Old Man's War by John Scalzi Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.63 You Save: $3.36 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.79 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Old Man's War
Book Review: A Hugo worthy book if I ever read one
Summary: 5 Stars
Old Man's War is sci-fi as it's meant to be and Scalzi may be one of the best modern science fictions authors I've read. As the critic praise has commented already, this book reads like Heinlein come again.
John Scalzi's writing style hooked me immidiately. I began empathizing with his main character, John Perry, almost instantly. He writes John (from the first person) in a way that expresses his emotion as well as his sarcasm, making him a very entertaining character. By the time John enlists and joins up in the Colonial Defence Force, he meets other sarcastic characters like himself and the dialogue between them had be laughing out loud on numerous occasions.
In Scalzi's universe, no one can join the CDF until they are 75, as they want experienced and knowlegable human beings rather than young and immature ones. The book follows John and his band of self-designated "Old Farts" as they go to space for the first time, learn how they're going to be made young and battle-ready, head to combat training and then off to war with the numerous alien races who want to halt mankind's expansion into space. Every one of these aspects is very well written and very entertaining. The action scenes are fast-paced and intense and the scientific implications such as the Skip Drive are fascinating.
For me this book invoked nearly every emotion, from laughter to excitement to sadness. There may have been a couple of parts that I found a little hard to swallow (actually, the inch-tall alien race is the only one I can think of), but nothing worth dwelling over. If you liked Heinlien's Starship Troopers, you may like this even more. All respect to the classic sci-fi writer, but this book is more entertaining in almost every way. Read it and enjoy. I'm on to read Ghost Brigades.
Book Review: A Light, Enjoyable Read
Summary: 3 Stars
Reading "Old Man's War" is a lot like having dinner with a friend you know too well--there are few surprises and some of the jokes are old, but in the end you enjoy the meal.
The narrator/protagonist is an engaging old coot and is at times pretty funny. The supporting cast serves up a few yucks as well, though it is hard to tell them apart. They blur together without any real distinction, other than the "gay" or "physicist" tag.
At times the writing is too talky and some of the bits go on too long, so feel free to skim ahead--you won't miss anything. The science is fairly pedestrian and somewhat dated, and the alien battles are more amusing than gripping.
Scalzi is not the next big thing. I just wish the critics weren't hyping him to be more than he is. If you approach this book without a lot of overblown expectations, you will find this novel a fun escape.
Book Review: A Thoroughly Enjoyable Book
Summary: 4 Stars
This book clicks on all cylinders. It's true-blue science fiction, but not so far out that it becomes fantasy. A good story built around interesting and highly imaginative ideas. I was sorry that it ended so quickly, and will definitely read more of Scalzi's work.Book Review: A decent read
Summary: 4 Stars
If you enjoy Heinlein, you'll enjoy this.
If you worship Heinlein and denegrate anything that reminds you of him, you'll not like this.
It's not great, but it's certainly a very good and worthwhile reading.
Book Review: A fun, quick read
Summary: 4 Stars
Like the title it's a fun book to read and interesting. I found myself reading the whole book within two days as I couldn't put it down. The influences are obvious as others have mentioned but the author manages to keep it fresh and different enough that I never felt like I was reading a Heinlein knock off novel.