Fun and Witty Military Sci-Fi

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi was the first book that I downloaded with my Audible subscription as I had heard from various sources (including the Sword and Laser podcast) that it was a great read. I have to say that, after reading the novel, I agree wholeheartedly. Old Man’s War was one of the best novels that I’ve read all year. I would even go so far as to say it’s one of my favorite science fiction novels period.

From the start, I really got a kick out of the conceit of the story. In some future United States, elderly people are recruited to enlist and serve in the intergalactic military. With so many novels following a young protagonist (even many adult novels), I found it to be a very refreshing experience to read a novel where the main character was 75 years old.

In addition to that, I really enjoyed Scalzi’s writing style. It had just right combination of dry wit and cynicism to really resonate with me. I should also extend that compliment to William Dufris, the narrator of the audio version that I listened to. I thought he did an excellent job. His tone was perfect for the main characters of the novel.

I don’t want to give anything away in my review so I won’t go into too much detail about the plot, but I really did enjoy the story line a great deal as well. The novel is very much a military story filled with battles and typical military life. In that way, it reminded me of Joe Haldeman’s Forever War, but what I liked about Old Man’s War was a bit lighter and more fun.

The novel really roped me and I had a lot of fun listening to it. In fact, I tended to listen on my iPod while running, giving me the perfect excuse to exercise regularly.

Overall, I really enjoyed the novel and I would recommend it to any science fiction reader.

176 people found this helpful

He said, She said

The incessant "He/She/I said" after nearly every bit of dialog was maddening once I noticed it.

31 people found this helpful

Real science fiction, for a change

What made the experience of listening to Old Man's War the most enjoyable?

It was nice to finally read a science fiction book that actually was science fiction, not science 'fantasy'. The science fiction was understandable science, not pulled out of nowhere fantasy stuff that all to often is passed off as science fiction in our largely scientifically barely literate population.

20 people found this helpful

As good as Heinlein

This book reminds me of Heinlein ??? which is about the greatest compliment I can give a Sci Fi author. This book has multiple levels. It blends humor with social commentary, politics with action. The Sci Fi is merely a framework for the story and characters (which is as it should be). The characters are multifaceted and change substantially as the story evolves. The story has a lot of funny bits, but the story includes nice emotional and intellectual content. This book made me want to read everything by this author.

99 people found this helpful

Great concept, poor execution

The story concept and world-building for this novel and universe were both great. I love the ideas, and it creates a rich environment for future stories to be told within. Unfortunately, the writing and especially the reading was not on par with the creativity. While I still enjoyed the book, I’m not sure if I’ll look into the sequels or not (I usually have the next book in a series bought and downloaded before I finish the first one). The writing is a little clunky, the dialogue a little non-organic, and the characters a little annoying (and unfortunately, all in the same ways. I’d much prefer the realism of some characters being annoying in unique ways while others are not at all). For example, the characters (spoilers ahead) toward the beginning of the book are all 75+. And yet they cannot shut up in even the most dire of situations, instead all of them opt to interrupt with little quips and jokes, which comes off completely forced since every character ends up having the same insufferable personality. It felt like the author was trying to write another Ender’s Game but didn’t want to be accused of being a knockoff, so he changed the setting and character demographic such that it no longer worked. This problem is only exacerbated by the narrator, who (while just fine when reading descriptive or solely plot-driven text) affects obnoxious voices and uses odd choices of inflection and tone that often detract from the already less than excellent writing. I frequently found myself thinking about the words I was hearing and deciding how I would have interpreted the lines had I been reading rather than listening to convince myself the writing wasn’t as bad as it seemed. The other major problem I had with this book was that the main character never has to struggle or go through anything. There was never any doubt in my mind how things would turn out for him. Not just being immediately selected as squad leader for a one-in-several-bullion coincidence; not just for being the only person from an entire ship to survive a crash landing (oh, and his two friends happened to be on the only shuttle to survive the massacre of the entire fleet); not just that he was immediately successful in every aspect, more often than not completely by accident, or that very obvious suggestions or strategies were somehow being introduced for the first time by his character rather than thousands of top military minds, but also that he just constantly bumps into people and things that by no rights have any business happening coincidentally and are a CONSTANT in his very brief story. Talk about deus ex machina, over and over again. Can’t some other guy in his platoon find the station schematics while he’s saving the girl, instead of him stumbling upon them? If he’s gonna win at everything let’s at least make him struggle though some adversity.

I didn’t expect to go on that much of a rant over the book, because despite it all I did enjoy it. And maybe I’ll consider listening to one of the sequels, though I shudder to think of listening to any more of this authors dialogue read by the same narrator. If the story intrigues you, I’d encourage you to check it out, though you might enjoy it more if you read it yourself.

11 people found this helpful

I DIDN'T MIND GETTING OLD, WHEN I WAS YOUNG EITHER

This is not good, it is GREAT!!!! It's Science fiction, it's Military Sci-Fi, it's a romance, it's witty, LOL at times, it is character driven, it is everything I ask for in a novel. I think the older you are and the longer you have been happily married the more you will enjoy this. It is so nice to listen to a novel, where elders are respected. The main character was married for around 42 years, if I remember right. They had some ups and downs, but they were in love. As a man who has been married for over 37 years and who is more in love now than when I was as a youth, I feel the pain and longing of the main character.

The science fiction is cool and this platform gives Scalzi, the ability to show off his imagination. The different aliens he comes up with and how they think different then us, makes for some thought provoking and funny situations. Some other reviewers have compared it to Star Ship Troopers and I see that, but I was thinking more of Forever War by Haldeman. It may have a little of both, but it is all Scalzi.

Dufris does a great job.

135 people found this helpful

A welcome listening challenge

Audible’s editors thought it would be fun for each of us try a genre we haven’t listened to before, and for me it was sci-fi. Our resident expert on the topic, Steve, recommended John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War as a place to start—and what a start it was! Filled with space battle, technology of the future (including new and improved bodies), characters you’ll care about, and even a heart-tugging love story, this book was a great way to ease into the category. One of the things I loved most was Scalzi’s insights into what makes us human. Or as he says, “Part of what makes us human is what we mean to other humans and what they miss about us.”

42 people found this helpful

Science Fiction is Not Dead

I grew up in the 1950's in the hey day of Heinlein, Asimov, Norton, Dickson and other great hard Science Fiction writers. To a great extent the genre in trying to reinvent itself turned its back on the traditional Science Fiction Fan. John Scalzi's novels, like the juveniles of Charles Sheffield, have reinvigorated the old hard science fiction style. However, John Scalzi has gone Sheffield one better. Old Man's War, Ghost Brigade, etc have not only brought Heinleinian style Science Fiction back to life, but he has successfully put a modern spin on the style which gives a fresh perspective. Old Man's War is an amazing effort and like any good book it stands up to being read and re-read. The audio interpretation is very well done and the reader gets a 5 star rating to complement the story itself.

40 people found this helpful

Just Wow

I am kicking myself for taking so long to find John Scalzi and the Old Man's War series. Thanks to Jim the Impatient for the great review that now has me hooked on the series. I just read the third book, and the storyline is still going strong.

At first I didn't realize that Old Man's War was written 13 years ago, so I kept thinking that Scalzi was borrowing ideas. Now it's pretty clear that he is one original thinker who has set more than a few recent trends in the SciFi genre. As one reviewer said, he is the new Robert Heinlein.

After binge listening to the first three books, I've decided to pace out the remaining three. I got a few 10 hour road trips in the next couple of months, and I can count on the Old Man Series to help make the drive fly quickly by. In the meantime, John Scalzi is going to get a few more of my credits as I try out some of his other books.

7 people found this helpful

A Keeper

The first part of this book, reminiscent of Heinlein's "Starship Trooper", is a worthy homage. The second part is also a love story with emotional depth. The technology is part of the plot and not simply window dressing. I will look for other works by this author.

50 people found this helpful