This book was such a great surprise to me - extremely fresh while harkening back to some classic Heinlein (and others, like Asimov)at the same time. I enjoyed it so much that I will definitely be reading the 3 sequels and more from Scalzi in general. Its good to see that a new crop of sci-fi authors are continuing the tradition of producing speculative fiction that feels all too real, socially relevant, and in many ways - likely depicting a future just around the corner.

This is a must-read for folks who love excellent sci-fi! An exciting and innovative story about old folks who opt to become young again, but at a price. Great premise. The characters are easy to relate to since they are not very different from us.

Brilliant science fiction: at age 75 people get a chance to be young again if they are willing to enlist in the military and defend human colonies from aliens. Witty and inventive.

Scalzi keeps getting compared to Heinlein - maybe because the story has some echoes of Starship Troopers mixed in, plus a dash of Haldeman's Forever War. But the story is his own, with our hero going into space at age 75 to fight in a never ending galactic war. Very enjoyable.

The is a truly amazing read! It made me remember why I like sci-fi!

Excellent read. Great idea for a book. Will purchase "The Ghost Brigades" which is the sequel.

From Publishers Weekly
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.

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I read this last night while looking for a bit of SF from my collection of unread books. And honestly, its not bad. Its a 'hardish' military space opera where our protagonist (and viewpoint character) enlists in the Colonial Defense Forces at the age of 75 (a standard thing for them) and goes off to see the universe, meet interesting aliens and kill them in job lots.

And, oh yeah, he gets a 20 year old body that is substantially more capable than a baseline human...

Likes: Neat technology, great character voices and personality, interesting world building, the logical weirdness of the Ghost Brigades, alien aliens.

Dislikes: Not sure I buy the motivation for combat, questions about how the Colonial Union came to be, got the monopoly on star travel, and how they govern themselves.

John Perry joins the Colonial Defense Force, at the age of 75. The CDF takes the elderly Perry and turns him into a killing machine that any Starship Trooper would be proud to see. While amazed with his new body, he struggles with being less than human. Perry goes off to war fighting the enemies of humanity and deals with the horrors of war.

Fans of Heinlein should find Scalzi's style and story highly entertaining. He manages give Old Man's War the air of a hard sci-fi story without the technical jargon so many others use. There is no need of a degree in rocket science to understand this book. However, the explaination of the science involved does not seem to have been dumbed down or overly handwavist (if such a word exists).


Old Man's War is with out a doubt the best sci-fi novel I have read in well over a decade. There is plenty of action and the character developement gets you invested in the story.Scalzi's crystal clear and easy to read style makes Old Man's War a great new entery into the sci-fi genre.

New series about being shipped out to the stars to fight alien forces. I haven't read this but my husband who is a science fiction reader said it is quite good.

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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.

Not bad... I read the sequel first before I read this one... I liked it better.. but still this one was a good one.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters are interesting and so is the story line. Old people as the heroes, great! I need a BrainPal! I'd love a BrainPal! A very enjoyable book!

Wow. I'm very impressed. Scalzi does a fantastic job here on a number of fronts.

The characterizations are fantastic, keeping me hooked *strongly* until the end of the book. The premise is fascinating, taking all the other sci-fi military stories and tipping them on their edge (old people? cool!). The faux-science is plausible in its own strange way, and I love the BrainPal!

Scalzi has rocketed to the top of my "favorite author" list with this one. I'm eagerly anticipating reading some of his other stuff.

Just read it again and it was just as entertaining as the first time.
The concept of changing your body for a new and improved you plus the multiple types of aliens keeps you thinking.
HWC

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