Scalzi, John: Old Man's War
Old Man's War
Author: John Scalzi
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 311
Final Thoughts: Very enjoyable; I'll recommend this one to SHUers who want to give science fiction another chance but got scared by Hyperion.
I've been a reader of John Scalzi's blog for several months now, and his consistently personable manner there bumped Old Man's War to the top of my list. I'll grant that there's not always a correlation between a good blogger and someone who can successfully string together sentences into chapters and a cohesive book, but I just had a feeling Scalzi had it in him.
I actually purchased it almost six weeks before I read it, and lent it to my dad in the meanwhile because he didn't have a book for his plane ride and I had an extra. He said he enjoyed it, which counts for something in my book, so I looked forward to it even more.
Scalzi's personable manner does translate into his writing, which is yet another example of recently published fiction that rocks the first person POV house. I loved the premise, enjoyed the plot, and connected with the characters. The science aspect worked for me, too, and although the fact that the transplant bodies are green sort of tripped me up, the concept of transferring consciousness successfully was cool enough to override it.
Suffice it to say that I recommend this to science fiction lovers and newbies alike, especially those who might be wary about jumping into the genre for one reason or another. And I'll be putting The Ghost Brigades on the list for a time when I need another quick, fun read that will also give me some things to think about as I go along.
Book #29