Book Reviews of The Ghost Brigades (Old Man's War, Bk 2)

Boy, I'm really liking this Scalzi stuff. The Ghost Brigades was a fun read, with plenty of action, the growth (and death!) of characters, and a glimpse of the greater political galaxy that the Colonial Union finds itself in. And it had a good ending! Far too many books I've read over the last decade have felt like the authors hit their word count and decided to stop. That's not the case here, at all.

The book is actually a really nice sequal to a fantastic first book (Old Man's War), in that the whole "galaxy" that Scalzi has invented is matured a bit. Instead of gushing about how great it all is (as was the feeling in the first book), we begin to see the morally ambiguous decisions that have been made to bring the situation to it's current status. A lot of the change in feeling is due, in large part I think, to the switch to a third person perspective for the narrative, rather than the first person perspective of the prior novel.

The Ghost Brigades was highly enjoyable. And the setting that Scalzi has created has become something that can easily house more interesting stories. I'm looking forward to future titles in this series!

Most of my sf reading has always been heavy on books written long before I was born. Asimov, Silverberg and Bradbury are three of my favorites. Scalzi holds up to the classics while being completely modern.

I enjoyed this book and the prequel Old Man's War. You should read it first to get the gist of the books. Very good read.

This is a great read... I especially liked the in depth coverage of the scientific background for his theme. And even more so the philosophical problems he explores through his characters. While at the same time telling a great story.

I am going to have disagree and say this one was as good as the first book in the series. Had a lot more sci-fi elements I thought than the first one. First book was more along the lines of Starship Troopers. This one is also, but I thought and this one that he threw in more sci-fi elements. In terms of different races and technology and some very neat ways he uses both.

While not the book that the Old Man's War is, this is pretty good. If you read the first in the series, you will want this.

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