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

by John Scalzi

I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife’s grave. Then I joined the army.

The problem with aging is not that it’s one damn thing after another—it’s every damn thing, all at once, all the time.

“We have clearly just lost the battle for the goddamn universe. I look at you people and the words ‘tremendously fucked’ leap right out of my goddamned skull. If you’re the best that the Earth has got to offer, it’s time we bend over and get a tentacle right up the ass.”

“What is it like when you lose someone you love?” Jane asked. “You die, too,” I said. “And you wait around for your body to catch up.”