Old Man's War by John Scalzi Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Old Man's War
Book Review: All right puke face. Give me 10!
Summary: 3 Stars
Wow. I'm all over the board with my feelings on this book. First off, I give it an "A", a "C", and a "B". How's that, you ask? The first 100 pages were some of the best writing around. You really get to know the characters. And being 44, I can somewhat relate to the aging process. Although, most of these characters reminded me more of my uncles...real believable, grumpy, funny guys -- the kind I'd like to hang with. Grumpy Old Men meets the Odd Couple? Top that off with the decent world building. It was different how the extremely futuristic sci-fi stuff broke off from planet earth...planet earth being almost as we know it today.
The 1st 100 pages is all about getting there. The storyline is "joining the army". So, this section is all about the anticipation of the "science". The author just gives you little hints and theories about what you are about to experience. The best part is toward the end of the fist 100 pages when the science gets introduced. I don't want to give it away, but it is good, trust me. Whatever your preference, you'll love the first 100 pages.
If you like drill sargeants, you'll like the second 100 pages too. Personally, I hated it. I just don't like boot camp scenes. Juvenile in my opinion.
Finally the last 100 pages. "B". There is some cool science, but not enough. This section is mostly combat. And, I don't even think the combat sequences are "told" very well.
I liked this book, but I was glad to be done with it. The good news is that there are only 300 pages, and the pages each read very fast.
Book Review: Amazing, fun Sci-Fi!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I literally read this book in one (long evening). I could barely put it down . It's just a fantastic universe that Scalzi has dreamed up. A very exciting military sci-fi adventure, in the same vein as Heinlein's Starship Troopers (and the underrated movie version). Just excellent. But you don't have to take my word for it!!Book Review: Amazingly human
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd like to add my own 5 stars to this amazing series that started in Old Man's War. I have to say I didn't expect the story to work it's magic on me the way it had. I thought it would be like the space operas of Peter F. Hamilton (who, btw, also writes great space operas and is one of my long favorites). I was wrong. It was profoundly more human - the plot is truly driven by the characters. While the writing style is relaxed and flows easily and beautifully. I read each of the books in only short periods of time, neither getting confused nor getting tired (because I didn't need to access the deepest branches of my BrainPal often). Yet despite that, the books provided a rich experience. The twists and plots were not convoluted as to lose the reader, but are nonetheless as exciting and surprising. The characters come alive with their own philosophical dilemmas not far from what we might experience.
I'll definitely miss John Perry and Jane Sagan, but I'll look forward to reading more about Zoe in the upcoming "Zoe's Tale".
This is a great series, and John Scalzi is a great writer. They come highly recommended.
Book Review: An excellent, light read with a great humor and military science fiction aspects
Summary: 4 Stars
John Perry's wife is dead and he's 75 years old. The only thing left for him to do is wait to die--or join the Civil Defence Forces (CDF). Who would want an old man in their Army? John and everyone else on Earth isn't entirely sure, but the speculation is that the CDF has the technology to make people young again... And if you survive the service, the CDF promises a plot of land in one of the human colonies.
OLD MAN'S WAR is my first Scalzi novel. I've previously read his novella/short story found in METATROPOLIS and his nonfiction YOUR HATE MAIL WILL BE GRADED, so I suspected that Scalzi's sense of humor and fiction writing would suit me just fine. What I did not expect was falling in love. It's just ridiculous how much to love about OLD MAN'S WAR. In fact, the book is a quick read and ridiculously entertaining.
And not only is it entertaining, it's thought provoking. After all, one cannot hardly use the words "colony" or "colonialism" without realizing that it's a loaded term. Scalzi is a smart guy, so he certainly knows. And rather than give an answer or one way of looking at the topic, he throws out several perspectives to the reader and steps back. I love that sort of writing. Along with colonialism, there's a bunch of other issues raised in OLD MAN'S WAR: mercenary systems, the ease of violence, ownership/withholding of technology, etc. It's enough to chew on for awhile--and enough that I'm surprised that the novel ended up as lightweight as it is.
Also surprising is that amidst a tale of war, Scalzi manages to deftly craft a humble humor. It doesn't always fit perfectly. Hell, John Perry's (the protagonist) humor falls short in one of the earliest scenes to another character, but I have the feeling that Scalzi falls in with Perry on the idea that it's better to try to make someone smile and crack the joke rather than not try at all. I can appreciate that sort of outlook.
Really, I'm a little gushy about how great this novel is and can't seem to get everything out quite right. How unexpected to find a fantastic science fiction novel equipped with a feel for action and a sense of humor? From the beautiful opening scene (in which John Perry visits his wife's grave) the story starts off in increasing speed. Add to that the humble humor of Scalzi (and/or Perry) and you have a winner of a novel. Even with all that, there's not even a hint of pretension in the entire thing, which is perhaps the most amazing thing of all.
The only negatives I'll bring up--from my perspective--that there were a lot of topics that needed more. It's a tease to bring up an idea and then move on blithely. One doesn't have to answer everything, but one does have to explore the idea with the reader. As much as I enjoyed the, erm, latest storyline regarding the Ghost Brigades, it felt like a bit of a cheat from where John Perry had started. Sure, I want him to get to that point with that person eventually, but what about all the questions along the way? Primarily, I wanted more with the ramifications and motivations on recruiting the Earth's old. After all, there's a whole bunch of military science fiction out there, but this particular premise is what makes Scalzi's take on it unique. So give me more. Additionally, I wanted John Perry to have just a little more trouble along the way rather than be the perfect golden soldier. Also, I have a few nitpicks with the military ranks/customs, but I'll write them off as different due to the CDF being an entirely new entity from the Earth Army rather than get bent out of shape.
The negatives are minimal when compared to the list of difficult to achieve positives. After finishing OLD MAN'S WAR, I knew I instantly that I want to read everything Scalzi has published. Such a writer is too rare to miss out on.
Book Review: Another five star review
Summary: 5 Stars
So at Mr. Scalzi's recommendation at the phoenix comic-con I picked up Old Man's War and I have to say I love this book. I've still half of it to go but it's very impressive so far. It's funny, it's good sci-fi, and it stimulates me intellectually.
One of the panel's that Mr. Scalzi was on it was either him or Michael Stackpole who pointed out that one of the main flaws of science fiction writing is they explain things too much. Scalzi explains things a perfect amount. If you're a fan of redlettermedia (and you should be) another thing to consider is the need for a "proto-ganist" who is new to a situation that asks questions and has the background explained to him. This is also implemented perfectly.
One thing I'd like to address is that he's compared to Heinlein, and at first I was annoyed at this as if people were inferring he was ripping him off or unoriginal. Now I can see the comparison, but only in the respect that Scalzi is a match for Heinlein in style and skill. I would love to see a movie of this as long as I could be assured they wouldn't mess it up as bad as Starship Troopers.