John Scalzi got lots of positive attention and award nominations so I grabbed Old Man’s War from the library. Enjoyable enough read and an interesting conceit but I wouldn’t have rated it quite so highly; the ideas Scalzi brings to the table are much better than his execution.
Basics: Over a hundred years before the opening some humans got loose in the galaxy and found the place is pretty crowded, with neighbors who for the most part shoot (so to speak) first and last. Still, we were able to get a foothold and colonize a few dozen worlds yoked together in the Colonial Union. The fighting is done by the Colonial Defense Forces–enlisting is the only way Americans and citizens of other wealthy nations can get off Earth but the CDF won’t take you before your 75th birthday. John Perry, his wife dead several years, is happy enough to go.
Your ticket is one way and no information and almost no technology gets to Earth either, which leads to one of my major complaints, in addition to the lackadaisical pace: Scalzi never once explains or justifies why the colonies have developed some amazing technology and knowledge about the universe but refuse to share it with the gang at home.
Secondary, he more or less waives his hand at the ‘how this all got started’ piece. Since Old Man’s War is the first book in what turns out to be a series–Ghost Brigades follows up with a story focusing on the CDF special forces we meet in here–I think this could have easily fit in. By the time I was halfway through this was really irritating me.
BillSaysThis 