Old Mans War, John Scalzi
Old Mans War, John Scalzi
72 Rating(s)
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Old Man's War

Author: John Scalzi

Narrator: William Dufris

Unabridged: 9 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/21/2007


Synopsis

Perfect for an entry-level sci-fi reader and the ideal addition to a veteran fan’s collection, John Scalzi's Old Man’s War will take audiences on a heart-stopping adventure into the far corners of the universe.

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce—and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine—and what he will become is far stranger.

John Scalzi's Old Man's War is a stunning novel of the long war for human survival—in a universe replete with hostility

About John Scalzi

JOHN SCALZI is one of the most popular science fiction authors of his generation. His debut, Old Man's War, won him the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His New York Times bestsellers include The Last Colony, Fuzzy Nation, Redshirts (which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel), The Last Emperox, and The Kaiju Preservation Society. Material from his blog, Whatever (whatever.scalzi.com), has earned him two other Hugo Awards. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter.

About William Dufris

William Dufris began his audio career in London, England. He co-found the audio production company The Story Circle, Ltd in the UK. In the US, he founded Mind’s Eye Productions and co-founded Rocky Coast Radio Theatre in addition to The AudioComics Company, for which he is producer, director, actor and engineer. Durfis was nominated six times as a finalist for the APA's prestigious Audie Awards. He garnered eighteen Golden Earphones Awards through AudioFile magazine, which honored him as one of The Best Voices at the End of the Century. Of his work, AudioFile said, "William Dufris commands a dazzling array of voices that bring to life the dozens of audiobooks he’s narrated." His audiobook credits include many of Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, Ph.D.'s works, such as Days of Infamy and Pearl Harbor, in addition to George McGovern’s Abraham Lincoln, Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon and John Scalzi’s The Ghost Bridges.Dufris acted on stage and in television and is best known as the original North American voice of the cartoon character Bob in Nickelodeon's popular children's show, Bob the Builder. Additionally, he worked with legendary director Dirk Maggs on his audio drama productions of Spider-Man.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mark on November 18, 2024

This is, for me, a pretty short review as the key novel element here is one that it is fun to discover in the book, and not spoiling that severely limits what I can discuss. I really enjoyed Old Man's War and think you should read it. For me it was a 5* first half and a 3* second half (I liked the 2n......more

Goodreads review by Mario the lone bookwolf on March 13, 2021

Making the green hero journey full of humor philosophy chimeras, satirized alien races, military drill, and pimped über soldiers while Heinlein´s screams about why people are making fun of his sophisticated point of view can be heard from wherever. He surely wouldn´t have approved dirty humor, just......more

Goodreads review by Maggie on May 31, 2018

A few weeks ago, I was at one of my children's friend's homes, watching the two of them do a dubious job on a joint project and nattering away about fiction with the friend's father. At the end of the day, he pressed Scalzi's Old Man's War into my hands. He didn't pitch it. He just said I'd like it.......more

Goodreads review by Mary ~Ravager of Tomes~ on July 22, 2017

EDIT 07/22/17: It has been brought to my attention that I may not have the proper Science Fiction background to understand what this book's purpose is. It's been said that it's poking fun at the genre (specifically Heinlein's work) in a way I don't have the context for. I'm often frustrated when I s......more

Goodreads review by Anne on February 24, 2025

Very cool concept but the story never hit me in the feels. The characters seemed dry and unreal to me and I never quite got to the point where I cared deeply about what was happening to any of them. Again, the idea behind the story was very interesting. So, in America, once you hit 75 you can sign up......more


Quotes

“Though a lot of SF writers are more or less efficiently continuing the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein, Scalzi's astonishingly proficient first novel reads like an original work by the late grand master...This virtuoso debut pays tribute to SF's past while showing that well-worn tropes still can have real zip when they're approached with ingenuity.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Solid…[Scalzi] sidesteps most of the cliches of military science fiction, delivers fast-paced scenes of combat and pays attention to the science underpinning his premise.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Thought-provoking!” —Entertainment Weekly on Old Man’s War

“Smartly conceived and thoroughly entertaining, Old Man's War is a splendid novel.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Gripping and surpassingly original. It's Starship Troopers without the lectures. It's The Forever War with better sex. It's funny, it's sad, and it's true.” —Cory Doctorow

“John Scalzi is a fresh and appealing new voice, and Old Man's War is classic SF seen from a modern perspective a fast-paced tour of a daunting, hostile universe.” —Robert Charles Wilson

“I enjoyed Old Man's War immensely. A space war story with fast action, vivid characters, moral complexity and cool speculative physics, set in a future you almost want to live into, and a universe you sincerely hope you don't live in already.” —Ken MacLeod


Awards

  • Hugo Award - Nominee
  • Audible.com Best of the Year