Old Man's War ~ John Scalzi

Funk Rating: 9.5 out of 10

I took a left turn at the Amazon store, and found the science fiction section. OK, that's not entirely correct. What caused me to take that left turn was Marc Andreessen's blog and his listing of the top 10 science fiction writers of the 21st century.

I started with this one, and loved it! Haven't really read much science fiction since I was a kid, and this brought back all sorts of great memories of how wonderful science fiction can be (when it's done right). And this one is definitely done right.

You can read the plotlines anywhere, so I won't retread that. I'll merely say that if you ever enjoyed science fiction, and are looking for a change of pace in your thriller/NYT bestseller diet, this is a great place to start. Super characters, great writing, awesome technology, a love story woven in, and some good old-fashioned ingenuity bring it all together. Fun stuff! And I've now bought Scalzi's other two books for after I finish a few more on Marc's list...

Comments

[Dave Bayless]

I liked "Old Man's War" quite a bit--certainly better than "The Last Colony." In fact, I liked it well enough to want to read "Ghost Bridgades". That said, I don't think I liked it as much as you did. I'm not sure why, though. Maybe I'm looking for a little more Larry Niven or Vernor Vinge and a little less Tom Clancy?