Old Man's War - John Scalzi Book Review

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Review Summary

Tor, Jan 2005, 23.95, 316 pp.
ISBN: 0765309408

When he turned seventy-five, earthling John Perry visits the grave site of his wife of forty-two years Kathy interred in an Arizona cemetery. He reflects how much he misses her, how he hates coming here, and that her last words dealt with finding vanilla as she was making pancakes when she died of a stroke. With nothing to keep him here, John abruptly decides to join the Colonial Defense Force struggling to defend or annex other worlds in deadly competition with alien races for control of a few hospitable planets.

As a recruit, John receives standard gear to include a much younger healthier body that is beyond the ability of most non government citizens to buy except the affluent. He makes buddies with his fellow soldiers. As his comrades die and collateral damage devastate civilian population, John begins questioning the war which enables a few to economically gain a lot at the cost of others even as he begins to ponder whether he is still human.

John Scalzi provides a tense anti-war military science fiction thriller that will leave fans pondering what is war good for. Readers will also wonder about who benefits from scientific advances and military operations and what actually a human is.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of Old Man's War

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
War or Invasion Yes
Major kinds of combat: - lasers
Lifeform altered? Yes
Kind of alteration: - Given added abilities
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - infantry soldier
Age: - long lived adults
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
Spaceship setting: - really, really giant spaceship/station
Takes place in spaceship? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

Most similar books to Old Man's War
Warrior-Woman: The Forging Of The Legend by Mary Ann Steele
By Temptations and By War by Loren L. Coleman
Entering Tenebrea - Tenebrea Trilogy Book 1 by Roxann Dawson and Daniel Graham
The Swarm War by Troy Denning
Tyrant's Test by Michael Kube-McDowell

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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