Old Man's War (Old Man's War, 1)

Old Man's War, the first book in the series, is in the spirit of All Quiet On The Western Front by Remarque or For Whom The Bell Tolls by Hemingway only several centuries in the future. It can stand on its own but I was glad the author didn't stop there. The characters and technology are believable; yet the characters are more fleshed out than in something like ... oh, the Foundation books by Asimov or those of H.G. Wells and more like Haldeman's characters in Camouflage or The Accidental Time Machine. I didn't get into sci-fi until an adult. I found Scalzi to be relaxing at the end of the day or during lunch break but I got pulled into them and probably ended up losing sleep because of the "one more chapter" syndrome. The books hold the attention and makes one feel the triumphs and tragedies like any good, or great, novel. I put Old Man on the extra credit reading list for my college courses on Western Civilization because the way the author deals with humanity and technology, and the enemy as "something other" as psychologists put It, in conflict is believable and apt as the one thing in history that has remained a constant is human nature. The book is appropriate for teens through adults. I'd rate it PG-13. The author has a real talent and I have not been disappointed in any of his 6 books I've read.

John Scalzi's debut novel, Old Man's War has an intriguing premise, some interesting science fiction concepts, and a complete ability to ignore military SF cliches that usually turn me off from this kind of book. It's a wonderful little book, violent but not overly graphic (though there are a couple of scenes that go beyond that), and it's certainly worth all of the accolades that have been heaped on it. Only the fact that it's a bit slow to get to the meat of the action drags it down even a little bit. Earth has reached the stars, and been slammed back into isolation. Humans are out there colonizing the galaxy, but Earth itself is cut off from it, becoming almost a backwater in comparison to everything else. The Colonial Defense Force (CDF) insures that this remains so. On the other hand, once you turn seventy-five, you can enlist in the CDF, go out and see the universe, and kill lots of aliens who are out to kill you too. You'll just never see Earth again. John Perry has decided to take this route, and Old Man's War tells the story of this decision, and what he runs into when he gets out there. What he learns when he gets there is beyond what he could ever have imagined. He gets a new, grown body (green and all) that will make him young again (even if he's not completely human any more) and the extreme possibility of dying out in the mean universe. But he could be dead in ten years anyway, in a broken down body, on Earth, so why not go out where his death means something? Will John be a successful soldier, not only surviving but rising in the ranks? Or will he just be more cannon-fodder for the human colonies? Scalzi is on record (in a Usenet post when asked about his military experience) as saying that he wanted Old Man's War to be accessible by his grandmother, who has no interest in things military. This meant that he wasn't going to spend a great deal of time on infantry tactics, technology, and the jingoism that many military SF novels embrace. The weapon of choice for the CDF is an adaptable rifle that fires five types of ammunition and can change on the fly, and he spends a bare amount of time making any explanations for the science of the situations he presents, such as the "skip drive" that gets everybody from Point A to Point B. It's the military SF novel for those who can't stand the genre, and I loved it for that. Still, Scalzi doesn't completely avoid the science, and there are a couple of "theoretical" (as in, one of the characters who doesn't really know a whole lot about it is theorizing) explanatory scenes that seek to get this sort of thing out of the way. I found this appropriate given the situation that Scalzi presents. The humans that are enlisting don't know any of this stuff. The CDF keeps humans ignorant of it intentionally, so Scalzi is able to gloss over it a bit. While I did find it appropriate, I also thought that these occasional theorizing scenes slowed the book down much more than they should

Premise: In the future, humanity has colonized many planets, and discovered other intelligent species in the galaxy. Sadly, everyone is into the colonizing thing, creating competition, also called "war". Humanity's answer is the Colonial Union (CU) and it's military arm, the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF). Where do they get recruits for the CDF? Well, Earth is overcrowded. But, the CDF doesn't want inexperienced recruits, nor those who have grown up in poverty. The answer: at age 65, people can sign up for the CDF and then they can enlist at 75. What does a military force want with 75-year-old recruits? The recruits don't know, but assume that the CDF will somehow rejuvenate them. You see, the CU and the CDF started on Earth, but have separated themselves from Earth, have bought, borrowed, or taken technology from many other species, and have moved way beyond Earth technologically. Plot: John Perry and his wife signed up for the CDF at 65. At 67, John's wife died suddenly. At 75, John says good-bye to his family, his wife's grave, and Earth, and enlists in the CDF for two-to-ten years. He meets other recruits and they rapidly bond, labeling themselves "The Old Farts." Then, the CDF does their magic (I will not spoil the details), and "The Old Farts" end up a bunch of twenty-year-old, genetically-enhanced, semi-bionic super-soldiers. They go through training, to help them adjust to their new bodies. While The Old Farts get separated, they stay in contact (another interesting aspect of the story is how they do so, but I'll not divulge that). Their separate troops go off to defend colonies, find new colonies, and retake colonies overrun by aliens. The story follows John Perry, as he surprises himself as being a creative and able soldier with some leadership skills. He is not perfect, though, and is almost killed several times. He even runs into a rather amazing surprise, when he is rescued after being almost killed. I like this story because of the interesting premise. I like this story because the science is articulated very well, without going over my head. I like this story because the plot has lots of surprise turns. But, all that would add up to a good, four-star, science-fiction adventure story. This is more than that. "Old Man's War" has two powerful strengths. The characters never ignore the ethical implications of what they do. The author repeatedly introduces the question of whether there could be a better alternative to war, but he does so without turning the book into an anti-war rant. He never answers the question; he just keeps it alive in a realistic, powerful way. The main strength here, though, is the characterizations. Within five pages, I knew that I liked the characters. They were superhuman (after being changed), but never lost their humanity. John Perry would make anyone an interesting and wonderful friend, father, and grandfather, but he is not perfect. He is utterly credible, utterly likabl

The title of my review isn't fair; I'm making it sound as though John Scalzi's first novel is a mishmash of Robert A. Heinlein works. It's not; in fact it's refreshingly original, and you certainly don't have to be a Heinlein fan (or even to have read Heinlein) in order to enjoy and appreciate it. But as Scalzi himself remarks in his acknowledgements, the influence _is_ fairly obvious. At any rate, I really like the book -- and on its own merits, not just because it reminds me of Heinlein. (Nor is it just because the hero, John Nicholas Perry, hails from the county seat of Darke County in my home state of Ohio, where Scalzi now lives.) Scalzi is a fine writer and his ideas sparkle off the page. I won't spoil anything for you; just keep your eyes peeled for at least one really cool idea every three or four pages. (And if Scalzi hasn't blown your mind within the first couple hundred pages, it'll happen when Alan Rosenthal explains how the skip drive works.) I can't really tell you anything specific without giving away something better left for you to discover as you read. I can say in general, though, that Scalzi has a pretty healthy sense of what it will take for human beings to colonize other planets in a universe that contains other sentient species. (And I think he has a better appreciation of moral ambiguity than Heinlein did even on his best day.) He's also got a knack for thinking up clever and gruesome ways for people to die. Oh, and there's a lot of nicely handled bittersweet stuff that may bring tears to your eyes if you're inclined to that sort of thing. All in all, a fine first novel; I'll look forward to reading his next (_Agent to the Stars_) as well as what appears to be a sequel currently in the works (_The Ghost Brigades_). And welcome to Ohio, John.

The book was amazing, I picked it up after reading about it on several blogs and decided why not give it a try. Now I am hooked, John Scalzi can write a novel. I ended up ordering Agent to the Stars, and I can't wait until the sequel to Old Man's War comes out. If you like SciFi and want something enjoyable to read, then this really is worth it. Scalzi's usage of possible future technology taken to a next level of implementation gives the book a sense of realism, but then also scares you about the future. Fascinating book.

I went back and forth between four stars and five. On the one hand, this novel is not great literature on the level of say, "Dune" by Frank Herbert. On the other hand, "Old Man's War" is a terrific read, very imaginative, and not terribly implausible. No spoilers here, so my discussion of the story will be limited. The essential premise and storyline is that in the near future, Earth/humankind have discovered the "skip drive" which is a method of interstellar space travel. Mankind quickly learns that valuable planets are a scarce commodity and there are several intelligent races in our neck of the Galaxy that as a matter of routine try to use military force to take planets away from other races. Including, of course, human colonial planets. Accordingly, to protect Earth and also to protect colony worlds, the "Colonial Defense Force" enlists elderly human beings on Earth as soldiers to protect the colony worlds. The protagonist in the novel is such a one. The novel includes pretty strong character development. It manages to make some of the characters both lifelike and alien. This is no small feat and a task that most science fiction authors struggle with. Here, the author succeeds. The author's speculations about what interaction between mankind and aliens will be like are startling. The reader can decide for him or her self whether they are plausible. I was not able to say that they were implausible, at any rate. The novel contains dazzling speculation about the future destiny of humanity in space and technology in general. This, combined with a fast-moving storyline and solid plot, earns this one five stars in my opinion. Quite frankly, this is far and away the best science fiction novel that I have read since "Dune" and "The Forever War" and it gives my old favorite "The Forever War" a run for its money in terms of which is my favorite military science fiction novel of all time. Any lover of "hard" science fiction will want to snap this one up, and I imagine "Old Man's War" is destined for Hugo and Nebula awards.