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

Apr 08, 2013 Megan Baxter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm about to say something I wasn't sure I'd ever say about a science fiction novel about interstellar war - this book is warmly humanist in its approach. From the first time I sat down to read it, I felt invited and welcomed into the world Scalzi was creating. I enjoyed meeting and spending time with the characters he creates, who are mostly interesting and intelligent people that you'd want to know. I loved the digressions about the morality of following orders, and war as the easy way to deal...more I'm about to say something I wasn't sure I'd ever say about a science fiction novel about interstellar war - this book is warmly humanist in its approach. From the first time I sat down to read it, I felt invited and welcomed into the world Scalzi was creating. I enjoyed meeting and spending time with the characters he creates, who are mostly interesting and intelligent people that you'd want to know. I loved the digressions about the morality of following orders, and war as the easy way to deal with conflict.

Scalzi has the ability to create flawed but engaging characters you'd want to sit down and have a beer and an argument with. I associate that trait with a few other authors who give public credit to Heinlein for influencing them heavily. Although the subject matter is miles away, the approach to character reminded me slightly of my favourite author, Spider Robinson. John Varley is another who sprang to mind.

The writing is not like Heinlein's, in any of the three cases, but all three authors share that warm interest in human nature. All of them enjoy science and exploring the effects of science, but are more interested in the impact these changes have on people than they are in the technologies themselves.

In many ways, Old Man's War is a riff on or extrapolation of Heinlein's Starship Troopers. A recruiting army uses technology to enhance human capabilities to make them into complete soldiers. But where it is the young, in Heinlein, in Scalzi's world, it is the very old. Attracted by the promise of regained youth, with the only way off planet for many being joining up with the Colonial Defence Forces, John Perry joins up after his beloved wife dies. (She had planned on enlisting as well.)

Once enlisted, he finds himself in the midst of many brutal wars, against many different species. Because those implacably opposed to war would never have enlisted in the first place, there are no pacifists in this book. But there is a lot of thoughtful discussion about war. I hope at some point this series goes on to look at the politics of war - those making decisions who are not involved in the fighting, which the book only hints at. This book is focused on John Perry, the groups of friends he makes when he enlists, The Old Farts, and his experiences along the way.

While it goes along,the book has many interesting meditations about the seat of identity: the brain, the body, brain patterns, and chooses to let that hang in the air as a question rather than trying to definitively answer it. This is one of the strengths of the book - the willingness to not lay down a definitive answer, when the exploration of the idea is so much more interesting.

I enjoyed every minute of reading Old Man's War, and a couple of moments took my breath away. And if I say there was something about the writing style that reminded me pleasantly of my favourite author, you know that's a high compliment.

Crossposted at Smorgasbook (less)

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May 20, 2012 mark monday rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: futuristik

sometimes a first novel gets everything right. writing that is clean, clear, and fluid. characterization that is simple, straightforward, and real. a narrative that hurtles forward but does not feel rushed or incomplete. ideas that feel new and that are conveyed with enthusiasm and a brisk, unpretentious freshness. such is Old Man's War.

this is a military science fiction novel and the first of a series. that probably brings up a whole host of automatic preconceptions about what will be happening...more sometimes a first novel gets everything right. writing that is clean, clear, and fluid. characterization that is simple, straightforward, and real. a narrative that hurtles forward but does not feel rushed or incomplete. ideas that feel new and that are conveyed with enthusiasm and a brisk, unpretentious freshness. such is Old Man's War.

this is a military science fiction novel and the first of a series. that probably brings up a whole host of automatic preconceptions about what will be happening and how the protagonist - a recruit in the interstellar wars of the future - will be quickly introduced to his new life... initial bonding with his fellow soldiers... training with a tough drill master... the first battle... the first kill... the death of comrades... cynicism... more battles, and the promise of more to come... and somewhere in there, perhaps, a bit of unlikely romance. the template has been around for a while, Starship Troopers et al, and Old Man's War doesn't stray from the tried-and-true.

but as anyone even slightly familiar with the novel's premise knows, this traditional narrative gets a shot of adrenalin by having the hero be a 75-year old man who finds not just a new life, but a new body by joining up with humanity's defenders. actually, "adrenalin" is the exact opposite of the word that should be used. because of new soldier John Perry's past life, the novel has actually been injected with a massive dose of wry introspection and not a little melancholy. and so many of those traditional stops on the military scifi journey are likewise transformed into something different. even the inevitable 'unlikely romance' has become a rather original new thing.

oh how i enjoyed the opening chapter! rather than a youngster fit to jump into conflict and other forms of excitement, we get the calm and thoughtful musings of an old man looking back with fondness and sadness on his rich but quite regular life, and getting ready to start that life anew. a contemplation colored with all of the amused and slightly cantankerous distance that a gentle grandfatherly type would have. and much later in the novel, as John Perry spends time with the unusually intriguing romantic interest, we get another warm and often unsentimental portrait of this past life. all quite moving. i did not expect to be so moved by Old Man's War.

despite everything i've mentioned so far, this is still a tough-minded book that is rooted in classic military tropes. there are a lot of fascinatingly exotic and often horrible aliens. there are battles on the ground and up in space. there is blood and guts and a huge body count. and yet the word that comes to mind after reading the novel is... lovely. (less)

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Mar 31, 2013 Jon added it · review of another edition

Recommended to Jon by: Kristin

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, read-in-my-40s, hugo-nominee, liked-it

4 stars.

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book has been relocated to my blog and can be found in its entirety by following this link: http://bit.ly/13IEyUO

A good story, regardless of genre, and an especially great military science fiction tale.

I recommend this to anyone who loves military science fiction, with a good dose of wit and sarcasm, flavored with a gentle to...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Ceridwen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: aliens, america-and-environs, ghost-stories, sci-fi, space-the-final-frontier, the-future-is-now

Several smart-ass descriptions:

Joe Haldeman without the Vietnam War era commentary.

The Word for World is Forest without the Vietnam War commentary, dreaming, and from the wrong side of the fight.

Robert A. Heinlein without the towering Heinlein assholery.*

Babel-17 without the poetry, but with the ghosts.

Ender's Game with old guys instead of kids.

Familiar military sf with an avuncular, lightly comic bent and good flash-bang fight scenes.

A series of good ideas in search of someone to think ab...more

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Aug 06, 2011 The Holy Terror rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, color-blue, borrowed, space-opera, military, aliens, forgot-to-drink-the-kool-aid, supportive-authors, 2011

There wasn't anything horribly wrong with this book, but I found myself unattached to any of the characters. And even for a science fiction novel I thought a lot of the plot was just unbelievable; the main character seems to excel at and have the answer to everything while his fellow soldiers get killed left and right. The people he meets are little more than cannon fodder and you don't really get a chance to like them so it's not that big a deal when they bite it. Scalzi chooses to barely descr...more There wasn't anything horribly wrong with this book, but I found myself unattached to any of the characters. And even for a science fiction novel I thought a lot of the plot was just unbelievable; the main character seems to excel at and have the answer to everything while his fellow soldiers get killed left and right. The people he meets are little more than cannon fodder and you don't really get a chance to like them so it's not that big a deal when they bite it. Scalzi chooses to barely describe the various characters, and when they get their "upgrades," they all are young and beautiful and even harder to tell apart. It also doesn't help that every single character has the same snarky voice; even the women.

Almost a full half of the novel is spent on setup and getting the soldiers ready for battle. A lot of the technology was interesting and also easy to understand, but I felt like too much time was spent on leading up to the main story. And then, when the characters finally enter into battle and start fighting for humanity's right to colonize, each chapter reads like: "this girl died, then that guy died, then this girl got eaten, then that guy got vaporized, now let's go kill some aliens and act like complete dickwads because if we don't kill them first, humanity is DOOMED." I was continuously bored because I didn’t even care if the humans won or if the main character lived to see another day.

The first and last chapters did make me a little teary eyed, and this was mostly due to the relationship the main character had with his wife. Scalzi's focus is never on characterization though, so these brief interludes add only a small amount of charm to an otherwise emotionally bereft story.

I'm hoping that this was just a case of "first book syndrome" since this is the beginning of a series. I've heard it gets better, although I've read his newest book, Fuzzy Nation, and I really think I'll continue to have the same problem. Namely, I feel like he enjoys creating a worst case scenario and devising the cleverest way for them to escape it, and it all ends up feeling too neat and methodical. It's just too bad that I don't really care about his characters, because then these books would be a lot more enjoyable.
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Feb 25, 2011 Dan Schwent rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christmas-2010, sf, 2010, favorites, the-scalz

John Perry enlists in the Colonial Defense Force on his 75th birthday and gets whisked off to war in a new and improved body, defending Earth's colonies against alien races. Will John be one of the few that survives his first year?

John Scalzi's blog is one of the few I've followed in 2010 and I'm pleased to say that if Old Man's War is any judge, his novels are just as entertaining as his blog.

I've been pretty omnivorous in my reading tastes the last couple of years and I think that's why I like...more

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Apr 20, 2012 İlkim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, books-i-own, fav-author, favorites

John Scalzi'nin yarattığı kurgu gerçekten ilgi çekici. Kendinizi çabucak yarattığı dünyaya kaptırıyorsunuz çünkü gayet akıcı bir şekilde kitabı güzel bir şekilde ilerletiyor Scalzi amca. Şimdi uzatmadan kitabın içeriğine gelelim.

Kitabı alırken gözüme çarpan kitabın ilk cümleleriydi: "Yetmiş beşinci doğum günümde iki şey yaptım. Önce karımın mezarını ziyaret ettim. Sonra da askere yazıldım." Nasıl yani diye düşündüm ve almaya karar verdim, çünkü kitabın bilim-kurgu olduğunu tam kavrayamamıştım ve...more John Scalzi'nin yarattığı kurgu gerçekten ilgi çekici. Kendinizi çabucak yarattığı dünyaya kaptırıyorsunuz çünkü gayet akıcı bir şekilde kitabı güzel bir şekilde ilerletiyor Scalzi amca. Şimdi uzatmadan kitabın içeriğine gelelim.

Kitabı alırken gözüme çarpan kitabın ilk cümleleriydi: "Yetmiş beşinci doğum günümde iki şey yaptım. Önce karımın mezarını ziyaret ettim. Sonra da askere yazıldım." Nasıl yani diye düşündüm ve almaya karar verdim, çünkü kitabın bilim-kurgu olduğunu tam kavrayamamıştım ve kitabın geri kalanını çok merak etmiştim. Nasılsa ilk cümlelere bakıp arka kapak yazısına pek dikkat etmemişim demek ki. 75 yaşındaki bir insan nasıl askere yazılabilir kısmını kitabın ilk bölümlerinde anlıyorsunuz. Burada olaylar uzayda geçiyor, yaratıkların birbirleriyle gezegenler için verdikleri mücadeleler anlatılıyor. Burada insan ırkını temsil eden kesim Koloni Savunma Güçler-KSG. İnsanlar 75 yaşlarına geldiklerinde asker olmak için başvurabiliyorlar. Bunu yaptıklarında bütün kayıtları dünyadan siliniyor ve ölü kabul ediliyorlar. Ana karakterimiz John Perry de bu maceraya karısıyla katılmayı amaçlıyor ama karısının ani ölümü onu yalnız bir şekilde KSG'ye yönlendiriyor.

John'un uzay hayatı Fasulye Sırığı denilen yukarıya çıkış terminalinde başlıyor ve yavaş yavaş dostlar edinmeye başlıyor. Kendilerine ne olacağının onlar da farkında değil. Tabi bu kitaptaki teknolojinin ucu bucağı aştığını bilmek gerek öncelikle. 75 yaşındaki insanları nasıl savaştıracaklarını ben de merak ettim. Cevabı ise onlara yeni bir beden vermekmiş. Yeni bedenlerini kendi DNA'larından yaratıyorlar ama insan üstü özelliklerle, savaşmak için donatılmış bir şekildeler. Karanlıkta görebilen gözler, Akıllı-Kan teknolojisi, kafanın içindeki Beyin Gücü adlı program, hızlı iyileşen yaralar, kemikler vs... (Burada bildirmeden geçemeyeceğim, okuyanlar bilir, beyin gücü programına isim verme kısmında gülmekten karnım ağrıdı cidden, hem de dersin ortasındaydım ama dayanamadım. Orası çok güzeldi :D)Ardından gelen zorlu eğitim süreci ile uzayda savaşmaya hazır oluyorlar ve resmen yıkıp dökerek gezegenleri ele geçirmeye çalışıyorlar. Yaratıklar da çeşit çeşit -bir an Doctor Who canavarları geldi gözümün önüne okurken- ve bu sıralarda John özel başarılar da gösteriyor.

Kitabın benim için heyecan kısmı Mercan adlı gezegenin başka yaratıklarca, ki bunlar insan etini çok seviyorlar, işgal edilmesiyle başlıyor. John ve onunla 100.000 kadar asker gezegene doğru ilerliyorlar. Kitap fazlaca fizik terimi içeriyor, alternatif evrenler arasında zıplamaları anlamak gerekiyor. Mercan gezegenine geldiklerinde pek fazla zeki olmayan yaratıklar tarafından pusuya düşürülüyorlar. Geminin bir evrenden diğerine çıkarken nerede belireceği aslında bilinemeyen bir şey ama bu yaratıklar çıktıkları gibi gemileri mahvediyorlar. Bu büyük çatışmadan sadece John kurtuluyor, tabi çenesini ve birkaç uzvunu orada bırakıyor ama tedavi ile iyileşiyor tabi. Ama onu kurtaran askerin karısının gençlik hali olduğunu görüyor ve buradan sonrasında onun peşine düşüyor. Yakın bir zamanda da buluyor ama bundan sonrasını anlatmayacağım. Serinin diğer kitaplarını merak ediyor olarak bitiriyorsunuz kitabı. Açıkçası ikinci kitabın John'un başından geçmemesi -ya da tam olarak geçmemesi sanırım- yüzünden beni biraz daha bekletecek olsa da serinin yeni kitabını dört gözle bekliyorum. İlginç bir macera yaşamak isteyenler için çok güzel bir macera romanı. Bu yorum merakınızı cezbettiyse hiç beklemeden alın okuyun.(less)

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May 10, 2008 Brownbetty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not quite what I expected from the cover. In my experience of oil-paintings-of-planets-and-spacecraft covers, you tend to get pretty hard SF to go with them. This was more extra-firm tofu hard. The cover blurbs compared him to Heinlein, which was fair.

The book has a couple of reveals, the first of which I genuinely did not see coming, and the second of which I saw coming for a while, so I'll separate my review into the bits I can talk about without spoiling and the spoilery bits.

John Perry, the...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Kat Hooper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

* In this universe, experience counts.
* Guns don’t kill people. The aliens behind the triggers do.

John Perry is 75 years old, his wife is dead, and he has nothing left to live for. It’s a perfect time to join the army, and the Colonial Defense Force is recruiting. They need a lot of loyal human bodies to maintain the universe colonization project, so their preference is to recruit old people, rejuvenate their bodies (nobody on Earth knows exactly how th...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

* In this universe, experience counts.
* Guns don’t kill people. The aliens behind the triggers do.

John Perry is 75 years old, his wife is dead, and he has nothing left to live for. It’s a perfect time to join the army, and the Colonial Defense Force is recruiting. They need a lot of loyal human bodies to maintain the universe colonization project, so their preference is to recruit old people, rejuvenate their bodies (nobody on Earth knows exactly how this happens), and train them to fight for the human race. Most of them will be dead within a few years, but that’s all they were expecting on Earth anyway. The Colonial Defense Force gives them something valuable to do for humanity, and a chance for a new life.

Old Man’s War is one of the most enjoyable novels I’ve read this year. The premise — old people being rejuvenated — makes for an excellent twist on the usual alien-fighting theme. The elderly, as opposed to the usual young heroes we find in so many speculative fiction novels, have had a lifetime to accumulate knowledge, skills, wisdom, and experience. I found John Perry and his cohort to be mature heroes whom I could admire and enthusiastically cheer for. I cried for them, too, as they lost each other or ruminated on past loves. Perry’s explanation of why he missed being married was moving and reminded me of my graduate school days when I would have felt lonely and unsupported (and maybe quit) if it hadn’t been for my husband’s presence.

Scalzi’s villains, on the other hand — all those alien creatures — are absolutely horrifying! The humans usually have no idea what they’ll find on a new planet, which is why their mortality rate is so high. It could be an insectoid creature with razors for hands, or a jumping slime mold, or a virus... The diversity of alien life that Scalzi has created adds suspense and terror to his story.

Old Man’s War is not a comedy, but it’s often funny — very funny. I laughed hard and out loud many times. William Dufris, the narrator of the audiobook version I listened to, contributed to the humor by reading the funny parts in a perfect deadpan voice. Dufris was outstanding and I highly recommend Macmillan Audio’s version.

I will definitely be reading John Scalzi’s other books in this series. Old Man’s War was excellent.

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.(less)

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Sep 27, 2012 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of military SF and fans of pulp SF.

Shelves: sciencefiction

"Old Man's War" by John Scalzi is one of the quickest reads I've had in a while. It's the epitome of a "page-turner" and for fans of military science fiction, you can't go wrong with this one. If the premise sounds interesting, you should read it. If you like military science fiction such as "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman or "Starship Troopers" by Robert Heinlein, what are you doing reading this when you could be reading "Old Man's War"? Go and read it now!

The Plot

It's the FUTURE (no surpris...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Kemper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, aliens, sci-fi, space, military, war

Getting old sucks but as the old joke says, it‘s better than the alternative. However, what if there was a way to get to be young again? The catch is that if you do it, you’ll probably die in some horribly bloody and spectacular fashion at the hands of aliens on a distant world. Any volunteers?

In this terrific novel, humanity has spread out to the stars only to find that they’re competing with several types of aliens for habitable planets. The Colonial Defense Force has been waging those wars an...more Getting old sucks but as the old joke says, it‘s better than the alternative. However, what if there was a way to get to be young again? The catch is that if you do it, you’ll probably die in some horribly bloody and spectacular fashion at the hands of aliens on a distant world. Any volunteers?

In this terrific novel, humanity has spread out to the stars only to find that they’re competing with several types of aliens for habitable planets. The Colonial Defense Force has been waging those wars and gathering advanced technologies in the process. Needing volunteers, the CDF has a recruiting pitch that’s hard to top. They’ll take senior citizens from Earth and somehow make them young again. Survive the ten year enlistment, and the reward is getting set up on one of the colonized planets.

John Perry is a widower who joins the CDF on his seventy-fifth birthday. He quickly learns how the CDF makes good on their promise to make soldier young again, and also finds out that the war they’ll be fighting is incredibly brutal and that most won’t survive their enlistments.

The idea of humans fighting wars out in space with advanced technology is nothing new, but Scalzi did a great job of taking fresh approaches to this concept. The idea of an army made up of senior citizens is unique in itself, and the weapons and tech he came up with are also clever and inventive. It’s filed with rip-roaring battle scenes, and the alien opponents he created are also several notches above what you usually get in these space war type books.

But the real hook is here the outstanding job that Scalzi did with the characters, and the sense of humor that he weaves into the story. There’s a lot of very funny stuff in this book amidst the interstellar war, and that’s something that many sci-fi writers forget to include. I particularly loved how Scalzi took the standard war story scenes of the gruff old drill sergeant training the recruits and gave it a twist.

I’ll be checking out the sequels as soon as I can get my hands on them.(less)

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Aug 05, 2007 Ascexis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, alienworlds, reviewed

This is an odd sort of book. Scalzi has a really neat central premise -- but the story gets lost up against it. The story is told in an oddly clinical fashion that leaves a sort of feeling that you're being given a report on story instead of the story itself. The story moves along briskly enough, but I'm left oddly unmoved by the protagonist's experience.

It doesn't help that while the premise requires that the protagonist excel at warfare etc., he surpasses all expectations -- stuns his drillma...more

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Jun 04, 2007 Trin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, american-lit

The first 100 pages or so of this book are absolutely fantastic. The Colonial Defense Forces recruit citizens of Earth on their 75th birthdays to fight with them against the various alien species threatening the series of colonies Earth needs because of population overflow, war, all the usual ways we’ve fucked up the planet. Senior citizens sign up because the CDF promises to make them young again—if they sign a contract to serve for ten years. And most of them will probably get gruesomely kille...more The first 100 pages or so of this book are absolutely fantastic. The Colonial Defense Forces recruit citizens of Earth on their 75th birthdays to fight with them against the various alien species threatening the series of colonies Earth needs because of population overflow, war, all the usual ways we’ve fucked up the planet. Senior citizens sign up because the CDF promises to make them young again—if they sign a contract to serve for ten years. And most of them will probably get gruesomely killed in that time. But at least they won’t die old, right?

All of this stuff is fascinating. I loved the set up, the procedure and world-building involved in John Perry, 75-year-old widower and retired ad writer, joining the army and making friends with his fellow recruits and going through pre-procedure tests and through the actual procedure (which I won’t spoil) and the boot camp stuff that comes after. Scalzi describes the actual battles which follow with no less intensity, but once John starts fighting, the sense of who he is really gets lost. (I was actually waiting for that to be revealed to be part of the point, but it wasn’t.) John just becomes A Soldier, almost instantly. Besides his sense of loyalty and his lingering feelings about his dead wife, there’s very little left to connect him to who he used to be. It’s mentioned several times that John and his wife protested the big war on Earth, but John seems almost entirely unconcerned with the unquestioning massacre of various alien species. I must admit, it started to make me a liiiiiitle uncomfortable. Scalzi has said that his inspiration for this book was Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, and this book, I think, faces a lot of the same problems I’ve heard are inherent in that one. (I haven’t actually read it, so if I’m way off base, please tell me.) Both, I believe, walk the line between criticizing war and glorifying it, and so whatever message results is kind of muddled. I got the most enjoyment out of Old Man’s War when I, well, just tried not to think about it too much. Not an attitude I usually endorse, but there you go. Still, the underlying sci-fi concepts in this book—the stuff about identity—are really interesting; I am anxious to get my hands on the sequel, even if it means I’ll have to turn off my brain for a while. Or at least the hard-working liberal guilt section.(less)

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Nov 28, 2008 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Oh, yeah! This is what it's all about.

This is great fiction, and great science fiction.

Read this book.

Perhaps I should explain why I call this fantasy as well as science fiction. Unlike many other readers, I deem the presence of aliens in a story as as much a sign of fantasy as magic. I understand that the probability there might be life, intelligence and superior science and technology in this galaxy--let alone the rest of the universe--approaches unity, but . . . for us to populate our scien...more Oh, yeah! This is what it's all about.

This is great fiction, and great science fiction.

Read this book.

Perhaps I should explain why I call this fantasy as well as science fiction. Unlike many other readers, I deem the presence of aliens in a story as as much a sign of fantasy as magic. I understand that the probability there might be life, intelligence and superior science and technology in this galaxy--let alone the rest of the universe--approaches unity, but . . . for us to populate our science fiction with them is as much a work of imagination as to create stories with dwarfs, elves, hobbits, etc. I'm certain many of you will object. Sorry, that's how I see it.

Scvalzi's political correctness intrudes on his otherwise excellent story. Beyond the mandatory fawning demanded by our age, he fails to even give passing mention to physiological differences between the sexes--critical considerations for infantry. In fact, when the "Old Farts" get their new bodies, his (and their) attention is fixated on their physical beauty and condition without mentioning that the females' enhancements might have been turned up a notch to compensate for their natural smaller size. It doesn't hurt the story especially, but it is noticeable. And will surely mark this story in time just as the misogynic attitudes of nineteenth century novels date them.

His portrayal of military life is spot on except for two omissions. First, all battles are "at a distance." Everything is surgical and arm's length. The most intense kind of combat is hand-to-hand: confused, frightening and messy. He reports on melees, but none ever happen on stage. Even John's crash landing seems too analytical and not emotional. Second, his "only need two hours of sleep" rule does not do away with the second feature of long engagements: being tired. Even if their green skin and super blood keeps them ready to go, sleep deprivation has psychological implications, which are not mentioned.

(There was a third aspect which knocked me out of the story, but I kept reading rather than making a note. Sorry.)

Don't let these quibbles dissuade you from reading Old Man's War.(less)

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Nov 09, 2012 Kirstine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, sci-fi

Up until very recently I read fantasy and watched science fiction. I don't know why, but that's how it worked. Maybe because space was never as impressive in my head as it was on the big screen, and because magic in movies has never been as impressive as it is in my mind.

Lately I've forsaken my past and started reading some sci-fi (it's pretty terrifying, though, god there are a lot of subgenres and stuff you need to know).
However, before this, whenever I saw one of those trashy sci-fi novel c...more Up until very recently I read fantasy and watched science fiction. I don't know why, but that's how it worked. Maybe because space was never as impressive in my head as it was on the big screen, and because magic in movies has never been as impressive as it is in my mind.

Lately I've forsaken my past and started reading some sci-fi (it's pretty terrifying, though, god there are a lot of subgenres and stuff you need to know).
However, before this, whenever I saw one of those trashy sci-fi novel covers (you know what I'm talking about) I'd always imagine what kind of book it would be. And I imagined something adventurous and epic, but also kind of corny and bad-but-awesome. Like a slightly more intelligent and less awful Starship Troopers (a movie I happen to love, so don't get me wrong).

This book fits my imagination of it. If you'd asked me and I'd described what I thought most sci-fi novels were like, I'd probably have come up with something like this. And that madekes

This is not the greatest book of all time, it touches on interesting subjects and themes, but never really explores them further ((view spoiler)), but it's fast-paced, easy to read, it has believable, likeable characters, an interesting plot and lots of guns and battle and all that jazz. It's a little cheesy at times too, but it's never too over the top.

Considering the subject - war - it's perhaps a little too light-hearted, and sometimes I didn't quite believe these people were mentally 75 years old, they seemed to be in their 30s instead. Considering the title, he could have made a bigger deal out of portraying them as actual old people (of course, John Scalzi has never himself been 75 years old and neither have I, so I don't blame him too much for not nailing it - for all I know old people think exactly like that). Perhaps he'll add more depth in the next ones, or maybe he won't. For what it is it works and it works well. I tore through it in two days and wasn't bored for a second.

I'll definitely be reading more Scalzi from now on. He's clearly an imaginative, fun and intelligent writer, who knows what he's doing and what kind of story he wants to tell. Not bad, not bad at all (and the cover is wonderfully traditonally sci-fi and I adore it). It totally lived up to my misguided expectations. (less)

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Aug 28, 2012 David Sven rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

I loved this book from start to finish. I loved the premise, loved the action, loved the protagonist, I even loved the aliens. And I'm confident a lot of the aliens would love me back - in a purely culinary kind of way.

Set in the far future, Earth has branched out to colonise as much of the known Universe as possible for the survival and betterment of the human race. Unfortunately, we are not alone among the stars. Every form of intelligent life from here to the end of the space time continuum h...more I loved this book from start to finish. I loved the premise, loved the action, loved the protagonist, I even loved the aliens. And I'm confident a lot of the aliens would love me back - in a purely culinary kind of way.

Set in the far future, Earth has branched out to colonise as much of the known Universe as possible for the survival and betterment of the human race. Unfortunately, we are not alone among the stars. Every form of intelligent life from here to the end of the space time continuum has pretty much the same idea. There is a cosmic land grab under way and every inch of interstellar real estate has to be contested and defended for any human colony to be viable.

And that's where the Colonial Defence Force (CDF) comes in. A privatised military army whose sole purpose for being is to defend us from them (and to protect its patented technology and reserve all rights to profit from same without interference from any human or alien government etc etc .. refer to fine print at the bottom of the page blah blah blah).

Of course, an expanding colonisation program requires an expanding military and so every human being anywhere has the opportunity to join up at the age of 75. You may wonder what use old farts are going to be where you have to out think, out fight, and out kill whatever monstrosity the universe throws our way. Well son, it just so happens, that the CDF is able to bio engineer you a brand new body, complete with a ten year warranty to ensure you are able to live a physically enhanced life as a Warrior of the ~~Colonial Defence Force~~ human race (disclaimer - 10 year warranty only extends to normal wear and tear or parts replacement due to faulty manufacture. Warranty will not cover you for beheading, liquification, or digestion in alien stomach fluids).

So step right up! Sign up for the advancement and well being of your fellow man. Renew your youth. Enjoy enjoy superior health with insurance thrown in as an extra. See the colonies in the wider universe. These are just the benefits we are authorised to advise you of before you join. After you join you will of course be introduced to the bonus benefits - like having a reasonable chance of your face being sucked off by oversized mandibles, being impaled from below by burrowers, goupified by fungus, or if you are really lucky - starring in an episode of Galactic Iron Chef, where YOU are on the menu.

So meet John Perry, our protagonist who, with nothing and no one left to live for, signs on the dotted line. We follow his progress from old fart to badass soldier as he embarks on a journey of rediscovering himself - Does his new life make him less human, or more than human? You'll have to decide for yourself. In the meantime suit up - grab your MP-35 and lock and load. Because we are going to have us some alien busting fun! Oohrah!

An easy 4 stars and I'm off to grab the next book in the series.

(less)

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Apr 22, 2012 Ufuk Cem rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Scalzi okurun dilinden anlıyor ve sıradaki kitapları merak ettiriyor.

Genelde bilim-kurgu romanları pek ilgimi çekmez, fakat bu kitap aşırı derecede çekti. Benim adetimdir, alacağım kitabın ilk önce ilk iki sayfasını okurum, öyle bir karara varırım. Bu kitapta iki sayfaya gerek olmadı. Beni en çok meraklandıran şu cümlelerdi: "Yetmiş beşinci doğum günümde iki şey yaptım. Önce karımın mezarını ziyaret ettim. Sonra askere yazıldım.
Bu ikisi arasında daha az dramatik olan, Kathy'nin mezarını ziy...more John Scalzi okurun dilinden anlıyor ve sıradaki kitapları merak ettiriyor.

Genelde bilim-kurgu romanları pek ilgimi çekmez, fakat bu kitap aşırı derecede çekti. Benim adetimdir, alacağım kitabın ilk önce ilk iki sayfasını okurum, öyle bir karara varırım. Bu kitapta iki sayfaya gerek olmadı. Beni en çok meraklandıran şu cümlelerdi: "Yetmiş beşinci doğum günümde iki şey yaptım. Önce karımın mezarını ziyaret ettim. Sonra askere yazıldım.
Bu ikisi arasında daha az dramatik olan, Kathy'nin mezarını ziyaret etmekti." Yani bir insanın karısının mezarını ziyaret etmesi, nasıl askere yazılmasından daha az dramatik olabilir ki? Bu düşüncelerle almaya karar verdim ve aldım. Şimdi çok uzatmadan konuya geçeceğim.

Olaylar farklı evrenlerde geçiyor. Gezegenler için verilen mücadelelerden bahsediyor. İnsanlar Koloni Savunma Güçleri. Yaratıklar ise birbirinden farklı isimleri, şekilleri ve aldatıcı görünüşleri olan iğrenç şeyler. Her yaratık düşman değil tabii. Düşman gibi görünüp dost olan da var. İşte aslında olayın özü bu. Bir yaratıkta işe yarayan bir taktik, asla başka bir yaratıkta işe yaramaz. Askerin kendisi hızlı düşünmek zorundadır- ki çoğu bunu yapamaz.

Teknik olarak uzay olayları Fasulye Sırığı denilen yerde başlıyor, fakat bence asıl olaylar Mercan Savaşı'ndan sonra. Oraya az sonra değineceğim. John Fasulye Sırığı ile başlayarak gittiği bir çok yerde dostlar ediniyor.

Şimdi aklınızdan şu soru geçiyor olabilir: Yetmiş beş yaşındaki insanları nasıl işe yarar hale getiriyorlar?

İlk önce ben de bunu merak etmiştim. Fakat sonradan anladım. Kısaca bahsedersek, insanların DNA'ları ile süper muhteşem bedenler yaratıyorlar. Fakat bu bedenler insan bedeni gibi değil. Yeşil renkli, normalden dört kat daha fazla oksijen taşıma özelliğine sahip AkıllıKanlı, istediğin her türlü bilgiye ulaşmanı ve yazılı veya sesli olarak iletişim kurmanı sağlayabilen BeyinDostu'na sahip bedenler. Bu bedenlerden bahsederek sizi fazla sıkmayacağım.

Önce alıştırma gibi bir şey var, yani herkes istediği her şeyi yapıyor. Fakat sonra sıkı çalışma ve egzersiz dönemi başlıyor. İki saatlik uykuyla ağır çalışmalar yapıyorlar. Tabi bu arada John hızlı düşünme yeteneğiyle rütbeler atlıyor. İlgi görüyor.

Mercan olayına gelirsek. KSG(Koloni Savunma Güçleri) Mercan gezegenini ele geçirmek için gidiyorlar. Çünkü bu gezegen teknolojice KSG'den çok geri yaratıklara ait. Burayı kolay ele geçireceklerini sanıyorlar fakat yanılıyorlar. Çünkü yaratıklar nereden geleceklerini önceden biliyorlar ve saldırı düzenliyorlar. Bu saldırıdan sadece John sağ kalabiliyor. Tabi birkaç uzvunu orada bırakarak.

Sonrasını artık anlatmak istemiyorum. Heyecanınızı kaçırmak da istemiyorum. Açıkçası ben litabı çok beğendim. Elinize bir alınca bırakamayacağınız türden kitaplardan. Eğer yorumum sizi meraklandırdıysa, hiç düşünmeden alın kitabı. (less)

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May 10, 2007 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Any SF reader

Shelves: sf

I picked this one up intending to read a few chapters before bed tonight, and now it's two in the morning and I've finished it, which should tell you something about it. I'm valiantly resisting starting the sequel, which I also bought tonight.

The cover quote on this one compares Scalzi to Heinlein, which is both accurate and inaccurate: this is the book Starship Troopers would have been if it had been written fifty years later, with the intervening fifty years' worth of political and social deve...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, action

This was/is one of the better science fiction books I've read in a while. Another and different picture of a space faring future. It leads into a couple of other books which I again (sadly) don't find quite as good as the first here.

Anyway...humans have stepped out into the wider universe and found that we are not only not alone, but that "interplanetary real-estate" is very "expensive", in lives. Humanity it turns out isn't quite as physically imposing or resilient as many of our....competitor...more

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Apr 18, 2009 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-of-sci-fi-fantasy, could-not-put-down, sci-fi

I have a love-hate relationship with the science fiction genre. The masters of the art elevate the genre to a level on par with any literary masterwork while the typical sci-fi book leaves a sour taste in my mouth and makes me wonder why I ever bother with the genre. This is how I felt after reading Stephen Baxter's Time's Eye series which was such a disappointing read I didn't bother to add it to my GoodReads account.

All that preamble to say that Scalzi has revived my faith in sci-fi. The first...more

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Sep 01, 2012 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Great! The aliens want to serve us! The bad news? They don't care if they cook us first or eat us raw! it seems they discovered our tasty qualities while fighting human colonists over rare planets habitable for life. Competition is fierce and deadly.

I liked this book. But it's one of those I wish was a little better. However, I want to continue with the series and John Perry, the narrator, is a man of daring, luck and adventure.

For half the book, we are given a technological tour of John's unive...more Great! The aliens want to serve us! The bad news? They don't care if they cook us first or eat us raw! it seems they discovered our tasty qualities while fighting human colonists over rare planets habitable for life. Competition is fierce and deadly.

I liked this book. But it's one of those I wish was a little better. However, I want to continue with the series and John Perry, the narrator, is a man of daring, luck and adventure.

For half the book, we are given a technological tour of John's universe while he trains to be a soldier for the Colonial Defense Forces, as well as get to know him and his friends. It's an interesting place. In order to sign up for the CDF, you have to be at minimum 75 years old. The reasoning is after having lived a full, pleasant life on Earth, and having gained experience and maturity, you will make a terrific soldier if you are made young again. Plus, the conversation between John and his fellow recruits is hilarious. The best part though has to be that he signed up to kill evil space aliens with cool guns. Who wouldn't?

The banter is funny, but the wars are not. The joy in having a rejuvenated and souped-up body turns a bit sour after several skirmishes and battles, but Perry turns out to be good at war.

I think the book is too quick and breezily paced in the second half, (view spoiler) . I also had a problem believing an advertising writer could gear up mentally into a James Bond warrior so seamlessly. Lastly, I don't know why, I simply did not connect with Perry. Despite the care Scalzi took to make Perry likeable and heroic, he was a bit unfinished to me, like a pod person interrupted in its formation.

I actually enjoyed the aliens very much, murderous bastards not withstanding.(less)

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Dec 02, 2007 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is great - a breath of fresh SF air. I'm surprised that no one had considered this theme (asking the elderly to colonize planets) before now. Every review that references Heinlein is on the money. Scalzi's clean writing style harkens back to many of RAH's Golden Age stories, except without the preachiness. Good good stuff.

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Jun 23, 2010 Dana Stabenow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A direct descendant of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Joe Haldeman's The Forever War. I really enjoyed it, and I just ordered the three sequels.

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Feb 28, 2013 Douglas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi

John Scalzi's Old Man's War isn't a bad book; it's just a fluffy one. That gung-ho, outer-spacey fluff where an inoffensive and improbably lucky protagonist with a big gun and some high-speed training shuffles along through the universe making things safe for people everywhere by fightin' some aliens. And there's not really time to think about much of anything because MORE ALIENS! And so then there's lots of shooting things and fighting other things and even some stomping of still other things,...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Tancredi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, statunitensi

Potrà sembrare insolito, ma nel recensire questo romanzo conviene partire dalla fine; anzi, per dirla tutta, dai ringraziamenti dell'autore, perché un posto d'onore è riservato a Robert Heinlein, maestro della fantascienza militare e della space opera.
Il riconoscimento è sentito come dovuto da uno scrittore la cui formazione è imbevuta, giustamente, dei grandi classici della fantascienza moderna. Un bagaglio culturale che John Scalzi mostra di portare con orgoglio e di saper rielaborare, propone...more Potrà sembrare insolito, ma nel recensire questo romanzo conviene partire dalla fine; anzi, per dirla tutta, dai ringraziamenti dell'autore, perché un posto d'onore è riservato a Robert Heinlein, maestro della fantascienza militare e della space opera.
Il riconoscimento è sentito come dovuto da uno scrittore la cui formazione è imbevuta, giustamente, dei grandi classici della fantascienza moderna. Un bagaglio culturale che John Scalzi mostra di portare con orgoglio e di saper rielaborare, proponendo un romanzo che va ben oltre l'omaggio letterario, imponendosi con questo primo romanzo di una fortunata serie - che negli States conta tre seguiti - al punto da ottenere, nel 2010, la presidenza della Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Morire per vivere è un romanzo di fantascienza militare che già all'inizio mostra la sua originalità e la sua radicale volontà di innovazione: il protagonista, John Perry, è un settanticinquenne da poco rimasto vedovo. Senza più uno scopo nella vita, decide di abbandonare la monotona sicurezza della vita sulla Terra, con il suo immortale e immutato scenario provinciale, per arruolarsi nelle FDC (Forze di Difesa Coloniale); combatterà gli alieni, in uno scenario alieno, in cambio del miraggio di una nuova giovinezza. L'autore ha già infranto il primo tabù: non è usuale trovare protagonisti così anziani in un romanzo di fantascienza, specialmente in quelli militari.
Se è anche vero che presto John Perry abbandonerà il suo vecchio corpo, indossandone uno nuovo superaccessoriato, confezionato su misura per lui, rimarrà sempre un uomo di settanticinque anni, con addosso il peso delle sue esperienze di vita, le sue necessità e le sue convinzioni, così salde che non perderà mai di vista il senso dell'umanità.
Gli ingredienti principali del romanzo sono molteplici e ben curati. Gli appassionati di fantascienza certamente apprezzeranno le lunghe e dettagliate descrizioni tecniche, la lucida immaginazione che ha portato alla creazione dei corpi modificati, verdi forse proprio per ricordare quanto siano alieni, capolavoro di bioingegneria e nanotecnologia (lo SmartBlood, il sangue artificiale, e il BrainPal, il cervello-computer, sono alcune delle straordinarie invenzioni realisticamente descritte). Così come ben curate sono le scene di azione, quasi da videogioco. La ricchezza del dettaglio talvolta però appesantisce la pagina; se farà impazzire i fanatici del genere, è anche vero risulterà di ostacolo al lettore occasionale.
Lo stile si presenta all'altezza delle esigenze narrative. Quella di Scalzi è una scrittura ben affinata, grazie all'esperienza nel genere (da menzionare la partecipazione dell'autore alla serie Stargate Universe). Molto apprezzabile è l'ironia diffusa lungo il romanzo, molto piacevole, un'ironia matura, che solo un uomo che ha visto tutto, o quasi, nella sua vita, può provare.
Un modesto, ma altrettanto apprezzabile spazio viene lasciato alla definizione della caratterizzazione dei personaggi, con una discreta introspezione psicologica e una certa carica riflessiva. Morire per vivere, a ben vedere, è la storia di quanto sia forte il senso dell'umanità, che resiste persino negli ambienti più ostili, nelle condizioni più estreme. La tematica principale pare dunque proprio il conflitto tra l'umano e il disumano, l'alieno, il diverso. Forse, dietro i compiti di guerra e gli obiettivi militare, si nasconde il compito più difficile: tracciare i confini dell'umanità.(less)

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Mar 17, 2013 Anders rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: space-opera

The good news is that humanity finally made it to the stars. The bad news is that, out there, planets fit to live on are scarce - and alien races willing to fight for them are common. The Colonial Defense Forces doesn't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. John Perry is taking that deal.

The concept of the book is brilliant, and well executed. The start is also both personal and funny, as we follow John Perry's journey from being a 75-year...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Old Man's War is about old people giving up their lives on earth to join the colonial forces as supersoldiers to help defend humanity. That's a solid premise that I can get behind. Old Man's War is, however, not written well.

This book is bad. As I write this, I'm remembering that I only finished it to provide the most honest review. It was fun in spurts, but, on the whole, this book was, as I said, bad. The writing is pedantic at its best and horrid at its worst. Why do I keep expecting more fro...more Old Man's War is about old people giving up their lives on earth to join the colonial forces as supersoldiers to help defend humanity. That's a solid premise that I can get behind. Old Man's War is, however, not written well.

This book is bad. As I write this, I'm remembering that I only finished it to provide the most honest review. It was fun in spurts, but, on the whole, this book was, as I said, bad. The writing is pedantic at its best and horrid at its worst. Why do I keep expecting more from Science Fiction? Why, oh why, do I injure myself so?

I'll focus on one small issue and one large, big, huge issue. The former is the issue of the use of Old Men in Old Man's War, and the latter is the introduction of exposition.

*** Caution: For Those Who Care, Minor Spoilers Ahead ***

Old Man's Wars are fought by old men and women. That is true. The only thing young about them are their genetically-engineered bodies. So why do they all talk like wise-cracking 20-somethings, fresh off a network sitcom? I mean everyone, as well, from the good guys to the bad guys, the chicks and the dudes. Everyone, and I mean everyone, talks the same. They crack wise all the time. There's no flow, and everyone is just as adept as everyone else.

It's no secret that the bar by which I judge books is painfully higher than that of the average reader, and I feel that that's a shame. So far, I really can't trust other people's ratings or reviews to give me a clue as to what's good. And, to be fair, I don't really find anything all that good.

Which leads me (jarringly) to my second point: The exposition. FOR THE ENTIRE NOVEL, whenever the main character (who is just the same as everyone else) is kind of out of the loop, someone near him (who is just like him), postulates WITH INCREDIBLE ACCURACY as to the nature of the conundrum. What's with this ship? (wisecrack) Answered. (wisecrack) What's going to (wisecrack) happen to us? Answer. Ugh. There is no subtlety, no nuance, no story craft.

There are parts of this novel that raise interesting points on the ideas of life and soul and existence, but for the most part, it's a scifi nerd's two-dimensional wet dream, complete with meaningless animalistic sex without any kind of lead-up or gender politics, and with everything drawing our hero in "over his head," though he manages with identical ease in every situation.

Lukewarm scifi at its most meh. Read this if you hate yourself and have no standards.

2 out of 6(less)

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May 16, 2012 J.P. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

I had a few problems with this book. For openers, I'm not a fan of military science fiction and it reads a lot like a Robert Heinlein novel. If you like him, that makes one of us. It took a while for the story to get going. Once it did it was fine. But as soon as it got to the shoot 'em up stage, the minor characters felt like interchangeable parts. None of them were distinguishable from another. So when someone bought the farm, it didn't raise any emotions. Another thing that got me was 75 year...more

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Jan 22, 2011 Adrienne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Adrienne by: boswellbookco

Shelves: first-person, science-fiction, owned, military

All right - I liked this book. Mostly. But unfortunately, it falls into some sci-fi traps that I just don't like.

First things first: this novel has a great hook. You want to keep reading after the first three sentences. But somewhere along the way, it lost me - but that's all right, because it picked back up again.

It's certainly got an interesting premise. In this future, you're eligible to join the army (well, the Colonial Defense Force) once you turn 75. It's that whole promise of (somehow) ma...more All right - I liked this book. Mostly. But unfortunately, it falls into some sci-fi traps that I just don't like.

First things first: this novel has a great hook. You want to keep reading after the first three sentences. But somewhere along the way, it lost me - but that's all right, because it picked back up again.

It's certainly got an interesting premise. In this future, you're eligible to join the army (well, the Colonial Defense Force) once you turn 75. It's that whole promise of (somehow) making you younger that appeals to everyone, so it seems to be pretty popular.

Anyway, we follow the adventures of John Perry as he joins the CDF, deals with all sorts of new technology (the bits where he first encounters Asshole made me laugh, out loud, while reading), and faces a few years of fighting. I was with him up through the second bit of that sentence. Then we enter a slow-moving phase of fighting this alien race, then that alien race, and so on.

I got interested again once we meet Jane Sagan, both for how it affects our narrator but also for the questions it poses about the CDF - and about what it means to be human. So for that, I'm interested in reading the pseudo-sequel. However, question about humanity isn't explored too much in this novel; hopefully, it will factor in more in the sequels, because I certainly think the situation that's been set up is an interesting way of approaching that question.

However, there are some logic problems in this world. The main reason that 75-year-olds are recruited is that they have years of emotional maturity and intellectual reasoning behind them, and therefore most likely make better soldiers - at that point, it's just their bodies that are giving out (and that can be fixed). However, then we learn about some special forces that fly in the face of that argument. I'm not so sure how to make those two ideas work together.

I also didn't feel too connected to John Perry, even though he was telling the story. That emotional closeness really helps me enjoy a book a lot more. I didn't feel detached, but this novel was lacking that.

And finally, my eternal gripe with sci-fi - don't explain too much about the physics! And especially don't introduce characters who happen to teach physics (or choose theoretical physics over astronomy because it pays more - what? seriously? maybe in this future, I guess) and then allow them to spend pages explaining how something works. Ugh.(less)

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May 23, 2011 WillowBe rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

OMG, so boring! I can't believe this won a Hugo! Or mabybe bec it's so white male americentric, derivative, boring, conventional- like reading something written before the mindset of the writers themselves opened to the fact that it will be more than just WASP males in space. It's like- free your mind, dude! We're all going to be in space! Everybody!White folks, red folks, brown folks, black folks- 1st world, 2nd world, 3rd world, everyone!

This book is a prime example of why I very, very rarely...more OMG, so boring! I can't believe this won a Hugo! Or mabybe bec it's so white male americentric, derivative, boring, conventional- like reading something written before the mindset of the writers themselves opened to the fact that it will be more than just WASP males in space. It's like- free your mind, dude! We're all going to be in space! Everybody!White folks, red folks, brown folks, black folks- 1st world, 2nd world, 3rd world, everyone!

This book is a prime example of why I very, very rarely read sci-fibooks written by men- who by the way, are white, with the exception of Walter Mosely (I read Asimov and Bradbury in high school) least with white female writers, we have one thing in common. Still, I read the sequels because it's an intresting premise. There was a bit more "color" in later books. But still boring! I just kind of skimmed them, to be honest.

Update 8/12- I've written literally hundreds of reviews, but only two consistently generate comments and only one gets readers' shorts in a twist. These misguided persons obviously didn't read the review thoroughly, but rather jump, like frogs stepping on a live wire, to the conclusions due to the phrases "white male", "WASP" and my dislike of THE BOOK and dismissal of the author's efforts. I am sure Scalzi has improved over the last decades, but his style and oevre is just not for me and this, his first effort was so derivative, it just sucked. And still I gave it Two Stars, people! Geez!

Please note, future commentors, racism is hating people for their color/culture/ethinic background. I DISLIKE this book bec the viewpoint is ameri/eurocentric, there is a real retro, 50's sci-fi feel to it, etc. etc. I am entitled to my opinion. The fact that everyone eventually turns green not withstanding.Culture doesn't disappear w/ skin color, sweets despite his obvious effort to have everyone start over from square one, equals. Dears, refer again to my review where I tell you that I tried to read the rest of the series but skimmed them, they bored me so. I did try. So please save your index fingers and yourselves the trouble of making these ticky-tacky comments. Read what I actually wrote and just chill, folks. It's just one book of many.

(less)

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topics	posts	views	last activity
FBR Book Club: Thoughts - Overall Impressions	3	7	Apr 29, 2013 01:38pm
FBR Book Club: Thoughts - Part 3: Chapters 13-18	3	3	Apr 21, 2013 01:25am
FBR Book Club: Thoughts - Part 2: Chapters 7-12	3	3	Apr 20, 2013 11:19pm
FBR Book Club: Thoughts - Part 1: Chapters 1-6	3	5	Apr 20, 2013 08:35am
Stora Läs Bok Vän...: Mars :: Old Man's War	12	8	Mar 14, 2013 10:56am
The Sword and Laser: Did the book make you want to read the rest of the series ?	14	110	Feb 26, 2013 09:40am

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1126508.Old_Man_s_War?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356442943l/1126508.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1126508.Old_Man_s_War?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Old Man's War by John Scalzi[/url]

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

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