Paperback, 318 pages
English language
Published Oct. 16, 2007 by Tor.
John Scalzi channels Robert Heinlein (including a wry sense of humor) in a novel about a future Earth engaged in an interstellar war against more advanced species. Citizens volunteer for the Colonial Defense Forces after retirement, in exchange for which they have their consciousness transferred into a young body, cloned from their DNA but enhanced. If, against the odds, they survive two years of combat (or 10 years if things aren't going well, which they're not), they get another body and enjoy a fresh start on a colony. This is Scalzi's first novel, and it creates a future he will revisit in subsequent stories.
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 …
John Scalzi channels Robert Heinlein (including a wry sense of humor) in a novel about a future Earth engaged in an interstellar war against more advanced species. Citizens volunteer for the Colonial Defense Forces after retirement, in exchange for which they have their consciousness transferred into a young body, cloned from their DNA but enhanced. If, against the odds, they survive two years of combat (or 10 years if things aren't going well, which they're not), they get another body and enjoy a fresh start on a colony. This is Scalzi's first novel, and it creates a future he will revisit in subsequent stories.
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.
Dle predpokladu to ma spad. Nejedna se o uplne prvoplanovitou military akci, coz ocenuju. Nektery aspekty, jako napr rasa Consu vyvolava spoustu otazek. Slusnej otvirak do serie 75%.
The first book in the old man's war trilogy was different than I expected. It was campy, humours, and much more straightforward in its delivery of a sci-fi action story than I am used to.
Most sci-fi I have picked because of its stewing political subplots, the meta commentary podcasts everywhere and the social commentary masked as alien species and totalitarian power relations.
This book was fun, and if critical of the colonial and war-mongering society that features at its heart, it has an over-the-top presentation which reminded me of the starship troopers movie.
Definitely a brain off, retro futures good read and I am looking forward to seeing if there is more interesting subplots developed in the following novels.
Found as EN "boxed set" and read the trilogy (with The Ghost Brigades and The Last Colony) in less than a week (nights mainly). Many interesting ideas.
Kindle app said I'd not read it, so I started late on an evening when I was too tired for anything too hard. Enjoyable adventure
This needs a re-read - absolutely fantastic book. Can legitimately see this becoming an all-time favourite - funny, clever, warm - can't believe it's a scifi novel.
As an opener to Scalzi's writing I must confess to being pleasantly surprised. Not that I'd heard bad things, but this book has been contrasted with [a:Robert A. Heinlein|205|Robert A. Heinlein|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1192826560p2/205.jpg]'s [b:Starship Troopers|17214|Starship Troopers|Robert A. Heinlein|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1234902570s/17214.jpg|2534973], the political exposition of which I feel whenever I read it lacks relevance today. This book had similarities, indeed, but was quite refreshingly written.
"It’s easier to miss her at a cemetery, where she’s never been anything but dead, than to miss her in all the places where she was alive."
The concept is an interesting one and done well, although it's not a read for the faint of heart (or the sex shy). Also, the chances of reading two books almost back-to-back with a Lieutenant Colonel Newman seem staggeringly high: too much improbability, perhaps?
