Old Man’s War / The Ghost Brigades

by John Scalzi

ONE LINE SUMMARY (for Old Man’s War): John Perry turns 75 and joins the Colonial Defense Force.

ONE LINE SUMMARY (for The Ghost Brigades): Jared Dirac is the clone of a scientist who betrays humankind to the aliens.

Over the course of three years, I noticed that my sci-fi/fantasy reading had fallen way down. Eventually I realized that the way I find something to read is to browse the “new books” section of a library, and the library currently closest to me purchases very few sci-fi/fantasy books. I was craving some sci-fi, so I asked Chris to ask his co-worker, Derek, for a sci-fi or fantasy recommendation, and Derek mentioned Old Man’s War. I finished that book in a day, and immediately looked for the next book which takes place in the same world, although the books have only a few characters in common.

Both of these books are quite good, although the second one pales in comparison to the first, namely because the excitement of how an old man becomes a young soldier is so much more entertaining. By the time a conflict finally arose, half the book had been taken up with John Perry’s transformation into a soldier.

In the second book, my initial “hey, that’s a neat idea” enthusiasm faded. Without the “neat idea,” this book has to rely on plot to carry it through, and I admit that I couldn’t follow parts of it. And because this book focuses on someone who is largely emotionless (but becomes more human), I found it harder to empathize with Jared’s dilemmas.

Posted by: ssjane | October 22, 2006 | 11:06 pm
Posted in: Books | Recommended | Science Fiction