• The Ghost Brigades

  • Old Man's War, Book 2
  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: William Dufris
  • Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (13,387 ratings)

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The Ghost Brigades  By  cover art

The Ghost Brigades

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: William Dufris
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Publisher's summary

John Scalzi's eagerly anticipated sequel to the extraordinary Old Man's War

The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF's toughest operations. They're young, they're fast and strong, and they're totally without normal human qualms.

The universe is a dangerous place for humanity—and it's about to become far more dangerous. Three races that humans have clashed with before have allied to halt our expansion into space. Their linchpin: the turncoat military scientist Charles Boutin, who knows the CDF's biggest military secrets. To prevail, the CDF must find out why Boutin did what he did.

Jared Dirac is the only human who can provide answers—a superhuman hybrid, created from Boutin's DNA, Jared's brain should be able to access Boutin's electronic memories. But when the memory transplant appears to fail, Jared is given to the Ghost Brigades.

At first, Jared is a perfect soldier, but as Boutin's memories slowly surface, Jared begins to intuit the reason's for Boutin's betrayal. As Jared desperately hunts for his "father," he must also come to grips with his own choices. Time is running out: The alliance is preparing its offensive, and some of them plan worse things than humanity's mere military defeat…

©2006 John Scalzi (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"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)

What listeners say about The Ghost Brigades

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    7,827
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Story
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    52

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Solid second book

I enjoyed this book but not quite as thrilling as the first book since that one established the new world setting and the technology. This one was more of a tangential story overall but did perhaps plant a seed of information that the next books could explore more in depth.

I think I liked this one just enough to give the 3rd book a try.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very entertaining

I was introduced to this series and I have been very happy with it. Can’t wait to get into the next one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well written and planned

Second book in a series. Well done. Well written. Very touching about Jared and Zoe

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Quite a letdown from book one

It’s not great but it’s not a total loss. Predictable in most aspects but as with most serials, sets the stage for the next one…

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

I loved everything about this book. I liked the references from the 1st book, but how it was not overly dependent on it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Creative and fun sci-fi

I can’t say enough have fun a ride each of the Old Man’s War books are. Scalzi’s character building and space sci-fi are amazing and he makes the ride that much better with his sense of humor. I listen through the entire series every couple years and always laugh my way through them all. One of my all-time favorite series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Right up there with Starship Troopers.

I enjoyed learning about their combat and other beings. I wish that it were real.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I want more

This is an absolutely great book definitely recommend this anyway looking for action sci-fi

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Could have been a good story

The performance was excellent, but the story was too convenient to contrived. There's a great story in there.
Think you just needs to work a little harder to get it out.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Listened after reading years ago worth it!

Great old school science fiction!
Read it years ago enjoying listening to the series all over again.

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