Book Review: Old Man's War

[bedsitter23]

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I may be the rare Scalzi fan who didn't come to him from this book or his website. I enjoyed other books and since Old Man's War will be one of his career defining moments, I figured I better read it.

Trying to be relatively spoilerless, but write a review, I will say the idea is great. It's just a classic idea, that nods to Heinlein and Card. In this case, the army is made of 75 year olds, and Scalzi writes a good logic around why that should be in a not-so-distant sci-fi future. Set up to ask as a classic sci-fi question: Would you do it?

Our narrator introduces us to this world, which I think is note perfect. Great characters and dialogue. Well-paced with action propelling the story. Good job of world building. Relatable and empathetic. It does to me what every good sci-fi story does, and is accessible for all readers.

I was a little biased in knowing that this book has continued well on into at least eight (?) books and stories. The book does a decent enough job of wrapping things up at the end, though I knew immediately I would continue on.

I want to refrain from spoilers, but I went in with high expectations. 15 years in, and the reputation just seems to grow. It is a classic of its time. That said, it really sucked me in. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.





View all my reviews