Old Man's War

Old Man's War
by John Scalzi

Old Man's War
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Book Summary Information

Author: John Scalzi
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-01-15
ISBN: 0765348276
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780765348272
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of Old Man's War

Book Review: This Book Is So Good It Almost Hurts to Read It
Summary: 5 Stars

One of the downsides to getting older is that it is easy to get caught up in a past that probably never existed. The music was better then. The television was better then. The books were most certainly better then. I have read very little "new" science fiction because there are hundreds of titles and it is hard to find good science fiction among all the mediocre novels. Then I encountered "Old Man's War."

I credit my son Corwin with finding this one for me. I guess his recommendation is payback for getting him interested in Robert A. Heinlein. He told me that I really should read this book. Now that I have finished it, I know why he made that recommendation.

First, let me tell you that this book has faint echoes of "Starship Troopers," but it is not that book. Second, let me tell you that John Scalzi writes in a manner similar to Robert A. Heinlein, but he is different from Heinlein and while I consider Heinlein influential in Scalzi's plot and style, Scalzi is different from Heinlein. Now that I have just about written the summary of my review up front, let me tell you about this wonderful novel.

In the future, mankind will be divided into two groups. There will be those who continue to live on our home planet. These people will live there and grow old there, but many of them will not die there, for in old age there can be a new life in the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), protecting human colonies from numerous alien races seeking to take planets for their own. How can someone in their 70's fight wars? I must leave that question for a reader to discover, or an inconsiderate reviewer to reveal. I will reveal that geriatric humans will discover a new life among the stars with abilities unimaginable to their former friends and relative on earth.

One thing that is a given in the immensity of space: the motivation of other species will be different from our own just at least as often as the motivation is the same. Our first mistake will always be to believe that other species have the same desires and think the same way we do. The people that think that way are nearly always the first to die. When those people are not the first to die, they are the first to be killed by the people who have to clean up their messes, if the people who clean up their messes get the chance.

The Colonial Defense Force tries hard not to make assumptions about the motivation of other races. Their only mission is to protect human life as humans attempt to expand into habitable planets throughout the galaxy. Rarely does the CDF try to negotiate with alien species, because most alien species have little they want from us, unless they find us to be a tasty morsel for their dinner table.

John Perry is one of those people who have left their lives on earth behind for the mysteries of space. We follow John as he becomes more than human and then trains to become a part of the CDF. John becomes a battle-hardened veteran of the CDF and we are able to get a great perspective on John's life from the details that he provides.

I will provide one more word about Heinlein. The ending of this book was so much like many of Heinlein's endings that I just got all nostalgic and teary-eyed. Dang but Scalzi nailed the ending. If you liked the endings in Heinlein books like "The Door into Summer," you are going to love this one.

There are many ways to do science fiction wrong, and few of doing science fiction right. Scalzi did such a wonderful job that I have to give this book five stars. The dialogue is realistic, full of the cheesy things that real people say to each other, not to mention full of lovely expletives that make you feel as though you are in military basic training. One of the things about military anywhere is the wisecracks you make to get through the always difficult proposition of being in a continually stressful environment. As in a real war, the book initially revels in deep emotional content, which Scalzi mutes as he places the protagonist in situations where emotion becomes a liability. I also loved the modifications that made the CDF soldiers (but you'll have to discover those for yourself).

"Old Man's War" has made quite an impression on the world of science fiction and on me. It was nominated for a Hugo for Best Novel. Looking at the reviews for this novel thus far, approximately 90% of the reviews are four or five star reviews. The reason for this adulation is simple. John Scalzi has written an original modern science fiction story using a classic style. Many modern science fiction writers get caught up in motivations and psychology or they have some sort of message or theme and they fail to remember that the most important part of science fiction for most readers, myself included, is to be entertained. This book is highly entertaining, and I look forward to future books from John Scalzi.

Enjoy!!!

Summary of Old Man's War

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.
 
The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce--and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
 
Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.
 
John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.

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