Old Man's War

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Perfect for an entry-level sci-fi listener 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

©2005 John Scalzi (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award nominee, Best Novel, 2006

"Scalzi's imagined interstellar arena is coherently and compellingly delineated." (The Washington Post)

“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

“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

highly recommend this listen

it was comical and witty, yet held a seriousness that seemed to mesh well with the overtone. I'm already on the second book as of this review and I can state it only gets better.

A fantastic read, with great world building

What did you love best about Old Man's War?

I love the world building, or really in this case universe building. Scalzi has created an amazing universe filled with danger, aliens, and fascinating technology.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love the ideas behind the special forces characters in the book, especially Jane Sagan.

Which scene was your favorite?

Don't read this section if you don't want some mild spoilers.



The scene when Perry is naming his Brain Pal computer has such wonderful humor and is incredibly well written. He does such a great job of capturing the essence of people interacting with new and alien technology, and the fun that I imaging I would want if I were suddenly young again.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were a few times where I laughed out loud, this book was such a great read.

Worth listening to.

Interesting story that is reasonable fast paced. narrator puts on a good show. Worth listening to.

A great read!

This is a very intersting book and a great performance by the narrator. worth the time!

Great Science Fiction

Emotionally engaging, and gets war correctly. I would recommend this performance to show how good an audiobook can be.

Action, drama and humor.

I had fun with this book the whole way through.

With a very likable relatable Main character. I really enjoyed all of the ethical questions it brings up throughout the story. Surprisingly fun and I’m glad to say that.

Will being downloading volume 2

I enjoy John Scalzi's work so much that I'm surprised that I'm surprised I haven't read more of it. Old Man's War was a fast paced and enjoyable ride that I would characterize as military sci-fi lite - only 1 calorie. The circumstances of the main character's arc is a bit convenient, but it's still worth checking out. With more heart than some of the classics in this genre, Scalzi's emotional juice in story and character make up for the gaps is a sense of realism.

pleasantly surprised at how good this book was.

I really enjoyed this with the combination of context and Military detail. I've only gotten through the first book in the interdependency Series. but I do like scalzi's writing style and this book does not disappoint.

going to war (old)

it was a good science fiction audio biography. looking foward to the next one. my son told me about this series.

I Said

The narrator could simply skip all the I/He/She saids because the listener can easily keep track of which character is speaking.