists in the Colonial Defense Force (CDF). In Scalzi's universe, there's a lot of prime real estate out there for colonization. Unfortunately, there are a lot of alien races fighting to claim it. So the CDF recruits old,
A number of folks point to Robert Heinlein as an influence on Old Man's War, and John Perry certainly feels like a Heinlein hero. Older and experienced, very down to earth (no pun intended), surprisingly competent, with little tolerance for stupidity. Perry is a good, likable man, one who still loves his dead wife, and who tries to do the right thing for himself and others.
While the book describes a number of battles, leading up to one climactic fight for a piece of alien technology, the fighting really isn't the core of the story. There's plenty of fun and flash and nifty SF to thrill the kid in me, but at its heart, Old Man's War is a character-driven story. It's about John Perry learning to adapt to his new life as a soldier, and eventually starting to think about life beyond his term in the CDF.
I have to admit, the book strained my suspension of disbelief at times. There are too many instances where John Perry is the best or the smartest or the luckiest soldier in the field. But even as I was muttering, "Yeah, right," under my breath, I kept reading, because the book is simply too much fun to put down.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Ghost Brigades.
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experienced men and women, providing them the physical enhancements they need in order to fight for humanity's future among the stars.A number of folks point to Robert Heinlein as an influence on Old Man's War, and John Perry certainly feels like a Heinlein hero. Older and experienced, very down to earth (no pun intended), surprisingly competent, with little tolerance for stupidity. Perry is a good, likable man, one who still loves his dead wife, and who tries to do the right thing for himself and others.
While the book describes a number of battles, leading up to one climactic fight for a piece of alien technology, the fighting really isn't the core of the story. There's plenty of fun and flash and nifty SF to thrill the kid in me, but at its heart, Old Man's War is a character-driven story. It's about John Perry learning to adapt to his new life as a soldier, and eventually starting to think about life beyond his term in the CDF.
I have to admit, the book strained my suspension of disbelief at times. There are too many instances where John Perry is the best or the smartest or the luckiest soldier in the field. But even as I was muttering, "Yeah, right," under my breath, I kept reading, because the book is simply too much fun to put down.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Ghost Brigades.
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LibraryThing member gyokusai
All I can say is that I was entertained, in a popcorn sort of way. Nowhere came Old Man’s War close to fulfilling expectations, raised by all these kudos it received. There’s one terrific premise which, quite unexpectedly, branches out later in the book, bundled with another nice surprise. But
From then on, Scalzi manages to drill believability right into the ground through two complementary moves. On the one hand, his unexperienced protagonist unfailingly has the right ideas and does the right things at the right moments, which gets him raised from corporal to captain in no time. On the other, this character’s actual ideas and his marvelous actions he performs are so stunningly trivial and, from a narrative perspective, unimaginative, that you’re getting more and more suspicious about having, maybe, overlooked a case of “unreliable narrator“ here—but no! And when he becomes the first soldier ever to gain the grudging respect of the otherwise over-robust drill sergeant, the feeling might set in that the operating power of the word “tacky” increased tenfold while you weren’t looking. Then come the utterly interchangeable, modular murder-destroy-kill rampages, and the only person voicing doubt and trying to inject some diplomacy for a change is one of the two or three most disagreeable characters in the whole novel. But then, the same “clever” trick as before is played on the reader when the character’s much more likable NCO suddenly voices the reader’s thoughts that the “diplomacy” bit mightn’t be so ludicrous after all. Again, this manages to placate the reader for the moment, but the NCO dies shortly thereafter, and—like the would-be diplomat—in such an exquisitely gruesome fashion that the diplomacy motif is quickly forgotten, to never be raised again. Instead, hack and slay ensues in droves. If you let Old Man’s War sink in for a week or so after reading, even the perceived popcorn value might be challenged eventually by the nagging feeling that you’ve just followed some editorially polished Gary Stu through the scripted game course of a future Call of Duty franchise.
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that’s basically it. Character development is, like, nil—and there aren’t any noticeable “characters” to begin with. Which is a bit odd for seventy-something year old protagonists. Moreover, Old Man’s War’s plot is formulaic and predictable to an unbelievable degree. It’s not that Scalzi wouldn’t notice—on the contrary. He goes to great lengths to deflect it in a kind of self-conscious, postmodern way, letting his characters voice the déjà vus and crush the expectations he quite rightly presumes to be rising in the reader’s mind. Which is certainly a clever move, but it only goes so far. As time and pages go by, the original expectations are not only fulfilled, but they’re fulfilled so heavy-handedly like you wouldn’t believe. (As soon as you arrive at the equivalent to Parris Island, prepare for the worst.) From then on, Scalzi manages to drill believability right into the ground through two complementary moves. On the one hand, his unexperienced protagonist unfailingly has the right ideas and does the right things at the right moments, which gets him raised from corporal to captain in no time. On the other, this character’s actual ideas and his marvelous actions he performs are so stunningly trivial and, from a narrative perspective, unimaginative, that you’re getting more and more suspicious about having, maybe, overlooked a case of “unreliable narrator“ here—but no! And when he becomes the first soldier ever to gain the grudging respect of the otherwise over-robust drill sergeant, the feeling might set in that the operating power of the word “tacky” increased tenfold while you weren’t looking. Then come the utterly interchangeable, modular murder-destroy-kill rampages, and the only person voicing doubt and trying to inject some diplomacy for a change is one of the two or three most disagreeable characters in the whole novel. But then, the same “clever” trick as before is played on the reader when the character’s much more likable NCO suddenly voices the reader’s thoughts that the “diplomacy” bit mightn’t be so ludicrous after all. Again, this manages to placate the reader for the moment, but the NCO dies shortly thereafter, and—like the would-be diplomat—in such an exquisitely gruesome fashion that the diplomacy motif is quickly forgotten, to never be raised again. Instead, hack and slay ensues in droves. If you let Old Man’s War sink in for a week or so after reading, even the perceived popcorn value might be challenged eventually by the nagging feeling that you’ve just followed some editorially polished Gary Stu through the scripted game course of a future Call of Duty franchise.
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LibraryThing member plappen
Mankind has started to spread out in the galaxy, and so have a lot of other races. The available real estate is scarce, which leads to near-constant war for land.
The only way for Americans to get into space is to join the Colonial Defense Force (CDF). They guard human colonies, and go to war over
John Perry signs up. He just turned 75, his wife, Kathy, died several years previously, and his one adult son lives on his own. On the spaceship taking him, and several hundred others, to basic training on another planet, he learns just what the becoming young part is all about. His consciousness is transferred into a cloned body, in its mid-twenties, made from his own DNA, which was extracted from him several years previously. It's very much of a new and improved body with a green skin color. He also has a computer implanted in his brain, which can talk to him and communicate with anyone else.
After basic training, Perry and his squad travel from planet to planet. Friends die, and new friends are made. During one disastrous operation, Perry crash lands on a planet, and is rescued by. . . his wife. She too is green, but the resemblance is way too close to be a coincidence. She (her name is Jane) is part of the Ghost Brigades, actually clones of dead people. Having no conception of what life is like as a realborn, they are kept far away from the rest of the CDF. Perry is made part of a Ghost Brigades squad, and begins to tell his squadmates what it's like to be married, and to love another person.
Here is an excellent novel. It has space travel, it has weirdness, it has heart and it has a lot of great writing. This is highly recommended.
The only way for Americans to get into space is to join the Colonial Defense Force (CDF). They guard human colonies, and go to war over
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disputed planets. The CDF only takes people who have reached their 75th birthday. A vague promise of being made young again is a pretty strong incentive to sign up. The catch is that joining the CDF is a one-way trip. If you survive your tour of duty, hardly a sure thing, you will spend the rest of your life on some colony planet; returning to Earth is not an option.John Perry signs up. He just turned 75, his wife, Kathy, died several years previously, and his one adult son lives on his own. On the spaceship taking him, and several hundred others, to basic training on another planet, he learns just what the becoming young part is all about. His consciousness is transferred into a cloned body, in its mid-twenties, made from his own DNA, which was extracted from him several years previously. It's very much of a new and improved body with a green skin color. He also has a computer implanted in his brain, which can talk to him and communicate with anyone else.
After basic training, Perry and his squad travel from planet to planet. Friends die, and new friends are made. During one disastrous operation, Perry crash lands on a planet, and is rescued by. . . his wife. She too is green, but the resemblance is way too close to be a coincidence. She (her name is Jane) is part of the Ghost Brigades, actually clones of dead people. Having no conception of what life is like as a realborn, they are kept far away from the rest of the CDF. Perry is made part of a Ghost Brigades squad, and begins to tell his squadmates what it's like to be married, and to love another person.
Here is an excellent novel. It has space travel, it has weirdness, it has heart and it has a lot of great writing. This is highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member AHS-Wolfy
John Perry does two things on his 75th birthday. He visits his wife's grave for the final time and then he joins the army. This is, of course, no ordinary army. It's the Colonial Defense Force. John joins up because there's nothing to really keep him on Earth any longer and he's tired of feeling
While this book does owe a great deal to some of Robert A. Heinlein's work (particularly Starship Troopers and readily acknowledged by Mr. Scalzi) it is certainly good enough to stand on its own merits. The story is never too heavy handed, either with technology or political/religious themes although they often get touch upon. There is plenty of humour (of the wry and sardonic variety) and some quite touching scenes as well. A good read even if you're not into military SF as a genre. Will definitely be looking for the sequels.
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old. No one really knows what happens to you when you enlist with the CDF as once you join you can never return to your home planet but the expectation is that they make you young again because who in their right minds want a bunch of geriatrics on the front line? The book is split into three parts as we follow John through initial induction, basic training/initial skirmishes and then what follows.While this book does owe a great deal to some of Robert A. Heinlein's work (particularly Starship Troopers and readily acknowledged by Mr. Scalzi) it is certainly good enough to stand on its own merits. The story is never too heavy handed, either with technology or political/religious themes although they often get touch upon. There is plenty of humour (of the wry and sardonic variety) and some quite touching scenes as well. A good read even if you're not into military SF as a genre. Will definitely be looking for the sequels.
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
This is classic space opera in the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein (which is by no means a bad thing). John Perry is an interesting and engaging character. He is sharp, sarcastic and willing to try something very new. At age 75 and knowing that he doesn't want to get older, he enlists in the
What is the male equivalent of a Mary-Sue story? This would seem to qualify if only because John always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He lost his beloved wife before they could both enlist. Yet he is rescued from a massacre by someone wearing her body. He comes up with a unique firing solution that turns a battle from defeat to a victory. He manages to find the plans for a secret advanced weapon in the middle of a battle. There are probably more examples too.
I very much enjoyed this book and am glad that the sequels -- The Ghost Brigades and The Last Colony -- are sitting in my TBR stack too. The book was filled with adventure, interesting situations and characters, and even love.
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Colonial Defense Force not knowing what is in store for him. No one on Earth has ever met anyone from the CDF. John is changed and becomes a soldier. He manages to survive numerous battles when 3/4 of his fellow recruits do not and he is promoted from Private to Captain in a very short time. What is the male equivalent of a Mary-Sue story? This would seem to qualify if only because John always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He lost his beloved wife before they could both enlist. Yet he is rescued from a massacre by someone wearing her body. He comes up with a unique firing solution that turns a battle from defeat to a victory. He manages to find the plans for a secret advanced weapon in the middle of a battle. There are probably more examples too.
I very much enjoyed this book and am glad that the sequels -- The Ghost Brigades and The Last Colony -- are sitting in my TBR stack too. The book was filled with adventure, interesting situations and characters, and even love.
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LibraryThing member apatt
Wow! that book flew by! Very immersive book with lots of cool tech, a sense of wonder, and a sense of humor (though some of the jokes fall flat for me). This is not a "comedy sf" book however, there is some pathos, sentimentality and romance also. Initially I though it was going to be a Starship
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Trooper ripoff, but it is much more than that (also reminds me of Ender's Game a little too). The best thing about this book for me is how ideas pile upon ideas and the main protagonist is worth rooting for (not a Mary Sue). Show Less
LibraryThing member Narilka
From the back of the book:
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.
If that isn't one hell of a way to start a military science fiction novel, I don't know what is. Old Man's War is the first book in the Old Man's War series by John
I can't remember the last time I read a fiction book where the majority of the characters are 75 years old and up. What a kick that the military is recruiting seniors! The CDF gains new solders that have the benefit of a lifetime of experience and wisdom instead of the idealism of youth. I'm sure this isn't a new concept but it's the first time I've read it. I liked that the science parts of the book were slightly vague yet plausible so my logical mind didn't try to pick apart the ideas. While I don't think that real world science will catch up any time soon, it would be pretty amazing if it did. I know I'd sign up assuming I make it to my 75th birthday.
The story is told entirely from the first person view point of John Perry. He is a good guy and a natural born leader. He makes friends easily and truly cares about his comrades in arms. For a while all the accepted and sometimes gleeful violence was starting to worry me so I was glad when Perry had a serious attack of conscience whenhis unit is forced perform an act of genocide on an enemy that literally can't fight back - they are only one inch tall . Unfortunately John is a bit of a Gary Stu. He always comes up with the exact right answers to situations and seems to be the last man standing a lot, surviving against impossible odds in difficult scenarios. The supporting cast is well thought out. Each has enough personality and background that they feel fairly real. The banter between characters is one of the highlights of the book.
I listened to the audio book narrated by William Dufris. I thought the narrator did a great job. His tone nails the dry wit and cynicism of Scalzi's writing perfectly. The only downside is he doesn't differentiate his female characters well enough and sometimes I got confused as to who was talking when it was a big group of people.
Over all the book is a lot of fun. If you like the science in your fiction to be more exact, then you may be disappointed. Otherwise the story touches on many subjects (community, friendship, politics), has a unique premise, well written action and witty character dialog. There is even a small romance thrown in for good measure. I can see myself continuing this series in the future.
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.
If that isn't one hell of a way to start a military science fiction novel, I don't know what is. Old Man's War is the first book in the Old Man's War series by John
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Scalzi. The story begins by giving a traditional military scifi plot a unique twist. Humanity has survived long enough to start colonizing other planets. The Colonial Defense Force, who's purpose it is to protect those colonies from hostile alien races, recruits seniors on their 75th birthday to join the war effort. Enlistees are granted youth again through an amazing life extension process and then it's straight to boot camp to prepare them for battle. The universe is not a nice place. Turns out that planets fit for life are scarce and the competition to control those planets is fierce. The war has been going on for decades. CDF soldiers must serve a minimum of two years on the front lines and are told bluntly that most of them will die before the end of their first tour of duty. If they survive, they'll be given the option to retire on the planet of their choice or they can re-enlist and keep helping the war effort. The downside is that once you enlist you can never go back to Earth or see your loved ones again. The trade off seems worth it since most seniors were already starting to face the hard reality of dying from old age and age related illnesses.I can't remember the last time I read a fiction book where the majority of the characters are 75 years old and up. What a kick that the military is recruiting seniors! The CDF gains new solders that have the benefit of a lifetime of experience and wisdom instead of the idealism of youth. I'm sure this isn't a new concept but it's the first time I've read it. I liked that the science parts of the book were slightly vague yet plausible so my logical mind didn't try to pick apart the ideas. While I don't think that real world science will catch up any time soon, it would be pretty amazing if it did. I know I'd sign up assuming I make it to my 75th birthday.
The story is told entirely from the first person view point of John Perry. He is a good guy and a natural born leader. He makes friends easily and truly cares about his comrades in arms. For a while all the accepted and sometimes gleeful violence was starting to worry me so I was glad when Perry had a serious attack of conscience when
I listened to the audio book narrated by William Dufris. I thought the narrator did a great job. His tone nails the dry wit and cynicism of Scalzi's writing perfectly. The only downside is he doesn't differentiate his female characters well enough and sometimes I got confused as to who was talking when it was a big group of people.
Over all the book is a lot of fun. If you like the science in your fiction to be more exact, then you may be disappointed. Otherwise the story touches on many subjects (community, friendship, politics), has a unique premise, well written action and witty character dialog. There is even a small romance thrown in for good measure. I can see myself continuing this series in the future.
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LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: It was a typical seventy-fifth birthday for John Perry. He got up, went to visit his wife's grave, and then enlisted in the army. In the not-too-distant future, humanity has finally started colonizing other planets... only to find that outer space is filled with alien races who are none
Review: I had some mixed expectations when I started this book. It came highly recommended, and I'd enjoyed the snippets of Scalzi's writing that I'd read elsewhere (mostly Clash of the Geeks and on Tor.com.) But the cover and the back-cover copy made it seem like very heavily tech-y military sci-fi, which is my least favorite flavor of the genre. And, as it turns out, it is moderately tech-y, and definitely very military space-fight based, but it didn't really bother me all that much, because it was also damn funny. It's hard to be too annoyed by an extended spacefight description when that battle involves someone becoming "perhaps the first person in the history of man to kick himself in his own uvula." (Which: gross, I know, but also hilariously written.) There are similar one-liners, absurdities, and just general snarkiness throughout the book, and I was laughing out loud so often (and so uncontrollably) that I'm glad I wasn't reading it in a public place.
The great thing about this book is that under all of the humor and the action and the spacefights, there's a really strong human element to the story. John's a very sympathetic character, with some interesting things to say about life and love and marriage and getting older, and watching him with his friends (the self-christened "Old Farts") was both very familiar and very touching.
My only real complaint is that the main plot conflict didn't show up until relatively late in the book. The storyline of the first 2/3s or so could be fully summed up by "John joins the military." Which is fine as storylines go, and I certainly didn't feel like the story was meandering or off-topic, but it did leave things feeling a little episodic, with no clear picture of where we were headed. In the grand scheme of things, however, that's a pretty minor complaint, because even without a clear roadmap of the plot, the story flew by easily (and hilariously), and I would have happily read another few hundred pages in the same vein. And, once the plot conflict did show up, it was interesting enough to get me thoroughly hooked, and intensely curious about the sequels. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Highly recommended for anyone who thinks that classic Heinlein-esque sci-fi would be better with the addition of copious amounts of sarcasm, snark, and swearing.
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too keen on ceding habitable planets to human colonies. The Colonial Defense Force is in dire need of soldiers, but they recruit only those past the age of 75 - a full life's experience and wisdom. Plus, everyone knows that the CDF's technology outstrips anything available on Earth, and there are whispers about a secret procedure to make enlistees young again. With nothing left tying him to Earth, John is looking forward to his two-year term of service out amongst the stars, but what he finds - and what he becomes - is nothing like anything he had ever expected.Review: I had some mixed expectations when I started this book. It came highly recommended, and I'd enjoyed the snippets of Scalzi's writing that I'd read elsewhere (mostly Clash of the Geeks and on Tor.com.) But the cover and the back-cover copy made it seem like very heavily tech-y military sci-fi, which is my least favorite flavor of the genre. And, as it turns out, it is moderately tech-y, and definitely very military space-fight based, but it didn't really bother me all that much, because it was also damn funny. It's hard to be too annoyed by an extended spacefight description when that battle involves someone becoming "perhaps the first person in the history of man to kick himself in his own uvula." (Which: gross, I know, but also hilariously written.) There are similar one-liners, absurdities, and just general snarkiness throughout the book, and I was laughing out loud so often (and so uncontrollably) that I'm glad I wasn't reading it in a public place.
The great thing about this book is that under all of the humor and the action and the spacefights, there's a really strong human element to the story. John's a very sympathetic character, with some interesting things to say about life and love and marriage and getting older, and watching him with his friends (the self-christened "Old Farts") was both very familiar and very touching.
My only real complaint is that the main plot conflict didn't show up until relatively late in the book. The storyline of the first 2/3s or so could be fully summed up by "John joins the military." Which is fine as storylines go, and I certainly didn't feel like the story was meandering or off-topic, but it did leave things feeling a little episodic, with no clear picture of where we were headed. In the grand scheme of things, however, that's a pretty minor complaint, because even without a clear roadmap of the plot, the story flew by easily (and hilariously), and I would have happily read another few hundred pages in the same vein. And, once the plot conflict did show up, it was interesting enough to get me thoroughly hooked, and intensely curious about the sequels. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Highly recommended for anyone who thinks that classic Heinlein-esque sci-fi would be better with the addition of copious amounts of sarcasm, snark, and swearing.
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LibraryThing member seitherin
I was surprised by this book. I expected something just barely palatable given the Heinlein comparisons I'd read but what I got was an enjoyable read with characters I cared about. The book was well written, fast paced, simple and elegant.
LibraryThing member ladycato
I've heard a lot of good things about this book over the past few years. I had the opportunity to meet John Scalzi at Phoenix Comicon in 2011, and I bought Old Man's War for him to sign. It's taken me over a year to get around to reading it.
This book is so good, it made me forget about a pulsing
The protagonist, John Perry, is absolutely engaging, but the full cast comes across as human and diverse. The little details just work. Aliens are alien, and defy all stereotypes. Scalzi manages to make John Perry into a remarkable man without making him some over-the-top type of action hero. The actions, the emotions, all feel real, and the novel's effortless flow made it an extremely fast read--even in the midst of a migraine.
It's been a while since I read a book good enough to make me need the sequel right away. I think I'll be placing an Amazon order tonight. The other 100+ books in my to-read pile can wait a while longer.
This book is so good, it made me forget about a pulsing
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migraine. I don't think I can say that about any other book, ever.The protagonist, John Perry, is absolutely engaging, but the full cast comes across as human and diverse. The little details just work. Aliens are alien, and defy all stereotypes. Scalzi manages to make John Perry into a remarkable man without making him some over-the-top type of action hero. The actions, the emotions, all feel real, and the novel's effortless flow made it an extremely fast read--even in the midst of a migraine.
It's been a while since I read a book good enough to make me need the sequel right away. I think I'll be placing an Amazon order tonight. The other 100+ books in my to-read pile can wait a while longer.
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LibraryThing member johnleague
Space is hard. Humans are weak. Hijinks ensue.
This is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. It also happens to be one of the smartest books I have read in a long time. It is highly likely that the two are related.
John Scalzi's Old Man's War has been hailed as an homage to or a
But the book is far more than that. While it is deliberately tongue-in-cheek at times, it also reminds me of another of the smartest books I've read in a while, Robert Charles Wilson's Spin (which I talk about here). The science and the worldview in both books are fabrications, but such genuine fabrications that they are imminently believable. Why? Largely because of the human element. Wilson and Scalzi both focus on how people react to these extraordinary circumstances, and while Scalzi's is edged with humor and Wilson's with a sense of loss, both have scope and wonder on an epic scale that is brought home to the reader through a ready protagonist. It becomes clear after only the first few pages that not only do these writers have a wealth of invention at their disposals, but that both have been paying sufficient attention to the people and events around them to render a person on the pages of their books, not just a character.
This is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. It also happens to be one of the smartest books I have read in a long time. It is highly likely that the two are related.
John Scalzi's Old Man's War has been hailed as an homage to or a
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21st-century adaptation of Heinlein's vision of the brutal competition for space with other sentient beings and the ways humanity will have to adapt to that competition. This is fair and, judging from Scalzi's own comments, not unintentional.But the book is far more than that. While it is deliberately tongue-in-cheek at times, it also reminds me of another of the smartest books I've read in a while, Robert Charles Wilson's Spin (which I talk about here). The science and the worldview in both books are fabrications, but such genuine fabrications that they are imminently believable. Why? Largely because of the human element. Wilson and Scalzi both focus on how people react to these extraordinary circumstances, and while Scalzi's is edged with humor and Wilson's with a sense of loss, both have scope and wonder on an epic scale that is brought home to the reader through a ready protagonist. It becomes clear after only the first few pages that not only do these writers have a wealth of invention at their disposals, but that both have been paying sufficient attention to the people and events around them to render a person on the pages of their books, not just a character.
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LibraryThing member philipcristiano
A quick, wonderful, and satisfying read.
LibraryThing member clong
In many ways an impressive first novel from Scalzi. The pacing is nicely managed; there are a several intriguing ideas, a bit of occasional humor, and a couple of nice moments of tension. Scalzi gives us an interesting range of characters, even if none but the protagonist is given much depth. And
Of the three sections, I thought the second, which covered basic training of our new soldiers, was the strongest. But there were also things I wasn't crazy about: the string of coincidences that led to Perry to meet with a key figure from his life on Earth, and some awfully strange alien behavior (I kept expecting the Vorlons from Babylon 5 to make an appearance). The world and civilization building felt thin, cool ideas but not especially thought through.
This is third book I read this year in which old people, upon being restored to an adolescent body, universally found one thing and only one thing upon which to focus: sex with the nearest stranger of the opposite (usually) sex. This despite gender, marital status, religious orientation and fervor, any and all other values, priorities, mores, etc. Somehow, this feels an awful lot more like hormone driven male fantasy than any kind of accurate observation of the human condition. Still I'm glad I read it and I will be interested to read more by this author in the future.
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the denouement is touchingly effective. Of the three sections, I thought the second, which covered basic training of our new soldiers, was the strongest. But there were also things I wasn't crazy about: the string of coincidences that led to Perry to meet with a key figure from his life on Earth, and some awfully strange alien behavior (I kept expecting the Vorlons from Babylon 5 to make an appearance). The world and civilization building felt thin, cool ideas but not especially thought through.
This is third book I read this year in which old people, upon being restored to an adolescent body, universally found one thing and only one thing upon which to focus: sex with the nearest stranger of the opposite (usually) sex. This despite gender, marital status, religious orientation and fervor, any and all other values, priorities, mores, etc. Somehow, this feels an awful lot more like hormone driven male fantasy than any kind of accurate observation of the human condition. Still I'm glad I read it and I will be interested to read more by this author in the future.
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LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Old Man's War series; there are six books in this series. I borrowed this on ebook from my library.
Thoughts: I really loved the concept of this book and, right from the beginning, it was different from what I was expecting. I thought this was going
This book follows a man named John Perry who signs up to join the Colonial Defense Force (CDF) after the death of his wife. He's declared dead on Earth and is committed to carrying out his new duty of protecting humanity from everything else that is out there.
I enjoyed the first part of this book the most, watching John make the transition from Earth to CDF was incredibly entertaining. Some of the middle parts of the book were a bit slower; lots of John traveling from battle to battle. I enjoyed the action but not the repetition. Then things get incredibly interesting again towards the end of the book when John gets involved with the Ghost Brigade.
There's a lot of humor and action in here but I was surprised by the amount of food for thought as well. This was effortless to read and highly entertaining. The characters feel very real and are engaging. I spent a lot of time laughing out loud. I definitely plan on continuing the series. I can understand why this is one of Scalzi's most popular series.
My Summary (4.5/5): Overall this was a ton of fun to read and I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a humorous, thoughtful, action-packed sci-fi read I would recommend this. It's not strictly military sci-fi, although there is a lot of that in there as well. I loved some of the concepts presented and am eager to see where the story goes in the second book, "Ghost Brigades"
Thoughts: I really loved the concept of this book and, right from the beginning, it was different from what I was expecting. I thought this was going
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to be more of a straight military sci-fi, but it's so much more than that. I love the idea of giving old people new bodies and sending them out to protect humanity from the rest of extraterrestrial existence. Previous to reading this I have read a number of Scalzi books (I am not going to list them all here because I have read a lot). I should have known his sharp sense of humor and irony would be just as present in this book as it is in his other books.This book follows a man named John Perry who signs up to join the Colonial Defense Force (CDF) after the death of his wife. He's declared dead on Earth and is committed to carrying out his new duty of protecting humanity from everything else that is out there.
I enjoyed the first part of this book the most, watching John make the transition from Earth to CDF was incredibly entertaining. Some of the middle parts of the book were a bit slower; lots of John traveling from battle to battle. I enjoyed the action but not the repetition. Then things get incredibly interesting again towards the end of the book when John gets involved with the Ghost Brigade.
There's a lot of humor and action in here but I was surprised by the amount of food for thought as well. This was effortless to read and highly entertaining. The characters feel very real and are engaging. I spent a lot of time laughing out loud. I definitely plan on continuing the series. I can understand why this is one of Scalzi's most popular series.
My Summary (4.5/5): Overall this was a ton of fun to read and I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a humorous, thoughtful, action-packed sci-fi read I would recommend this. It's not strictly military sci-fi, although there is a lot of that in there as well. I loved some of the concepts presented and am eager to see where the story goes in the second book, "Ghost Brigades"
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LibraryThing member ChrisRiesbeck
I wavered between 3 and 3.5 stars on this. 3.5 for readability, but I decided it was more of a guilty pleasure than a good example of modern SF. If Varley's Red Thunder is Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Old Man's War is Starship Troopers, mixed with some Lazarus Long. Instead of a young recruit, we
Recommended but primarily for people, like me, who appreciate the theory of classic Heinlein more than the actual practice.
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have a classic Heinleinian super-wise senior citizen. He's an uber-competent hero with a breezy first-person narrative voice that looks easy to write, but is rarely done well. There's less of the Heinlein polemics, except for a gratingly obvious section involving a former politician who advocates negotiation. It ends just as you expected from the moment the character was introduced. Otherwise, this first book in a series mostly sets everything place, in speedy fashion.Recommended but primarily for people, like me, who appreciate the theory of classic Heinlein more than the actual practice.
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LibraryThing member temporus
Such a fascinating concept, to send not our young, but our old off to war. (I shouldn't be surprised if there are people out there wondering if we couldn't adopt that policy now, starting with those very folks who voted for our current entanglement.) There's a long tradition of military fiction
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within SF. Probably almost as far back as we imagined taking to the stars, have we wondered what warfare might be like when we got there. Perhaps because looking back at history, we see all the warfare and strife of our past, that we can only assume such will continue well into the future. It could be that reading about humans defeating aliens gives us an ability to cheer for the victors without feeling as if we should also sympathize with the losers. Scalzi portrays a remarkable breadth within that simple niche of the genre. Providing not merely warfare among the stars, but intriguing and innovative technologies that arise with it. (I wonder what he thinks, now that some mathematicians have shown it mathematically possible that there are parallel universes much as the way described in this novel.) Definitely an engaging novel, that sucks you right in and through the gimmick of following a recruit into the space military, you get to learn about the way of the universe outside Earth as he does. Action in plenty, as you might expect from a war novel, but beyond that, you see a lot diversity in the types and nature of aliens, the tactics of space warfare, and I dare say even some questioning about the whole nature of war, and these wars in particular. No surprise that this book was nominated for a Hugo. I look forward to the followup novel: The Ghost Brigades. Show Less
LibraryThing member DRFP
A pretty basic piece of sci-fi and nothing special.
The story moves along quickly and that's about all it has going for it. The characters are extremely flat and behave nothing like people their age. 75 year olds thrust back into youth, new bodies and war could make for an extremely interesting
So I have a number of issues with this novel (I won't get into the cliché romance) but even if the prose is weak at least it's easy to read. I did get through the book quickly, which is a good thing, but it was more because I didn't want to spend longer than necessary reading the novel, not because I was entranced. Pretty weak SF pulp - not a touch on The Forever War, which I remember liking a great deal more.
The story moves along quickly and that's about all it has going for it. The characters are extremely flat and behave nothing like people their age. 75 year olds thrust back into youth, new bodies and war could make for an extremely interesting
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novel but Scalzi doesn't give two seconds thought to such thoughts. The attempt at snappy, witty dialogue falls flat like an uncle's old joke. The setting must be centuries in the future but the Earth featured seems rooted in the late 20th century - something I find incredibly hard to accept. The science is pathetically brought up, then glossed over and repeatedly dismissed with, "You don't have the maths," quips. If you're going to try explain the science in an SF novel either do it the "hard" way or just ignore it altogether so it appears as accepted fact in-universe.So I have a number of issues with this novel (I won't get into the cliché romance) but even if the prose is weak at least it's easy to read. I did get through the book quickly, which is a good thing, but it was more because I didn't want to spend longer than necessary reading the novel, not because I was entranced. Pretty weak SF pulp - not a touch on The Forever War, which I remember liking a great deal more.
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LibraryThing member Radaghast
Old Man's War is what science fiction is all about. The novel is told from the perspective of John Perry, an elderly man who has lived in a deep depression for years since the passing of his wife. He decides after turning 75 to join the military. In this future, Earth has colonized space, but to
Old Man's War moves at blinding speed as it takes you through Perry's last days on Earth, his rebirth, his training, and his brutal war experience. The novel unabashedly borrows from Starship Troopers, yet is doing enough different here not to be a rip-off. In some ways, Old Man's War is superior to Heinlein's masterpiece, though in the end, Heinlein is trying to say more than Scalzi. Not that Scalzi doesn't touch on ethics. Unlike Heinlein's Bugs, Scalzi's aliens have personality, and there are some gripping scenes that deal with issues like excessive force, genocide, and what makes a creature human. The philosophical tones are never openly explored though, which sets Old Man's War apart from Starship Troopers.
Old Man's War isn't perfect, no book is. You will find yourself thinking at the end of the gaps Scalzi left, and a few seeming inconsistencies. Yet a great novel like Old Man's War makes these easy to ignore.
In short, you won't be able to stop reading Old Man's War.
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protect those still left on Earth little is revealed about what occurs on the colonies. Recruiting is done among the elderly because experience is what is valued in this new warfare, not youth. And because it will be easier for them to sever ties. After joining the military, you are never allowed to return or contact Earth again. And then there is still the unspoken promise they will be made young again. As in the real military, Perry finds out their promises are both true and untrue. Things are not what they appear. Old Man's War moves at blinding speed as it takes you through Perry's last days on Earth, his rebirth, his training, and his brutal war experience. The novel unabashedly borrows from Starship Troopers, yet is doing enough different here not to be a rip-off. In some ways, Old Man's War is superior to Heinlein's masterpiece, though in the end, Heinlein is trying to say more than Scalzi. Not that Scalzi doesn't touch on ethics. Unlike Heinlein's Bugs, Scalzi's aliens have personality, and there are some gripping scenes that deal with issues like excessive force, genocide, and what makes a creature human. The philosophical tones are never openly explored though, which sets Old Man's War apart from Starship Troopers.
Old Man's War isn't perfect, no book is. You will find yourself thinking at the end of the gaps Scalzi left, and a few seeming inconsistencies. Yet a great novel like Old Man's War makes these easy to ignore.
In short, you won't be able to stop reading Old Man's War.
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LibraryThing member cinf0master
Do not mourn me friends,
I fall as a shooting star
Into the next life
On his 75th birthday, John Perry visits his wife’s grave and says goodbye to everything in Ohio. His next stop is the recruiting office of the Colonial Defense Forces, a special military branch that will make a person young again,
I fall as a shooting star
Into the next life
On his 75th birthday, John Perry visits his wife’s grave and says goodbye to everything in Ohio. His next stop is the recruiting office of the Colonial Defense Forces, a special military branch that will make a person young again,
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though you have to live through 10 years of guerilla style fighting first. Equipped with new bodies enhanced with SmartBlood, BrainPals, and other improvements, Perry and the rest of the “Old Farts” are prepared to take on the universe. Tongue in cheek regarding the aging process, Scalzi has many good lines concerning old bladders, senior citizens at Denny’s, and worn out joints. The alien civilizations created are quite real and refreshing; this is no peaceful universe where everyone seeks the betterment of universe. There are gun battles, violent deaths, and enough action to satisfy fans of “The Terminator.” The writing is crisp and steady, keeping readers moving through the story while allowing them to analyze Perry’s feeling and emotions. One especially poignant moment occurs during Perry’s attempts to remember why stomping small people an inch high does not make him an inhuman monster. This is a wonderful science fiction read, and older teens will love it too. Reluctant readers may also form connections with the beginning of the story; those that make it through will be well rewarded with adventure in the later chapters. Show Less
LibraryThing member pwaites
Scalzi’s books can be hit or miss for me, but at least I always find them to be fairly entertaining.
On his 75th birthday, John Perry visits his wife’s grave. Then, he signs up to join the Colonial Defense Force, the military branch that protects all of human space from possible alien threats.
I get the feeling that Old Man’s War is drawing a lot from older genre books I haven’t read. I’m not much into the classics; give me that modern sci-fi instead. So quite possibly there’s an additional layer to Old Man’s War that I was missing, and readers with different backgrounds might have enjoyed it more than me. As is, I found it to be a great concept, but I was not wowed by the execution.
It comes down to a matter of plot and structure. I didn’t think Old Man’s War had a strong plot. Most of the novel is preoccupied with John Perry joining up, going through training, his first couple of years on the force, ect. It’s interesting enough to keep me going, and of course, in the very beginning there’s the mystery of why the CDF recruits the elderly. Still, I can’t help feeling like I was treading water. A stronger conflict spread out through the whole book would have made the story a lot more enjoyable for me. The plotting improves in the last third, when Perry starts to gain motivations, goals, ect, but it just accentuated how much those were lacking in the majority of the novel.
I also would have liked stronger characterization. For a character who’s head I was in for an entire book, I don’t know a lot about John Perry. In part, this might tie back to the lack of motivation I mentioned earlier. I just would have liked more depth to him! And if that’s true for Perry, it goes double for the supporting cast. Old Man’s War has a pretty high causality rate, so it’s hard to get attached to any of the characters. That, and they’re almost indistinguishable in terms of voice.
I liked some of the world building elements. You can probably guess how the CDF uses elderly troops if you’ve read enough sci-fi, but it was still a cool concept. Plus, there was an alien species I found interesting. My only complaint world building wise is that there was some info-dumping at places, especially near the beginning.
For all my quibbles, I never actually contemplated quitting Old Man’s War. Still, I’m not planning on reading the sequels.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
On his 75th birthday, John Perry visits his wife’s grave. Then, he signs up to join the Colonial Defense Force, the military branch that protects all of human space from possible alien threats.
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Earth knows little of what happens outside its gravity well, but Perry soon discovers that humanity is engaged in continuous, intensive warfare with other species. For most Earth dwellers, the only way to leave Earth and discover the rest of the universe is to join the Colonial Defense Force on your 75th birthday. You have to be seventy-five to join, which leads to a lot of questions as to how the CDF makes their new recruits fit for warfare…I get the feeling that Old Man’s War is drawing a lot from older genre books I haven’t read. I’m not much into the classics; give me that modern sci-fi instead. So quite possibly there’s an additional layer to Old Man’s War that I was missing, and readers with different backgrounds might have enjoyed it more than me. As is, I found it to be a great concept, but I was not wowed by the execution.
It comes down to a matter of plot and structure. I didn’t think Old Man’s War had a strong plot. Most of the novel is preoccupied with John Perry joining up, going through training, his first couple of years on the force, ect. It’s interesting enough to keep me going, and of course, in the very beginning there’s the mystery of why the CDF recruits the elderly. Still, I can’t help feeling like I was treading water. A stronger conflict spread out through the whole book would have made the story a lot more enjoyable for me. The plotting improves in the last third, when Perry starts to gain motivations, goals, ect, but it just accentuated how much those were lacking in the majority of the novel.
I also would have liked stronger characterization. For a character who’s head I was in for an entire book, I don’t know a lot about John Perry. In part, this might tie back to the lack of motivation I mentioned earlier. I just would have liked more depth to him! And if that’s true for Perry, it goes double for the supporting cast. Old Man’s War has a pretty high causality rate, so it’s hard to get attached to any of the characters. That, and they’re almost indistinguishable in terms of voice.
I liked some of the world building elements. You can probably guess how the CDF uses elderly troops if you’ve read enough sci-fi, but it was still a cool concept. Plus, there was an alien species I found interesting. My only complaint world building wise is that there was some info-dumping at places, especially near the beginning.
For all my quibbles, I never actually contemplated quitting Old Man’s War. Still, I’m not planning on reading the sequels.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
Not quite sure how to categorise this one. It's a weird crossover between mil-sf and farce. With a fairly standard recruit tohero storyline, and just a little bit of political commentry on the futility of war.
The twist is that in this future universe, with rejunivation technologies around,
The universally hostile aliens are a bit unimaginative, although to be fair, the soldiers won't be needed in places with peaceful aliens - but the text make sit sound as if there aren't many! Our hero grunt manage sot make himself known and eventually gains the glory that we all knew he was destined for, along the way he makes friends (no enemies though -most of the details of training and life outsdie fo the front lines are glossed over). Some though t has gone into the technology, there's a lot fo hand waving, it just works. The characters are well enough drawn, with some humerous banter between them. I was less convinced by the special forces who didn't come across so belivably.
Enjyable, well written, but hardly, epic literature, the balance between gloryfying mankinds inate superiority of fighting over the aliens and the harshness of actual war is just about drawn well enough. But I always feel a little uneasy at any kind of glorification of war, and this isn't an anti-war screed.
The twist is that in this future universe, with rejunivation technologies around,
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recruits are only taken aged 75 - the start of their long old age. The spacer human factions run the colonisation efforts in an alien rich galaxy, and their Defense Forces have the technologya dn bear hte brunt of the effort to keep the human species in existance. Signing up as a recruit leaves you legally dead on Earth itself, unable to return, but if you survive your term of service on the front lines, you'll get a decent colony place in a fresh new body.The universally hostile aliens are a bit unimaginative, although to be fair, the soldiers won't be needed in places with peaceful aliens - but the text make sit sound as if there aren't many! Our hero grunt manage sot make himself known and eventually gains the glory that we all knew he was destined for, along the way he makes friends (no enemies though -most of the details of training and life outsdie fo the front lines are glossed over). Some though t has gone into the technology, there's a lot fo hand waving, it just works. The characters are well enough drawn, with some humerous banter between them. I was less convinced by the special forces who didn't come across so belivably.
Enjyable, well written, but hardly, epic literature, the balance between gloryfying mankinds inate superiority of fighting over the aliens and the harshness of actual war is just about drawn well enough. But I always feel a little uneasy at any kind of glorification of war, and this isn't an anti-war screed.
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LibraryThing member stubbyfingers
"I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army." I was grabbed by this first sentence and by the end of page three, I was absolutely hooked with no way of wriggling free.
This story is set in the not too distant future where life on Earth seems to
Told from a first-person perspective, this is the rollicking ride of an old man leaving behind everything he's ever known to make his way through the ranks of the CDF towards hero-dom. Along the way he fights in every manner imaginable, from blasting giant spiders who hurl chunks of rock from planetary rings, to stomping beings only an inch tall with his boots, to trying to contain an intelligent slime mold that will digest you from the inside out given half a chance. It's fun and engrossing and I absolutely did not want to put this book down. It also had some deeper messages about love and marriage and what it means to be human, but it certainly never got too deep. This was a brain-optional good time!
Now if you would please excuse me, I'm going to go add every other book ever written by John Scalzi to my wish list!
This story is set in the not too distant future where life on Earth seems to
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be fairly similar to what you and I are used to. Life away from Earth is another story entirely. The universe is Star Wars-like, filled with myriad intelligent species with body types and customs vastly different from our own, all vying for the scarce colonizable planets. The only way for an American citizen to get off Earth and into the stars is to join the Colonial Defense Forces--the army that fights for new planets and protects the colonies we already have. But the CDF doesn't want young, inexperienced recruits, they want soldiers who already have the experiences of a lifetime--you can't join until you turn seventy-five. Oh, and once you leave Earth, you can't come back.Told from a first-person perspective, this is the rollicking ride of an old man leaving behind everything he's ever known to make his way through the ranks of the CDF towards hero-dom. Along the way he fights in every manner imaginable, from blasting giant spiders who hurl chunks of rock from planetary rings, to stomping beings only an inch tall with his boots, to trying to contain an intelligent slime mold that will digest you from the inside out given half a chance. It's fun and engrossing and I absolutely did not want to put this book down. It also had some deeper messages about love and marriage and what it means to be human, but it certainly never got too deep. This was a brain-optional good time!
Now if you would please excuse me, I'm going to go add every other book ever written by John Scalzi to my wish list!
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LibraryThing member SunnySD
Humanity is fighting a war for survival on the edges of known space. Back on Earth, the effects of the war are minimal. The Colonial Defense Forces recruit from among the elderly Earth population with tantalizing rumors of eternal youth and promises of future colonization opportunities. The rule
Scalzi is a bit heavy handed at times, and although John Perry is an entertaining character, most of the other characters felt sort of flat. It's definitely a book with an "us or them" mentality. If you're okay with that, it's not a bad read. Thought-provoking, if nothing else.
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is, commit to the CDF at 65, and enlist at 75 or not at all. John Perry decides to take the plunge, severs all ties, and sets off for the stars. Along the way he makes a few enemies, a few good friends, has great sex, and rekindles a lost love all the while realizing that what makes us human isn't just our DNA.Scalzi is a bit heavy handed at times, and although John Perry is an entertaining character, most of the other characters felt sort of flat. It's definitely a book with an "us or them" mentality. If you're okay with that, it's not a bad read. Thought-provoking, if nothing else.
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LibraryThing member agis
"Old Man's War" starts with a different take on the standard military sci-fi - the interstellar war is being fought by old people, 75 year-olds at the end of their life who sign up to - they hope - start over, young again. The book follows widower John Perry as he joins, trains with, and fights for
Given the setup the tone is usually understandably humorous, and Scalzi's technique is fine. The book can't keep up its early solid pace, however; after Perry starts training, "Old Man's War" slips into generic territory and mostly stays there. The R. Lee Ermey-esque drill sergeant, the gun battles with humanoid aliens, the standard ethical questions; Scalzi plays them with a wink and a nod, but doesn't manage to make them interesting. The drill sergeant may mock the idea that's he's straight out of central casting, but, well, so would one that was out of central casting.
One later plot thread works better, starting when Perry runs into the special forces of the "Old Man's War" universe, "The Ghost Brigades." Any detail would spoil things, but the idea and its consequences are fascinating to the extent they are explored in the book. This is Perry's book, however, and the exploration of the Ghost Brigades is necessarily limited.
Old Man's War is still solid military sci-fi, and it's an enjoyable enough read, even if Scalzi's strengths are not in some of the more well-worn territory the book covers.
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the army.Given the setup the tone is usually understandably humorous, and Scalzi's technique is fine. The book can't keep up its early solid pace, however; after Perry starts training, "Old Man's War" slips into generic territory and mostly stays there. The R. Lee Ermey-esque drill sergeant, the gun battles with humanoid aliens, the standard ethical questions; Scalzi plays them with a wink and a nod, but doesn't manage to make them interesting. The drill sergeant may mock the idea that's he's straight out of central casting, but, well, so would one that was out of central casting.
One later plot thread works better, starting when Perry runs into the special forces of the "Old Man's War" universe, "The Ghost Brigades." Any detail would spoil things, but the idea and its consequences are fascinating to the extent they are explored in the book. This is Perry's book, however, and the exploration of the Ghost Brigades is necessarily limited.
Old Man's War is still solid military sci-fi, and it's an enjoyable enough read, even if Scalzi's strengths are not in some of the more well-worn territory the book covers.
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Subjects
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 2006)
Locus Award (Nominee — Science Fiction Novel — 2006)
Geffen Award (2007)
Locus Recommended Reading (First Novel — 2005)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2005-01
Physical description
7.49 inches
ISBN
0765348276 / 9780765348272