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A stunning novel of the long war for human survival-in a universe replete with hostility. Perfect for an entry-level sci-fi reader and the ideal addition to a veteran fan's collection, John Scalzi's Old Man's War will take audiences on a heart-stopping adventure into the far corners of the universe. 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 show more 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. show less

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ohdio This book contains a lot of action, while still maintaining a nice human element.
Also recommended by jlynno84
183
JulesJones Two books which examine in different ways what happens to the recruits in an interstellar war who by the very nature of their service can never go back to their home culture.
110
Karlstar John Scalzi introduces the universe of the Colonial Union in this book. Similar in feel to Starship Troopers, in many ways.
30
TomWaitsTables An anthology of stories in this vein.
JulesJones The obvious Heinlein influence on Scalzi's "Old Man's War" is "Starship Troopers", but this also covers some of the same ground as Heinlein's YA "Space Cadet".
tottman 47 Echo lacks the depth (and the universe-spanning scope) of Old Man's War, but the story and the fighting are both quite enjoyable. I won't say it's nearly as good as Old Man's War, but it is a quick, fun enjoyable read. And there's a lot of potential from this author I hope to see come out in future books.
beyondthefourthwall Well-written, well-plotted humanistic sci-fi with a large role for family relationships.

Member Reviews

474 reviews
Summary: It was a typical seventy-fifth birthday for John Perry. He got up, went to visit his wife's grave, and then enlisted in the army. In the not-too-distant future, humanity has finally started colonizing other planets... only to find that outer space is filled with alien races who are none too keen on ceding habitable planets to human colonies. The Colonial Defense Force is in dire need of soldiers, but they recruit only those past the age of 75 - a full life's experience and wisdom. Plus, everyone knows that the CDF's technology outstrips anything available on Earth, and there are whispers about a secret procedure to make enlistees young again. With nothing left tying him to Earth, John is looking forward to his two-year term of show more service out amongst the stars, but what he finds - and what he becomes - is nothing like anything he had ever expected.

Review: I had some mixed expectations when I started this book. It came highly recommended, and I'd enjoyed the snippets of Scalzi's writing that I'd read elsewhere (mostly Clash of the Geeks and on Tor.com.) But the cover and the back-cover copy made it seem like very heavily tech-y military sci-fi, which is my least favorite flavor of the genre. And, as it turns out, it is moderately tech-y, and definitely very military space-fight based, but it didn't really bother me all that much, because it was also damn funny. It's hard to be too annoyed by an extended spacefight description when that battle involves someone becoming "perhaps the first person in the history of man to kick himself in his own uvula." (Which: gross, I know, but also hilariously written.) There are similar one-liners, absurdities, and just general snarkiness throughout the book, and I was laughing out loud so often (and so uncontrollably) that I'm glad I wasn't reading it in a public place.

The great thing about this book is that under all of the humor and the action and the spacefights, there's a really strong human element to the story. John's a very sympathetic character, with some interesting things to say about life and love and marriage and getting older, and watching him with his friends (the self-christened "Old Farts") was both very familiar and very touching.

My only real complaint is that the main plot conflict didn't show up until relatively late in the book. The storyline of the first 2/3s or so could be fully summed up by "John joins the military." Which is fine as storylines go, and I certainly didn't feel like the story was meandering or off-topic, but it did leave things feeling a little episodic, with no clear picture of where we were headed. In the grand scheme of things, however, that's a pretty minor complaint, because even without a clear roadmap of the plot, the story flew by easily (and hilariously), and I would have happily read another few hundred pages in the same vein. And, once the plot conflict did show up, it was interesting enough to get me thoroughly hooked, and intensely curious about the sequels. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Highly recommended for anyone who thinks that classic Heinlein-esque sci-fi would be better with the addition of copious amounts of sarcasm, snark, and swearing.
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½
John Scalzi is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors: after enjoying Redshirts I'm glad I started on this series, as I'm glad to have other books of his lined up and beckoning at me from the depths of my e-reader.

The premise of the series is that Earth citizens who reach the age of 75 can enlist in the Colonial Defense Force to assist in humanity's expansion through the galaxy in exchange for a new lease on life that comes from a second youth. How this is made possible is something I'm not going to reveal: suffice it to say that it adds an interesting twist to a trope explored in well-known books as Heinlein's Starship Troopers or Haldeman's Forever War. The twist comes from the fact that these are mature (and probably wise) show more people, not adventure-seeking youths, which gives and added layer to their personalities and actions.

What the C.D.F. requires of John Perry (the book's main character) and his friends is to sever their ties with Earth, dedicating their lives (and more often than not sacrificing them) to the seemingly endless strife engaged with alien races for the colonization of viable planets. Here lies the most puzzling facet of this book, at least for me: the black-and-white conflict with these alien cultures that are unfailingly depicted as warlike, aggressive and bloody-minded.

I say it's puzzling because the overall tone of the book makes it quite different from the openly militaristic examples of the genre, and because this is not a pamphlet about the supremacy of Earth people over other cultures. The almost unthinking ease with which these mature and thoughtful people become killing machines is quite unsettling. Reading a few comments over the Internet I found that the true face of the C.D.F. might be revealed in the course of the following books, which means there will be some surprises along the way. A further reason to keep reading, if I ever needed one.

My only complaint about Old Man's War comes from the (few and scattered, granted) conversational info-dumps that are yes necessary but nonetheless manage to distract me from the story. It's a minor nitpick, true, but when that happens I'm taken out of the story flow, and my main complaint comes from the fact that I don't want to come out of it, because it's the kind of read that truly takes you elsewhere while keeping you entertained.

Thumbs up and on to the next one...
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I got this through the Humble Indie Book Bundle, and thank god I did—I likely never would've stumbled across it on my own. This is a great science fiction novel in the same lineage as [b:Starship Troopers|17214|Starship Troopers|Robert A. Heinlein|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348024291s/17214.jpg|2534973], and my only complaint is that it's a little short at three-hundred-some odd pages, though there's several more books in the series. I haven't finished a book in two days for a while.

Set in humanity's space-faring future, travel to the colonies is tightly restricted by the Colonial Defense Force. To reach the stars, you have to be from the right country--and most Americans don't qualify. There is one way, though, that's accessible show more to anyone: signing up for the space army. But there's some caveats involved: they only let you do it when you're seventy five, and when you leave, you can never come back. What actually happens once you've been recruited is a mystery, but everyone agrees that they must have some way to reverse the effects of aging, because what use is a bunch of senior citizens in a war?

Recruits sign up at sixty-five, and can opt out whenever they want until they've actually left. John Perry signed up with his wife Kathy, though a stroke kills her well before liftoff. With little left holding him to the planet, Perry finalizes his recruitment and is ferried off to become a supersoldier. The book follows his military career and the relationships he forms with his fellow recruits and squadmates. There's lots of sharp humor, lots of dismemberment, and one satisfying ending.

I will say that some of the background characters blended together a little--everyone has the same sense of humor, it seems, but because it's the kind of humor I enjoy, I'll let that slide. I wish we'd seen a little more from the initial group Perry meets; their bond is talked up a lot, but once they're past basic training, you don't hear much from them, and when you do, you'll maybe wish you hadn't. That dismemberment part, remember.

This isn't some highfalutin fancy-talk novel. Scalzi isn't necessarily trying to impart great wisdom about the universe and humanity's role therein, though because he does a great job with Perry's development, you might still pick something up on the side. What it is is excellent storytelling, and it's well-worth your money.
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Scalzi is something of a lightning rod for science fiction and, while I find very little to disagree with in his public persona and what he chooses to champion, he’s no poster-boy for the best of what the genre can produce, and has, in fact, built a career on resolutely commercial science fiction of a type that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s, albeit with 21st century sensibilities. Of course, science fiction is global, but Scalzi’s version of it is entirely parochial. And that’s woefully evident here. Old Man’s War is about a middle-class old man in Middle America who chooses to throw it all away – a comfortable retirement, that is, and eventual death; not that everyone, even in the US, gets the first – in order to fight show more for the Earth Federation in some sort of undefined war. And “undefined war” is the key to this novel. The protagonist, John Perry, knows nothing about the universe beyond Earth, or indeed what he’s signing up for by joining the Colonial Defense Force. His ignorance about the universe – imposed on Earth, incidentally, by the authorities – is the average American’s ignorance about planet Earth writ large. It turns out humanity is one of many races settling the galaxy – the science and background of which are hand-waved away quickly – but that has led to competition for habitable planets and Earth is in a war to maintain its own colonies. All of which are apparently only populated by emigrants from “developing” countries such as… Norway. Er, what? I mean, even imagining a programme in which India and Bangladesh only are allowed to send settlers offworld because, by implication, they’re failing as Earth-bound nation-states, but the US is not allowed to because… Present history, and orange buffoon in the White House, aside… even in 2005 this was a bad take. Old Man’s War is US exceptionalism writ large. And it doesn’t get any better. Characters lecture one another – the lecture on orbital elevators is dull and irrelevant – and then a love interest is – literally – manufactured, and this is used to drive the second half of the plot, despite somewhat dubious ethics. However… Old Man’s War has an engaging voice, and its story must have felt so comfortable to US sf readers of 2005 they probably wondered why they hadn’t read it a dozen times before in previous decades… Sadly, the book’s charm does not cross the Atlantic. It’s a bit like a Big Mac, a triumph of marketing over content, something that non-Americans see as an exemplar of US culture – or US sf culture, in this case – but Americans see as emblematic of culture as a whole, but of course there’s more to culture than just the US… Scalzi strikes me as a nice guy, I probably agree with 75% of his sensibilities, but that doesn’t make Old Man’s War a good book or worth recommending. It is, in fact, pretty awful. I won’t be bothering with the sequels. show less
½
I've been reading John Scalzi's blog, Whatever, for a few years now, but I haven't gotten around to reading one of his books until now. I think Old Man's War is one of his most famous books, and I was able to get it for a bargain at Half Price Books, so that's the one I chose to start with.

From reading his blog, I expected Scalzi to be a good writer, but he exceeded my expectations by far! Old Man's War is set in a future where humans are colonising the stars, but livable space is at a minimum, so there are constant battles. The Colonial Union, an entity entirely separate from Earth's government, controls all human space efforts. The only way to get off-world is either to get picked by them to colonise, or join the Colonial Defense show more Forces (CDF) on your 75th birthday. John Perry is doing the latter.

The world of Old Man's War is fascinating, although it seems like it's about to come crumbling down. Given the mystery of the CDF, I expected a grand conspiracy or a secret plot, but Scalzi plays it totally straight. The book was obviously inspired by Starship Troopers (which I actually like a lot), but has better writing and an author that's not crazy. I haven't read a good adventure story in a while, and this book definitely filled a craving I didn't even know I had.

I loved the idea of the CDF recruiting old people to fight, since they have the life experience necessary to be wise and understand the importance of their fight. It's a very sensible idea. John Perry is a great protagonist, and every character in the book, no matter how minor, is full of life. Scalzi has a great sense of humour, and it shows!

I can't wait to read the next book, The Ghost Brigades.
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"I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my Wife's grave. Then I joined the army." Not going to lie, that opening line hooked me pretty hard. That really is a killer opening.

I picked this up after hearing James S. A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) cite it as a major influence on their Expanse series. Scalzi writes highly self aware, classic science fiction minus all the racism and misogyny that so heavily disgraced the 40s-70s authors.

It has a lot of great concepts--old minds in young bodies, nanotech, jump drives, multiverse theory, etc. It reads like a Heinlein military classic; you're never really sure who the 'good guys' are, or if it really even matters that you know. It moves at breakneck pace, but concludes show more a little too quickly. I would've liked 1-2 more chapters during the large battle at the end. All-in-all, it was terrific and I'm definitely reading the rest of this series.

p.s. Master Sergeant Ruiz might be my favorite meta-trope version of a military Drill Sergeant in any form of media, ever.
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OLD MAN'S WAR by John Scalzi surprised me. I've read many of his books over the years, but never this first one —the one that started his entire career. I went in with no major expectations beyond another story told with his trademark sarcasm and tendency for crazy plots. That is not this story.

The idea of the elderly signing up to join an interplanetary combat force may be unusual, but I do not count it among Mr. Scalzi's more insane plots. If anything, there is a logic to it that is as beautiful as it is simple. Experience makes for greater wisdom after all, and you want your combat forces with as much wisdom and experience as possible. How this combat force establishes a fit fighting force from seventy-five-year-olds is equally show more logical and makes for a very compelling read.

What surprised me most about OLD MAN'S WAR was how eloquent it is. I was expecting a shoot'em up type science fiction story. I was not expecting a story that is, at its core, about relationships. As odd as it may sound, John Perry's devotion to his wife is the driving force behind his actions, as are the friendships he forms with his fellow recruits. You can feel his longing for his wife every time he mentions her name. There is no doubt that his feelings for his wife are eternal. The very thing that drives people to read romance novels is the very same thing Mr. Scalzi captures here with great skill.

OLD MAN'S WAR may take place in space and involve battles against aliens, but it is so much more than that. It is about the wisdom that comes with age and the desire to make a difference at any age. It is the need to feel relevant again and to do something different as your life comes to a close. It is honoring promises to loved ones, no matter how long they have been gone. It is the need to feel young and worthwhile one more time. Most importantly, it is about love and the relationships made from that love.
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OCTOBER READ - SPOILERS - Old Man's War in The Green Dragon (December 2014)
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Author Information

Picture of author.
137+ Works 67,406 Members
John Michael Scalzi was born May 10, 1969 in California. He attended the University of Chicago. During his 1989 -1990 school year he was the editor-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon. After graduating in 1991, Scalzi took a job as the film critic for the Fresno Bee newspaper, eventually also becoming a humor columnist. In 1996 he was hired as the show more in-house writer and editor at America Online. When he was laid off in 1998, he decided to become a full-time freelance writer and author. His first published novel was Old Man's War. His other works include Agent to the Stars, The Ghosts Brigades, The Androids Team, The Sagan Diary, The Last Colony, and Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas. In 2014 his title, Locked In, made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Some Editions

Chong, Vincent (Cover artist)
Dufris, William (Narrator)
Emerich, Bernadette (Translator)
Giancola, Donato (Cover artist)
Harris, John (Cover artist)
Kempen, Bernhard (Translator)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title*
Le Vieil Homme et la guerre
Original title
Old Man's War
Original publication date
2005-01
People/Characters
John Perry; Jane Sagan; Harry Wilson
Important places
Modesto (spaceship); Sparrowhawk (spaceship); Coral (planet); Phoenix (Space station)
Dedication
To Regan Avery, first reader extraordinaire, And always to Kristine and Athena.
First words
I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday.
Quotations
There has never been a military in the entire history of the human race that has gone to war equipped with more than the least that it needs to fight its enemy. War is expensive. It costs money and it costs lives and no civil... (show all)ization has an infinite amount of either. So when you fight, you conserve. You use and equip only as much as you have to, never more.
The reason we use force...is that force is the easiest thing to use. It's fast, it's straightforward, and compared to the complexities of diplomacy, it's simple. You either hold a piece of land or you don't. As opposed to dip... (show all)lomacy, which is intellectually a much more difficult enterprise.


. . . "There has never been a military in the entire history of the human race that has gone to war equipped with more than the least that it needs to fight its enemy. War is expensive. It costs money and it costs liv... (show all)es and no civilization has an infinite amount of either. So when you fight, you conserve. You use and equip only as much as you have to, never more."

He stared at us grimly. "Is any of this getting through? Do any of you understand what I'm trying to tell you? You don't have these shiny new bodies and pretty new weapons because we want to give you an unfair advantage. You have these bodies and weapons because they are the absolute minimum that will allow you to fight and survive out there. We don't want to give you these bodies, you dipshits. It's just that if we didn't, the human race would already be extinct."

Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I haven't seen her again, but I know I will. Soon. Soon enough.
Publisher's editor
Nielsen Hayden, Patrick
Blurbers
Di Filippo, Paul; Doctorow, Cory; MacLeod, Ken; Wilson, Robert Charles
Canonical DDC/MDS
813.087623
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

Genres
Science Fiction, Fiction and Literature
DDC/MDS
813.087623Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in EnglishBy typeGenre fictionAdventure fictionSpeculative fictionScience fictionMilitary science fiction
LCC
PS3619 .C256 .O43Language and LiteratureAmerican literature
BISAC

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