Paperback, 318 pages
English language
Published Oct. 16, 2007 by Tor.
John Scalzi channels Robert Heinlein (including a wry sense of humor) in a novel about a future Earth engaged in an interstellar war against more advanced species. Citizens volunteer for the Colonial Defense Forces after retirement, in exchange for which they have their consciousness transferred into a young body, cloned from their DNA but enhanced. If, against the odds, they survive two years of combat (or 10 years if things aren't going well, which they're not), they get another body and enjoy a fresh start on a colony. This is Scalzi's first novel, and it creates a future he will revisit in subsequent stories.
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce—and alien races …
John Scalzi channels Robert Heinlein (including a wry sense of humor) in a novel about a future Earth engaged in an interstellar war against more advanced species. Citizens volunteer for the Colonial Defense Forces after retirement, in exchange for which they have their consciousness transferred into a young body, cloned from their DNA but enhanced. If, against the odds, they survive two years of combat (or 10 years if things aren't going well, which they're not), they get another body and enjoy a fresh start on a colony. This is Scalzi's first novel, and it creates a future he will revisit in subsequent stories.
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce—and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity’s resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don’t want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You’ll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You’ll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you’ll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine—and what he will become is far stranger.
Dle predpokladu to ma spad. Nejedna se o uplne prvoplanovitou military akci, coz ocenuju. Nektery aspekty, jako napr rasa Consu vyvolava spoustu otazek. Slusnej otvirak do serie 75%.
Found as EN "boxed set" and read the trilogy (with The Ghost Brigades and The Last Colony) in less than a week (nights mainly). Many interesting ideas.
An entertaining homage to Heinlein (better, imo) with a nice, sometimes witty, protagonist who is lucky in love, friends, and war. It's just fine. Nothing wow - just does what's on the tin. I'm sure the series would be good, and while I doubt I'll get to them, it's something to keep in my pocket for when there's "nothing to read" and I just want something smooth.
Kindle app said I'd not read it, so I started late on an evening when I was too tired for anything too hard. Enjoyable adventure
That was something. I look forward to seeing Jane next in The Ghost Brigades.
Really good. Scalzi has definitely written better material, but this was good. The world was fascinating and I'm pumped to enter into it much like I've so much enjoyed, Kloos's military world. If the rest of the series improves like Scalzi's later novels, I'm all in.
These books are fantastic road trip audio. We thoroughly enjoyed the first three in the Old Man's War series as we surveyed the landscapes of the U.S.
My only complaint is that when read aloud, the word "said" gets majorly redundant during the parts with dialog. I think it's an easy one to overlook, though, if you're actually reading, since your eye can just skip over it.
Probably one of the best openings I've ever read. And the rest of the book threads well after that.
