About this title: John Perry did two things on this 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it to interstellar space. The bad news is that planes fit to live on are scarce and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. Fr from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, and unyielding. We fight to defend Earth from our new enemies and to stake our claim to planetary real estate. On Earth, the bulk of the resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defence Force. Only those of retirement age can join the CDF: ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction
ISBN-13:9780765348272ISBN:0765348276
Description: Very Good. 0765348276 Mass Market Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Tor Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780765315243ISBN:0765315246
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Brand new in excellent condition with no remainder marks, this is a beautiful copy! Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 320 p. Audience: General/trade. Ships with Delivery Confirmation. read more
Description: Very good. By John Scalzi; ISBN: 0765315246; Pub. : Tor Books; Pub. Date: 2005-12-27; Media: Paperback; Weight: 9.6 oz.; This book has been gently read, if at all. Very slight wear on cover, slight tanning, name penned on first page, all else is like-new. by John Scalzi; ISBN: 0765315246; Pub. : Tor Books; Pub. Date: 2005-12-27; Media: Paperback; Weight: 9.6 oz.; This book has been gently read, if at all. Very slight wear on cover, slight tanning, name penned on first page, all else is like ... read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction
ISBN-13:9780765348272ISBN:0765348276
Description: Very Good. 0765348276 Mass Market Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Tor Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780765315243ISBN:0765315246
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 320 p. Audience: General/trade. Clean inside and out with edge rub. No creases to cover or spine. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Tor Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780765315243ISBN:0765315246
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Great shape! ! Great price! ! ! Enjoy for less. CLEAN text. NO marks. Clean covers. Looks like new. Check our reliability, then compare & enjoy best value. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 320 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: TOR
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780765315243ISBN:0765315246
Description: Near Fine+ No Jacket Issued. "You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead of your own, on one of our hard won colony planets. " from the back cover. This sounds like a good SF read. This is a soft cover trade paperback book. The condition is Near Fine+. c2005. This book is very clean & very bright. The pages are white, bright and unmarked. Nice smooth spine and tight pages. Wonderful condition! 320 pages. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780765348272ISBN:0765348276
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Tor Classics
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780765348272ISBN:0765348276
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 318 p. Audience: General/trade. Book is in excellent condition. Cover and pages are clean, binding is tight. We ship daily, Satisfaction Guaranteed. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Tor Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780765315243ISBN:0765315246
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. has remainders mark, otherwise brand new book in perfect condition. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 320 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
"I enjoyed this book, which actually surprised me a bit. Typically with sci-fi I tend to prefer heavier fare, but Scalzi's light touch with his prose worked for me quite well. It's central idea is spectacular story-fodder, and I'm interested in seeing what he does with it in the later books of the series.
Unfortunately, there is a little bit of a strange disconnect in the story, which might have a lot to do with the fact that the protagonist seems to excel at everything, and never seems to face a real challenges, so the central conflict of the story feels almost superficial. Also, the alien species are painted in very broad strokes, and it gave me the impression (rightly or wrongly) that the universe was not fully realized by the author beyond the limited conflicts that are depicted. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I like to feel a bit more depth to the world, and I might have been able to ignore it had the protagonist faced more challenges.
Don't ge me wrong, I enjoyed the book, and will try out the next book in the series, but the disconnection I felt means I can only give it three stars."
"I have a love-hate relationship with the science fiction genre. The masters of the art elevate the genre to a level on par with any literary masterwork while the typical sci-fi book leaves a sour taste in my mouth and makes me wonder why I ever bother with the genre. This is how I felt after reading Stephen Baxter's Time's Eye series which was such a disappointing read I didn't bother to add it to my GoodReads account.
All that preamble to say that Scalzi has revived my faith in sci-fi. The first of this series, Old Man's War, pays obvious homage to Heinlein, himself a master of the genre, but does so with such originality and such a careful touch of modernity that you don't feel like you're reading a retread of a classic, instead you see what it means for someone to stand squarely on the shoulders of a giant.
The power of this book comes from the immense universe it imagines, one that goes far beyond the Star Trek universe, even the Ender's Game universe (which itself is paid clear tribute to in book two of this series). It supersedes those universes in its imagination of worlds and races -- hundreds of them, not just dozens. And it puts humanity in a relative underdog position against the universe, rather than at the center. In sci-fi, we are typically governors or rebels against the invading force, but in this series we are just on the periphery, exactly as our placement in the Milky Way Galaxy would suggest. It's a healthy bit of humility that sci-fi doesn't always force us to face
If you don't like sci-fi, this may not be the series for you. For such people I'm still more likely to recommend Ender's Game because Orson Scott Card is an author more concerned with the human condition than with warp drive, though he integrates the two quite deftly. But if you are open to sci-fi, even just a little, let Scalzi blow your mind with this series, starting with this perfect introduction."
"All of the praise heaped on Scalzi after he wrote this book is well deserved. Rather than echoing a bunch of lovely glowing reviews, I'll keep this short and personal: My aversion to intergalactic-space-war science fiction has been overcome. Despite a title containing three of the least appealing words that could ever appear together, Old Man's War was totally fun and engaging. Highly recommended if you like smart sci-fi.
plus! plus! plus! My life's ambition, as far as feeling like I've adequately lived in the future, is to experience photosynthesis. I try to mention it to all the scientists I meet who work in the appropriate fields of genetics, chemical engineering, biology, etc. When they just look at me funny, I add, "try to get on that," or something to that nature. Sci-fi has long been a herald of/inspiration for actual scientific advancements, which is why I am so psyched to finally have someone on my side. Chlorophyll-laced skin is one of the many changes made to the engineered humans in this book. Thank you, John Scalzi. Score one towards turning us into little green men."
Perhaps I should explain why I call this fantasy as well as science fiction. Unlike many other readers, I deem the presence of aliens in a story as as much a sign of fantasy as magic. I understand that the probability there might be life, intelligence and superior science and technology in this galaxy--let alone the rest of the universe--approaches unity, but . . . for us to populate our science fiction with them is as much a work of imagination as to create stories with dwarfs, elves, hobbits, etc. I'm certain many of you will object. Sorry, that's how I see it.
Scvalzi's political correctness intrudes on his otherwise excellent story. Beyond the mandatory fawning demanded by our age, he fails to even give passing mention to physiological differences between the sexes--critical considerations for infantry. In fact, when the "Old Farts" get their new bodies, his (and their) attention is fixated on their physical beauty and condition without mentioning that the females' enhancements might have been turned up a notch to compensate for their natural smaller size. It doesn't hurt the story especially, but it is noticeable. And will surely mark this story in time just as the misogynic attitudes of nineteenth century novels date them.
His portrayal of military life is spot on except for two omissions. First, all battles are "at a distance." Everything is surgical and arm's length. The most intense kind of combat is hand-to-hand: confused, frightening and messy. He reports on melees, but none ever happen on stage. Even John's crash landing seems too analytical and not emotional. Second, his "only need two hours of sleep" rule does not do away with the second feature of long engagements: being tired. Even if their green skin and super blood keeps them ready to go, sleep deprivation has psychological implications, which are not mentioned.
(There was a third aspect which knocked me out of the story, but I kept reading rather than making a note. Sorry.)
Don't let these quibbles dissuade you from reading Old Man's War."
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