- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (Dec 27 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0765315246
- ISBN-13: 978-0765315243
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.1 x 2.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #314,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Though a lot of SF writers are more or less efficiently continuing the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein, Scalzi's astonishingly proficient first novel reads like an original work by the late grand master. Seventy-five-year-old John Perry joins the Colonial Defense Force because he has nothing to keep him on Earth. Suddenly installed in a better-than-new young body, he begins developing loyalty toward his comrades in arms as they battle aliens for habitable planets in a crowded galaxy. As bloody combat experiences pile up, Perry begins wondering whether the slaughter is justified; in short, is being a warrior really a good thing, let alone being human? The definition of "human" keeps expanding as Perry is pushed through a series of mind-stretching revelations. The story obviously resembles such novels as Starship Trooper and Time Enough for Love, but Scalzi is not just recycling classic Heinlein. He's working out new twists, variations that startle even as they satisfy. The novel's tone is right on target, too—sentimentality balanced by hardheaded calculation, know-it-all smugness moderated by innocent wonder. This virtuoso debut pays tribute to SF's past while showing that well-worn tropes still can have real zip when they're approached with ingenuity.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
With his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left him: he joins the army. Now better known as the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), Perry's service-of-choice has extended its reach into interstellar space to pave the way for human colonization of other planets while fending off marauding aliens. The CDF has a trick up its sleeve that makes enlistment especially enticing for seniors: the promise of restoring youth. After bonding with a group of fellow recruits who dub their clique the Old Farts, Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA and upgraded for battle, including fast-clotting "smartblood" and a brain-implanted personal computer. All too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry fights for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds. Scalzi's blending of wry humor and futuristic warfare recalls Joe Haldeman's classic, The Forever War (1974), and strikes the right fan--pleasing chords to probably garner major sf award nominations. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read,
By ET (T.O.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Old Man's War (Paperback)
Good pace, simple, but believable portrayal of characters.
Brisk description of technologies. Not for the 1st time mind transfer makes an appealing appearance. Fun battle drops and overall good feel to the story, despite some horrors of death and destruction.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Classic Science Fiction Adventure,
By
This review is from: Old Man's War (Mass Market Paperback)
I really enjoyed some of the original ideas in this story, found the characters and writting compelling and have already bought the sequals. I plan to read more from this author. This is what classic science fiction adventures are about.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great story, Great book,
By
This review is from: Old Man's War (Mass Market Paperback)
Well I really liked this book, and I'm reading the sequel (Ghost Brigade) now.
I'm not much for words, sorry.
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