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A review by brenticus
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Definitely a fun read, albeit fun in an occasionally disturbing way.
A lot of the potentially dubious ethics of the CDF are glossed over but not ignored; everyone knows there are a pile of moral issues with everything, but they're not the ones to fix it. Similarly, Scalzi is cognizant that an entirely different story could be written about all this technology, but it's not the story he's telling now.
And it's a good story. Perry is an interesting character going through horrifying experiences that everyone around him is also going through. He's intelligent and motivated enough to distinguish himself but not so much so that he feels unreal.
The only odd part is that everyone is over 75 years old. Not that I expect them to be crotchety old farts, but they sure seem more adaptable than my grandparents who can't figure out a new TV remote. The idea that they have whole lives behind them isn't exactly abandoned, but it doesn't seem to affect their characters as much as I would expect.
That's a relatively minor point, though. This was still a great book and I'm slowly becoming convinced I just like Scalzi as a writer.
A lot of the potentially dubious ethics of the CDF are glossed over but not ignored; everyone knows there are a pile of moral issues with everything, but they're not the ones to fix it. Similarly, Scalzi is cognizant that an entirely different story could be written about all this technology, but it's not the story he's telling now.
And it's a good story. Perry is an interesting character going through horrifying experiences that everyone around him is also going through. He's intelligent and motivated enough to distinguish himself but not so much so that he feels unreal.
The only odd part is that everyone is over 75 years old. Not that I expect them to be crotchety old farts, but they sure seem more adaptable than my grandparents who can't figure out a new TV remote. The idea that they have whole lives behind them isn't exactly abandoned, but it doesn't seem to affect their characters as much as I would expect.
That's a relatively minor point, though. This was still a great book and I'm slowly becoming convinced I just like Scalzi as a writer.