OMW: What do you call this kind of Narrative? (no spoilers please)

[Daniel]

The story is told in an almost Diary or Memoir style, with a natural flow of events through the main character's life. There is no sense of overall plot to the story. Certainly there are themes and ideas that permiate the described events, but there's not a central dilemma or problem that is dealt with or solved through the whole of the story. At times it seems almost like a collection of short stories, but the connective tissues of the main character and the primary group of friends really sets a good pace and keeps it all from feeling to disjointed. It really seemed like a story driven thought experiment.

I really enjoyed it and found this kind of story telling refreshing. Is there a name for it?

[P. Aaron]

You might call this a "picaresque" novel. Picaresque form calls for an episodic structure, usually each episode contributing to an overall sense of the main character, or to a satirical overview of the society through which the protagonist moves. Tom Sawyer is a classic example, as is Voltaire's "Candide." If the focus is more specifically on the character's maturation, you might call it a bildungsroman.

[Mitch]

The style is characteristic of Robert Heinlein and is meant to promote what John Campbell (editor of Astounding Stories) demanded from his writers. It was Campbell's goal to not fluff the Science in a story but to give strong probabilities as to why it should work. Scalzi was able to do this by introducing character from a variety of Scientific fields. Alan was a Physicist as was Harry and Thomas was a Doctor.

I'm not sure I see anything unique about the style except it's the easiest way to add plausibility to the story.

[Mapleson]

John Scalzi, over at http://whatever.scalzi.com, described OMW as an 'adolescent adventure story about old people'. Think along the lines of Hardy Boys or The Fabulous Five.

[Daniel]

So randomly flitting about the Internet today I found this blog post about a Japanese/Chinese plot style called kishōtenketsu. Check it: http://stilleatingoranges.tumblr.com/...

What do you guys think of this as applied to the structure of old mans war.?

[Mitch]

Daniel wrote: "So randomly flitting about the Internet today I found this blog post about a Japanese/Chinese plot style called kishōtenketsu. Check it: http://stilleatingoranges.tumblr.com/...-..."

No kishōtenketsu is the antithesis of Western Plot traditions, relinquishing Conflict as a plot device. Scalzi utilizes conflict both in character interaction and background to drive his story.

[Mitch]

Mapleson wrote: "John Scalzi, over at http://whatever.scalzi.com, described OMW as an 'adolescent adventure story about old people'. Think along the lines of Hardy Boys or The Fabulous Five."

That's an interesting observation since Scalzi, in an introduction to Old Mans War, stated that Heinlein's Starship Troopers was the inspiration for his Novel. Starship Troopers was intended to be part of Heinlein's adolescent sci-fi adventures. When he originally submitted the manuscript to Charles Scribner it was rejected as being overbalanced with pro-military and patriotic propaganda. It was then published as one on Heinlein's adult titles.