Old Man's War by John Scalzi Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Old Man's War
Book Review: Brilliantly Written, and Action Packed
Summary: 5 Stars
I never thought that a book could have as much action as say, a movie, until I read this book. The action sequences (and I have no qualms calling them that) are described such that you can see visually what is happening while reading the passage. At the time I read this book, it became my favorite science fiction novel, but it has since been surpassed by the sequel to this novel, The Ghost Brigades.
The premise of the book seems realistic despite the futuristic and amazing future described by the author. As the advanced technologies in the setting are being described to the reader, they are also being uncovered to the primary protagonist, further connecting the reader with this character.
This novel is worth it if not for the amazing battles, violence, and technology, then for the characters, premise, and attention to detail.
Book Review: Can't Help But Like It
Summary: 4 Stars
This has Starship Troopers and Heinlein written all over it but, similarities aside, it's still a very enjoyable book. How can you not like the idea of a 75 year old person getting a new/improved body with the *only* hitch being that they have to serve 10 years in the Colonial Defense Force (CDF)?
The book follows John Perry who does just that. We follow him from "draft day", to meeting new friends, to getting new a new body, "experimenting" with his new body, boot camp, and then combat and moving up through the ranks. We might has well have named him J. Rico but instead of just one enemy we have several different alien races, all of whom want to make humans part of their diet. And again, like Starship Troopers, we see him lose his old friends one by one. I didn't see as much political commentary as in Heinlein's works but there was more than a bit of the light-hearted fare.
The book was thoroughly enjoyable. My only gripe was that the main idea of having a 75 year old mind with 75 years worth of experiences in a 20-something year old super body wasn't really developed. It felt like it was just a hook to get someone to pick up the book but, accomplishing that, was pretty much dropped. After the first part of the book, I never got the sense that we were actually dealing with individuals with a lifetime of experience. But the book would have been good even without that hook.
Book Review: Compelling main character
Summary: 4 Stars
I was a bit skeptical about this book, but it turned out to be a fun vacation read. Scalzi managed to win me over despite the fact that military sci-fi is not my favorite sub-genre. The basic premise of *old* people going to war was great. The main character had real depth and his development is what kept me hooked. Some of the secondary characters and the overall cultural milieu were less compelling. Some other characters felt a bit shallow. Perhaps this is because, as you might expect in a war story, many characters don't last very long. The setting felt a bit contrived at times, as if it were only serving to provide character development for the protagonist. (And that development, as I said, was good... I'm just not sure I fully believe in the military/political structure of the Colonial Defense Force.) The romantic sub-plot was solid and surprising and is what ultimately makes me want to read the sequel.Book Review: Couldn't put it down
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished reading this book and I loved it. What a fantastic story. This is the first book I've read by John Scalzi and I've now bought the second and third books in this series. I highly recommend it.Book Review: DERON
Summary: 5 Stars
GOOD BOOK...READ AND READ...UNTIL IT WAS FINISHED...COULDN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW ONE...
BUT THE 1ST WAS BETTER...