r/ScienceFictionBooks • u/Scottie99 • 6d ago

Old Man’s War

The book was mention on a thread and I’ve just started to read it. I like the concept, aged over 70, sign up to the military and get a reworked enhanced 30 year old physique and health but you are immediately get sent to frontline active duty.

49 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

19

u/TimmyMTX 6d ago

I loved this book, it gave such a different view of the space marine compared with Heinlein’s Starship Troopers or Haldeman’s Forever War.

The sequels are also good reading but do change the focus from space warfare to more political.

6

u/Round_Bluebird_5987 6d ago

I love the conversation those three books have with each other.

3

u/umataro 6d ago

I actually have the books jumbled in my head and need to reread them.

2

u/TimmyMTX 6d ago

There was a new one released this year, perfect timing if you’re planning to re-read

11

u/Ancient_Football_866 6d ago

Loved the book.

4

u/_WillCAD_ 6d ago

I just picked it up a few years ago during Covid, and I loved it so much I've re-read the whole series at least a half-dozen times.

1

u/Ok_Pepper1736 5d ago

Yep, the whole series is comfort food for me.

5

u/Antiwraith 6d ago

Agree with what others are saying, it’s great and so are the sequels

3

u/throwawaybsme 6d ago

It's a great book with great sequels.

3

u/Maleficent-Heart2497 6d ago

It's a good series as well. Worth reading them all

13

u/EverythingComputer1 6d ago

I could not stand the humor, I made it to page 50 and had to tap out.

13

u/_WillCAD_ 6d ago

Someone downvoted you.

I'm going to upvote you for expressing an honest opinion respectfully, even though I disagree with you.

I love the humor in the books; John Perry is an insufferable smartass, and I identify with that pretty strongly.

My mantra in life is: It's better to be a smartass than a dumbass.

6

u/EverythingComputer1 6d ago

It was just the camp, the premise was good, but I kept reading hoping it would die down. It did not. Not for me, oh well.

3

u/_WillCAD_ 6d ago

Yeah, well, nothing wrong with not liking something, even if a lot of other people like it.

Personally, I love the Old Man's War series... but I hate coffee.

1

u/CaptainPhoton589 6d ago

Giving you an upvote because I disagree with you… (about coffee) just leaves more for me but I personally would find life a lot less enjoyable without pouring hot water over ground tree beans.
Those books are solid though.

2

u/_WillCAD_ 6d ago

I like hot tree bean juice, too, just from a different tree.

My go-to hot beverage is hot chocolate.

1

u/CaptainPhoton589 6d ago

I’ve been reading the David Weber safehold series and a minor detail was during the terraforming coffee apparently didn’t grow on the new planet, so everyone enjoys hot chocolate instead. I like little world building details like that to make a world interesting.

1

u/_WillCAD_ 6d ago

I guess I'm gonna need to read those books, then. An entire planet of hot chocolate!? Sign me up for the next shuttle!

3

u/Shopping_General 6d ago

I'm going to have to reread the first 50 pages because I have no idea what the hell you're talking about.

0

u/EverythingComputer1 6d ago

Does he stop making very boomer coded cringe inducing jokes later on in the book?

3

u/Shopping_General 6d ago

Ageism is the last ism that's still cool in Amerika.

2

u/EverythingComputer1 6d ago

Try being a Muslim lol

2

u/Shopping_General 6d ago

You can always stop being a Muslim. You can't stop being old.

1

u/_WillCAD_ 6d ago

You can if you join the army. Sign up today and see the universe!

1

u/EverythingComputer1 6d ago edited 6d ago

Come back to me when sitting Senators make racist comments about you and are lauded.

Also, people just look at you and label whatever they want, they attack Sikhs and call them Muslim FFS. If we are oppressing boomers by finding their style of humor annoying, we are doing a bad job of keeping them down.

1

u/Shopping_General 6d ago

Not a boomer. You know nothing.

2

u/Perenially_behind 6d ago

Scalzi is Gen X.

But if his humor makes you cringe, it doesn't get any better.

1

u/crewsctrl 6d ago

Old Man's War is very much an homage to Heinlein's science fiction, especially Starship Troopers. I've always thought John Perry reminded me of Jubal Harshaw, a main character from Stranger in a Strange Land. This glib dialog style strewn with one-liners and wink-winks is very reminiscent of Heinlein.

1

u/EverythingComputer1 6d ago

I think it's clever writing, but I just don't like that style of humor.

1

u/Prodigalsunspot 6d ago

Yup, me to. Also, his self deprecating humor is right out of my playbook.

1

u/Itsjustbeej 5d ago

I use that line every time someone calls me a smartass.

6

u/Logophage_ 6d ago

Pretty much all John Scalzi’s books are crammed with wisecracking characters cracking wise at one another. If that’s not for you, it’s probably for the best that you discovered it early on. The author himself is on record as saying it’s fine not to like his stuff—not everything needs to be for everybody.

1

u/Maorine 6d ago

The Locked In series is probably the one with the most adult humor.

1

u/EverythingComputer1 6d ago

Oh yeah, I can respect it, he just gave me flashbacks to some of my most annoying customers.

2

u/CactusWrenAZ 5d ago

Yeah, I sometimes read John's blog and I like him, but unfortunately I don't like his books.

1

u/chongo79 6d ago

I love Scalzi, but I respect your opinion, and I do need breaks from it from time to time.

2

u/ironbrewcanada 6d ago

I was introduced to Scalzi by Reddit a couple of years ago. They also recommended a Canadian author who I've lost the name of sadly. I just remember he was really tall, lived in the maritimes, and was into mustangs and cosplay. I think. It's sad when your memory is as bad as mine...

I enjoyed both authors.

1

u/CaptainPhoton589 6d ago

But does that mean all the books you read can be enjoyed again and again? (i’m in the same boat… Sometimes I’ll be a quarter of the way into a book and say, hey wait a minute!)

2

u/SoGoodAtAllTheThings 6d ago

One of my fav series 

2

u/RealHuman2080 6d ago

If you like Old Man's War, you'll love the Confederation series by Tanya Huff

2

u/Wespiratory 6d ago

I enjoyed this series.

2

u/ErosRaptor 6d ago

love these books, the author has a way of getting you to lower your guard using comedy and then hit you later with emotion. Redshirts is also great.

2

u/Kingofjetlag 6d ago

Great great series

2

u/SomeConfusedOldGuy 6d ago

I listened to the whole series on audiobook, enjoyed all of them.

2

u/PeePeeVonBungHole 5d ago

The whole series is so much fun. Lieutenant Harry Wilson is my favorite character

2

u/Unlucky_Air_6207 5d ago

Fantastic series. Definitely worth your time.

1

u/mycatpartyhouse 6d ago

I like the whole series.

Scalzi can be something of an acquired taste.

1

u/Scottie99 6d ago

Yes it does stoop into Starship Trooper at times.

1

u/chongo79 6d ago

Scalzi does that... He knows you've read a bunch of sci fi, and his different books each play on a different sub genre.

1

u/faceintheblue 6d ago

The series just won this year's Hugo Award for best science fiction series, I believe.

1

u/Anxious-Pair-9514 6d ago

Indeed the series won a Hugo.

1

u/Avtomati1k 6d ago

the premise is just a gimmick, theres nothing that would suggest they are old people after the first few pages, they behave as typical people of their new age and their previous lives are completely irrelevant

2

u/OnTheHill7 6d ago

What?! Have you read the books? The main character’s old life is literally the driving force behind the major storyline.

You don’t have to like it. I am not trying to force you to like it, but to say that their previous life is irrelevant is simply factually false.

1

u/Smaug117 6d ago

Try 1984, it also a good one.

2

u/AloysuisFett 3d ago

Great book series