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

Way different than expected

This was a very pleasant surprise. I was expecting hard core Sci fi but this was humorous, not overly tactical, two day listen!

Brilliant!

The science was exciting! I haven't listened to a good sci fi in a really long time. Just enough love story to keep my helpless romantic side interested.

highly entertaining that gets you hooked up

amazing performance by the narrator. he is the Daniel day louis of the narrators!!
simple writing that gets you hooked up in first person. nice humor and action and I never knew how time passed by...Most entertaining after ready player one and after having returned 3 classic Sci fi that made it really hard for me to be interested.. I don't know if they where outdate but... through audible I am trying to follow all the books I missed when I was younger but I could barely keep up with classics that everybody praises either for the way of writing or way too much info, or too slow etc. This is nothing like that. and I will definitely get the second book

Very imaginative!

A great balance of humor and drama. But on a deeper level, it's a good discussion of our human mortality.

A must read

This was one of the best audible I’ve ever listened to, and I suggest it to pretty much anyone that wants a capturing story, a great
sci-fi narration line mixed with some military action and an absolutely outstanding performance of the narrator!!
I felt like being in the story since chapter one. I’m excited to listen to the next book!
Great job John Scalzi and William Dufris!!
Thank you

Why have I never heard of this?

The universe in this book is amazing. The premise is kind of silly but the author does a great job of making it work because the author has a Great sense of humor. I couldn't recommend this book more. Not only is it funny, it has one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever read. I love horror books and the scene with the deer like aliens was horrific without being even a little gory.

There were a few things that I didn't like. I'm only putting them here for constructive criticism on the off chance the author reads this lol. I'd give the book a 9.9/10.

1 - There is one scene in the book where it's two people talking back and forth. There is a lot of "he said" "she said" "he said" "she said" going on for like two minutes. I wish I had a hard copy of the book so I could see how it looks on paper. It stood out like a sore thumb and I'd like to know if it did in the paper book. I don't know if the awkwardness is because of the narrator or the writing but it was bad lol.

2 - there's one scene before the start of the final mission where the characters discussed the way the space travel works. It goes on for too long and is completely unnecessary. You did well with the smart blood: it's nanobots. Boom. Done.

Trying to explain fake science is like listing off the ingredients for magic potions. Nobody wants to know. We are suspending our disbelief so you can trust us to just say "yep, it's jumping universes. Makes sense". By going into the details you made me think about it and poke holes in the way it works.

I should probably put some specific good things here so it doesn't seem like I hated the book, because I didn't. I loved it. There may be spoilers.

1- The book is hilarious. The first question of the FAQ was amazing: "Does my body have a brand name?". The question that nobody was ever going to ask lol. The brand name bodies in general had me laughing out loud. The drill instructor was. Hilarious.

2 - There are some genuinely scary scenes in this book. The description of what happened with the deer like aliens was deeply disturbing. I loved it and it didnt use any blood or gore to make it happen.

3 - being unpredictable is one of the strongest tools you're using. Keep it up.

Final note: This book would make a great video game. Find whoever made the most recent doom and make this happen.

Good Si-Fi book.

Story and performance was enjoyable. A sequel would not be unwelcome either. Looking forward to another book by the author.

great book. funny, intense, and action packed.

great read. It's intense and action packed with some good comic release. As a veteran I can say it has a great understanding of what it's like to serve

awesome book I couldn't put it down for long lol

well couldn't stop listening actually. I enjoyed the story immensely. the narrator did a fantastic job. if you like sci-fi check this one out, I promise it won't disappoint:)

Great story with great futurism.

No spoilers here - sci-fi with equal parts mysterious and believable futurism. and heart. Told from the perspective of, as the title says, an 'old man'. Full of moments that make me smile. Worthy of a second, and third, read.