Series: Book 1 in the Old Man's War universe series
Rating: ****
Tags: EN-SF-Military, Lang:en
Summary
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.
