I took a slight detour from the fantasy neighborhood into the world of military sf* with this story. At the age of 75, John Perry visits his wife's grave and then enlists in the Colonial Defense Forces. The CDF only takes recruits who have reached the age of 75 -- they only want people with a lifetime of experiences to draw on. Then these recruits are whisked off Earth to one of the many CDF spaceships and given new genetically-enhanced bodies. Soon after that they are off killing aliens and protecting human colonists on other worlds. Moves quick enough and kept me interested, but not so interested that I'm rushing out to get the sequel. I think it's time for some non-fiction next. * Those in the know refer to science fiction as "sf", never "sci-fi." ( )

Starship Troopers, again.

Perhaps Cory Doctorow described it best when he wrote, “Old Man’s War is Starship Troopers without the lectures and Forever War with better sex.” That just about says it all, though it speaks more to the juvenile nature of the sex in Forever War than to any sex which may be present in Old Man’s War, which is pretty negligible.

An elderly widower, with little else to live for, joins the army. At the time, many elderly humans join the Colonial Defense Force because of the promise of a return to their youth. The Colonials are apparently technologically superior, owning the secret for interstellar travel (the skip drive) as well as the secret for eternal youth.

While the science in this novel is outstanding and the premise is good, much of the dialogue is contrived and trite. This is the first in a series of three novels and well worth proceeding to the second, The Ghost Brigades. ( )

I was very impressed by this book. A space war book with a whole new twist & look. The writing was excellent, the plot tight & the characterization was wonderful. I could really identify with the main character & understood the motivations of even the oddest aliens, as much as the character could anyway. There was plenty of action, but that wasn't the main thrust of the book. It carried along a lot pretty neat ideas on what our future might be like & took a sideways look at what constitutes a 'man'. Definitely worth reading & I'm looking forward to other books by the author. ( )

I would give this book a 3 for story and 4s for cool science and characters. I just felt like more should have happened in the book, but overall I found it to be very enjoyable and had a great sci fi concept. ( )