Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Set in the (indeterminate) future, humans have finally discovered the technology to reach other solar systems and communicate with other life forms via the CDF (Colonial Defense Forces). The catch is you have to be 75 years old to enlist. Intrigued yet? So, this book follows a 75 year old man who signs himself up for the CDF and becomes part of several different battles with aliens.
I'll admit that I was a little hesitant to start reading...something about the idea of a geriatric army fighting aliens seemed a little sad to me rather than a good idea for an adventure book. I have a similar prejudice against books with mentions of dogs in the blurb (bound to be depressing, right??). That being said, I actually really enjoyed this book! John Scalzi did an excellent job of describing this new world along with the technology that made space travel possible. The actual storyline sometimes took a backseat to the descriptions, but that makes for an incredible macrocosm similar (but not equal) to the worlds created in Star Wars. I'm thinking a movie or TV show might be happening with this series soon, so go read it before it's the cool thing to do! I give it a 'Bravo!' and 5 out of 5 turkey legs.
Love this book. I love how he explains that you have to be old to go to space. Basically, if you're from the Developing World, say India or Africa, you can take your entire family to space as colonists. It eases population issues for those countries. If you're from the First World, like Australia or the US, you can only go if you enlist, and then only when you're old. Really cool ideas and technologies in the book as well.
ReplyDelete