Old Man’s War

by John Scalzi

I read this book after having it forced on me by my brother who loved it and asked for the whole series for Christmas. Both my parents have also read the first book and enjoyed it. I’ve also been hearing good things about Scalzi lately and I’ve been meaning to read more science fiction so here goes.

I enjoyed it. I didn’t love it. It didn’t change my world. But it entertained me for three days. It was truly a fascinating concept and I liked Scalzi’s main character. The book had humor scattered throughout and that was due largely to the main character and his way of viewing absurd events and I liked that, too.

Throughout the book I was constantly amazed by Scalzi’s ability to predict odd but believable reactions to inconceivable situations, such as an automated voice popping up in one’s head. Scalzi’s main character describes being thrown by it at first (obviously) but then, not only did he get used to it, he actually reached a point of getting annoyed when having to directly ask something of voice in his head (which he named “Asshole” by the way). I loved that part so much because it shows how humans adapt to strange situations and how quickly they become ordinary. It’s not unlike people these days freaking out over losing their cell phone who didn’t even own one ten years ago (I may or may not be one of those people).

Overall it was a fun, light read with an interesting concept and great characters. I would definitely recommend it.